Afshin 1

Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire
SexM
FloruitE/M IX
Dates838 (taq) / 838 (tpq)
PmbZ No.110
Variant Names'psyn
ReligionMuslim
EthnicityArab
LocationsAmorion (Galatia);
Ankyra (Galatia);
Dazimon (Helenopontus);
Anzen (Helenopontus);
Hadath (Pass of, Neapolis);
Armenia
Textual SourcesBar Hebraeus, Chronographia, tr. E. A. W. Budge, The Chronography of Abu 'l-Faraj (London, 1932; repr. Amsterdam, 1976) (history);
Chronicon Anonymi ad annum 1234 pertinens, ed. and tr. J.-B. Chabot, I = CSCO 81-82 (Paris, 1916-20), II = CSCO 109 (Louvain, 1937) (chronicle);
Genesii, Josephi, Regum Libri Quattuor, eds. A. Lesmüller-Werner and I. Thurn, CFHB 14 (Berlin, 1978) (history);
Theophanes Continuatus, ed. I. Bekker (Bonn, 1838) (history);
Zonaras = Ioannis Zonarae Epitome Historiarum, libri XIII-XVIII, ed. Th. Büttner-Wobst, (Bonn, 1897) (history)

Arab general under the caliph al-Mutasim 1, he put down the rebellion of Babak 1 and later served on the campaign of 838 against Amorion. Unnamed and wrongly styled the son of al-Mutasim 1, in 838 he commanded a part of the Arab army which invaded Asia Minor; his troops were Turkish archers and all the Armenian troops then serving under the Arabs and he was accompanied by the emir of Melitene, Amr 2, and the Armenian archon of the archontes, Anonymus 200; they were sent to test the strength of the emperor Theophilos 5's troops before an attack on Amorion; they met and defeated Theophilos 5 at Anzen near Dazimon: Theoph. Cont. III 31-32 (pp. 126-128), cf. Zon. XV 29. 11. He joined forces with the other part of the caliph's army at Amorion and the siege began: Theoph. Cont. III 33 (p. 129) (again called the son of the caliph). Wrongly called the son of the caliph (al-Mutasim 1), he was sent with Turkish troops, and with Besparakanites 1, the archon of the archontes (Anonymus 200) and Amr 2 (the ruler of Melitene) against the Romans after the sack of the caliph's home town, Sozopetra: Genesius III 13. He united his troops with those of the caliph after the battle of Anzes against Amorion: Genesius III 14. This campaign is also recorded in the Syriac tradition. In the year 1149 Sel. (i. e. 838) Afshin 1 ('psyn) was made commander of one section of the army of Abu Ishaq (al-Mutasim 1), the caliph himself leading the other; Afshin 1 crossed into Byzantine territory via the pass of Hadath (Neapolis); the emperor Theophilos 5 came against him but was defeated and fled; Afshin 1 then went to join forces with Abu Ishaq (al-Mutasim 1) at Ankara and reported his victory; they captured and destroyed Ankara, and then went to Amorion and captured and destroyed that too: Chron. 1234 §§221-222 (II, pp. 33-34). Commander of the army of the caliph Mu`tasim (al-Mutasim 1), he was sent to Stephanos 157 in Armenia to receive the rebel Babak 1 and kill him: Bar Hebr., p. 136. The date was apparently in the year 1148 Sel. (836/837). In the year 1149 Sel. (837/838) he led one Arab army into the lands of the Romans while Mu`tasim (al-Mutasim 1) led another; he encountered an army under the emperor Theophilos 5 and lost three thousand of his men: Bar Hebr., p. 136. On this man cf. Shaban, A New Interpretation, 2, pp. 60-67; Treadgold, Revival, pp. 292, 299ff.

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