Sunday, August 9, 2020

Al-Hurr ibn Yusuf

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'''Al-Hurr ibn Yusuf al-Qurayshi al-Umawi''' () (died 731) was an early 8th century [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] statesman. During the caliphate of his relative [[Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik]] () he served as a governor of [[Egypt]] (724–727) and was afterwards placed in charge of [[Mosul]], where he remained until his death. He is known for having undertaken a number of large-scale building projects in Mosul, including some of the city's most significant developments completed during the [[Umayyad Caliphate#Early Marwanid period|Marwanid]] period.

==Career==
===Family===
Al-Hurr was descended from a collateral branch of the Umayyad dynasty, his grandfather [[Yahya ibn al-Hakam]] having been the brother of the fourth Umayyad caliph [[Marwan I|Marwan ibn al-Hakam]] (). His father, Yusuf, had served as a governor of Mosul during the reign of [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan]] (). One of al-Hurr's aunts, Amina bint Yahya, was married to Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, while another aunt (or, according to the historian [[Abu Zakariyya al-Azdi|al-Azdi]], sister), Umm Hakim,<ref>On Umm Hakim see , .</ref> was similarly wed to the same caliph and later proved instrumental in procuring al-Hurr's appointment to Mosul.<ref>; .</ref>

Among al-Hurr's children, Yahya ibn al-Hurr briefly served as acting governor of Mosul following his father's death and remained in ownership of properties in the region until he was executed by [[Isma'il ibn Ali]] in the aftermath of the [[Abbasid Revolution]]. Another son, Ubaydallah, reportedly joined [[Abdallah ibn Marwan ibn Muhammad]] in fleeing to Nubia after the death of the last Umayyad caliph [[Marwan II]] in 750. Salama ibn al-Hurr became a poet and took up residence among the [[Bedouins]] in the [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabian]] desert; he was later killed by the [[Kharijites|Kharijite]] rebel [[Al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Shaybani]].<ref>; ; .</ref>

===Governor of Egypt===
In 724 al-Hurr was appointed by Hisham as governor of Egypt as a replacement for his second cousin [[Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan]]. Arriving in Egypt in early May, he assumed control over matters of security, but the province's finances were separately managed by [[Ubayd Allah ibn al-Habhab|Ubaydallah ibn al-Habhab]].<ref>; .</ref>

During al-Hurr's governorship, Ibn al-Habhab attempted to impose additional taxes on the populace, adding at least one carat (1/24th) to each [[gold dinar|dinar]] levy. This move caused the outbreak of a widespread revolt in [[Lower Egypt]] in 725–726, with the residents of [[Natu, Egypt|Natu]], [[Tumayy]], [[Qurbayt]], [[Turabiyya]], and the eastern [[Hawf (Egypt)|Hawf]] rising in up an event later described by the historian [[Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Kindi]] as the first [[Copts|Coptic]] rebellion against the Arabs. In response, al-Hurr relocated to [[Damietta]] in order to lead operations against the rebels, and after three months of inflicting heavy casualties on the insurgents he succeeded in restoring order in the province.<ref>; ; ; . claims that Ubaydallah had doubled the tax rate and conscripted the Egyptians into forced labor; he does not mention al-Hurr's specific role in the revolt but states that uprisings took place in Bana, Sa, and Samannud, and that the resulting fighting between the Christians and Muslims was bloody.</ref>

While in Egypt al-Hurr also worked with Hisham to resettle a group of Syrian Arabs to the eastern [[Nile Delta|Delta]] and built a covered market street on new land created from a recession of the [[Nile]].<ref>; ; .</ref> In 726 he briefly departed the province to meet with the caliph in [[Bilad al-Sham|Syria]], leaving his prefect of police [[Hafs ibn al-Walid ibn Yusuf al-Hadrami]] to manage affairs during his absence. He remained as governor until 727, when a dispute between him and Ibn al-Habhab caused the latter to write a letter of complaint to the caliph; in response al-Hurr agreed to step down from office and was replaced by Hafs.<ref>; .</ref>

===Governor of Mosul===
A short time after his dismissal from Egypt, al-Hurr received an appointment from Hisham for the governorship of Mosul. Al-Azdi dates the start of al-Hurr's governorship to 724–725, but as this overlaps with his tenure in Egypt modern historians instead place his appointment in 727 or later.<ref>; .</ref>

While in Mosul al-Hurr initiated a building program for several major private and public developments, putting him in line with a long Marwanid tradition of investing in improvement projects for the city. Among these were the construction of a new palace located near the city markets which al-Hurr intended to have serve as the governor's residence. The large complex, called ''al-Manqusha'' or the Decorated Palace, was so-named for its ornamentation made up of teak, alabaster, and other materials. The palace at least partially survived into the 13th century, when it was reported by the chronicler [[Ali ibn al-Athir]] as being in a ruined state.<ref>; .</ref>

The largest single development begun by al-Hurr was for the cutting of a canal that ran from the [[Tigris]] to the center of Mosul, an undertaking characterized by [[Chase F. Robinson]] as "the most impressive building project" completed in the city in the early Marwanid period. The canal, which was known as the Uncovered River (''al-nahr al-makshuf''), was laid out to increase the accessibility of drinking water for the city, and thousands of laborers and planners were brought in to participate in its excavation. The cost of the project was enormous and paying for it required the use of the entirety of the provincial revenues, with the result that no money was forwarded to the central government during its construction. Work on the canal continued after al-Hurr's death and the project was finally completed in 738–739.<ref>; .</ref>

Al-Hurr died in 731 and was buried in Mosul.<ref>; .</ref> Upon his death his son Yahya inherited his palace as well as numerous houses, inns, and estates, and his family retained ownership of extensive properties in the Mosul area for the duration of the Umayyad era.<ref>; . The extent of these properties were such that the area they were located in came to be known as "al-Hurr." The family was later dispossessed of their estates in the region following Yahya ibn al-Hurr's execution.</ref>

==Notes==


==References==
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[[Category:731 deaths]]
[[Category:8th-century Arabs]]
[[Category:Umayyad governors of Egypt]]
[[Category:Umayyad dynasty]]


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