Vizier

The vizier was the senior minister of the Abbasid Caliphate, and set a model that was widely emulated in the Muslim world. Many viziers came to enjoy considerable power, even at times eclipsing the Abbasid caliphs and using them as puppets. The majority of the viziers were of non-Arab origin, and several were also notable patrons of poets and scholars, sponsoring the Translation Movement as well as religious works. History The term wazīr originally meant "helper", and appears in this sense in the Quran. It was later adopted as a title, in the form of by the proto-Shi'a leaders al-Mukhtar and Abu Salama. Under the Abbasid caliphs, the term acquired the meaning of 'representative' or 'deputy'. Early period The exact origins of the office of vizier are not entirely clear. Some historians have suggested that it should be traced to pre-Islamic practices in Sasanian Persia (cf. wuzurg framadar), but others have stressed an independent evolution in the Arab-Islamic world, from the position of secretarial scribe to that of royal councillor. The matter is confused further by the anachronistic application of the term to early Abbasid officials by later historians. In addition, historians often applied the term to important ministers who did not formally hold the actual office. The first to have actually held the title may have been Ya'qub ibn Dawud under Caliph al-Mahdi. The early history of the office was dominated by the Iranian Barmakid family, which held unparalleled authority during most of the reign of Harun al-Rashid. The Barmakids distinguished themselves by their power, generosity, and the extent of their patronage, but are mostly remembered for their abrupt downfall in 803, possibly as the Caliph felt threatened by their power.