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Abu Muslim
Military leader of the Abbasid revolution who raised the black banners in Khurasan in 747, overthrew the Umayyads, and was executed by al-Mansur in 7…
Timeline
- c. 700–745Merv · KhurasanIn his early years he was sent by the Abbasid family to operate in Khurasan, where he contacted Arabs discontented with Umayyad rule, Persian converts to Islam, and local forces, building strength for the great uprising to come.
- 747–750Khurasan · KhurasanIn 747 he raised the black banners in Khurasan, repeatedly defeating Umayyad armies, and in 750 captured Damascus, ending the Umayyad caliphate and becoming the most crucial military architect of the founding of the Abbasid dynasty.
- 754–755Wasit · IraqAfter the revolution's success he was appointed governor of Khurasan, and his growing power aroused the suspicion of the new caliph al-Mansur. Lured into arrest in 755, he was put to death at Wasit, marking the Abbasid regime's purge of its founding generals.
Sources
- al-Tabari, History of the Prophets and Kings (Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk) — al-Tabari
- Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition: Abu Muslim https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/