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The Barmakids (Persian: برمكيان Barmakīyān; Arabic: البرامكة al-barāmika, also called Barmecides) were a noble Persian family which attained great power under the Abbasid caliphs.
Origins The family has its origin in a line of hereditary priests (Sanskrit प्रमुख Pramukh, arabized to Barmak) at the Buddhist monastery of Nava Vihara (Nawbahar) west of Balkh. Traditionally, Islamic historians considered the Barmakids to be Zoroastrian priests in a Fire Temple before converting to Islam; though modern scholars reject this interpretation. According to tradition, during the Arabic conquest of the region, the wife of the priest was taken for a time into the harem of Abdallah, brother of Kotaiba, the conqueror of Balkh, and became the mother of Khalid bin Barmak (705-782). Barmak subsequently (about A.D. 736) rebuilt and adorned his native city of Balkh after the rebellion of Harith. The family then relocated to Merv, an influential regional center. Influence under the early Abbasids The Barmakid family was an early supporter of the Abbasid revolt against the Umayyads and of As-Saffah. This gave Khalid bin Barmak considerable influence, and his son Yahya ibn Khalid (d. 806) was the vizier of the caliph al-Mahdi (ruled 775–785) and tutor of Harun al-Rashid (ruled 786-809). Yahya's sons Fadl and Ja'far (767-803) both occupied high offices under Harun. Many Barmakids were patrons of the sciences, which greatly helped the propagation of Greek science and scholarship from the neighbouring Academy of Gundishapur into the Arabic world. They patronized scholars such as Gebir and Jabril ibn Bukhtishu. They are also credited with the establishment of the first paper mill in Baghdad. The power of the Barmakids in those times is reflected in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, the vizier Ja'far appears in several stories, as well as a tale that gave rise to the expression Barmecide feast. Disgrace and fall In 803, the family lost grace to the eyes of Harun al-Rashid, and many of its members were imprisoned. The story of their disgrace, though romantic, is not improbable. Harun, it is said, found his chief pleasure in the society of his sister Abbsa and Ja'far, and in order that these two might be with him continuously without breach of etiquette, persuaded them to contract a purely formal marriage. The conditions were, however, not observed and Harun, learning that Abbsa had borne a son, caused Jafar suddenly to be arrested and beheaded, and the rest of the family except Muhammad, Yahya's brother, to be imprisoned and deprived of their property. It is probable, however, that Harun's anger was caused to a large extent by the insinuations of his courtiers that he was a mere puppet in the hands of a powerful family. | ||||||||
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