Ishaq ibn Yahya ibn Mu'adh

Ishaq was the scion of a prominent family from Khurasan; his father Yahya ibn Mu'adh ibn Muslim was a senior official who had been governor of Damascus, Armenia and al-Jazira.[1] Ishaq himself was appointed as resident governor of the district of Damascus during the reign of al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833) by the caliph's brother and successor Abu Ishaq al-Mu'tasim (r. 833–842), and remained there through the death of al-Ma'mun in 833.[2] During this period Ishaq was ordered by al-Mu'tasim to carry out the mihnah or inquisition regarding the createdness of the Qur'an, but he dealt leniently with the Damascenes on the matter.[3]

Following the foundation of Samarra in 836, Ishaq received a land allotment along the Grand Avenue in the central city.[4] In 840, al-Mu'tasim appointed him as commander of his guard (haras), and he retained that position for a period after al-Wathiq (r. 842–847) became caliph.[5] In 843-4, al-Wathiq handed over Ahmad ibn Isra'il al-Anbari to Ishaq during a crackdown against the caliphal secretaries, and ordered him to flog Ahmad with ten lashes daily.[6] During al-Wathiq's reign, Ishaq also served as governor of Damascus.[7]

Under al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861), Ishaq again commanded the haras.[8]

In 850, Ishaq was appointed as resident governor of Egypt by al-Muntasir, who had been assigned the province as part of al-Mutawakkil's succession arrangements. Ishaq's appointment gave him control of security and the prayers, together with the land tax (kharaj).[9]

During his term in Egypt, Ishaq received an order from al-Mutawakkil and al-Muntasir, commanding him to deport all of the 'Alids then in Egypt. He accordingly provided a traveling allowance of 30 dinars for each 'Alid male and 15 dinars for each female, after which they set out from al-Fustat in January 851. Following their arrival in Iraq, they were exiled to Medina.[10]

In May/June 851, Ishaq was dismissed from the governorship and replaced with Khut Abd al-Wahid ibn Yahya. He died in Egypt shortly after his dismissal, in September/October 851, and was buried in the City of the Dead.[11]

• Cobb, Paul M (2001). White Banners: Contention in 'Abbasid Syria, 750-880. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-7914-4879-7.
• Crone, Patricia (1980). Slaves on horses: the evolution of the Islamic polity. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-52940-9.
• Ibn 'Asakir, Abu al-Qasim 'Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Hibat Allah (1995). al-'Amrawi, 'Umar ibn Gharama (ed.). Tarikh Madinat Dimashq, Vol 8. Beirut: Dar al-Fikr.
• Ibn Taghribirdi, Jamal al-Din Abu al-Mahasin Yusuf (1930). Nujum al-zahira fi muluk Misr wa'l-Qahira, Volume II. Cairo: Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya.
• Al-Kindi, Muhammad ibn Yusuf (1912). Guest, Rhuvon (ed.). The Governors and Judges of Egypt (in Arabic). Leyden and London: E. J. Brill.
• Al-Tabari, Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir (1985–2007). Ehsan Yar-Shater (ed.). The History of Al-Ṭabarī. Vol. 40 vols. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
• Al-Ya'qubi, Ahmad ibn Abu Ya'qub (1883). Houtsma, M. Th. (ed.). Historiae, Vol. 2. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
• Al-Ya'qubi, Ahmad ibn Abu Ya'qub (1892). de Goeje, M. J. (ed.). Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum, Pars Septima: Kitab al-A'lak an-Nafisa VII, Auctore Abu Ali Ahmad ibn Omar Ibn Rosteh, et Kitab al-Boldan, Auctore Ahmad ibn Abi Jakub ibn Wadhih al-Katib al-Jakubi. Leiden: E. J. Brill.