Ali ibn Yahya al-Armani

Ali ibn Yahya al-Armani was a famed Muslim military commander of the mid-9th century.

In 840, he was sent to Egypt as its governor, replacing Malik ibn Kaydur.^[1]

Later he was named commander of the Caliphate's borderlands in Cilicia (the al-thughur as-Sha'miya), confronting the Byzantine Empire. He is the first Emir of Tarsus known to have exercised near-independent authority, taking advantage of the decline in the power of the Abbasid Caliphate's central government.^[2] From this post, Ali undertook several summer raiding expeditions over the Taurus Mountains into Byzantine-held Anatolia: raids led by Ali are recorded for the years 851, 852, 853, 856, 859 and 860.^[3] In 862 he was appointed governor of Armenia and Azerbaijan, and in the next year, he was killed in battle with the Byzantines.^[3]

References

^ Gordon (2001), p. 207 (Note #25)
^ Hild & Hellenkemper (1990), pp. 48–50
^ ^a ^b Hild & Hellenkemper (1990), p. 50

Sources

Gordon, Matthew (2001), The breaking of a thousand swords: a history of the Turkish military of Samarra, A.H. 200–275/815–889 C.E., State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0-7914-4795-6, http://books.google.com/books?id=G1cxAkNm61IC
Hild, Friedrich; Hellenkemper, Hansgerd (1990) (in German). Tabula Imperii Byzantini, Band 5: Kilikien und Isaurien. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. ISBN 3-7001-1811-2.

Persondata
Name	Ali ibn Yahya Al-Armani
Alternative names
Short description	Military commander and emir of Tarsus
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death	863
Place of death	Armenia