Ja'far ibn Yahya

Jaʽfar ibn Yahya Barmaki or Jafar al-Barmaki (Persian: جعفر بن یحیی برمکی, Arabic: جعفر بن يحيى, Jaʽfar bin yaḥyā) (767–803), also called Aba-Fadl, was a Persian vizier of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid, succeeding his father (Yahya ibn Khalid) in that position. He was a member of the influential Barmakid family, formerly Buddhist leaders of the Nava Vihara monastery. He was executed in 803 at the orders of Harun al-Rashid.

Jaʽfar ibn Yahya جعفر بن يحيى
Detail of a miniature illustrating an anecdote in which the power and influence of Jaʻfar ibn Yahya (crowned figure) is pointed out. Folio from a manuscript of Nigaristan, Iran, probably Shiraz, dated 1573-74
Born	c. 767 Khorasan, Abbasid Caliphate
Died	c. 803 Abbasid Caliphate
Cause of death	Execution on the orders of Caliph Harun al-Rashid
Other names	Aba-Fadl
Occupation	Abbasid vizier
Years active	c. 798 – 803
Era	Abbasid
Parents	Yahya ibn Khalid (father) Umm al-Fadl (mother)

He had a reputation as a patron of the sciences, and did much to introduce Indian science into Baghdad.^[1] He was credited with convincing the caliph to open a paper mill in Baghdad, the secret of papermaking having been obtained from Tang Chinese prisoners at the Battle of Talas (in present-day Kyrgyzstan) in 751.^{[citation needed]}

In fiction

Jaʽfar also appears (under the name of Giafar in most translations) along with Harun al-Rashid in several Arabian Nights tales, often acting as a protagonist. In "The Three Apples" for example, Jaʽfar is tasked with solving a murder, whereas in "The Tale of Attaf", Jaʽfar is more of an adventurer.

More recent media inspired by the Arabian Nights has portrayed Jaʽfar as both a villain and a sorcerer:

• In the 1940 version of The Thief of Bagdad, Conrad Veidt plays the grand vizier Jaffar, a sorcerer who overthrows the king and tries to seduce the princess.^[2]
• In the film The Golden Blade (1952), Harun al-Rashid (Rock Hudson) battles Jafar (George Macready), vizier to the caliph of Baghdad who tries to usurp the throne.
• In the book The Grand Vizier of the Night (1981) by Catherine Hermary-Vieille, he is the Caliph Harun al-Rashid's lover.
• In 1989 the video game Prince of Persia featured a scheming magician named Jaffar who seized power from the Sultan and tried to force the Princess to marry him. In the later Prince of Persia games, an unnamed 'Vizier' is the main villain and is based on the Jaffar character from the original game.
• In 1992 the Disney film Aladdin featured an evil vizier and sorcerer called Jafar, who is a composite character of an (unnamed) vizier and an evil magician from the original Aladdin tale.
• In the Japanese manga of Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Jaʽfar is a young general working under Sinbad, the king of Sindria.

Family tree

v t e Family tree of the Barmakids
Barmak Khalid Sulayman al-Hasan Yahya Muhammad Ja'far al-Fadl Muhammad Musa al-Abbas Ja'far Imran Ahmad ("Jahza") Source: Barthold, W. & Sourdel, D. (1960). "al-Barāmika". In Gibb, H. A. R.; Kramers, J. H.; Lévi-Provençal, E.; Schacht, J.; Lewis, B. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume I: A–B. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 1033–1036. OCLC 495469456.

See also

• Arib al-Ma'muniyya

References

1. van Bladel, Kevin (2011). "The Bactrian Background of the Barmakids". In A. Akasoy, C. Burnett and R. Yoeli-Tlalim (ed.). Islam and Tibet: Interactions along the Musk Routes. London: Ashgate. pp. 43–88.
2. Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. pp. 168–169. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.

External links

• How Greek Science passed to the Arabs, with some references to Jafar