Analysis
Kashmir and the Abbasid revolution
Often considered as the first major political upheaval in the Arab history, the Abbasid revolution would go on to completely change the socio-political dynamics of Muslim world for centuries to come.
In 747 C.E , Abu Muslim revolted against Umayyad rule under the sign of the black banner and successfully took over Merv (Merv, also known as the Merve Oasis, was a major Iranian city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, near today’s Mary, Turkmenistan).
He strengthened Abbasid control over Khorasan, and was appointed governor of the province following the establishment of the Abbasid caliphate in 750 C.E.
The Abbasid revolution, establishment of the Caliphate and its consolidation was facilitated by a large number of groups throughout the Arabian Peninsula and Persia.
In turn, the Abbasid rule saw ascendancy of Persians over Arabs. One of such families, which played a crucial role (752-904) during the Abbasid rule was the celebrated house of Barmak or Barmecides.
The role of Barmaks in the Abbasid revolution
The Hashimiyyah pursued an active anti-establishment policy against the Umayyads and Khalid bin Barmak had joined the Hashimiyya by 742 C.E. He was appointed as one of the twenty nuẓara, the second tier of the inner leadership.
Coins struck during the governorship of Khalid Bin Barmak.
He engaged in missionary activity in Gurgan, Tabaristan, and Rayy. During the Abbasid Revolution, he played an active role, gathering funds for the revolution and leading troops in the field, a task without which the uprising would have been impossible.
According to the historian Omar bin Azraq al Kirmani (Akhbar al-Baramika wa-fada’iluhu) he was entrusted by the Abbasid commander Qahtaba-ibn-Shabib-Al-Tai with distributing the plunder to his army.
Another historian al-Jahyshyari writes how Khalid was placed in charge of redistributing the land tax of Khurasan by Abu Muslim, and did so with such fairness that he earned the gratitude of the Khurasanis. Similar references are made in the history of Tabari.
After the establishment of Abbasid Caliphate
Khalid was soon placed in charge of the fiscal departments of the land tax (diwan al-kharaj)and of the army (diwan al-jund), posts that he kept for the duration of al-Saffah’s caliphate. He assumed charge of all fiscal departments.
His relationship with the caliph was very close: his daughter Umm Yahya was suckled by al-Saffah’s wife, while in turn his own wife was made the foster-mother to al-Saffah’s daughter, Raytah. Under Caliph Mansur he remained the head of the land and tax department for nearly a year.
He became governor of Tabaristan for seven years and had coins struck in his name. During the rule of al-Mahdi he was given the governorship of Fars.
Khalid bin Barmak appointed his son Yahya as the Tutor of Mamun Rashid. When Mamun took over the reigns, Yahya bin Khalid became his all powerful vizier.
He is credited with the siege of Byzantine fortress of Samalu, which took place under the command of Harun Rashid under auspices of Yahya bin Khalid.
Sayed Sulaiman’s Arab o hind ke taaluqat.
Hârûn-ar-Rashid left the government of the empire almost entirely to Yahya and his son Fadl. Ja’far, the other son of Yahya, was the boon companion of the Caliph, and during seventeen years the Barmecides were thus supreme both in the government offices and in the palace.
From their many fiefs in the Shammâsiyah, it seems probable that the market street called Sûk Ja’far and the Nahr Fadil, as the upper part of the Mahdi Canal was called, were named respectively after the two sons of the Wazir Yahya.
Prof. Philip Hitti says, a Lebanese-American Professor and scholar at Princeton and Harvard University and authority on Arab and Middle Eastern history, “their (Barmaks) generosity was proverbial. A number of canals, mosques and other public works owe their existence to the initiative and munificence of the Barmakids”
Kashmir connection
The Barmak family traces its origins to the Buddhist leaders of the monastery “Nav Vihara” in Balkh. The first known Muslim of this family was Barmak, the grandfather of Khalid.
According to some historians, Barmak travelled to Medina after the conquest of Balkh during the caliphate of Uthman and declared his conversion to Islam. He was given the name AbdAllah by Uthman.
When he returned to Balkh, he was executed along with his ten sons by Nayzak Tarkhan because of his conversion to Islam
Barmak’s wife fled, together with her young child (also called Barmak) to Kashmir. The child began his education in Kashmir under the masters of region, brought up by his mother.
The events seem to have taken place during the rule of Kalkota Dynasty in Kashmir, probably during the rule of Durlabhaka or Candrapida.
The same view is presented by historian and geographer Yaqut al Hamwi in his classic Muajem-al-Baladan (Encyclopedia of the nations).
Hamwi writes about the distressed mother of Barmak fleeing to Kashmir, where young Barmak is raised up, receiving extensive knowledge in astrology, medicine and philosophy under the tutelage of renowned Kashmiri Buddhist scholars.
Muajem al balad of Yayha Hamwi.
He masters these Kashmiri sciences and earns a great repute in Kashmir as well as the other parts of central Asia.
Hearing about the mastery in the art of medicine, people in Balkh request the young Balkan to return back.
He is received back, along with his associates, and is endowed with the positions of his father.
Some researchers and historians believe that the family could actually have originated in Kashmir.
Prof. Zabiullah Safavi of Teheran University in his seminal work Barmikyans puts forth this view.
A similar opinion is held by Sayyid Sulayman (Arab-o-Hind Ke Talloqat, 1930). Some Kashmiri scholars too hold a similar position.
However, none of these claims is corroborated by classical historians and the view remains largely a speculation.
In historical records he became a famous physician of Balkh from his knowledge in medicine that he had procured in Kashmir.
Barmak had been summoned to cure Caliph Abd al-Malik’s son Maslama in 705. Al-Kirmani’s account narrates that the Barmak was brought amongst a party of shakirriya (thought to be slaves or retainers) and honoured by the Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik who increased his status.
Yahya Hamwi’s muajem al balad.
In this way he gained proximity to the court of Ummayads and that paved way for his son Khalid bin Barmak into the corridors of power: initially the Ummayads and later the nascent Abbasid revolutionary movement in Khurasan that played a significant role in the Abbasid Revolution and consolidation that toppled the Umayyads.
What is often assumed is that mediaeval Kashmir was a land cut-off from the rest of the world owing to its topography.
However, the historical analysis proves that it was one of the centres of civilisation shaping the history and politics of the whole world from time to time, the Abbasid revolution being one of the instances.
Khawar Khan Achakzai is a published author, a medical Doctor by profession, and a student of history. He can be emailed at khawar.achakzai@gmail.com
Views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position and policy of Free Press Kashmir. Feedback and counter-views are welcome at editor@freepresskashmir.com.
