ʿABBĀS B. ḤOSAYN

 

ʿABBĀS B. ḤOSAYN ŠĪRĀZĪ, ABU’L-FAŻL, Buyid vizier, d. 362/973. He first appears after the death of Mohallabī, the Shiʿi vizier of Moʿezz-al-dawla, as chief of the dīwān al-nafaqāt, the bureau of expenditures. He was subsequently charged with the functions, but not the title, of the vizierate jointly with Ebn Fasānǰos (Abu’l-Faraǰ), another official of the regime. The history of the period is characterized by rivalries among high dignitaries in the administration and their clients, the amassing of considerable fortunes, and maneuvers to force restitution from those who benefited from their positions. ʿAbbās b. Ḥosayn was no exception to this rule. He was the son-in-law of Mohallabī, with whom he had come from Shiraz; though of middle class origins, he was enormously rich and able to offer to his princely patrons banquets that have been remembered in the literature (see Ḥoṣrī, Ḏayl zahr al-ādāb, Cairo, 1353/1934, pp. 275f.).

In 356/987 he was named vizier by Baḵtīār, the successor of Moʿezz-al-dawla, who did not have the capacities of his father. Although ʿAbbās had contributed to the quelling of several revolts, he was attacked by the Turkish ḥāǰeb, Soboktegīn, and by Ebn Fasānǰos, who succeeded in having him dismissed and subjected to enormous reparations. But ʿAbbās succeeded in recapturing the vizierate and subjecting Ebn Fasānǰos to the same treatment that he himself had received. He was in turn toppled by the new favorite of Baḵtīār, Ebn Baqīya, an equal master of intrigue, who charged him with extorting money (from, e.g., the ḏemmīs—those non-Muslims who were allowed to retain their religion and paid a tribute) to pay the troops and make good his promises to princes. ʿAbbās was imprisoned at Kūfa and soon died there, perhaps from poisoning.

Bibliography:

Ebn Meskavayh, Taǰāreb, index.

Tanūḵī, Neswar al-moḥāżara wa aḵbar al-moḏākara, ed. ʿA. Salǰī, Beirut, 1971-73, I, p. 215.

M. B. ʿAbd-al-Malek Hamaḏānī, Takmela tāʾrīḵ al-Ṭabarī, ed. A. J. Kaṇʿān, Beirut, 1959, index.

M. Canard, “ʿAbbās b. Ḥosayn,” EI2 I, p. 11. Busse, Chalif und Grosskönig, index.

(C. Cahen)

Originally Published: December 15, 1982

Last Updated: July 13, 2011

This article is available in print.
Vol. I, Fasc. 1, p. 79

Cite this entry:

C. Cahen, “"Abbas B. Hosayn,” Encyclopædia Iranica, I/1, p. 79; available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/abbas-b-hosayn (accessed on 10 January 2014).