Yazaman al-Khadim
Yazaman or Yazman, surnamed al-Khadim ("the
al-thughur al-Shamiya) from 882 to his death in 891. He is celebrated for his raids against the Byzantines.[1]
Life
Yazaman appears for the first time in September/October 882. At the time he was a servant (
In 883, Yazaman faced a large Byzantine army sent against Tarsus, under the command of the
al-Tabari records that Yazaman also led a land raid in January/February 886 up to al-Maskanin (unidentified), and returned to Tarsus with no casualties but with much booty and captives.[5][6] Probably in the summer of the same year, he also led a naval raid that captured four Byzantine ships.[5][7]
Despite his earlier opposition to them, in 890 Yazaman swore allegiance to the Tulunids, under Ibn Tulun's son
Khumarawayh.[2][8] On 4 October 891, a Tulunid officer, Ahmad ibn Tughan al-Ujayfi, arrived at Tarsus. Together with him, Yazaman led another raid against Byzantine territories. The Muslims laid siege to the Byzantine fortress of Salandu, but on 22 October Yazaman was wounded by a stone thrown by a catapult. This caused the Muslims to break off the siege, and he died on the next day on the way back. His troops carried him to Tarsus, and buried him at the "Gate of Jihad".[9][10] He was succeeded by Ahmad ibn Tughan al-Ujayfi.[2] Tarsus remained under Tulunid control until 897, when it was recovered by the Abbasids.[1]
Yazaman's death was a keenly felt loss for the Muslims, who considered him one of their most valiant champions, alongside
al-Mas'udi (The Meadows of Gold, VIII, 74–75) a Greek convert to Islam reported to him that Yazaman was among the ten illustrious Muslims whose portraits were displayed in some Byzantine churches in recognition of their valour.[12]
References
- ^ a b c d Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, p. 62.
- ^ a b c Stern 1960, pp. 219–220 (note 20).
- ^ Fields 1987, pp. 81–82.
- ^ Fields 1987, pp. 143–144.
- ^ a b Vasiliev 1968, p. 121.
- ^ Fields 1987, p. 152.
- ^ Fields 1987, p. 157.
- ^ Fields 1987, p. 162.
- ^ Fields 1987, p. 175.
- ^ Vasiliev 1968, p. 122.
- ^ Vasiliev 1968, pp. 122–123.
- ^ Vasiliev 1968, p. 123.
Sources
- Pryor, John H.; Jeffreys, Elizabeth M. (2006). The Age of the ΔΡΟΜΩΝ: The Byzantine Navy ca. 500–1204. Leiden and Boston: Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-15197-0.
- 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.
- JSTOR 596170.
- Vasiliev, A. A. (1968). Byzance et les Arabes, Tome II, 1ére partie: Les relations politiques de Byzance et des Arabes à L'époque de la dynastie macédonienne (867–959) (in French). French ed.: Henri Grégoire, Marius Canard. Brussels: Éditions de l'Institut de Philologie et d'Histoire Orientales.