Al-Saffah

Abu al-‘Abbās ‘Abdu'llāh ibn Muhammad al-Saffāḥ (Arabic: أبو العباس عبد الله بن محمد السفّاح; c. 721 – 754), or simply As-Saffaḥ, was the first caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, reigning from 750 until his death in 754. His self-chosen caliphal title of As-Saffah, meaning 'the Blood-Shedder', stems from his taste for iron fist rule.

Biography

Coming to power in 750 through the Abbasid Revolution against the Umayyad Caliphate, he spent his brief rule consolidating the new empire. In light of this, the caliphate conducted campaigns eastward into Central Asia in the autumn of 751, whereupon they collided with a simultaneous Tang expansion westward. This culminated in the Battle of Talas from which the Abbasids emerged victorious thanks to the defection of the Karluks who had initially been allied with the Tang. However, an ancient secret organization known as the Hidden Ones which had become enemies of As-Saffah were in the area hunting for his troops. Arriving too late to turn the tide, the group nonetheless rescued a surviving Tang soldier, Li E, from the battlefield and welcomed him as a new member to their order.

Behind the scenes

In the manhua Assassin's Creed: Dynasty, As-Saffah is first mentioned in passing by the Hidden One Éléna as a target of her group. The comic makes a point of using a semantic translation of his caliphal title—in Chinese 屠夫 (túfū) and 'the Blood-shedder' in English—rather than rendering the name through phonetic matching as is usual, i.e. 薩法赫 (Sàfǎhè) in Chinese and As-Saffah in English. This may be a creative decision to emphasize Éléna's perception of As-Saffah. Regardless, the margin gives an explanation as to who 'the Blood-shedder' actually refers to.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Dynasty (first mentioned)
• Assassin's Creed: Mirage (mentioned only)