Kayghalagh

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Kayghalagh, surnamed al-Turki ("the Turk"), was a senior military commander of the Abbasid Caliphate active between c. 870 and c. 883.

Life[]

Kayghalagh was one of the many Turks who entered service of the Abbasid Caliphate as soldiers (ghilman), and rose to be a prominent commander. Like most senior Turkish military figures of the late 9th century, he was apparently a protégé of the powerful Musa ibn Bugha, the most influential of the Turkish leaders until his death in 877.[1] He is first mentioned in al-Tabari's History of the Prophets and Kings in June 870, when he was sent by Caliph al-Muhtadi to calm a riot among the people and troops at al-Karkh, along with Tabayaghu ibn Sul Artakin and the Caliph's brother Abdallah. As the crowd neared the palace, however, most of the senior officials and commanders, led by , fled. Enticed by assurances to return, however, they did so, only to be immediately thrown into prison. Kayghalagh's role as administrator of the palace passed to Masrur al-Balkhi, who had remained in the palace.[2]

Kayghalagh is next mentioned in 873, when he attacked and killed a certain Takin (an unidentified individual, as he is unlikely to have been the same as the Abbasid general of the same name).[3] In 875/6, he was appointed governor of Rayy following the death of his predecessor, al-Salabi.[4] Following the death of the vizier Ubaydallah ibn Yahya ibn Khaqan in August 877, Kayghalagh was granted possession of his palace at Samarra.[5] In 879/80, he was appointed governor of the province of Jibal.[6] At about the same time, his brother Abrun was serving as governor of Qazvin, a city in Jibal.[7]

In 880, Kayghalagh led the Abbasid troops into a campaign against the autonomous magnate family of the Dulafids. Kayghalagh was victorious in a first battle near Qarmasin and entered Hamadan, but the Dulafid leader, , rallied his forces and decisively defeated Kayghalagh, forcing him to retreat to Saymarah (September/October 880).[8] Kayghalagh is last mentioned in April 883,[9] but his sons (died 916) and especially Ahmad (died 935) later rose to become senior commanders.[10]

References[]

  1. ^ Kennedy 2001, p. 150.
  2. ^ Waines 1992, pp. 96–97, 99–101.
  3. ^ Waines 1992, p. 156.
  4. ^ Waines 1992, p. 180.
  5. ^ Waines 1992, p. 188.
  6. ^ Fields 1987, p. 7.
  7. ^ Fields 1987, p. 1.
  8. ^ Fields 1987, p. 29.
  9. ^ Fields 1987, p. 98.
  10. ^ Rosenthal 1985, p. 139 (note 677).

Sources[]

  • Fields, Philip M., ed. (1987). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXXVII: The ʿAbbāsid Recovery: The War Against the Zanj Ends, A.D. 879–893/A.H. 266–279. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-88706-054-0.
  • Kennedy, Hugh N. (2001). The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-25093-5.
  • Rosenthal, Franz, ed. (1985). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXXVIII: The Return of the Caliphate to Baghdad: The Caliphates of al-Muʿtaḍid, al-Muktafī and al-Muqtadir, A.D. 892–915/A.H. 279–302. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-87395-876-9.
  • Waines, David, ed. (1992). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXXVI: The Revolt of the Zanj, A.D. 869–879/A.H. 255–265. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-0763-9.


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