Malik ibn Tawk

Malik ibn Tawk ibn Malik ibn 'Attab at-Taghlibi (died 873) was an Abbasid official during the reigns of caliphs al-Wathiq (r. 842–847) and al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861). He is best known as the founder of the fortress town of al-Rahba on the western banks of the Euphrates, part of the modern-day Syrian town of Mayadin.

Biography

Malik ibn Tawk belonged to the Arab tribe of Banu Taghlib and traced his lineage to the 6th-century Taghlibi poet warrior Amr ibn Kulthum.[1] His father, Tawk ibn Malik, served as governor of Diyar Rabi'a, the province of eastern Upper Mesopotamia (al-Jazira) under the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833).[2] He also served as a general under al-Ma'mun's predecessor, Caliph Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809),[1] Some Muslim sources have often incorrectly made the son Malik ibn Tawk to have been the one in the service of Harun and al-Ma'mun instead of his father.[2] Malik ibn Tawk served under the caliphs al-Wathiq (r. 842–847) and al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861) as the governor of Jund al-Urdunn (military district of Jordan) and Jund Dimashq (military district of Damascus).[2] Sometime in the latter half of the 9th century, Malik convinced his kinsman, Sahl ibn Bishr, a great-grandson of the 7th-century Taghlibi poet al-Akhtal, to convert to Islam from Christianity along with the other direct descendants of al-Akhtal.[2] Malik founded the Euphrates Valley fortress of al-Rahba and became its lord. The fortress town was since alternatively known as "Rahbat Malik ibn Tawk".[1] He died in 873.[1] His son Ahmad succeeded him as the lord of al-Rahba, but was forced out of the town in 883 by the lord of al-Anbar, Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Saj.[3]

The al-Rahabi clan of the Euphrates basin, claims descent from Malik ibn Tawk.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kay, Henry C. (October 1886). "Notes on the History of the Banu 'Okayl". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 18 (4): 504. doi:10.1017/S0035869X00161490.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Lecker, M. (2000). "Taghlib b. Wa'il". In Bearman, P.; et al. The Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume X, T-U (PDF). Leiden: Brill. pp. 92–93. ISBN 90-04-11211-1.
  3. ↑ Bianquis, Thierry (1995). "Al-Rahba". In Bosworth, C. E.; et al. Encyclopedia of Islam, Second Edition, Volume 8. Leiden: Brill. pp. 393–394. ISBN 90-04-09834-8.
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