156
Origins
true,
then
Bugh
al-Kabirwasalready
anadultwhenhewasac-
quiredby
al-MuCtas.im.
Was.if
83
hadarole atAmorium
andserved
al-MuCtas.im
as
chamberlain;
s4
however,like
Bugh
al-Kabir,his
most
impor-
tantpositions
cameafter
al-Mutas.im’s
death.
Was.if
died in
253/867
AI-Afshin,
8n
whowas
al-Mutas.im’s
most
prominentgeneral,
already
led military campaigns
for
al-Ma’mfin,
s7
Under al-
Mutas.im
hedirectedthebattle
against
BtbSkandfought
inthe
conquest
ofAmorium.
88
I shallnot dwell
on his
important
career and
fascinating
downfall, however,
for
although
two
sources
callhima
Turk,
sa
hecamefromFarghana,
anIranian
cultural
region,
andwasnot
usually
considered
Turkish.
a
Several other lesser-known Turks
also had
leading posi-
tions: Simfi
ad-Dimashqi,
Smash-Sharbi, and
Muh.
ammad
b.
H.
ammd
b.Danfashallserved
al-Mutas.im
aschamberlains;
al
Bashirat-Turkiled
Farghaniantroops
in
anambush
against
Bbkin222/837.
a2
Anonymous
Turksfilleda
variety
ofmilitary
roles:somebe-
came
bodyguards,
either
forthe
caliph
orforothers;
93
Turks
guarded
Ibrfihim
b. al-Mahdi in
210/825 and
fought
at
83.
Waif
calledaTurk;
T,3:1351, 1479,1531, 1559,1687;Ibn.Habib,
p.260;
TYae,2:478;ITB,2:327,338,340;
Eutychius,
2:61-62.
Mamlk:KB,
p.
256;ITB,2:340.Mawla:UH,
pp.
409-10;’lqd,5:121;T,
3:1481.MawamraLmu’minn:T,3:1484-85;
FB,
p.235.
84.AroleatAmorium:
T,
3:1237.
As
.h(zjib:TYa%
2:478;UH,
pp.
409-10;
Ibn
H.
abe,p.260;’lqd,5:121;Eutychius,
2:61.
85.
TYa%
2:502;ITB,2:338,340.
86.AI-AfshincalledaTurk:
al-Is.t.akhri,p.
292;
J.
Saint
Martin,
Memoireshis-
toriques
et
gkographiques
surl’Armnie(Paris,1818-19),
1:344,
relying
onArmenian
historians.Mawla:Din,p.
403.Mawldamral-mu’minb:
al-Qalqashandi,
6:404.
87.T,3:1105,1106.
88.T,3:1170-1234,1236-56.
- Seenote 86
above.
90.AI-Afshfn’strial(T,3:1303-18)ispermeated
withthefactofhisIranian
culture;noteespeciallyvol.3,pp. 1312
and1315.
91.TYa
,
2:478;Clqd,5:121.
Mu.hammadb..Hammed
b.Danfash’sname
seemstoindicatethathisfatherwas
already
aMuslim.
92.
T,
3:1215-16.
93.T,3:1076,1289.