'Isa ibn Musa ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdallah ibn al-Abbas (died 783/4) was a nephew of the first two Abbassid Caliphs, as-Saffah (r. 750–754) and al-Mansur (r. 754–775), and for a long time heir-apparent of the Caliphate, until he was superseded by al-Mansur's son al-Mahdi (r. 775–785).
Under as-Saffah, he was appointed governor of Kufa, the first Abbasid capital. As-Saffah named him second heir after his brother Abu Ja'far (the future al-Mansur). When as-Saffah died, it fell to Isa to proclaim Abu Ja'far, who was in Mecca at the time, as Caliph. Under al-Mansur, he remained on his post as governor of Kufa, took actively part in the planning of the new Abbasid capital, Baghdad, built the Al-Ukhaidir Fortress and suppressed Alid revolts under the brothers Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya and Ibrahim ibn Abdallah.
Nevertheless, in 764/5 he was pressured into ceding his place in the succession to al-Mansur's son, al-Mahdi, and again in 776, when al-Mahdi forced him to renounce his succession in favour of al-Mahdi's son Musa al-Hadi (r. 785–786).
Sources[]
- Sourdel, D. (1997). "'Isā b. Mūsā". The Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume IV: Iran–Kha. Leiden and New York: BRILL. p. 88. ISBN 90-04-05745-5.
The original article can be found at Isa ibn Musa and the edit history here.