al-Basasiri
Al-Basasiri († October 18, 1060, probably in Baghdad ) was an important Turkish general of the Abbasids in the 11th century.
Abu l-Harith Arslan al-Basasiri was the leader of the Turkish troops under Caliph al-Qaim (1031-1075). Through his successful battles against the Uqailids in northern Iraq (1048) and against individual Seljuq groups , he soon rose to become the most important power factor in Iraq . However, there was a conflict with al-Qaim in 1054 when he intervened in the regulations regarding subject Bedouin tribes . When al-Basasiri accused al-Qaim of wanting to shake off the supremacy of the Buyids , he was accused of contacts with the Fatimids in Egypt and deposed.
After the Seljuks had occupied Baghdad in 1055 and the fiefs ( iqta ) of the Buyid troops had withdrawn, the troops affected went over to al-Basasiri, which had withdrawn to the central Euphrates . When he received financial support from the Fatimids, he attacked the Seljuks as their vassal in 1057, but had to withdraw after the occupation of Mosul .
With the outbreak of power struggles between the Seljuk Sultan Toghril Beg and his brother Ibrahim Inal (1058) al-Basasiri was able to invade Iraq again and occupy Baghdad in January 1059. Caliph al-Qaim was interned outside Baghdad and the Abbasid throne insignia was sent to the Fatimids in Cairo . At the same time there were serious riots by the Shiites against the Sunnis in Baghdad.
When Toghril Beg returned to Iraq after the conflict with his brother was over, al-Basasiri prevented an amicable settlement with the Seljuks by making unacceptable demands and left Baghdad with his troops. The Seljuks now occupied Baghdad and reinstated al-Qaim as caliph. On October 18, 1060, they were able to take al-Basasiri's troops by surprise and kill him.
literature
- Claude Cahen : Islam I. From the origin to the beginnings of the Ottoman Empire (= Fischer Weltgeschichte . Volume 14). Fischer paperback, Frankfurt am Main 1968.
- Ulrich Haarmann (founder), Heinz Halm (ed.): History of the Arab world. 5th edition, CH Beck, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-406-47486-1 .
- Markus Hattstein, Peter Delius (Ed.): Islam. Art and architecture. Könemann, Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-89508-846-3 .
- Stephan Ronart, Nandy Ronart: Lexicon of the Arab World. A historical-political reference work. Artemis, Zurich et al. 1972, ISBN 3-7608-0138-2 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Al-Basasiri |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Turkish general of the Abbasids |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 10th century or 11th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 18, 1060 |
| Place of death | uncertain: Baghdad |