Khazim ibn Khuzayma al-Tamimi

Khazim ibn Khuzayma al-Tamimi was a Khurasani Arab military leader. One of the early supporters of the Abbasid da'wa in Khurasan, he played a major role in the Abbasid Revolution against the Umayyads, and then spent the next two decades suppressing revolts across the Caliphate. As one of the main figures of the Khurasaniyya, the main power base of the Abbasid regime, he cemented his family in a position of power and influence: his sons would play an important role in the affairs of the Caliphate over the next decades.

Biography His family hailed from the Nahshal branch of the Banu Tamim, which had settled at Marw al-Rudh in Khurasan, probably during the early days of the Muslim conquest of the region. The family had apparently become Persianized to some extent; Khazim is recorded as preferring to use Persian to address his followers, and his sister had married an Iranian. Khazim was one of the earliest supporters of the Abbasid missionary cause (da'wa) in Khurasan; he secured his native city for the Abbasids in the early days of the Abbasid Revolution, and then commanded the city's contingent in the Abbasid army that marched west to topple the Umayyads in 749–750. He participated in the Siege of Wasit in 750, He returned north in 755–756 to fight against another Kharijite uprising in the Jazira and against the rebellion of the Abbasid Abdallah ibn Ali in Syria. According to Kennedy, he was a cautious general, but also capable of "quick and surprising decisions" during battle, his favourite tactic being to detach a part of his army to attack the enemy from the rear.

Family His sons, Abdallah, Ibrahim, Shu'ayb and especially Khuzayma, remained prominent in the Abbasid court after his death, and played a major role in the reign of Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809). Like most of the original Khurasaniyya families, however, his descendants lost their privileged position during the civil war that followed Harun's death.