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Harthamah ibn al-Nadr (or al-Nasr) al-Jabali (Arabic: هرثمة بن النضر الجبلي) was a ninth century provincial governor for the Abbasid Caliphate, serving as governor of Egypt from 847 until his death in 849.

Career

Harthamah may be identified with Harthamah ibn al-Nadr al-Khuttali, who was governor of al-Maraghah in 838. That same year, he became involved in the conspiracy to assassinate the caliph al-Mu'tasim (r. 833–842) and replace him with al-Abbas ibn al-Ma'mun. When the plot was discovered he was arrested and put in irons, but after al-Afshin interceded for him he was released and received the governorship of al-Dinawar instead.

In 847 Harthamah was appointed resident governor of Egypt by the Turkish general Itakh, and he arrived in the province in the following year. During his administration the caliph al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861) began to bring an end to the mihnah and abandon the doctrine that the Qur'an had been created, and in accordance with this policy Harthamah was ordered to prohibit debate about the nature of the Qur'an in Egypt.

Harthamah remained governor until February 849, when he fell ill and died. Before dying, he designated his son Hatim as his successor, and the latter then took over the governorship.

Notes

1. Al-Kindi 1912, p. 197, n. 1.
2. Bosworth 1991, p. 133.
3. Hinds 1993, p. 4.
4. Al-Kindi 1912, pp. 196–97; Ibn Taghribirdi 1930, pp. 265–66; Al-Maqrizi 1987, p. 312.
5. Al-Kindi 1912, pp. 197–98; Ibn Taghribirdi 1930, pp. 269–70, 278; Al-Maqrizi 1987, p. 312. These three sources also agree that Itakh remained overlord of Egypt until July–August 849, following his appointment of Ali ibn Yahya al-Armani as governor.Gordon 2001, pp. 113, 235 n. 73, and Turner 2010, p. 96 n. 44, however, based on a passage in Al-Ya'qubi 1883, p. 593, believe that Harthamah was dismissed following Itakh's downfall and death.

References

• Bosworth, C. E., ed. (1991). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXXIII: Storm and Stress Along the Northern Frontiers of the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate: The Caliphate of al-Muʿtasim, A.D. 833–842/A.H. 218–227. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-0493-5.
• Gordon, Matthew S. (2001). The Breaking of a Thousand Swords: A History of the Turkish Military of Samarra (A.H. 200–275/815–889 C.E.). Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-7914-4795-2.
• Hinds, M. (1993). "Mihna". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W. P. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume VII: Mif–Naz. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 2–6. ISBN 978-90-04-09419-2.
• Ibn Taghribirdi, Jamal al-Din Abu al-Mahasin Yusuf (1930). Nujum al-zahira fi muluk Misr wa'l-Qahira, Volume II. Cairo: Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya.
• Al-Kindi, Muhammad ibn Yusuf (1912). Guest, Rhuvon (ed.). The Governors and Judges of Egypt (in Arabic). Leyden and London: E. J. Brill.
• Al-Maqrizi, Taqi al-Din Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn 'Ali (1987). Al-Mawa'iz wa al-I'tibar bi Dhikr al-Khitat wa al-Athar, Volume I (Second ed.). Cairo: Maktabat al-Thaqafah al-Diniyyah.
• Turner, John P. (2010). "The End of the Mihna". Oriens. 38: 89–106. doi:10.1163/187783710X536671. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
• Al-Ya'qubi, Ahmad ibn Abu Ya'qub (1883). Houtsma, M. Th. (ed.). Historiae, Vol. 2. Leiden: E. J. Brill.

• 849 deaths
• 9th-century Abbasid governors of Egypt
• 9th-century Arab people