Yahya ibn Khalid al-Barmaki

يحيى بن خالد البرمكي

al-Rashid's vizier, who stopped the canal joining the Red Sea to the Mediterranean with one image — Roman squadrons landing near Jeddah to snatch pilgrims from the Haram 1.

Depth

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Overview

Yahya ibn Khalid al-Barmaki, vizier of al-Rashid, son of Khalid ibn Barmak and one of the Barmakids 2.

His learning

al-Mas'udi reports that when al-Rashid wanted to join the Red Sea with the Mediterranean, Yahya drew his attention to the fact that the Byzantines might seize people from the two holy cities, and al-Rashid refrained 3. He was a man of learning and reflection, and he had a council where the people of theology, and the holders of opinions and sects, gathered 4.

Ibn al-Nadim reports that Sibawayh came to Iraq seeking him, and he brought him together with al-Kisa'i and al-Akhfash. He sent a man to India to bring drugs and to write down their religions, and the Barmakids took care of the scholars and physicians of India 5 6.

Connections

Explore the connections

Parent of
al-Fadl ibn Yahya al-Barmaki· جعفر بن يحيى البرمكي
Child of
خالد بن برمك
Member of
Barmakids

People and things also explored

Barmakids· The downfall of Ja'far and the Barmakids· al-Fadl ibn Yahya al-Barmaki· جعفر بن يحيى البرمكي· خالد بن برمك

Sources

  1. Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi , p. 558
  2. Tarikh al-Dawla al-Abbasiyya — Muhammad Suhayl Taqqush (7th ed. 2009)
  3. Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi , p.558
  4. Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi , p.357-358
  5. al-Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadim , p.143
  6. al-Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadim , p.484
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Yahya ibn Khalid al-Barmaki”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/yahya-ibn-khalid-al-barmaki/. 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

Barmakids

The Barmakids — the Persian vizierial dynasty from Balkh's Nawbahar shrine; from Khalid under al-Saffah through Yahya's seventeen-year golden age to the nakba of 187 AH.