Bugha al-Sharabi

Bugha al-Sharabi ("the Cupbearer"), also known as Bugha al-Saghir ("the Younger") to distinguish him from his unrelated contemporary Bugha the Elder, was a senior Turkish military leader in the mid-9th century Abbasid Caliphate.

He served under Caliph al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861) in Azerbaijan, but later led the conspiracy among the Turkish troops who killed the caliph. Closely allied to another Turkish officer, Wasif, Bugha held power at court under the caliphs al-Muntasir (r. 861–862) and al-Musta'in (r. 862–866), during the "Anarchy at Samarra". He fell into disgrace under al-Mu'tazz (r. 866–869), however, who resented both his influence and his role in the murder of al-Mutawakkil, his father. In 868, Bugha was imprisoned and executed at the Caliph's orders.

Sources

• Kraemer, Joel L., ed. (1989). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXXIV: Incipient Decline. The Caliphates of al-Wathiq, al-Mutawakkil, and al-Muntasir A.D. 841-863/A.H. 227-248. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-88706-875-8. 
• Sourdel, D. (1960). "Bughā al-Sharābī". In Gibb, H. A. R.; Kramers, J. H.; Lévi-Provençal, E.; Schacht, J.; Lewis, B.; Pellat, Ch. The Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume I: A–B. Leiden: E. J. Brill. p. 1287. ISBN 90-04-08114-3.