Abu Abdallah al-Baridi
In this contest Abu Abdallah and his two brothers manoeuvred between the military commanders Ibn Ra'iq and Bajkam, the Hamdanids of Mosul, the Buyids of Fars, and the ruler of Oman; they twice occupied the Abbasid capital Baghdad, but were never able to hold it for long; and at different times ruled Khuzistan, Wasit and Basra; Abu Abdallah himself was named vizier of the Abbasid caliph four times in the process.
Ultimately, the constant warfare against multiple enemies exhausted the family's resources, and by 943 Abu Abdallah resorted to assassinating his youngest brother to shore up his wealth.
[3] Frugal and chaste in his personal life, just like his brothers Abu Abdallah had a pronounced tendency for self-advancement—it is said that his motto was "My drum has a sound that shall be heard one of these days!".
[6] It was Abu Abdallah who, against a bribe of 20,000 dirhams to Ibn Muqla, secured the tax-farming contract for Khuzistan, and further lucrative posts for his brothers.
[2] Abu Abdallah rose to wider prominence in 932, when he offered to finance the expedition sent by Caliph al-Qahir (r. 932–934) to subdue the fugitive supporters of his slain predecessor, al-Muqtadir.
For this, the revenue of the entire province of Khuzistan was placed under his control, and through ruthless oppression of the local population, he managed to extract a considerable fortune.
[2][7] In late 933 or early 934, shortly before his downfall, Caliph al-Qahir gave him a tax farming contract for the province of Wasit, to the sum of 13 million dirhams.
[8] At Ahwaz, Abu Abdallah managed to become the secretary of the chamberlain Yaqut,[2] whose army had retreated to the city after being defeated by the Buyid warlord Ali ibn Buya and driven from Fars.
Despite being warned of his intentions, Yaqut refused to believe them until it was too late; marching to confront his colleague, he was ambushed and killed by Abu Abdallah's now much larger army.
[2][10] He amassed a huge fortune by deferring the dispatch of tax revenues to Baghdad, where his brother Abu Yusuf Ya'qub looked after their interests,[2] and established independent contacts with the Buyids of Fars.
[11] In 936, Muhammad ibn Ra'iq sidelined the powerless caliph and became dictator of what remained of the Abbasid realm, with the title of amir al-umara.
[13] Ibn Ra'iq was defeated and forced to leave Basra as well to the Baridis, but his general Bajkam reversed the situation by scoring two major victories, despite being outnumbered, that allowed him to take possession of Khuzistan.
[14] This resulted in Abu Abdallah resuming his contacts with Ali ibn Buya, who in late 937 sent his younger brother Ahmad to assist the Baridis against Bajkam.
In exchange for his support, Abu Abdallah was confirmed as governor of Basra and Wasit, and was given the post of vizier, which he may have also briefly been awarded during his short-lived accommodation with Ibn Ra'iq.
It was then that Abu Abdallah suggested extending the campaign into Jibal, while he would launch a concurrent offensive from the south; in reality, he would use Bajkam's absence to capture Baghdad.
[14][19][20] Bajkam's death utterly transformed the situation for Abu Abdallah: where before he and his brothers had been contemplating abandoning Basra, now they were suddenly left as one of the two main contenders for power in Iraq alongside the caliph.
The uprising spread as the populace of East Baghdad also became involved against the Baridis, and Abu Abdallah, who was encamped on the western side, cut the bridge over the Tigris.
The Baridis fled to Basra, but on 28 November Ibn Ra'iq was faced with a mutiny of his troops under Tuzun and Nushtakin, who defected to Abu Abdallah.
Taxes were collected with particular severity, and furthermore early in the year—what the chronicler Miskawayh describes as "the iniquity usual with [the Baridi] family—when the burden was felt the most; heavy duties were imposed on all goods sold by measure, and people were arrested and held hostage for money.
[48][49] Barely three days later, Abu Abdallah exploited Tuzun's absence and took back Wasit, but soon he had to withdraw in the face of a new and unexpected threat: in August 943, Yusuf ibn Wajih, the ruler of Oman, sailed up the Shatt al-Arab, captured the city of al-Ubulla, and laid siege to Basra.
[3][55] The latter managed to prevail against his uncle, Abu'l-Husayn, and ruled Basra in "exemplary way" until 947,[56] when the Buyids, fresh from their conquest of Baghdad, expelled him from the city, ending the Baridi family's power.
