Vizier (Abbasid Caliphate) in the context of "Abbasid Caliphate"

The Barmakids (Persian: برمکیان Barmakiyân; Arabic: البرامكة al-Barāmikah), also spelled Barmecides, were an influential Iranian family from Balkh, where they were originally hereditary Buddhist leaders (in the Nawbahar monastery), and subsequently came to great political power under the Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad. Khalid, the son of Barmak became the chief minister (vizier) of Al Saffah, the first Caliph of the Abbasid dynasty. His son Yahya aided Harun al-Rashid in capturing the throne and rose to power as the most powerful man in the Caliphate.

The Barmakids were remarkable for their majesty, splendor and hospitality. They are mentioned in some stories of the One Thousand and One Nights.

The vizier (Arabic: وزير, romanized: wazīr) was the senior minister of the Fatimid Caliphate for most of the Egyptian period of its existence. Originally it was held by civilian officials who acted as the chief civilian ministers of the caliphs, analogous to the original model established by the Abbasids. When a vizier was not appointed, an "intermediary" (wāsiṭa) was designated instead. The enfeeblement of the caliph's power and the crisis of the Fatimid regime under Caliph al-Mustansir, however, led to the rise of military strongmen, who dominated the post from the 1070s until the caliphate's end. These "viziers of the sword" were also commanders-in-chief of the army who effectively sidelined the caliphs and ruled in their stead, often seizing power from their predecessors. The last vizier, Saladin, abolished the Fatimid Caliphate in 1171 (see Saladin in Egypt).

Yahya ibn Khalid (Arabic: يحيى بن خالد, romanized: Yahyā ibn Khālid; died 806 CE) was the most prominent member of the Barmakid family, serving as provincial governor and all-powerful long-time vizier to Caliph Harun al-Rashid before his abrupt fall in 803.

The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (/əˈbæsɪd, ˈæbəsɪd/; Arabic: الْخِلَافَة الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, romanized: al-Khilāfa al-ʿAbbāsiyya) was the third Islamic caliphate, founded by a descendant of Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the Abbasid dynasty derives its name. The preceding Umayyad Caliphate was overthrown by the Abbasid Revolution in 750 CE (132 AH), after which the Abbasids ruled as caliphs from their base in Iraq, with Baghdad as their capital for most of their history.

The Abbasid Revolution had its origins and first successes in the easterly region of Khurasan, far from the Levantine center of Umayyad influence. The Abbasids first centered their government in Kufa, Iraq, but in 762 the second caliph al-Mansur founded the city of Baghdad and made it the capital. Baghdad became a center of science, culture, arts, and invention, ushering in what became known as the Golden Age of Islam. Baghdad housed several key academic institutions, such as the House of Wisdom, and along with its multi-ethnic and multi-religious population, made the city famous as a centre of learning across the world. The Abbasid period was marked by the use of bureaucrats in the government, including the vizier, as well as an in the ummah (Muslim community) and among the political elites.

Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Muʿtazz bi-ʾLlāh (Arabic: أبو عبد الله محمد بن جعفر; 847 – 16 July 869), better known by his regnal title al-Muʿtazz bi-ʾLlāh (المعتز بالله, "He who is strengthened by God") was the Abbasid caliph from 866 to 869, during a period of extreme internal instability within the Abbasid Caliphate, known as the "Anarchy at Samarra".

Originally named as the second in line of three heirs of his father al-Mutawakkil, al-Mu'tazz was forced to renounce his rights after the accession of his brother al-Muntasir, and was thrown in prison as a dangerous rival during the reign of his cousin al-Musta'in. He was released and raised to the caliphate in January 866, during the civil war between al-Musta'in and the Turkish military of Samarra. Al-Mu'tazz was determined to reassert the authority of the caliph over the Turkish army but had only limited success. Aided by the vizier Ahmad ibn Isra'il, he managed to remove and kill the leading Turkish generals, Wasif al-Turki and Bugha al-Saghir, but the decline of the Tahirids in Baghdad deprived him of their role as a counterweight to the Turks. Faced with the assertive Turkish commander Salih ibn Wasif, and unable to find money to satisfy the demands of his troops, he was deposed and died of ill-treatment a few days later, on 16 July 869.

The Barmakids (Persian: برمکیان Barmakiyân; Arabic: البرامكة al-Barāmikah), also spelled Barmecides, were an influential Iranian family from Balkh, where they were originally hereditary Buddhist leaders (in the Nawbahar monastery), and subsequently came to great political power under the Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad. Khalid, the son of Barmak became the chief minister (vizier) of al-Saffah (r. 750–754), the first caliph of the Abbasid dynasty. His son Yahya aided Harun al-Rashid in capturing the throne and rose to power as the most powerful man in the Caliphate.

The Barmakids were remarkable for their majesty, splendor and hospitality. They are mentioned in some stories of the One Thousand and One Nights.