Ibn Banu

Ibn Banu (Arabic: ابن بانوا) was the nominal governor of al-Bahrain for the Abbasid dynasty, serving there in 903.

Career

The Muslim historian al-Tabari's Annals only mentions Ibn Banu once. He appears to have been a military commander who was posted to al-Bahrain in an attempt to expel the Qarmatians under Abu Sa'id Jannabi there. He is recorded as having sent a message to the central government in Baghdad, describing how he had launched a surprise attack on a Qarmatian stronghold and successfully overwhelmed its defenders. In October 903 another message was received from him, stating that he had attacked al-Qatif. His troops routed the Qarmatians and killed their commander, who was identified as Abu Sa'id's designated successor. They then prevailed against al-Qatif and entered it.

Ibn Banu is not subsequently mentioned, but the Abbasid reconquest of al-Qatif was short-lived, as the Qarmatians were soon back in control of the oasis.

References

• Rentz, G. (1978). "Al-Katif". In van Donzel, E.; Lewis, B.; Pellat, Ch. & Bosworth, C. E. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume IV: Iran–Kha. Leiden: E. J. Brill. OCLC 758278456.
• Rosenthal, Franz, ed. (1985). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXXVIII: The Return of the Caliphate to Baghdad: The Caliphates of al-Muʿtaḍid, al-Muktafī and al-Muqtadir, A.D. 892–915/A.H. 279–302. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-87395-876-9.