Al-Saffah
| al-Saffāḥ السفّاح | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
as-Saffah's proclamation as caliph, from a 14th-century illustrated manuscript of Balami's Tarikhnama | |||||
| 1st Abbasid Caliph | |||||
| Reign | 25 January 750 – 8 June 754 | ||||
| Predecessor | Dynasty established Marwan II as Umayyad caliph | ||||
| Successor | al-Mansur | ||||
| Born | c. 721 al-Humayma, Jordan | ||||
| Died | 8 June 754 (aged 33) al-Anbar, Iraq | ||||
| Burial | Anbar | ||||
| Spouse | Umm Salama bint Ya'qub al-Makhzumi | ||||
| Issue |
| ||||
| |||||
| Dynasty | Abbasid | ||||
| Father | Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh | ||||
| Mother | Rayta bint Ubayd Allah | ||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||
Abu al-ʿAbbās Abd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-ʿAbbās (Arabic: أبو العباس عبد الله ابن محمد ابن علي; 721/722 – 8 June 754), known by his laqab al-Saffah (Arabic: السفّاح), was the first caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, one of the longest and most important caliphates in Islamic history.
His laqab al-Saffāḥ means "the Blood-Shedder". It may refer to his ruthless tactics, or perhaps it was used to intimidate his enemies, It was during his inaugural homage as Caliph, delivered in the Great Mosque of Kufa, that he called himself "al-Saffah" ("the Blood-Shedder"), and this title has deservedly stuck to him due to his massacring and hunting down Umayyads in cold blood. as it was common in history to adopt such names, an example for this is "Al Abbas" which means a "Lion that scares away other animals".