Qutaibah bin Muslim
Encyclopedia
Qutayba 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
. Previously he had distinguished himself as an excellent administrator of Rey, Iran
. As Governor of Khurasan he did what no Arab governor before him had done; bring the Persian populace into the government and increase cooperation on a much larger scale with local chiefs. Under his leadership the Arabs would conquer most of Mawara al-Nahr or Central Asia
and form administrative divisions and not only military garrisons as his predecessors had done.
In 705, ibn Muslim entered Merv as the governor of Khorasan
and soon began raising an army to bring the area more firmly under Arab rule.
Despite his victories, he was jailed and executed in 715, after the death of Caliph Al-Walid I, by the new Caliph, Suleiman. The reasoning behind this was political and likely because Suleiman saw Qutayba as a threat or he felt that Qutayba was among those who had tried to stop al-Walid from appointing Suleiman the next Caliph. Others have speculated that it was due to Qutayba's good relationship with Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf.
Arab
Arab 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...
commander of the Umayyad Caliphate army in the East
East
East is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.East is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of west and is perpendicular to north and south.By convention, the right side of a map is east....
, and made his greatest gains during the reign of Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
Al-Walid I. Qutayba belonged to the Bahila tribe. He was appointed as Governor of Khurasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater 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...
at the request of Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, Governor of Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; 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....
. Previously he had distinguished himself as an excellent administrator of Rey, Iran
Rey, Iran
Rey or Ray , also known as Rhages and formerly as Arsacia, is the capital of Rey County, Tehran Province, Iran, and is the oldest existing city in the province....
. As Governor of Khurasan he did what no Arab governor before him had done; bring the Persian populace into the government and increase cooperation on a much larger scale with local chiefs. Under his leadership the Arabs would conquer most of Mawara al-Nahr or Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
and form administrative divisions and not only military garrisons as his predecessors had done.
In 705, ibn Muslim entered Merv as the governor of Khorasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater 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 soon began raising an army to bring the area more firmly under Arab rule.
Despite his victories, he was jailed and executed in 715, after the death of Caliph Al-Walid I, by the new Caliph, Suleiman. The reasoning behind this was political and likely because Suleiman saw Qutayba as a threat or he felt that Qutayba was among those who had tried to stop al-Walid from appointing Suleiman the next Caliph. Others have speculated that it was due to Qutayba's good relationship with Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf.