Sulayman ibn Wahb
Abu Ayyub Sulayman ibn Wahb (Arabic: أبو أيوب سليمان بن وهب) (died July/August 885) was a senior official of the Abbasid Caliphate who served several times as vizier.
Sulayman ibn Wahb سليمان بن وهب | |
|---|---|
| Secretary of Caliph al-Ma'mun | |
| In office 830s–831/832 | |
| Secretary of General Musa and Aytakh | |
| In office 843 – 847 (under Caliph al-Wathiq) | |
| Supervisor of Finances in Egypt | |
| In office Under al-Mutawakkil he served twice as ʿamil – (supervisor of finances) in Egypt | |
| Monarch | Al-Mutawakkil |
| Abbasid vizier | |
| In office 870 – 21 June 870 | |
| Monarch | Al-Muhtadi |
| In office 877–878 | |
| Monarch | Al-Mu'tamid |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Abbasid Caliphate |
| Died | July/August c. 885 Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate (now Iraq) |
| Cause of death | Died in Prison of Baghdad |
| Children | Ayyub, Ubayd Allah |
| Parent |
|
| Residences | |
His family, the Banu Wahb, were originally Nestorian Christians from Wasit, and had produced secretaries in the caliphal administration since late Umayyad times.[1] Sulayman first appears as a secretary to Caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833). Under al-Wathiq (r. 842–847), he forged ties with the powerful Turkish military, serving as secretary to the Turkish generals Musa ibn Bugha and Aytakh. Under al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861) he served twice as ʿamil (supervisor of finances) in Egypt, during which time he reportedly made a fortune.[1]
As a senior court official, he distinguished himself as the patron of notable poets like Abu Tammam and al-Buhturi. He was first appointed as vizier—by then an almost powerless office due to the internal turmoil and increasing domination of the Turkish military—towards the end of the reign of al-Muhtadi (r. 869–870), and then again in 877 and 878 under al-Mu'tamid (r. 870–892), alternating with his rival al-Hasan ibn Makhlad al-Jarrah. His inability to counter the mounting financial crisis led to his permanent dismissal and imprisonment, dying in prison in May/June 885.[1]
Sulayman was the founder of a veritable administrative dynasty: his son Ubayd Allah, grandson al-Qasim, and great-grandsons al-Husayn and Muhammad all became viziers.[1]
References
- Bosworth 2002, pp. 33–34.
Sources
- Bosworth, C.E. (2002). "Wahb". In Bearman, P. J.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. & Heinrichs, W. P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Volume XI: W–Z (2nd ed.). Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 33–34. ISBN 978-90-04-12756-2.