Ibn Tabataba
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Abū ʿAbdallāh Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm Ṭabāṭabā ibn Ismāʿīl al-Dībādj ibn Ibrāhīm al-Ghamr ibn al-Ḥasan al-Muthannā (, died 15 February 815), better known as Ibn Ṭabāṭabā, was a
Hasanid The Ḥasanids ( or , ) are the descendants of Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī, brother of Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī and grandson of Muhammad. They are a branch of the Alids (the descendants of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib), and one of the two most important branche ...
who was the figurehead of an unsuccessful
Zaydi Zaydism () is a branch of Shia Islam that emerged in the eighth century following Zayd ibn Ali's unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate. Zaydism is one of the three main branches of Shi'ism, with the other two being Twelverism ...
uprising against the
Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes ...
in 814–815, during the
Fourth Fitna The Fourth Fitna, Fourth Muslim Civil War, or Great Abbasid Civil War resulted from the conflict between the brothers al-Amin and al-Ma'mun over the succession to the throne of the Abbasid Caliphate. Their father, Caliph Harun al-Rashid, had name ...
. His grandfather Ismāʿīl al-Dībāj is the grandson of Hasan al-Mu'thannā.


Life

The sobriquet of was given either to his father, Ibrahim, or his grandfather, Isma'il, reportedly due to a speech defect or a slip-up. However, it was also a colloquial term for persons of
Alid The Alids are those who claim descent from Ali ibn Abi Talib (; 600–661 CE), the fourth Rashidun caliph () and the first imam in Shia Islam. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The main branches are the ...
descent from both paternal and maternal sides. He lived at
Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...
, until he was sought out by
Nasr ibn Shabath Nasr ibn Shabath al-Uqayli () was the leader of a rebellion of the Qays tribe in the Jazira against the central Abbasid government during the civil war of the Fourth Fitna. Life Nasr appears in 811/812, when Caliph al-Amin () sent his general, ...
, who preferred him as candidate for
imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...
. His ambition awakened, he followed Nasr to
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
, but there he found Nasr's collaborators opposed to his candidacy. They offered him 5,000
gold dinar The gold dinar () is an Islamic medieval gold coin first issued in AH 77 (696–697 CE) by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. The weight of the dinar is 1 mithqal (). The word ''dinar'' comes from the Latin word denarius, which was ...
s to return to Medina. He refused the money, but began his return to Medina. On the way, he learned of a pro-Alid rebellion being prepared by
Abu'l-Saraya Abu'l-Sarāyā al-Sarī ibn Manṣūr al-Shaybānī ( d. 18 October 815) was leader of a Zaydi revolt against the Abbasid Caliphate in Kufa and Iraq in 815. The revolt spread quickly across southern Iraq, and his agents even took over Mecca and Me ...
, who was gathering his
Zaydi Zaydism () is a branch of Shia Islam that emerged in the eighth century following Zayd ibn Ali's unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate. Zaydism is one of the three main branches of Shi'ism, with the other two being Twelverism ...
followers around the
tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...
of
al-Husayn Husayn ibn Ali (; 11 January 626 – 10 October 680 CE) was a social, political and religious leader in early medieval Arabia. The grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and an Alid (the son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muhammad's daughter ...
. Immediately he went to
Kufa Kufa ( ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates, Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya ...
, an Alid stronghold, where he only succeeded in rousing a few poorly armed Kufans to his cause. The two groups met at a suburb of Kufa on the appointed day, before entering the city. Abu'l-Saraya proclaimed Ibn Tabataba as
commander of the faithful () or Commander of the Faithful is a Muslim title designating the supreme leader of an Islamic community. Name Although etymologically () is equivalent to English "commander", the wide variety of its historical and modern use allows for a ...
on 27 December 814 (26 January 815 according to
al-Tabari Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd al-Ṭabarī (; 839–923 CE / 224–310 AH), commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Sunni Muslim scholar, polymath, historian, exegete, jurist, and theologian from Amol, Tabaristan, present- ...
), and declared the principles of the uprising in a
Friday sermon Friday prayer, or congregational prayer (), is the meeting together of Muslims for communal prayer and service at midday every Friday. In Islam, the day itself is called ''Yawm al-Jum'ah'' (shortened to ''Jum'ah''), which translated from Arabic me ...
. Ibn Tabataba's role in the revolt was only as a figurehead, while actual power rested with Abu'l-Saraya. Indeed, modern scholars suggest that Abu'l-Saraya was not motivated by pro-Alid zeal, but merely saw the Alids as a tool to gain power. The uprising was initially successful, and on 14 February 815, the rebels defeated the Abbasid troops that Caliph
al-Ma'mun Abū al-ʿAbbās Abd Allāh ibn Hārūn al-Maʾmūn (; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name al-Ma'mun (), was the seventh Abbasid caliph, who reigned from 813 until his death in 833. His leadership was marked by t ...
's governor of Iraq,
al-Hasan ibn Sahl Al-Hasan ibn Sahl (; died 850/51) was an Abbasid official and governor of Iraq for Caliph al-Ma'mun (reigned 813–833) during the Fourth Fitna. Hasan's father was an Iranian Zoroastrian convert to Islam. Along with his brother, the future vizier ...
, had sent against them. Some accounts have Ibn Tabataba fighting and being wounded outside the walls of Kufa, while al-Tabari claims that Abu'l-Saraya poisoned him. On his deathbed, Ibn Tabataba nominated the
Husaynid The Husaynids ( or حسینیون, Ḥusayniyyūn) are a branch of the Alids who are descendants of Husayn ibn Ali, a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It is one of the two main branches of the (the other being the descendants of Husyan ...
Ali ibn Ubayd Allah as his successor, but the latter refused and nominated Muhammad ibn Zayd instead. Ibn Tabataba died at Kufa on the next day, 15 February 815.


Relatives

His descendants migrated to
Kirman Kerman is the capital city of Kerman Province, Iran. Kerman or Kirman may also refer to: Places * Kirman (Sasanian province), province of the Sasanian Empire *Kerman province, province of Iran ** Kerman County * Kerman, California People * ...
and
Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
, where their line disappears from record. His brother,
al-Qasim al-Rassi Al-Qāsim ibn Ibrāhīm Ṭabāṭabā ibn Ismāʿīl al-Dībādj ibn Ibrāhīm al-Ghamr ibn al-Ḥasan al-Muthannā ibn al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ar-Rassī (; 785–860) was a 9th-century religious leader in the Arabian Peninsula. He ...
, was the progenitor of the
Rassid dynasty The Imams of Yemen and later also the Kings of Yemen were religiously consecrated leaders belonging to the Zaidiyyah branch of Shia Islam. They established a blend of religious and political rule in parts of Yemen from 897. Their imamate endured ...
of Zaydi imams, who ruled large parts of
Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
until the 20th century.


References


Sources

* * * {{EI2 , last = Scarcia Amoretti , first = B. , title = Ibn Ṭabāṭabā , volume = 3 , pages = 950–951, doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_3387 8th-century births 815 deaths 9th-century Arab people 9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate Zaydi imams 9th-century caliphs Rebels from the Abbasid Caliphate People of the Fourth Fitna Hasanids History of Kufa People from Medina 9th-century Shia Muslims