Abū Isḥāq (or Abū Yusr) Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn al-Mudabbir () commonly simply known as Ibrahim ibn al-Mudabbir, was a senior courtier and fiscal administrator for 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 ...

Biography

Ibrahim and his brother, Abu'l-Hasan Ahmad, were possibly of

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

origin. Both were distinguished men of letters and rose to prominence at the court of the

Abbasids 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 i ...

Samarra Samarra (, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The modern city of Samarra was founded in 836 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim as a new administrative capital and mi ...

. Ibrahim rose to prominence as one of the drinking companions of Caliph

al-Mutawakkil Ja'far ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (); March 82211 December 861, commonly known by his laqab, regnal name al-Mutawwakil ala Allah (), was the tenth Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid caliph, rul ...

(ruled 847–861). As a result of the Caliph's favour, he became one of the most influential courtiers. His brother Ahmad was also one of the most powerful officials at the time.

Vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

Ubayd Allah ibn Khaqan Abū al-Ḥasan ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Yaḥyā ibn Khāqān () was an Abbasid official who served twice as vizier, under caliphs al-Mutawakkil and al-Mu'tamid. Life Ubayd Allah's father, Yahya, was a Khurasani from Marw in the service of al-Hasan ib ...

, threatened by the two brothers, caused both to be overthrown and imprisoned in 854/5. Unlike his brother, he remained in prison for several years; it is unknown when he was set free and was appointed tax-collector in

Ahwaz Ahvaz (; ) is a city in the Central District of Ahvaz County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is home to Persians, Arabs and other groups such as Qashqai and Kurds. Languages spok ...

. During his tenure there, he was captured by the Zanj rebels. They brought him to

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

and imprisoned him there, but he was able to escape by breaking the prison wall. In 882, he accompanied Caliph

al-Mu'tamid Abu’l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Al-Mutawakkil, Jaʿfar ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn al-Muʿtamid ʿalā’Llāh (; – 14 October 892), better known by his regnal name al-Muʿtamid ʿalā 'llāh (, 'Dependent on God'), ...

(r. 870–892) in his attempted flight to join

Ahmad ibn Tulun Ahmad ibn Tulun (; c. 20 September 835 – 10 May 884) was the founder of the Tulunid dynasty that ruled Egypt in the Middle Ages, Egypt and Bilad al-Sham, Syria between 868 and 905. Originally a Turkic peoples, Turkic slave-soldier, in 868 Ibn ...

, and was briefly appointed his vizier. At the time of his death in 892/893, he was head of the bureau of the caliphal private domains ('' dīwān al-ḍiyāʿ''). He was in all likelihood the author of a treatise on administration, ''al-ʿAdhrāʾ fi mawāzīn al-balāgha wa adawāt al-kitāba''. Anecdotes concerning him, as well as several of his poems, including some dedicated to the famous singing girl

Arib The , commonly known as , is a Standards organization, standardization organization in Japan. ARIB is designated as the center for promotion of the efficient use of the radio spectrum and the designated frequency change support agency. Its activit ...

, survive in various medieval collections. He was owner of a singing-slave-girl (''Qayna'') named Matal.Yasemin Gökpinar: ''Der ṭarab der Sängersklavinnen: Masālik al-abṣār fī mamālik al-amṣār von Ibn Faḍlallāh al-ʿUmarī (gest. 749/1349): Textkritische Edition des 10. Kapitels Ahl ʿilm al-mūsīqī mit kommentierter Übersetzung'', Ergon Verlag, Baden-Baden (Germany) 2021.

References

Sources

* {{Arabic literature 893 deaths Officials of the Abbasid Caliphate Poets from the Abbasid Caliphate 9th-century Iranian people Prisoners and detainees of the Abbasid Caliphate 9th-century Arabic-language poets Iranian Arabic-language poets Poets of the medieval Islamic world