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 Yezid 284 Yusaf A. D. He is the Isdigertes III of the Greeks, and a cotemporary of 'Umax the Khali'f of Arabia. This prince ■who appears to have been as weak as he was unfortunate, sat upon the throne only nine years ; that being the period from his elevation to the battle of Nahawand which decided the fate of Persia, and which from its date 641 A. D., fell under the dominion of the Arabian Khalifs. For a period of ten years afterwards this monarch was a fugitive, possessed no power whatever. He first fled to Sistan, then to Khurasan, and lastly, to Marv where he was murdered 651 A. D., 31 A. H. He was the last sovereign of the house of Sasan, a dynasty which ruled Persia for 415 years. It is from the commencement of his reign that the Persian Era, which is in use to this day in Persia, is called after him the Era of Yezdijard. It began on Tuesday the 16th of June, 632 A. D., 20th Eabi' I, 11 A. H. being only eight days after Muham- mad's death. Yezid, ly^i^^^t i:^^ '^i>J, the son of Abu Sufian. He died by the plague that raged in Syria in the year 639 A. D. The mortality both among men and beasts was so terrible, that the Arabs call that year "'Am-ul- ramada," or the year of destruction. By this pestilence the Saracens lost 25,000 men, among whom were Abu 'Obeida, general of the Saracen army at Syria, Sarjabil, ibn-Hasana formerly Muhammad's secretary, and Yezid ibn-Sufian. Yezid I, ^J^'O (D^. "^iyi, the son of Mu'awia and the second Khalif of the house of Umayya. His inaugura- tion was performed at Damascus on the same day that his father died, viz., on the new moon of the month of Rajab, corresponding with the 7th of April, 680 A. D. 1st Eajab, 60 A. H. He was a man of considerable taste and re- finement, an eloquent orator, and an admired poet. Some specimens of his composition, which are still extant, display no ordinary powers of mind. The first and the last lines of the ode with which the bard of Persia, the celebrated Hafiz, opens his magnificent Diwan, are bor- rowed from Yezfd. It was once sarcastically asked of Hafiz, " How could a distinguished poet like yourself stoop to borrow from Yezfd, who was not only a usurper, but also the murderer of Imam Husain ?" He answered, " Which of you, seeing a dog running away with a diamond, would not stop the brute, and rescue the jewel from its unclean mouth ?" By Persian authors, Yezi'd is never mentioned without abomination, and ordinarily this imprecation is added to his name, " Lanat-uUah," that is, the curse of God be upon liim ;" in reference not to his vices, but to the death of Husain, the son of 'Alf, whom he first of all attempted to destroy by poison, and afterwards caused to be killed, with all his family, on the plains of Karbala. Under his khilafat the Musalmans conquered all Khurasan and Kliwarizm, and put the territories of the princes of Samarkand under contribution. The motto of his seal was, "God is our Lord." Yezfd died on the 31st of October, 683 A. D., 4th Rabf I, 64 A. H. in the 39th year of his age, after he had reigned three years and eight months, and was succeeded by his son Muawia II. His mother's name was Maisana a Bedouin of the tribe of Kalabf. Yezfd was a debauchee and is represented by Moslem writers as an Atheist. Yezid II, ^sUJUa* ^^j O-jy^^ the ninth Khalff of the race of Umayya, was the son of the Khalff 'Abdulmalik. He succeeded 'Umar the son of 'Abdul Azfz in 720 A. D., 101 A. H. in Syria, and died after a reign of four years, 724 A. D., 105 A. H. His brother Hasham succeeded him. Yezid III, 0.,* *J>i, the twelfth Khalff of the home of Umayya, succeeded his father Walfd II in Syria 744 A._D., 126 A. H., and died the same year after he had reigned six months. He was succeeded by his brother Ibrahim. Yunas bin-Abdur Rahman-al-Yuktaini, <>A* ^^j u-'ijJ, a celebrated Shia traditionist. Amongst other works, he wrote the " 'Ilal-al-Hadfs," the " Ikh- tilaf-al-Hadfs," and the " Jama-al-Kabir." He is said to have made forty-five pilgrimages to Mecca, and fifty- four 'Umrats when he merely visited the sacred city, and to have written the surprising number of 1,000 volumes, controverting the opponents of the Shia doctrines. He died at Madfna in 823 A. D., 208 A. H. Yusaf of Ahmadabad, '^♦^1 ^'^ji, author of an Arabic work on Theology called, Akaed Yusaf." Yusaf, ^"^Ji, author of a collection of letters called " Badayu'l Insha" or wonders of letter writing. It is also called " Inshae Yusaff. Yusaf Abu'l Haji, ij'^^^^y^ one of the Moorish kings of Granada, and the Finisher of the celebrated palace of the Alhambra. He ascended the throne of Granada in the year 1333, and his personal appearance and mental qualities were such as to win all hearts. He established schools in all the villages, with simple and uniform systems of education ; he obliged every hamlet of more than twelve houses to have a mosque, and pro- hibited various abuses and indecorums, that had been introduced into the ceremonies of religion and the festivals and public amusements of the people. His attention was also directed towards finishing the great architectural works commenced by his predecessors, and erecting others on his own plans. The Alhambra, which had been founded by the good Muhammad ibn-Alahmar, was now completed. He constructed the beautiful gate of Justice, forming the grand entrance to the fortress, which he finished in 1348. He likewise adorned many of the courts and halls of the palace, as may be seen by the inscrip- tions on the walls, in which his name repeatedly occurs. In the year 1354, as he was one day praying in the royal mosque of the Alhambra, a maniac rushed suddenly from behind, and plunged a dagger in his side. He was borne to the royal apartments, but expired almost immediately. The murderer was cut to pieces, and his limbs burnt in public, to gratify the fury of the populace. Yusaf Adil Shah, 2SI-^J,>Lp whose original name was Yusaf 'Adil Khan, was the founder of the 'Adil Shahf dynasty of Bfjapur. He was a nobleman in the service of Muhammad Shah II Bahmanf, king of the Dakhin. "When the Sultan left this world, and dissen- tions began to prevail in the kingdom, most of the foreign oflScers and soldiers attached themselves to Yusaf 'Adil Khan ; who, seeing the ministers of Sultan Mahmud II, the successor of the late king bent on his destruction, withdrew himself from Ahmadabad, with his family and followers, to his government of Bfjapur, and resolving to become the founder of a kingdom, he began to add to his territories by conquest. In the year 1489 A. D., 895 A. H., he, with the assent of Malik Ahmad Bahrf, assumed the title of Shah, and read the khutba of Bfjapur in his own name. Yusaf 'Adil Shah died at Bfjapur in 1510 A. D., 916 A. H. of a dropsical disorder after he had reigned with great prosperity 21 years, in the 75th year of his age, and was succeeded by his son Isma'fl 'Adil Shah.