Barmakids
Barmakids
(bär`məkĭdz') orBarmecides
(bär`məsīdz'), Persian-descended religious family from KhorasanKhorasanor Khurasan
, region and former province (1991 pop. 6,013,200), c.125,000 sq mi (323,750 sq km), NE Iran. Mashhad is the chief city; other cities include Sabzevar, Bojnurd, and Neyshabur. It is mainly mountainous and arid.
..... Click the link for more information. . They served as viziers to the AbbasidAbbasid
or Abbaside
, Arab family descended from Abbas, the uncle of Muhammad. The Abbasids held the caliphate from 749 to 1258, but they were recognized neither in Spain nor (after 787) W of Egypt.
..... Click the link for more information. caliphs in the 8th cent. Khalid ibn Barmak, d. 782?, supported the revolution that brought about Abbasid rule. He was given certain ministerial powers, such as tax collecting and control over the army; later, he was appointed governor of FarsFars
or Farsistan
, province (1991 pop. 3,543,828), c.51,500 sq mi (133,400 sq km), SW Iran. Shiraz is the capital and chief city, located in an oasis occupying a valley c.6 mi (10 km) wide and 20 mi (32 km) long. The province is largely mountainous.
..... Click the link for more information. and governor of Tabaristan. Yahya, d. 805, son of Khalid, became secretary to the caliph's son, Harun ar-RashidHarun ar-Rashid
[Arab.,=Aaron the Upright], c.764–809, 5th and most famous Abbasid caliph (786–809). He succeeded his brother Musa al-Hadi, fourth caliph, a year after the death of his father, Mahdi, the third caliph.
..... Click the link for more information. . Yahya and Harun were imprisoned by the caliph's successor, Musa al-Hadi, who died soon afterward. Harun became caliph and made Yahya chief administrator. Yahya's sons, Jafar, d. 803, and al-Fadl, d. 808, also became administrators during the reign of Harun. Jafar headed various interior departments. Al-Fadl eventually assumed his father's central duties and was appointed governor of Khorasan. However, by 800 the Barmakids' power and status were rapidly declining. Jafar was executed in 803; Yahya and al-Fadl died in prison.