Abu Ahmad al-Husayn ibn Musa

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Abu Ahmad al-Husayn ibn Musa al-Musawi was a prominent Alid who held senior offices for the Buyid dynasty in Baghdad in the late 10th/early 11th century, and the father of the Twelver Shi'a scholars al-Sharif al-Murtada and al-Sharif al-Radi.

Life[edit]

Map of the Middle East c. 970, at the beginning of al-Husayn's career

Al-Husayn was a Musawid, a descendant of the Shi'a imam, Musa al-Kazim (d. 799).[1] He had three sons: Abu Muhammad al-Qasim, Abu'l-Qasim Ali, known as al-Sharif al-Murtada, and Abu'l-Hasan Muhammad, better known as al-Sharif al-Radi.[1]

Al-Husayn was the first member of his family to be appointed as dean of the Alids (naqib al-ashraf) by the Buyid emir of Iraq, Mu'izz al-Dawla (r. 945–967), on 7 June 965.[2] The post also entailed the supervision of the Hajj pilgrim caravans, until 970, when it returned to the responsibility of the Banu Yahya family of Kufa.[3]

As descendants of Musa, al-Husayn and his family were Twelver Shi'a,[4] which caused reactions among some of the Alids, accustomed to be led by a member of the Hasanid line; as a result, some Alids refused to recognize his authority and asked to be exempted from it.[5] Al-Husayn established a good and close relationship with the new emir, Izz al-Dawla (r. 967–978), who kept him in office and assigned him in 968/9 to mediate between the Hamdanid emir of Mosul, Abu Taghlib, and his younger half-brother Abu'l-Muzzafar Hamdan.[5] After riots erupted in Baghdad in 971, al-Husayn was dismissed, but still retained the favour of Izz al-Dawla, who entrusted him with the peace negotiations with the Hamdanids in 972/3.[2]

When Adud al-Dawla (r. 943–983) first seized Baghdad in 975, al-Husayn was restored as naqib al-ashraf in August/September,[6] and retained by Izz al-Dawla after his return to the city, and again by Adud al-Dawla when he finally took control of Iraq in 978. More than that, al-Husayn was appointed to lead the conquest and pacification of formerly Hamdanid Upper Mesopotamia, which he successfully carried out in 978–979.[7] Once Adud al-Dawla's position was secure, however, he did not hesitate to strike against the incumbent elites of Iraq: in August /September 979, al-Husayn was accused of embezzlement and deposed, and exiled along with his brother, Ahmad, to Fars.[8] The Zaydi-leaning Alid Muhammad ibn Umar, and the chief qadi and friend of al-Husayn, Ibn Ma'ruf, also fell victim to this purge, and were banished to Fars.[9] The exiles were released from confinement after the death of Adud al-Dawla in 983, but remained in exile in Fars until 987, when the Buyid emir of Fars, Sharaf al-Dawla (r. 983–988/9), also seized control of Iraq.[10] The 12th-century historian Ibn al-Jawzi claims that al-Husayn was reappointed as naqib al-ashraf, until he resigned in September 989 due to illness, but this is not corroborated in other sources.[11]

Al-Husayn was reappointed as naqib al-ashraf by Baha al-Dawla (r. 988–1012) in May/June 990. In addition he received responsibility for civil courts (mazalim).[12] His two sons, al-Radi and al-Murtada, were appointed as his deputies.[13] At about the same time, a fierce rivalry developed between al-Husayn and his family and the pro-Zaydi Muhammad ibn Umar, who was imprisoned in the ensuing purge.[14] Al-Husayn was high in favour with Baha al-Dawla, who entrusted him with an embassy to the Uqaylids in 992/3, during which he was imprisoned by the Uqaylid emir Muhammad ibn al-Musayyab. In January 994 al-Husayn was the legal guardian (wali) for Baha al-Dawla's daughter during her wedding with Caliph al-Qadir.[14] A change in government however brought another dismissal, as the new Buyid vizier, Shapur, was a partisan of Muhammad ibn Umar, whom he released from imprisonment. In December 994, al-Husayn was replaced in his offices by a Zaydi candidate.[15]

Al-Husayn nevertheless managed to restore his standing, for by 999 he was sent by Baha al-Dawla to accompany his troops during the capture of Shiraz.[16] In 1003/4, after the death of Muhammad ibn Umar, al-Husayn was re-appointed to his previous position.[16] To this was now added the post of chief religious judge (qadi), but his well-known Shi'a leanings and lack of previous service as a qadi in Baghdad aroused the opposition of the Sunni populace and Caliph al-Qadir; the appointment was consequently of short duration.[17]

Al-Husayn died in 1009/10.[18] He was succeeded by his son al-Radi, and after the latter's ddeath in June 1015 by another son, al-Murtada.[19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Busse 2004, Tafel E.
  2. ^ a b Busse 2004, pp. 282, 295.
  3. ^ Busse 2004, p. 295.
  4. ^ Busse 2004, p. 281.
  5. ^ a b Busse 2004, p. 282.
  6. ^ Busse 2004, pp. 283, 296.
  7. ^ Busse 2004, pp. 52–53, 283.
  8. ^ Busse 2004, pp. 268, 284, 296.
  9. ^ Busse 2004, pp. 59, 268, 284.
  10. ^ Busse 2004, p. 285.
  11. ^ Busse 2004, pp. 285, 296.
  12. ^ Busse 2004, pp. 286, 293, 296.
  13. ^ Busse 2004, p. 296.
  14. ^ a b Busse 2004, p. 286.
  15. ^ Busse 2004, pp. 286–287, 296.
  16. ^ a b Busse 2004, p. 287.
  17. ^ Busse 2004, pp. 268, 277, 287–288.
  18. ^ Busse 2004, pp. 289, 296.
  19. ^ Busse 2004, pp. 289, 296–297.

Sources[edit]

  • Busse, Heribert (2004) [1969]. Chalif und Grosskönig - Die Buyiden im Irak (945-1055) [Caliph and Great King - The Buyids in Iraq (945-1055)] (in German). Würzburg: Ergon Verlag. ISBN 3-89913-005-7.
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