{{About||other persons named al-Hajjaj|Hajjaj (disambiguation){{!}}Hajjaj}}
{{About||other persons named al-Hajjaj|Hajjaj (disambiguation){{!}}Hajjaj}}
{{About||other persons named al-Hajjaj|Hajjaj (disambiguation){{!}}Hajjaj}}
{{About||other persons named al-Hajjaj|Hajjaj (disambiguation){{!}}Hajjaj}}
{{About||other persons named al-Hajjaj|Hajjaj (disambiguation){{!}}Hajjaj}}
{{About||other persons named al-Hajjaj|Hajjaj (disambiguation){{!}}Hajjaj}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf
| honorific_prefix =
| honorific_suffix = Al-Thaqafi
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Kulayb ibn Yusuf
| birth_date = Early June AD 661 / AH 40
| birth_place = Ta'if, the
Hejazal-Hejaz, also Hijaz is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. Defined primarily by its western border on the Red Sea, it extends from Haql on the Gulf of Aqaba to Jizan. Its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina...
(modern-day
Saudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
)
| death_date =
{{About||other persons named al-Hajjaj|Hajjaj (disambiguation){{!}}Hajjaj}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf
| honorific_prefix =
| honorific_suffix = Al-Thaqafi
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Kulayb ibn Yusuf
| birth_date = Early June AD 661 / AH 40
| birth_place = Ta'if, the
Hejazal-Hejaz, also Hijaz is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. Defined primarily by its western border on the Red Sea, it extends from Haql on the Gulf of Aqaba to Jizan. Its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina...
(modern-day
Saudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
)
| death_date =
{{About||other persons named al-Hajjaj|Hajjaj (disambiguation){{!}}Hajjaj}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf
| honorific_prefix =
| honorific_suffix = Al-Thaqafi
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Kulayb ibn Yusuf
| birth_date = Early June AD 661 / AH 40
| birth_place = Ta'if, the
Hejazal-Hejaz, also Hijaz is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. Defined primarily by its western border on the Red Sea, it extends from Haql on the Gulf of Aqaba to Jizan. Its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina...
(modern-day
Saudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
)
| death_date =
| monuments =
| residence =
| nationality =
| ethnicity =
ArabArab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
| citizenship =
| other_names =
| known_for = Governor of Iraq
| television =
| education =
| alma_mater =
| employer =
| organization =
| notable_works =
| style =
| influences =
| influenced =
| agent =
| occupation = Politician, Administrator and Teacher
| years_active =
| home_town =
| salary =
| net_worth =
| height =
| weight =
| title =
| term =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| party =
| movement =
| opponents =
| boards =
| religion =
Sunni IslamSunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
| criminal_charge =
| criminal_penalty =
| criminal_status =
| spouse =
| partner =
| children =
| parents =
| relations =
| callsign =
| awards =
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf ({{lang-ar|
الحجاج بن يوسف}} /
ALAALA-LC is a set of standards for romanization, or the representation of text in other writing systems using the Latin alphabet. The initials stand for American Library Association - Library of Congress....
:
{{transl|ar|ALA|al-Ḥajjāj bin Yūsuf}} (or otherwise transliterated), also known more fully as
{{transl|ar|al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Kulayb}} or
{{transl|ar|al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi}}) (born early June
AD and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
661 /
AHThe Hijri year is year numbering system used in the Islamic calendar. It commemorates the Hijra , or emigration of Muhammad and his followers to the city of Medina in 622 CE. In Arabic, AH is symbolized by the letter هـ...
40 –
AD 714 /
AH 95) was a controversial
ArabArab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
administrator and politician of the Umayyad caliphate.
Al-Hajjaj was an intelligent, tough, cruel, draconian or even savage ruler, although modern historical treatments acknowledge the influence of later Abbasid historians and biographers who were opposed to the fiercely loyal and pro-Umayyad al-Hajjaj.
Al-Hajjaj bin Yousef played a crucial role in the selection of military commanders. He intstilled discipline in the soldier ranks which led to the successful expansion of the Islamic empire to its farthest extent.
Early life
Al-Hajjaj was born in the city of Ta'if in the
Hijazal-Hejaz, also Hijaz is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. Defined primarily by its western border on the Red Sea, it extends from Haql on the Gulf of Aqaba to Jizan. Its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina...
, in modern-day
Saudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. His
name at birthThe name at birth is the name a child is given by his or her parents, according to a generally universal custom, and legal requirement. What happens subsequently about this name has a substantial cultural component....
was
Kulayb, but later he changed it to al-Hajjaj.
Soldier
Al-Ḥajjāj first came to notice in the early years of the reign of ‘Abdu l-Malik when he set out from aṭ-Ṭā’if to
DamascusDamascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
to serve in the
shurta "police force" under Rawh ibn Zinba' al-Judhami, vizier of the Caliph. He attracted the attention of ‘Abd al-Malik because he rapidly restored discipline among the mutinous troops with whom the Caliph was about to set out for Iraq against Mus’ab ibn al-Zubayr.
During the campaign against Mus'ab, al-Ḥajjāj seems to have led the rearguard and to have distinguished himself by some feats of valour. After the victory over Mus’ab at Maskin on the Dujayl (
Little Tigris RiverThe Tigris River is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq.-Geography:...
) in 72 AH/691, on the Caliph's orders he set out from
KufaKufa is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000....
in the same month at the head of about 2000 Syrians against Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr. He advanced unopposed as far as his native aṭ-Ṭā’if, which he took without any fighting and used as a base.
The Caliph had charged al-Ḥajjāj first to negotiate with ibn al-Zubayr and to assure him of freedom from punishment if he capitulated but, if the opposition continued, to starve him out by siege, but on no account to let the affair result in bloodshed in Mecca. Since the negotiations failed and al-Ḥajjāj lost patience, he sent a courier to ask ‘Abdu l-Malik for reinforcements and also for permission to take the city by force.
Al-Ḥajjāj received both. Angered at being prevented by Ibn al-Zubayr from performing Hajj, al-Ḥajjāj bombarded Mecca, going so far as to target the Ka’bah and its pilgrims during the
HajjThe Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
.
After the siege had lasted seven months and 10,000 men (among them two of ibn az-Zubayr's sons) had gone over to al-Ḥajjāj, Ibn al-Zubayr and loyal followers, including his youngest son, were killed in the fighting around the Ka’bah on Jumadah I 73
AHThe Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...
/October
692Year 692 was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 692 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* Leontios leading a substantial Byzantine army,...
AD. Al-Ḥajjāj's siege of the Hijaz resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent inhabitants. While subsequently governing the Hijaz, al-Ḥajjāj was known for his severe rule.
Governor of Iraq
In AH 75/AD 694, ‘Abdu l-Malik ibn Marwan sent al-Ḥajjāj to govern Iraq. Al-Ḥajjāj continued to be viewed as cruel and his reputation was not helped when he fought and eventually crushed a Kharijite rebellion under ‘Abdu r-Rahmān ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath from 699-701 CE.
For his considerable successes, al-Ḥajjāj was also made governor of some provinces in Persia, where he was again tasked with putting down rebellions. However, his severe tactics led him to make many enemies, who would come to power after his death.
With the ascent of
Al-Walid I, Ḥajjāj's reputation grew due to the selection and deployment of numerous successful generals who expanded the empire. He was given these powers due to his high status in the Umayyad government and he exhibited a lot of control over the provinces that he governed.
Among these generals was the teenaged
Muhammad ibn-QasīmMuhammad bin Qasim Al-Thaqafi was a Umayyad general who, at the age of 17, began the conquest of the Sindh and Punjab regions along the Indus River for the Umayyad Caliphate. He was born in the city of Taif...
, who in 712 was sent to
SindhSindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
in
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and Qutayba ibn Muslim who was sent to conquer
TurkestanTurkestan, spelled also as Turkistan, literally means "Land of the Turks".The term Turkestan is of Persian origin and has never been in use to denote a single nation. It was first used by Persian geographers to describe the place of Turkish peoples...
, which he did.
Al-Ḥajjāj's most successful general was
Mūsā ibn NusayrMusa bin Nusayr al-Balawi was a balawi who served as a governor and general under the Umayad caliph Al-Walid I. He had ruled over the Muslim provinces of North Africa , and directed the islamic opening of the Visigothic kingdom in Hispania....
, who consolidated control over North Africa and sent Tariq ibn Ziyād to conquer Spain.
al-Ḥajjāj died at
WasitWasit is a place in Wasit Governorate, south east of Kut in eastern Iraq.-History:During Ottoman times, it was the head city of the sanjak of Wasit.To quote UNESCO:...
, in
IraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, in 714. The year after, al-Walid died as well, and his brother
Sulayman ibn ‘Abdi l-MalikSulayman bin Abd al-Malik was an Umayyad caliph who ruled from 715 until 717. His father was Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, and he was a younger brother of the previous caliph, al-Walid I.-Early years:...
came to power. Sulayman was indebted to many opponents of al-Ḥajjāj for their political support in getting him elected Caliph, so he recalled all of al-Ḥajjāj's generals and had them tortured to death in prison.
The relationship between al-Hajjāj ibn Yūsuf and Muhammad ibn Qasīm has always been one of great debate. Many accounts list al-Hajjāj as being his uncle or father-in-law.
Reign as recounted in the Chach-Nama
The
Chach NamaChach Nama also known as the Fateh nama Sindh ,and also known as Tarekh-e-Hind wa Sindh Arabic is a book about the history of Sindh, chronicling the Chacha Dynasty's period, following the demise of the Rai Dynasty and the ascent of Chach of Alor to the throne, down to the Arab conquest by...
is the oldest chronicle of the
Arab conquestMuslim conquests also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests, began with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He established a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula which under the subsequent Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates saw a century of rapid expansion of Muslim power.They...
of Sindh. It was translated into
PersianPersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
by Muhammad Ali bin Hamid bin Abu Bakr Kufi in 1216 CE. from an earlier Arabic text believed to have been composed by the
ThaqafiThe Thaqif was one of the tribes of Arabia during Muhammad's era. Thaqif was the main tribe of the town of Taif, in present-day Saudi Arabia, and descendants of the tribe still live in that city today and so many names in Arab countries such as Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Hatay...
family, the kinsmen of Muhammad bin Qasim. At one time it was considered to be a
romanceAs a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
until
Mountstuart ElphinstoneMountstuart Elphinstone was a Scottish statesman and historian, associated with the government of British India. He later became the Governor of Bombay where he is credited with the opening of several educational institutions accessible to the Indian population...
's observations of its historical veracity.
The primary reason noted in the
Chach NamaChach Nama also known as the Fateh nama Sindh ,and also known as Tarekh-e-Hind wa Sindh Arabic is a book about the history of Sindh, chronicling the Chacha Dynasty's period, following the demise of the Rai Dynasty and the ascent of Chach of Alor to the throne, down to the Arab conquest by...
for the expedition by the governor of
BasraBasra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
Al-Hajjaj bin Yousef against Raja Dahir, was the raid by pirates off the coast of
Debal-Introduction:Debal was an ancient port located near modern Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. In Arabic, it was usually called Daybul it is adjacent to the nearby Manora Island and was administered by Mansura, and later Thatta....
. resulting in the capturing both gifts to the caliph from the King of Serendib (modern
Sri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
) as well as the female pilgrims on board who were captured. The Chach nama reports that upon hearing of the matter Hajjaj wrote a letter to the Raja and upon unsuccessful resolution being reached, launched of a military expedition. Other reasons attributed to the
UmayyadThe Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
interest in gaining a foothold in the
MakranThe present day Makran is a semi-desert coastal strip in the south of Sindh, Balochistan, in Iran and Pakistan, along the coast of the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. The present day Makran derived its name from Maka, a satrap of Achaemenid Empire....
,
BalochistanBalochistan is one of the four provinces or federating units of Pakistan. With an area of 134,051 mi2 or , it is the largest province of Pakistan, constituting approximately 44% of the total land mass of Pakistan. According to the 1998 population census, Balochistan had a population of...
and
SindhSindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
regions in addition to protecting their maritime interests, are the participation of armies from Sindh alongside Persians in various battles such as those at
NahawandThe Battle of Nahāvand Battle of Nahāwand was fought in 642 between Arab Muslims and Sassanid armies. The battle is known to Muslims as the "Victory of Victories." The History of Tabari mentions that Firuzan, the officer serving the Persian King Yazdgerd III had about 50,000 men, versus a Muslim...
,
SalasalThe Jat Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army and is one of the longest serving and most decorated regiments of the Indian Army. The regiment has won 19 battle honours between 1839 to 1947 and post independence 5 battle honours, Two Ashok Chakras, eight Mahavir Chakras, eight Kirti...
and
QādisiyyahThe Battle of al-Qādisiyyah was fought in 636; it was the decisive engagement between the Arab muslim army and the Sassanid Persian army during the first period of Muslim expansion. It resulted in the Islamic conquest of Persia, and was key to the conquest of Iraq...
and the granting of refuge to fleeing rebel chieftains. There is another untold history that Al-Hajjaj's decision to send a powerful army of soldiers commanded by his nephew, Muhammad Bin Qasim, was actually a revengeful act which was spurred by Raja Dahir's refusal of handing over some Arab exiles who had fallen out of favour with Hajjaj and had taken asylum in Sindh.
Palestine
The two sons of al-Muhallab, an
AzdThe Azd or Al Azd, are an Arabian tribe. They were a branch of the Kahlan tribe, which was one of the two branches of Qahtan the other being Himyar.In the ancient times, they inhabited Ma'rib, the capital city of the Sabaean Kingdom in modern-day Yemen...
i former governor of
KhorasanGreater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
and a military commander under al-Hajjaj, took refuge in
PalestinePalestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
with two
Azdi retainers of the governor there, finding themselves now hounded angrily by al-Hajjaj against a background of inter-tribal rivalry and accused by him of
embezzlementEmbezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....
. The caliph,
al-Walid I, issued an order to his brother,
Sulayman ibn Abd al-MalikSulayman bin Abd al-Malik was an Umayyad caliph who ruled from 715 until 717. His father was Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, and he was a younger brother of the previous caliph, al-Walid I.-Early years:...
, the pro-
Azdi governor of Palestine, to send the sons of al-Muhallab to
DamascusDamascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
. Sulayman sent the elder brother,
YazidYazid ibn al-Muhallab was a provincial governor in the time of the Umayyad dynasty.In A.H. 78 Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf appointed al-Muhallab Khurasan's governor. In A.H. 82 al-Muhallab's son Mughirah died and al-Muhallab sent Yazid to replace him. Soon afterwards al-Muhallab died and al-Hajjaj...
, and his own son in chains to the caliph, who, however, showed them mercy.
Negative portrayal
Al-Hajjaj is recorded by
Tha'ālibīTha'ālibī [Abu Manşūr 'Abd ul-Malik ibn Mahommed ibn Isma'īl] , Muslim philologist, was born in Nishapur, Iran, and is said to have been at one time a furrier. Although he wrote prose and verse of his own, he was most famous for his anthologies and collections of epigrams...
(
Laţ'āif, 142) as one of the four men to have killed more than one hundred thousand men (the others being Abu Harb, Abu Muslim and
BabakBābak Khorram-Din was one of the main Persian revolutionary leaders of the Iranian Khorram-Dinān , which was a local freedom movement fighting the Abbasid Caliphate. Khorramdin appears to be a compound analogous to dorustdin and Behdin "Good Religion" , and are considered an offshoot of...
).
Linguistic reform
Al-Ḥajjāj bin Yūsuf's period saw the Arabs on their zenith and he played an essential part in it. He is also credited for introducing the
diacritic pointsA diacritic is a glyph added to a letter, or basic glyph. The term derives from the Greek διακριτικός . Diacritic is both an adjective and a noun, whereas diacritical is only an adjective. Some diacritical marks, such as the acute and grave are often called accents...
to the Arabic script and for the first time Al-Ḥajjāj convinced the caliph to adopt a special currency for the Muslim world. This led to war with the Byzantine Empire under
Justinian IIJustinian II , surnamed the Rhinotmetos or Rhinotmetus , was the last Byzantine Emperor of the Heraclian Dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711...
. The Byzantines were led by
LeontiosLeontios was Byzantine emperor from 695 to 698. He came to power by overthrowing the Emperor Justinian II, but was overthrown in his turn by Tiberios III. His actual and official name was Leo , but he is known by the name used for him in Byzantine chronicles.- Early life :Leontios was born in...
at the Battle of Sebastopolis in 692 in
Asia MinorAsia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
and were decisively defeated by the Caliph after the defection of a large contingent of Slavs. The Islamic currency was then made the only currency exchange in the Muslim world. Also, many reforms happened in his time as regards agriculture and commerce.
The administrative language of Iraq officially changed from
Middle PersianMiddle Persian , indigenously known as "Pârsig" sometimes referred to as Pahlavi or Pehlevi, is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times became a prestige dialect and so came to be spoken in other regions as well. Middle Persian is classified as a...
(Pahlavi) to Arabic during his governorship. The records of administrative documents (
diwans) of Iraq transferred from Pahlavi to Arabic.
Al-Hajjaj was not happy with the prevalence of the
Persian languagePersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
in the
dīwānA divan was a high governmental body in a number of Islamic states, or its chief official .-Etymology:...
and ordered the official language of the conquered lands to be replaced by Arabic.{{Quote|When
Qutaibah bin MuslimQutayba ibn Muslim was an Arab commander of the Umayyad Caliphate army in the East, and made his greatest gains during the reign of Caliph Al-Walid I. Qutayba belonged to the Bahila tribe. He was appointed as Governor of Khurasan at the request of Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, Governor of Iraq...
under the command of Al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf was sent to Khwarazmia with a military expedition and conquered it for the second time, he swiftly killed whoever wrote the Khwarazmian native language that knew of the Khwarazmian heritage, history, and culture. He then killed all their Zoroastrian priests and burned and wasted their books, until gradually the illiterate only remained, who knew nothing of writing, and hence their history was mostly forgotten.}}{{Quote|It is written that Al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf once entered a city. There was an elder cleric whose prayers were widely believed to bring blessings. He asked the cleric to recite a prayer for him. The cleric prayed: "O God, take his life away!" Al-Ḥajjāj, startled, burst out: "Old man, what kind of prayer is this that you recite for me?!" The old man replied: "It is for your own good and the benefit of the people." }}
Coinage
Al-Hajjaj was instrumental to the development of coinage in the Islamic world, entrusting the first Islamic
mintA mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is usually closely tied to the political situation of an era...
, at Wasit in Iraq, to a Jew named Sumayr.
Death
At al-Hajjaj's death in
AD 714, the people of Iraq rejoiced openly in the streets. Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (caliph, 717 - 720) thanked God for removing a "tyrant" and the ascetic al-Hasan al-Basri said,
O God, it is You who killed him; please, put an end to his habitual practices.
{{s-start}}
{{succession box|title=
Governor of MadinaGovernors of Madina:*662-669 - Marwan I*669-674 - Said ibn al-As*674-677 - Marwan I*677-679 - Said ibn al-As*679-680 - Marwan I*680-683 - Walid ibn Utbah ibn Abi Sufyan*683-693 - [Zubayrid interregnum]*693-694 - Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf...
|before=Zubayrids|after=?|years=693–694}}
{{s-end}}
{{s-start}}
{{succession box|title=Governor of Iraq|before=?|after=
Yazid ibn al-MuhallabYazid ibn al-Muhallab was a provincial governor in the time of the Umayyad dynasty.In A.H. 78 Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf appointed al-Muhallab Khurasan's governor. In A.H. 82 al-Muhallab's son Mughirah died and al-Muhallab sent Yazid to replace him. Soon afterwards al-Muhallab died and al-Hajjaj...
|years=694–715}}
{{s-end}}