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{{Short description|8th century Persian revolutionary}}
{{for|the football teams|F.C. Aboomoslem|Abu Muslim FC}}
{{protection padlock|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Abu Muslim
| native_name = ابو مسلم
|image               = Abbasid_silver_dirham_in_the_name_of_abu_Muslim_struck_at_Marv_in_AH_132_(749-50),_The_David_Collection,_Copenhagen_(36241672762).jpg
| caption             = Coin from [[Khorasan]] struck in the name of '''Abu Muslim''' rather than the Abbasid caliph, from 749-750 CE, demonstrating his power in the early years of the caliphate 

| birth_name          = Original name unknown
| birth_date          = {{circa|718 to 727 AD}}
| birth_place         = [[Merv]], [[Greater Iran]]
| death_date          = 755 AD (aged 28 – 37)
| death_place         = [[Ctesiphon]], [[Abbasid Caliphate]]
| death_manner        = [[Assassination|Assasination]]
| resting_place       = Body [[Mutilation|mutilated]] and thrown into [[Tigris|Tigris River]]
| occupation          = {{hlist|[[Revolutionary]]|[[Missionary]]|[[General officer|General]]}}
| known_for           = Leading the successful [[Abbasid revolution|Abbasid Revolution]]
| signature_size      = 
| allegiance          = [[Abbasid dynasty]]
| serviceyears        = 741–755 AD
| battles             = {{tree list}}
*  [[Abbasid Revolution]]
** [[Battle of the Zab]]
* [[Muslim conquest of Transoxiana|Abbasid–Chinese Wars]]
** [[Battle of Talas]]
{{tree list/end}}
}}
'''Abu Muslim'''{{efn|His full [[nom de guerre]] as conferred by the Abbasid imam, in addition to the ''[[Kunya (Arabic)|kunya]]'' '''Abu Muslim''', is reported variously in the sources. Proposed forms include '''Abu Muslim ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muslim al-Khurasani''' ({{langx|ar|أبو مسلم عبد الرحمن بن مسلم الخراساني}}; {{langx|fa|ابومسلم عبدالرحمان بن مسلم خراسانی}}).}} ({{circa|718 to 727 AD}}–755 AD) was the [[nom de guerre]] of a [[Persians|Persian]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|year=2008|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Islamica|last1=Bahramian|first1=Ali|last2=Sajjadi|first2=Sadeq|last3=Bernjian|first3=Farhoud|editor-last1=Madelung|editor-first1=Wilferd|editor-link1=Wilferd Madelung|editor-last2=Daftary|editor-first2=Farhad|editor-link2=Farhad Daftary|quote=Abū Muslim al-Khurāsānī was a famous Persian dāʿī (missionary) and commander (ca. 100–137/ca. 718–754).|title=Abū Muslim al-Khurāsānī|publisher=Brill Online|doi=10.1163/1875-9831_isla_COM_0113}}</ref><ref>[https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/abu-muslim/ Encyclopedia.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190830230222/https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/abu-muslim |date=30 August 2019}} "c. 728–755, Persian leader of the Abbasid revolution."</ref> revolutionary and military commander who was a central figure in the [[Abbasid Revolution]] that brought down the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] and established the [[Abbasid Caliphate]].

Enslaved in [[Kufa]] during his youth, he came under the influence of [[Shia Islam|Shiʿite]] activists associated with the [[Abbasid dynasty|Abbasid family]] when they secured his release and introduced him to anti-Umayyad doctrines. Recognized for his abilities and loyalty, he was tasked with leading Abbasid revolutionary activities in [[Khorasan]] and conferred the [[Nom de guerre|nom-de-guerre]] ''Abu Muslim''.

In 747, Abu Muslim initiated the open phase of the Abbasid revolt, rapidly seizing [[Merv]] and rallying broad support among the populations of Khorasan. He subsequently directed the Abbasid advance across the [[Iranian plateau]] and into the [[Levant]], culminating in the collapse of Umayyad authority and the proclamation of the Abbasid Caliphate. Thereafter he served as governor of Khorasan and emerged as one of the most powerful figures of the early Abbasid state.

Abu Muslim’s growing prominence provoked concern within the Abbasid leadership. While the first caliph refrained from acting against him, the second caliph, [[Al-Mansur]], ordered his execution in 755, alleging—likely without basis—that he harbored [[Zoroastrianism|crypto-Zoroastrian]] sympathies. His death provoked unrest across [[Greater Iran]], where he was subsequently venerated as a quasi-religious figure and martyr for centuries.

==Origin and name==
According to Gholam-Hosayn Yusofi, "sources differ regarding his original name and his origin. Some make him a descendant of Gōdarz and of the vizier [[Bozorgmehr]] and call him Ebrāhīm; some name him Behzādān, son of [[Wandad Hurmuzd|Vendād Hormoz]]; and others relate him to the Abbasids or to the [[Alids]]. These suggestions are all doubtful".<ref name="Iranica">{{harvnb|Yūsofī|1983|ignore-err=yes}}.</ref> He was most likely of [[Persians|Persian]] origin,<ref name="EI2">{{harvnb|Moscati|1960|p=141}}.</ref> and was born in either [[Merv]] or near [[Isfahan]].<ref name="Iranica"/> The exact date is unknown, either in 718/9 or sometime in 723/7.<ref name="Iranica"/>

==Shia activist and missionary activity in Khurasan==
He grew up in [[Kufa]],<ref name="Iranica"/> where he served as a slave and [[saddle]]r<!--{{sfn|Ṭabarī|1989|p=67}}--><ref>{{Cite web |title=Abu Muslim {{!}} Biography, History, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abu-Muslim |access-date=12 January 2023 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=12 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112123010/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abu-Muslim |url-status=live }}</ref> of the [[Banu Ijl]] clan.<ref name="EI2"/> It was there that Abu Muslim came into contact with [[Shia Muslims]].<ref name="EI2"/>

Kufa at the time was a hotbed of social and political unrest against the ruling [[Umayyad dynasty]], whose policies favoured [[Arabs]] over non-Arab converts to Islam (''[[mawla|mawālī]]'') and were thus perceived to violate the Islamic promises of equality. The luxurious lifestyles of the Umayyad caliphs and their persecution of the Alids further alienated the pious.<ref name="Iranica"/> This rallied support for the Shi'a cause of rule by a member of the family of [[Muhammad]], who would, as a God-guided ''[[imam|imām]]'' or ''[[mahdi|mahdī]]'', rule according to the ''[[Quran]]'' and the ''[[Sunnah]]'' and create a truly Islamic government that would bring justice and peace to the Muslim community.{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=123–126}}

In 737, he was accused of associating with ''[[ghulat]]'' ("extremist, heterodox") sectarians.<ref name="EI2"/> These activities landed him in prison, from where he was liberated in 741/2 by the leading Abbasid missionaries (''naqāb'', sing. ''naqīb'') on their way to [[Mecca]].<ref name="EI2"/> He was introduced to the head of the Abbasid clan, [[Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdallah]], who in 745/6 sent him to direct the missionary effort in [[Khurasan]].<ref name="EI2"/>

Khurasan, and the Iranian eastern half of the Caliphate in general, offered fertile ground for the Abbasids' missionary activities.<ref name="Iranica"/> Far from the Umayyad metropolitan province of [[Bilad al-Sham|Syria]], Khurasan had a distinct identity. It was home to a large [[Khorasani Arabs|Arab settler community]], which in turn had resulted in a large number of native converts, as well as intermarriage between Arabs and Iranians.{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=125}} As a frontier province exposed to [[Muslim conquest of Transoxiana|constant warfare]], the local Muslims were militarily experienced, and the common struggle had helped further unify the Arab and native Muslims of Khurasan, with a common dislike towards the centralizing tendencies of Damascus and the exactions of the Syrian governors.{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=125}} According to later accounts, already in 718/9 the Abbasids had dispatched twelve ''naqāb'' into the province, but modern scholars are sceptical of such claims, and it appears that only after the failure of the [[Revolt of Zayd ibn Ali]] in 740 did the Abbasid missionary movement begin to make headway in Khurasan. In 745, the Khurasani [[Qahtaba ibn Shabib al-Ta'i]] travelled west to swear allegiance to [[Ibrahim al-Imam|Ibrahim ibn Muhammad]], and it was with him that Abu Muslim was sent east to assume control.{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=125–126}}

When Abu Muslim arrived in Khurasan, the province was in turmoil due to the impact of the ongoing Umayyad civil war of the [[Third Fitna]], which had re-ignited the [[Qays–Yaman rivalry|feud between the Yaman and Qays tribal groups]]: the numerous Yamani element in the province opposed the longtime governor, [[Nasr ibn Sayyar]], and sought to replace him with their champion, [[Juday al-Kirmani]]. Al-Kirmani led an uprising against Ibn Sayyar, and drove him from the provincial capital, [[Merv]], in late 746, with the governor fleeing to the [[Qays]]i stronghold of [[Nishapur]].{{sfn|Shaban|1979|pp=134–136}}{{sfn|Hawting|2000|pp=107–108}}{{sfn|Sharon|1990|pp=43–45}}

==Abu Muslim and the Abbasid Revolution==
[[file:Abbasid silver dirham in the name of abu Muslim struck at Marv in AH 132 (749-50), The David Collection, Copenhagen (36241672762).jpg|thumb|left|Abbasid silver dirham in the name of Abu Muslim struck at [[Merv]] in AH 132 (749–50)]]
{{main|Abbasid Revolution}}

He took Merv in December 747 (or January 748), defeating the Umayyad governor [[Nasr ibn Sayyar]], as well as [[Shayban al-Khariji]], a [[Kharijite]] aspirant to the caliphate. He became the [[de facto]] governor of Khurasan, and gained fame as a general in the late 740s in defeating the rebellion of [[Bihafarid]], the leader of a syncretic [[Persian people|Persian]] sect that was [[Mazdaism|Mazdaist]]. Abu Muslim received support in suppressing the rebellion both from purist Muslims and Zoroastrians.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/abbasides-abbassides/|title=ABBASIDES|last=Universalis|first=Encyclopædia|website=Encyclopædia Universalis|language=fr-FR|access-date=28 June 2019|quote=Abu Muslim déclencha l'opération en 747 et la victoire fut acquise à la bataille du Grand Zâb en 750.|archive-date=27 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627232642/https://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/abbasides-abbassides/|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{clear}}

==Rule of Khurasan and death==
[[File:Abu Muslim chastises a man for telling tales, Folio from the Ethics of Nasir (Akhlaq-e Nasiri) by Nasir al-Din Tusi (fol. 248r).jpg|thumb|"Abu Muslim chastises a man for telling tales," Folio from the ''Ethics of Nasir'' (''[[Akhlaq-i Nasiri]]'') by [[Nasir al-Din Tusi]]. Copy created in [[Lahore]] between 1590 and 1595]]
After the establishment of the Abbasid regime, Abu Muslim remained in Khurasan as its governor.<ref name="EI2"/> In this role he suppressed the Shi'a uprising of Sharik ibn Shaikh al-Mahri in [[Bukhara]] in 750/1,<ref name="EI2"/> and furthered the [[Muslim conquest of Transoxiana|Muslim conquest of Central Asia]], sending Abu Da'ud Khalid ibn Ibrahim to campaign in the east.<ref name="EI2"/>

His heroic role in the revolution and military skill, along with his conciliatory politics toward [[Shia]], [[Sunnis]], [[Zoroastrians]], [[Jew]]s, and [[Christians]], made him extremely popular among the people. Although it appears that Abu al-'Abbas [[al-Saffah]] trusted him in general, he was wary of his power, limiting his entourage to 500 men upon his arrival to [[Iraq]] on his way to [[Hajj]] in 754. Abu al-'Abbas's brother, [[al-Mansur]] (r. 754–775), advised al-Saffah on more than one occasion to have Abu Muslim killed, fearing his rising influence and popularity. It seems that this dislike was mutual, with Abu Muslim aspiring to more power and looking down in disdain on al-Mansur, feeling al-Mansur owed Abu Muslim for his position. When the new caliph's uncle, Abdullah ibn Ali rebelled, Abu Muslim was requested by al-Mansur to crush this rebellion, which he did, and Abdullah was given to his nephew as a prisoner. Abdullah was ultimately executed.

Relations deteriorated quickly when al-Mansur sent his chamberlain [[Abu al-Khaṣīb Marzuq|Abu-al Khasib]] to inventory the spoils of war, and then appointed Abu Muslim governor of [[Syria]] and [[Egypt]], outside his powerbase. After an increasingly acrimonious correspondence between Abu Muslim and al-Mansur, Abu Muslim feared he was going to be killed if he appeared in the presence of the Caliph. He later changed his mind and decided to appear in his presence due to a combination of perceived disobedience, al-Mansur's promise to keep him as governor of Khurasan, and the assurances of some of his close aides, some of whom were bribed by al-Mansur. He went to Iraq to meet al-Mansur in [[al-Mada'in]] in 755. Al-Mansur proceeded to enumerate his grievances against Abu Muslim, who kept reminding the Caliph of his efforts to enthrone him. Against Abu Muslim were also charges of being a [[zindiq]] or heretic.<ref name=gold76>{{Citation|last=Goldschmidt|first=Arthur|title=A concise history of the Middle East|year=2002|publisher=Westview Press|location=Boulder, Colorado|isbn=0-8133-3885-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00gold/page/76 76–77]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00gold/page/76}}</ref> al-Mansur then signaled five of his guards behind a portico to kill him. Abu Muslim's mutilated body was thrown in the river [[Tigris]], and his commanders were bribed to acquiesce to the murder.

== Allegations of Crypto-Zoroastrianism ==
Abu Muslim's eventual downfall and execution on charges of heresy have contributed to doubts cast on the sincerity of his Islamic faith. In particular this includes his close relationship with the [[mobad]] [[Sunpadh]] and his repeated praise of Zoroastrianism.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Babayan |first=Kathryn |author-link=Kathryn Babayan |url= |title=Mystics, Monarchs, and Messiahs: Cultural Landscapes of Early Modern Iran |date=2002 |publisher=Harvard CMES |isbn=978-0-932885-28-9 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Frye |first=Richard Nelson |title=Islamic Iran and Central Asia (7th–12th centuries) |date=1979 |publisher=Variorum Reprints |isbn=0-86078-044-9 |location=London |oclc=5823821}}</ref> 

Following his successful campaign in [[Gorgan]], there is a report of a tribesman being able to bypass Abu Muslim's line and relay news of the Umayyad's destruction by shaving his beard, donning a [[kushti]], and pretending to be a Zoroastrian (''tassabbaha bi'l-majus''), which suggests his ranks were of Zoroastrian origin.<ref name="HovannisianSabagh19982">{{cite book |author1=Richard G. Hovannisian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=39XZDnOWUXsC |title=The Persian Presence in the Islamic World |author2=Georges Sabagh |author3=Iḥsān Yāršātir |year= 1998 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-59185-0 |pages=64–65 |access-date=29 October 2020 |archive-date=15 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415011123/https://books.google.com/books?id=39XZDnOWUXsC |url-status=live }}</ref> 

Furthermore, there are records indicating that Abu Muslim planned to execute all Arabic speakers in Khorasan, By the orders of [[Ibrahim al-Imam]].<ref name="HovannisianSabagh19982" />{{sfn|Omar|1988|p=87}} though historian [[Farouk Omar]] dismissed this claim, stating: "These [claims] are not agreed upon by historians, therefore they cannot be accepted without scrutiny. External criticism of the text shows that it is mentioned without a chain of narrators in [[al-Tabari]]. As for [[Ibn Qutayba]]'s narration, it is weakened by the fact that the historian is obscure and incomplete in his accounts about the Abbasids, and the text is not mentioned in other important sources such as [[al-Baladhuri]]'s ''[[Genealogies of the Nobles|Ansab al-Ashraf]]'' and ''Akhbar al-Abbas''. There is no great importance to mentioning it in later historical books because these later historians such as [[Ibn Khaldun]], [[Ibn Kathir]], and [[Ibn al-Athir]] copied it from those who mentioned it before them.What is important here is to note that [[al-Dinawari]]'s account and the book ''[[Kitab al-'Uyun|al-Uyun wa al-Hada'iq]] '' do not mention the claim in which [[Ibrahim al-Imam|Ibrahim]] orders Abu Muslim to kill Arabs without discrimination. Rather, what is reported is that the order was to kill Arabs who refused to enter the Abbasid movement or those whose loyalty to it was doubted - 'kill whoever you doubt in his matter' or as al-Awfi says, to kill all the claimants or those demanding the imamate. This is supported, as we mentioned earlier, by what the author of ''Akhbar al-Abbas'' mentions on the tongue of Abu Muslim:'The Imam ordered me to stay among the people of [[Yemen]], to win over [[Rabi'a ibn Nizar|Rabi'ah]], and not to abandon my share of the righteous ones of [[Mudar]]... and to warn most of them against following [[Umayyad Dynasty|Banu Umayya]].'{{sfn|Omar|1988|p=[https://archive.org/details/20200524_20200524_0916/page/n88/mode/1up 88]}}

In the [[Siyasatnama|''Siyasatnameh'']], Nizam al-Mulk emphasized that Abu Muslim had a talent for appealing to Zoroastrian revivalism.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=al-Mulk |first=Niẓām |url= |title=The Book of Government, Or, Rules for Kings: The Siyar Al-Muluk, Or, Siyasat-nama of Nizam Al-Mulk|publisher=Psychology Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-7007-1228-1 |location= |pages=207 |language=en}}</ref><blockquote>Whenever he was alone with Zoroastrians, he would say, "According to one of the books of the Sasanians which I have found, the Arab empire is finished. I shall not turn back until I have destroyed the Kaaba, for this has been [wrongly] substituted for the sun; we shall make the sun our qibla as it was in olden time"<ref name=":0" /></blockquote>Despite his assistance in crushing [[Behafarid]]'s heresy and the possibility of his own Zoroastrian sympathies, Abu Muslim has not been remembered favourably by the Zoroastrian Orthodoxy in the Middle Persian tradition, as both the [[Zand-i Wahman yasn]] and [[Zaratosht-nama]] censure Abu Muslim.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Daryaee |first=Touraj |date=1 January 1998 |title=Apocalypse Now: Zoroastrian Reflections On the Early Islamic Centuries |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/me/4/3/article-p188_3.xml |journal=Medieval Encounters |language=en |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=188–202 |doi=10.1163/157006798X00115 |issn=1570-0674 |access-date=29 October 2020 |archive-date=8 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508133216/https://brill.com/view/journals/me/4/3/article-p188_3.xml |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== Legacy ==
His murder was not well received by the residents of Khurasan, and there was resentment and rebellion among the population over the brutal methods used by Al-Mansur.<ref name="gold76" /> He became a legendary figure for many in [[Persia]], and several Persian heretics started revolts claiming he had not died and would return;<ref name="gold76" /> the latter included his own propagandist [[Ishaq al-Turk]], the Zoroastrian cleric [[Sunpadh]] in [[Nishapur]], the [[Abu Muslimiyya]] subsect of the [[Kaysanites Shia]], and [[al-Muqanna]] in Khurasan. Even [[Babak Khorramdin|Babak]] claimed descent from him.{{Citation needed|date=December 2016}}

There are different variations of legends about Abu Muslim and forms of his worship in Central Asia, Iran and Afghanistan. Depending on particular local traditions, some local saints are legitimized through an imaginary connection with Abu Muslim.<ref>Malikov Azim. The Cult of Abu Muslim and His Companions in Central Asia: Variants of Mythologization in [[Etnograficheskoe Obozrenie]] №3, 2020, pp. 141–160</ref>

== Books ==
At least three epic romances were written about him:
* {{Citation
| last =Marzubānī
| first =Muḥammad ibn ʻImrān
| title =Akhbār Abu Muslim al Khurasani
}}
* {{Citation
| last =Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan
| first =Abū Ṭāhir Ṭarsūsī
| title = Abū Muslimʹnāmah
}}
* {{Citation
| last =Zidan
| first =Jorji
| title = Abu Muslim al-Khurasani
}}

==See also==
* [[Babak Khorramdin]]
* [[Sunpadh]], or Sinbad the Magus
* [[Behafarid]]
* [[al-Muqanna]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{commons category}}
* {{The First Dynasty of Islam | edition = Second}}
* {{EI2|last=Moscati|first=S.|authorlink=Sabatino Moscati|title=Abū Muslim|volume=1|page=141|url=https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_0235}}
* {{The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates | edition = Second}}
* {{cite book | last = Shaban | first = M. A. | title = The ʿAbbāsid Revolution | location = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1979 | isbn = 0-521-29534-3 | url = {{Google Books|1_03AAAAIAAJ|plainurl=y}} }}
* {{cite book | last=Sharon | first = Moshe | title = Revolt: the social and military aspects of the ʿAbbāsid revolution | location = Jerusalem | publisher = Graph Press Ltd. | year = 1990 | isbn = 965-223-388-9 | url = {{Google Books|cTLMgO9dU4cC|plainurl=y}} }}
* {{Encyclopaedia Iranica | volume=1 | fascicle=4 | last = Yūsofī | first = Ḡ. Ḥ. | title = ABŪ MOSLEM ḴORĀSĀNĪ | pages = 341–344 | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/abu-moslem-abd-al-rahman-b }}
* Malikov Azim. "The Cult of Abu Muslim and His Companions" in ''Central Asia: Variants of Mythologization in Etnograficheskoe obozrenie'' №3, 2020, pp.&nbsp;141–160.
* {{cite book |last=Omar |first=Farouk |author-link=Farouk Omar |year=1988 |title=الثورة العباسية |trans-title=The Abbasid Revolution |publisher=Dar Afaq Arabiya |language=ar |url=https://archive.org/details/20200524_20200524_0916/mode/1up}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book | last = Daniel | first = Elton L. | author-link = Elton L. Daniel | title = The Political and Social History of Khurasan under Abbasid Rule, 747–820 | publisher = Bibliotheca Islamica, Inc. | location = Minneapolis & Chicago | year = 1979 | isbn = 0-88297-025-9 }}
* {{The History of al-Tabari | volume = 26 }}

{{People of Khorasan}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Muslim Khprasani}}
[[Category:755 deaths]]
[[Category:Generals of the Abbasid Caliphate]]
[[Category:Abbasid governors of Khorasan]]
[[Category:710s births]]
[[Category:People of the Abbasid Revolution]]
[[Category:Iranian rebels]]
[[Category:8th-century Iranian people]]
[[Category:8th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate]]
[[Category:8th-century slaves]]
[[Category:Slaves in the Umayyad Caliphate]]