Itakh

Who is Itakh?

Itakh al-Khazari was a leading commander in the Turkish army of the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim. 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 hijab, one of the most powerful in the court. During al-Mutawakkil's reign, Itakh's power over the army at Samarra became a threat to caliphal authority, and al-Mutawakkil had him discretely murdered in 849.