Ṣāliḥ ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-ʿAbbās () (711–769) was a member of the Banu Abbas who served as general and governor in Syria and Egypt.

Life

Salih and his brother Abd Allah were among the van of the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

forces which overthrew the Umayyads in 750. The brothers besieged and took the

Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

's capital,

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, and then pursued the last Umayyad caliph,

Marwan II Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan (; – 6 August 750), commonly known as Marwan II, was the fourteenth and last caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 744 until his death. His reign was dominated by a Third Fitna, civil war, and he was the l ...

, to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

where he was captured and killed.Grohmann & Kennedy (1995), p. 985 Salih was named as the first Abbasid governor of Egypt on 9 August 750. He kept the post for less than a year, being named governor of the '' Jund Filastin'' (

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

) in March 751. In this capacity, he sent Sa'id ibn Abdallah in the first raiding expedition of the Abbasid era against

Byzantine 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 the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. On 8 October, 753 he was appointed again as governor of Egypt, a post he held until 21 February 755. At the death of the Caliph al-Saffah, Salih's nephew, in 754, Salih's brother Abd Allah launched a revolt in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

against the new Caliph

al-Mansur Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ‎; 714 – 6 October 775) usually known simply as by his laqab al-Manṣūr () was the second Abbasid caliph, reigning from 754 to 775 succeeding his brother al-Saffah (). He is known ...

, claiming to have been named by the dying Saffah as his successor. Salih refused to join his brother's revolt and even led troops into Syria to help suppress it. He clashed with and defeated Abd Allah's governor of Palestine, al-Hakam ibn Da'ban, while Abd Allah was defeated by Abu Muslim and forced to submit to Mansur. Despite Abd Allah's rebellion, Salih and his family were established as the paramount Abbasid potentates in Syria, a position they held for the next half-century, as Salih's sons al-Fadl, Ibrahim and Abd al-Malik all held governorships in Syria and Egypt.Cobb (2001), pp. 27–28 Salih also appropriated most of the Umayyad dynasty's extensive properties in the area for himself. In addition, he played an important role in the strengthening of the Abbasid-Byzantine frontier, the '' thughur'', re-occupying and rebuilding the former Byzantine cities of Melitene (Malatya), Germanikeia (Mar'ash) and Mopsuestia (al-Massisa). He died in Syria in 769.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Salih ibn Ali 711 births 769 deaths 8th-century Abbasid governors of Egypt Abbasids Generals of the Abbasid Caliphate Abbasid governors of Palestine Abbasid people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Syria under the Abbasid Caliphate 8th-century Arab people City founders

Life

See also

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