Sa'id ibn Salm al-Bahili was an

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

governor and military commander of the early

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 ...

Life

Sa'id was the scion of a prominent family of the

Bahila Bāhila () was an Arab tribe based in Najd (central Arabian Peninsula, Arabia). Part of the tribe was settled and part of it was semi-nomadic. The Bahila was first mentioned during the early years of Islam, in the mid-7th century. During that time ...

tribe: his father,

Salm ibn Qutayba Abu Abd Allah Salm ibn Qutayba ibn Muslim al-Bahili was an 8th-century Arab who served as governor and military commander for both the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates. Salm was the son of the distinguished Bahila general Qutayba ibn Muslim, who as ...

, had served both the Umayyads and 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 ...

as governor of

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 his grandfather had been the distinguished general

Qutayba ibn Muslim Abū Ḥafṣ Qutayba ibn Abī Ṣāliḥ Muslim ibn ʿAmr al-Bāhilī (; 669–715/6) was an Arab commander of the Umayyad Caliphate who became governor of Khurasan and distinguished himself in the conquest of Transoxiana during the reign o ...

. Several of Sa'id's brothers and uncles also held high office. In 776/7, he campaigned against

Yusuf al-Barm Yusuf al-Barm was a rebel leader against the Abbasid Caliphate in Khurasan in the 770s. Few details are known of his origin. His father was called Ibrahim, and according to Ya'qubi, he was a ''mawla'' of the Banu Thaqif tribe in Bukhara. Yusuf's ow ...

Khurasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...

. Sa'id was a close friend and boon-companion of Caliph

al-Hadi Abū Muḥammad Mūsā ibn al-Mahdī al-Hādī (; 26 April 764 CE 14 September 786 CE) better known by his laqab al-Hādī () was the fourth Arab Abbasid caliph who succeeded his father al-Mahdi and ruled from 169 AH (785 CE) until his death in 1 ...

(). He was with al-Hadi at

Jurjan Gorgan (; ) is a city in the Central District of Gorgan County, Golestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It lies approximately to the northeast of the national capital Tehran, and some a ...

when news came of the death of his father, Caliph

al-Mahdi Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Manṣūr (; 744 or 745 – 785), better known by his regnal name al-Mahdī (, "He who is guided by God"), was the third Abbasid Caliph who reigned from 775 to his death in 785. He succeeded his ...

, and al-Hadi's accession; together the two rode for

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, where al-Hadi ascended the throne. According to an account preserved by

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- ...

, Sa'id held the highest rank at court under al-Hadi, succeeding his own brother

Ibrahim Ibrahim may refer to: * Ibrahim (name), including a list of people with the name ** Abraham in Islam * Ibrahim (surah), a surah of the Qur'an * ''Ibrahim'' (play) or ''Ibrahim The Illustrious Bassa'', a 1676 tragedy by Elkanah Settle, based on a ...

. Under

Harun al-Rashid Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn Muḥammad ar-Rāshīd (), or simply Hārūn ibn al-Mahdī (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Hārūn al-Rāshīd (), was the fifth Abbasid caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, reigning from September 786 unti ...

() he was appointed to several provincial governorships. He was appointed to the

Jazira Jazira, al-Jazira, Jazeera, al-Jazeera, etc. are all transcriptions of Arabic language, Arabic meaning "the island" or "the peninsula". The term may refer to: Business *Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait Locations * Al-Jazir ...

in 796/7, and was governor of

Arminiya Arminiya, also known as the Ostikanate of Arminiya (, ''Hayastani ostikanut'yun'') or the Emirate of Armenia (, ''imārat armīniya''), was a political and geographic designation given by the Muslim Arabs to the lands of Greater Armenia, Cauca ...

in 799, during a

Khazar The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, an ...

raid into Abbasid territory. One account holds that the raid was provoked by Sa'id executing al-Munajjim al-Sulami—probably the local ruler of

Derbent Derbent, also historically known as Darband, or Derbend, is the southernmost city in Russia. It is situated along the southeastern coast of the Dagestan, Republic of Dagestan, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucas ...

—prompting his son to go to the Khazars and ask for their help in obtaining revenge. The Khazars defeated Sa'id, who fled before them. It was only after Harun sent

Khuzayma ibn Khazim Khuzayma ibn Khazim ibn Khuzayma al-Tamimi () (died 818/9) was a powerful grandee in the early Abbasid Caliphate. The son of the distinguished military leader Khazim ibn Khuzayma, he inherited a position of privilege and power, and served early o ...

and

Yazid ibn Mazyad Yazid ibn Mazyad al-Shaybani (; died 801) was an Arab general and governor who served the Abbasid Caliphate. Biography Yazid was member of the Shayban tribe, dominant in the region of Diyar Bakr in the northern Jazira. The first member of his ...

to the province that the Khazars were expelled and order restored. He also served as governor of

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

Tabaristan Tabaristan or Tabarestan (; ; from , ), was a mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of northern Iran. It corresponded to the present-day province of Mazandaran, which became the predominant name of the area from the 11th-century onward ...

, and

Sind Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind or Scinde) is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest provin ...

(where he sent his brother

Kathir Kathir is an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. Early life Kathir was born in kalkarai, a small village in the Radhapuram Taluk of Tirunelveli District, state of Tamil Nadu, India. Kathi ...

as his deputy). In 807, Harun appointed him as commandant of the fortress town of Mar'ash, at the border with the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. The Byzantines raided the area and took several captives, but Sa'id did not move to oppose them. He is last attested in al-Tabari in 808/9.

References

Sources

* * {{Slaves on Horses 8th-century births 9th-century deaths 8th-century Arab people 9th-century Arab people 8th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate 9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate Abbasid governors of Arminiya Abbasid governors of Mosul Abbasid governors of Sind Abbasid governors of Tabaristan Bahila Abbasid people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Abbasid people of the Arab–Khazar wars 8th-century governors