Umar al-Aqta

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Umar al-Aqta
Emir of Malatya
Reign830s–863
Died3 September 863
Porson
ReligionIslam

ʿUmar ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn Marwān

Byzantine sources,[1] was the semi-independent Arab emir of Malatya (Melitene) from the 830s until his death in the Battle of Lalakaon on 3 September 863. During this time, he was one of the greatest threats to the Byzantine Empire on its eastern frontier,[3] and became a prominent figure in later Arabic and Turkish
epic literature.

Biography

ʿUmar belonged to the

Kamacha to obtain the release of his son, who was held captive.[5]

ʿUmar himself probably became emir of Malatya in the 830s,

Tephrike, Amara and Argaoun. The Paulician leader Karbeas turned this into a separate Paulician principality, allied with ‘Umar and launching frequent expeditions against Byzantium, either in conjunction with ʿUmar or independently.[3][6][7] In 844, ʿUmar's forces participated in a major raid that inflicted a heavy defeat upon an army led by the Byzantine chief minister, Theoktistos, at the Battle of Mauropotamos. In the late 840s, he was also engaged in warfare against a neighbouring Armenian lord named Skleros, whom he finally vanquished after a protracted and bloody conflict.[1][8]

Map of Byzantine Asia Minor and the Arab–Byzantine borderlands in ʿUmar's time

In the 850s, ʿUmar is recorded as having defeated an expedition led by the Byzantine emperor

Amida, taking many prisoners before returning home.[9]

In 860, along with Karbeas, ʿUmar launched a major raid into

Abbasid government's perceived incompetence.[13]

Indeed, ʿUmar's death marked the end of Malatya as a military threat to Byzantium, although the city itself would remain in Muslim hands for 70 more years. ʿUmar himself was succeeded by his son, Abu Abdallah, and grandson, Abu Hafs, who was forced to surrender the city to the Byzantine general John Kourkouas in 934.[1][6][14]

Cultural legacy

Like many other protagonists of the Arab–Byzantine Wars, ʿUmar figures in both Arab and Byzantine legend. In the Arab epic

Umayyad general Abdallah al-Battal), who is also one of the main heroes of the Delhemma.[16][17]

In Byzantine literature, ʿUmar is regarded by modern scholars as the probable prototype for the emir Ambron, the grandfather of the eponymous hero in the epic poem

al-Mas'udi reports (The Meadows of Gold, VIII, 74–75) that ʿUmar was among the "illustrious Muslims" whose portraits were displayed in Byzantine churches in recognition of their valour.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h PmbZ, 'Umar ibn 'Abdallāh ibn Marwān al-Aqta' (#8552/corr.).
  2. ^ Canard 1961, pp. 170–171.
  3. ^ a b c Hollingsworth 1991, pp. 2139–2140.
  4. ^ Canard 1961, pp. 159, 171.
  5. ^ a b c Canard 1961, p. 170.
  6. ^ a b c d Honigmann 1987, p. 193.
  7. ^ Treadgold 1997, pp. 448, 451.
  8. ^ Treadgold 1997, p. 447.
  9. ^ a b Treadgold 1997, p. 451.
  10. ^ Whittow 1996, p. 310.
  11. ^ Whittow 1996, p. 311.
  12. ^ Treadgold 1997, p. 452.
  13. ^ Saliba 1985, pp. 9–11.
  14. ^ Whittow 1996, pp. 311, 317.
  15. ^ Canard 1961, pp. 169–171.
  16. ^ Canard 1961, pp. 167–169.
  17. ^ Dedes 1996, pp. 3–16.
  18. ^ Beck 1971, pp. 73–75.
  19. ^ Beck 1971, pp. 54–55.

Sources

  • ISBN 978-3-406-01420-8
    .
  • JSTOR 4055170
    .
  • Dedes, Georgios (1996). The Battalname, an Ottoman Turkish Frontier Epic Wondertale: Introduction, Turkish Transcription, English Translation and Commentary (PDF). Sources of Oriental Languages and Literatures. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University, Department of Near Eastern languages and Literatures.
  • Hollingsworth, Paul A. (1991). "'Umar". In
    ISBN 0-19-504652-8
    .
  • Honigmann, E. (1987). "Malaṭya". In Houtsma, Martijn Theodoor (ed.). E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936, Volume V: L–Moriscos. Leiden: BRILL. pp. 192–197.
    ISBN 978-90-04-08265-6
    .
  • Lilie, Ralph-Johannes; Ludwig, Claudia; Pratsch, Thomas; Zielke, Beate (2013). Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit Online. Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Nach Vorarbeiten F. Winkelmanns erstellt (in German). Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter.
  • ISBN 978-0-87395-883-7
    .
  • ISBN 0-8047-2630-2
    .
  • ISBN 978-0-520-20496-6
    .
Unknown Emir of Malatya
830s – 863 		Succeeded by
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