al-Harith ibn Abd Allah al-Azdi
{{Short description|7th century Umayyad governor and commander}}
Al-Harith ibn Abd Allah al-Azdi, also referred to in sources as al-Harith ibn Abd, al-Harith ibn Amr or al-Harith ibn Abd Amr ({{floruit|665–677}}) was the Umayyad governor of Basra for four months in early 665 under Caliph Mu'awiya I ({{reign|661|680}}). Later, he served as the governor of his home territory of Palestine and/or the commander of Palestine's troops in the mid-670s.
Life
He was a tribesman of the Azd from Palestine,{{sfn|Crone|1980|p=227, note 235}} where the Azd made up a significant proportion of the district's Arab population.{{sfn|Crone|1994|p=26}}
In the spring of 665 Mu'awiya appointed al-Harith as governor of Basra in place of Abd Allah ibn Amir. Al-Harith made Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn Ghaylan the head of his shurta (select troops). According to al-Tabari (d. 923), al-Harith had been appointed by Mu'awiya as a placeholder to make way for Ziyad ibn Abihi, who became governor four months after al-Harith.{{sfn|Morony|1987|p=76}}
The historians Patricia Crone and Moshe Gil identified him as the "Harith ibn Abd" mentioned as the governor of Palestine under the Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I ({{reign|661|680}}) in the Arabic and Greek papyri of Nitzana, dated to October 674–February 677.{{sfn|Crone|1980|p=227, note 235}}{{sfn|Gil|1997|p=76, note 1}} The traditional Muslim sources mention him as the commander of the troops of Palestine under Mu'awiya.{{sfn|Gil|1997|p=76}}
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{Slaves on Horses}}
- {{cite journal |last1=Crone |first1=Patricia |title=Were the Qays and Yemen of the Umayyad Period Political Parties? |journal=Der Islam |date=1994 |volume=71 |pages=1–57 |doi=10.1515/islm.1994.71.1.1 |s2cid=154370527 }}
- {{A History of Palestine, 634–1099 }}
- {{The History of al-Tabari |volume=18 |url={{Gbook|9DHhZ5Wwo_YC|plainurl=y}}}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harith ibn Abd Allah}}
Category:7th-century Arab people