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Ishaq ibn Yahya ibn Mu'adh (Arabic: إسحاق بن يحيى بن معاذ; died 851) was a ninth-century provincial governor for the Abbasid Caliphate, serving as governor of Damascus and Egypt.

Early career

Ishaq was the scion of a prominent family from Khurasan; his father Yahya ibn Mu'adh ibn Muslim was a senior official who had been governor of Damascus, Armenia and al-Jazira.^[1] Ishaq himself was appointed as resident governor of the district of Damascus during the reign of al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833) by the caliph's brother and successor Abu Ishaq al-Mu'tasim (r. 833–842), and remained there through the death of al-Ma'mun in 833.^[2] During this period Ishaq was ordered by al-Mu'tasim to carry out the mihnah or inquisition regarding the createdness of the Qur'an, but he dealt leniently with the Damascenes on the matter.^[3]

Following the foundation of Samarra in 836, Ishaq received a land allotment along the Grand Avenue in the central city.^[4] In 840, al-Mu'tasim appointed him as commander of his guard (haras), and he retained that position for a period after al-Wathiq (r. 842–847) became caliph.^[5] In 843–4, al-Wathiq handed over Ahmad ibn Isra'il al-Anbari to Ishaq during a crackdown against the caliphal secretaries, and ordered him to flog Ahmad with ten lashes daily.^[6] During al-Wathiq's reign, Ishaq also served as governor of Damascus.^[7]

Under al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861), Ishaq again commanded the haras.^[8]

Governorship of Egypt

In 850, Ishaq was appointed as resident governor of Egypt by al-Muntasir, who had been assigned the province as part of al-Mutawakkil's succession arrangements. Ishaq's appointment gave him control of security and the prayers, together with the land tax (kharaj).^[9]

During his term in Egypt, Ishaq received an order from al-Mutawakkil and al-Muntasir, commanding him to deport all of the 'Alids then in Egypt. He accordingly provided a traveling allowance of 30 dinars for each 'Alid male and 15 dinars for each female, after which they set out from al-Fustat in January 851. Following their arrival in Iraq, they were exiled to Medina.^[10]

In May/June 851, Ishaq was dismissed from the governorship and replaced with Khut Abd al-Wahid ibn Yahya. He died in Egypt shortly after his dismissal, in September/October 851, and was buried in the City of the Dead.^[11]