Episode 42: The triumphant

Succession once again warrants its own episode. Al Saffah relied on three commanders to oversee different parts of his caliphate, and while the setup kept the new dynasty safe and stable, the ambitions of these three leaders clashed soon after the caliph passed away.

Glossary

• Abdallah ibn Ali: the caliph’s uncle played a dangerous game when he rose up against his nephew. While Abdallah was popular and respected within the Abbasid clan, his power move was simply inelegant and left him with no internal support. I suppose ultimately it did count for something as he was allowed to live – at least for a while – under house arrest in Basra. Some sources say it was wise of Abu Ja’far to forgive his uncle, citing the devastating effect in-fighting had had on the Umayyads. Others say Abu Ja’far simply didn’t know about his uncle’s whereabouts, and had him executed as soon as he found out.
• Abu Muslim: despite how badly preserved his story is in Arab memory, it seems clear that it’s a  tragic one. I’m not trying to editorialize here, maybe he was this power-hungry cold-blooded killer, but there’s no contesting he did so much for the Abbasids that they came to view him as a threat. His legacy will outlive him and we’ll come across several movements who try to claim him as an ideological forefather. 
• Abu Ja’far: the caliph’s brother, his real name was Abdallah, and we’ll have more to say about him next time.
• Isa bin Musa: the caliph’s nephew, he was roughly the same age as Al Saffah and Abu Ja’far. He was also the governor of Kufa, a role he held since the dawn of the dynasty.