Bokayr b. Mahan and Abbasides invitation

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Abstract

Member of the Encyclopedia of the world of Islam.
Many historians have researched about Abbasides' rebellion, repeatedly, as one of the most important events of the early Islam. However,there are no convincing replies for numerous questions about this subject yet. And there are still a lot for the researchers to find out about in this regard.
In this article, by introducing one of the greatest emissaries of this movement, Bokayr b. Mahan, It has been tried to examine the role of his guidance and leadership, more exactly, first in kufeh and then in khorasan. And after that it has been tried to acquaint the readers with the process of events according to the facts which the resources give us about the leadership and his special role (with an emphasis on the oldest sources). It should be mentioned, of course that, It is never possible to get correct and scientific information of a movement, by studying the story and the so-called heroes of the story. But in most cases these are the inferior supporters who play the basic role in a movement and determine its nature and its course. In additian unfortunately the old sources and traditional historiography have always avoided to recognize the numerous inferior people and have just paid attention to few famous and recognized characters. However, the writer does not want to clarify the nature of insurrection and examine its different aspects, but he tries to explaine some valuable points which can be obtained by following Bokayr's political life. By this article, the writer wishes to take the first step for a more serious research and examination.