Itakh

Itakh al-Khazari (Arabic إيتاخ الخزري) was a leading commander in the Turkish army of the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim (r. 833-842 C.E.). As the nisba in his name suggests, he was a Khazar by origin, and is said to have been working as a cook before he was purchased by al-Mu'tasim at some time before 819. He rose to become one of the senior commanders in al-Mu'tasim's "Turkish" guard, and participated in several expeditions such as the Sack of Amorium. He was also named governor of Egypt, and later rose to the influential position of hajib (chamberlain), one of the most powerful in the court. During al-Mutawakkil's reign (r. 847-861), Itakh's power over the army at Samarra became a threat to caliphal authority, and al-Mutawakkil had him discreetly murdered in 849.

References

• 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. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-4795-6.
• Kennedy, Hugh (2004). The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates: The Islamic Near East from the 6th to the 11th Century (Second Edition). Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd. ISBN 0-582-40525-4.