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Al-Hakam ibn Amr al-Ghifari

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Al-Hakam ibn Amr al-Ghifari
Governor of Khurasan
In office
665–Unknown
Personal details
DiedMerv (present-day Bayramaly, Turkmenistan)
Resting placeMerv
RelationsRafi (brother)
ParentAmr ibn Mujaddah (father)

Al-Hakam ibn Amr al-Ghifari (Arabic: الحكم بن عمرو الغفاري) (d. 670/71), was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the Umayyad governor of Khurasan and commander of Arab expeditions into Transoxiana (Central Asia) from 665 until his death in Merv.

Life

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Resting place of al-Ghifari alongside Buraydah al-Aslami, Merv, Turkmenistan

Al-Hakam ibn Amr was a son of Amr ibn Mujaddah ibn Hidhyam ibn al-Harith ibn Nu'ayla of the Banu Ghifar, a clan of the Kinana tribe.[1][2] Al-Hakam was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and one of his banner bearers in battle.[3][4] He settled in Basra, the Arab garrison town and springboard of the Muslim conquests of the Sasanian Empire established in 636.[5][6][full citation needed] There was a sparse presence of Ghifar tribesmen in Basra.[7] His brother Rafi was a transmitter of hadith from Muhammad.[2]

According to al-Tabari and al-Baladhuri, in 665 Ziyad ibn Abihi, the practical viceroy of Iraq and the eastern Umayyad Caliphate, centralized the vast region of Khurasan (east of Iran and west of the Oxus) into a single provincial administration based in Merv under the governorship of al-Hakam.[8][1][9] According to an anecdote cited by both historians, Ziyad had intended to appoint the veteran commander al-Hakam ibn Abi al-As al-Thaqafi to the post, but when his chamberlain mistakenly brought al-Hakam ibn Amr to his court he appointed him instead, remarking that al-Hakam was a companion of Muhammad and "an upright fellow" or "a man of nobility".[1][10] Another traditional Muslim report holds that al-Hakam was appointed by Ziyad in 664.[11] Al-Tabari notes that Ziyad also assigned six deputies under al-Hakam charged with the collection of the kharaj (land tax and/or possibly poll tax). [4][12]

Al-Hakam died and was buried in Merv. His appointed successor Anas ibn Abi Unas, who was promptly dismissed by Ziyad, led his funeral prayers.[13] His grave was mentioned by the sources as late as the reign of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833).[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Morony 1987, p. 86.
  2. ^ a b Landau-Tasseron 1998, p. 122, note 560.
  3. ^ Rtveladze 2000, p. 12.
  4. ^ a b Hasan 1970, p. 166.
  5. ^ a b Lecker 2000, p. 47.
  6. ^ p=895, note 1649
  7. ^ Crone 1980, p. 227, note 234.
  8. ^ Gibb 1923, p. 16.
  9. ^ Murgotten 1924, p. 170.
  10. ^ Murgotten 1924, pp. 170–171.
  11. ^ Fariq 1966, p. 67.
  12. ^ Morony 1987, pp. 86–87.
  13. ^ Morony 1987, p. 163.

Bibliography

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