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محمد بن عبد الملك الزيات

محمد بن عبد الملك الزيات

Al-Mu'tasim's vizier; he elegized him joining condolence and congratulation — 'go, for a fine keeper you were over the world and a fine backer of the faith; God mends a nation that loses your like only with a Harun' 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Early Abbasid Caliphate
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Overview

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik al-Zayyat, vizier of al-Mu'tasim. 2

His lament

Al-Suyuti says that he lamented al-Mu'tasim at his death, combining consolation and congratulation in his lament. 2

Accusation of heresy

Ibn al-Nadim says that it was said that he was a heretic (zindiq), and counts him among the kings and notables who were accused of heresy. This is a view attributed to Ibn al-Nadim, not the judgement of the museum. 3

His family

From his children was Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik al-Zayyat, and among his descendants Abu Talib Ahmad ibn al-Husayn, the companion of Ibn Wahshiyya and the transmitter of his books from him. 4

Connections

Explore the connections

Related to
al-Mu'tasim Abu Ishaq ibn al-Rashid

People and things also explored

Conquest of Amorium· Death of al-Mu'tasim· The Fall of Qaliqala, 133, and its Rebuilding· The Garrisoning of Sur man Ra'a (Samarra)· Imran ibn Musa's Sind and the Zutt-Mayd Wars· The Court's Wooing of Transoxania· The Sack of Zibatra and al-Mu'tasim's Retaliation· The Conversion of al-Usayfan's King

Sources

  1. Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p. 526-527
  2. Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p.526-527
  3. al-Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadim , p.473
  4. al-Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadim , p.433
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “محمد بن عبد الملك الزيات”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/muhammad-ibn-abd-al-malik-al-zayyat/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-17.

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Wing

People

Prophets, companions, scholars, rulers, scientists, poets, travelers: women and men who shaped the story. Related

Conquest of Amorium

Al-Mu'tasim set out campaigning into Byzantine lands in the year 223, though some say his departure was in 224 or 222, after he had killed Babak. According to al-Suyuti, he took it by the sword, killed thirty thousand of its people and took as many captive. The astrologers had judged the ascendant unlucky when he was preparing and that he would be broken; yet his victory exceeded anything feared, and Abu Tammam said that the sword is truer in its reports than books. According to al-Mas'udi, al-Mu'tasim was roused to war, donning a white woollen tunic and the raider's turban, when Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi recited to him, 'O raid of God, you have now beheld it, so break in.' He encamped on the west bank of the Tigris on Monday, two nights into Jumada I in the year 223. He placed Ashnas in the vanguard, Itakh on the right wing, Ja'far ibn Dinar al-Khayyat on the left, Bugha al-Kabir in the rear, and Ajif at the centre. He entered by the Pass of Safety, while al-Afshin entered by the Pass of Hadath; he met the king and defeated him. Lawi the patrician came out to him from Amorium and surrendered it; he took Batis captive, killed thirty thousand, and stayed four days demolishing and burning.