Al-Fadl ibn Yahya

Al-Fadl ibn Yahya al-Barmaki (February 766 – October/November 808 ) was a member of the distinguished Barmakid family, attaining high offices in the Abbasid Caliphate under Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809).

He was the most generous from his family. He was the wazir to Harun al-Rashid. Al Fadl ibn Yahya and Harun al-Rashid were milk-brothers (foster brothers). Al-Fadl was responsible for looking over Khurasan. He was accused for spending his time hunting and enjoyment and did not fulffill the responsibility of taking care of the affairs of the people. His own father, was sitting in the presence of Harun al-Rashid for business and was asked to write a letter to his son addressing him as “my dear son”. After al-Fadl received the letter he remained in the mosque for all of his days until his responsibility had ended. There was a fire temple in the city of Balk where his ancestor was the servant or priest. He destroyed a portion of it and constructed it as a mosque. In the year 176, Al-Fadl was now made responsible for the administration of the eastern provinces from Sharwan to the furthest part of the Turks.

Fadl was the eldest son of Yahya al-Barmaki, the founder of the family's fortunes. During the caliphate of Harun al-Rashid, he served as tutor to his heir, the future Caliph al-Amin (r. 809–813), and held gubernatorial positions over Tabaristan and Rayy (792–797), and over Khurasan (794/5–795/6). In these positions, he distinguished himself "by the benevolence he showed towards the inhabitants of the eastern provinces" (D. Sourdel). As governor of Khorasan, Fadl built the "Gate of Iron", between Termez and Rāsht, to stop raids by Turks.

Fadl fell out with Harun over his attempts to conciliate the Alids, however, and shared in his family's sudden fall from power in 803. He remained imprisoned thereafter and died at Raqqa in 808.

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