Abu Muslim
Abu Muslim Abd al-Rahman ibn Muslim al-Khurasani (Persian: ابومسلم عبدالرحمان بن مسلم خراسانی; born 718/19 or 723/27, died 755) or Behzādān Pour Vandād Hormozd (بهزادان پور ونداد هرمزد) was a Persian general who led the Abbasid Revolution that toppled the Umayyad dynasty, leading to the establishment of the Abbasid Caliphate.
Abu Muslim | |
|---|---|
| ابومسلم خراسانی | |
Portrait of Abu Muslim (d. 755) from the genealogy (silsilanāma) "Cream of Histories" (Zübdet-üt Tevarih, 1598) | |
| Born | Unknown birth name, possibly Behzadan, or Ibrahim 718/19 or 723/27 |
| Died | 755 |
| Known for | Abbasid Revolution |
| Title | Abbasid governor of Khurasan |
| Term | 748–755 |
| Predecessor | Nasr ibn Sayyar (as Umayyad governor) |
Little is known about Abu Muslim's origins, but by the early 740s he had been in contact with Abbasid agents and around the year 745 he was sent to Khorasan. In 747, Abu Muslim ignited an open revolt against Umayyad rule and quickly took Merv. He gradually strengthened Abbasid control over Khorasan, and was appointed governor of the province following the establishment of the Abbasid caliphate in 750. Wary of Abu Muslim's rising influence and popularity, the second Abbasid caliph, al-Mansur, ordered his death. He was executed in front of the caliph in Al-Mada'in in 755 on charges of heresy.