Itakh

2016-11-23T14:43:38Z

Cplakidas:

'''Aytākh''' or '''Ītākh al-Khazarī''' ({{lang-ar|إيتاخ الخزري}}) was a leading commander in the [[Turkic peoples|Turkish]] army of the [[Abbasid]] caliph [[al-Mu'tasim]] (r. 833-842 C.E.).

As the ''[[nisbat (onomastics)|nisba]]'' in his name suggests, he was a [[Khazar]] by origin, and is said to have been a slave working in the kitchen of Sallam al-Abrash al-Khadim—whence his nickname ''al-Tabbakh'', "the cook"—before he was purchased as a ''[[ghulam|ghulām]]'' by al-Mu'tasim in 815.{{sfn|Kraemer|1989|p=9 (note 17)}}{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|p=46}} He rose to become one of the senior commanders in al-Mu'tasim's "Turkish" guard, and participated in several expeditions such as the [[Sack of Amorium]].

Under al-Mu'tasim, he served as ''[[sahib al-shurta]]'' at [[Abbasid Samarra|Samarra]], and became commander of the Caliph's personal guard.{{sfn|Kraemer|1989|p=9 (note 17)}} By the time of the accession of [[al-Wathiq]] in 842, he was, along with the Turk [[Ashinas]], the "mainstay of the caliphate".{{sfn|EI2}} Al-Wathiq named him governor of the [[Yemen]] in 843/4.{{sfn|Kraemer|1989|p=9 (note 17)}} After the death of [[Ashinas]], in 844/5, he was named governor of [[Medieval Egypt|Egypt]], but he appointed [[Harthamah ibn al-Nadr al-Jabali]] there in his stead.{{sfn|Kraemer|1989|p=9 (note 17)}}{{sfn|EI2}} [[Ya'qubi]] further reports that under al-Wathiq, he was appointed to the governorships of [[Khurasan]], [[al-Sind]], and the sub-provinces of the [[Tigris River]].{{sfn|Kraemer|1989|p=9 (note 17)}}

When al-Wathiq died unexpectedly in August 847, Itakh was one of the leading officials, along with the [[vizier]] [[Muhammad ibn al-Zayyat]], the chief ''[[qadi|qādī]]'', [[Ahmad ibn Abi Duwad]], his fellow Turkish general [[Wasif al-Turki]], who assembled to determine his successor. Ibn al-Zayyat initially proposed al-Wathiq's son Muhammad (the future [[al-Muhtadi]]), but due to his youth he was passed over, and instead the council chose another of al-Mu'tasim's sons, the 26-year-old Ja'far, who became the caliph [[al-Mutawakkil]].{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|pp=232–233}}{{sfn|Kraemer|1989|p=68}} Unbeknownst to them, the new Caliph was resolved to destroy the coterie of his father's officials that controlled the state.{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|p=234}} Al-Mutawakkil's first target was the vizier Ibn al-Zayyat, against whom he harboured a deep grudge over the way he had disrespected him in the past. Thus, on 22 September 847, he sent Itakh to summon Ibn al-Zayyat as if for an audience. Instead, the vizier was brought to Itakh's residence, where he was placed under house arrest. His possessions were confiscated, and he was tortured to death.{{sfn|Kraemer|1989|pp=65–71}}{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|pp=234–236}} This was the apogee of Itakh's career: he combined the positions of chamberlain (''[[hajib|ḥājib]]''), head of the Caliph's personal guard, intendant of the palace, and head of the ''[[Barid (caliphate)|barīd]]'', the public post, which doubled as the government's intelligence network.{{sfn|EI2}}

In 848, however, he was persuaded to go to the [[hajj|pilgrimage]], and laid down his powers, only to be arrested on his return. His possessions were confiscated—reportedly, in his house alone the Caliph's agents found one million [[gold dinar]]s. He died of thirst in prison in 849.{{sfn|EI2}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== Sources ==
* {{cite book | editor-last=Bosworth | editor-first=C. E. | editor-link=C.E. Bosworth | title=The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXXIII: Storm and Stress along the Northern Frontiers of the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate. The Caliphate of al-Mu'tasim, A.D. 833–842/A.H. 218–227 | publisher=State University of New York Press | location=Albany, New York | year=1991 | isbn=0-7914-0493-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9WqdVdZWcscC | ref=harv}}
* {{cite book | last = Gordon | first = Matthew | title = The Breaking of a Thousand Swords: A History of the Turkish Military of Samarra, A.H. 200–275/815–889 C.E. | location = Albany, New York | publisher = State University of New York Press | year = 2001 | isbn = 978-0-7914-4795-6 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=G1cxAkNm61IC | ref=harv}}
* {{cite book | last = Kennedy | first = Hugh | authorlink = Hugh N. Kennedy | title = When Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World: The Rise and Fall of Islam's Greatest Dynasty | location = Cambridge, MA | publisher = Da Capo Press | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-0-306814808 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=67fZB5YGkOQC | ref=harv}}
* {{cite book | editor-last = Kraemer | editor-first = Joel L. | title = The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXXIV: Incipient Decline. The Caliphates of al-Wāthiq, al-Mutawakkil, and al-Muntasir, A.D. 841–863/A.H. 227–248 | location = Albany, New York | publisher = State University of New York Press | year = 1989 | isbn = 0-88706-874-X | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TxWvpqe_ilYC | ref=harv}}
* {{cite encyclopedia | title = Aytāk̲h̲ al-Turkī | author = | encyclopedia = The Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume XII: Supplement | publisher = BRILL | location = Leiden and New York | year = 2004 | isbn = 90-04-13974-5 | page = 106 | url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_8373 | ref={{harvid|EI2}} }}

[[Category:9th-century Turkic people]]
[[Category:9th-century Abbasid people]]
[[Category:849 deaths]]
[[Category:Abbasid generals]]
[[Category:Abbasid people of the Arab–Byzantine wars]]
[[Category:Ghilman]]
[[Category:Khazars]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of the Abbasid Caliphate]]

Category:History of the Caspian Sea

2016-11-13T17:10:18Z

Cplakidas: added Category:History of Asia by region using HotCat

[[Category:Caspian Sea]]
[[Category:History of Asia by region|Caspian]]

Kazakhstan Encyclopedia - User contributions [en]

Itakh

Category:History of the Caspian Sea