Q. & A. 711 to 1707 with solved Papers css 1971 to date

The Wazir
Next to the Caliph, came the wazir. Although the word is Arabic, the office was of Persian origin, al-Mawardi and other theorists speak of two kinds of al-wizarat, the wizarat of tafwid (having full unlimited authority) and the wizarat of tanfidh (having limited executive powers only). Often the wazir was all-powerful. He could appoint and dismiss Governors and Judges. Although, in theory, he had to consult the Caliph regarding every important appointment or dismissal, but often acted without consulting him.
The office of the wazir did not exist under the Pious Caliphs, nor under the Umayyads. It is an Abbasid institution

580
Political mid Cultural History of Islam
borrowed from the Persians. The first individual to be called a wazir under as-Saffah was Abu Salma al-Khallal. He was the chief of the Abbasid propaganda at al-Kufah and was known as the ”Wazir of the Family of Muhammad (PBUH).” He was charged with pro-Alid sympathy and executed. After him Saffah appointed Abu Jahm. According to another version, he appointed Khalid bin Barmak. Khalid came of a noble family of Persian priests and was one of the leaders of the Abbasid revolution.
Although Khalid discharged the duties of the wazir, he did not call himself by that name being afraid of the fate that overtook Abu Salma. Under the earl} Abbasids we do not clearly discern the two separate posts of the wazir and the Hajib. After Abu Salmah’s murder, the person who performed the duties of the Prime Minister did not call himself the Wazir. Often a single person seems to have performed both the functions of the Wazir and the Hajib.
Under Saffah and Mansur, the wazirs were highly circumspect and were kept under the strict supervision of the Caliphs. Under al-Mahdi and al-Hadi and during the major part of the reign of Harun Rashid the wazirs practically exercised the powers and prerogatives of the Caliph. They could appoint and dismiss any officer except the one directly appointed by the Caliph. They acted as the Chief Judge and heard all appeals from the lower courts. The Caliphs, who had perfect confidence in their wazirs, were glad that more and more of the burden of the office was being taken by trustworthy Wazirs and some of them devoted more time to their pleasures and amusements.
The task of the wazir was by no means easy. He had to please the despotic monarch on the one hand and the fickle populace on the other. The office required an intimate knowledge of administration, principles of taxation and the whole of Muslim Law, public and private. Looking the confidence of the monarch meant dismissal, confiscation of all properties and certain death. As a rule, the early Abbasids executed all their deposed wazirs. Under Harun Rashid, his wazir Ja’far, and his Barmakid family became so powerful that the suspicious monarch in a fit of jealousy and fear had him executed, and all the members of the family were degraded and imprisoned. Under al-Amin, al-Fazal bin Rabi’ and during the early years of al-Ma’mun’s reign, al-Fadl bin Sahl were the de-facto rulers. But once al-Ma’mun’s eyes were opened by the great Imam Ali Raza. he took all powers into his own hands and his two successors
Administrative Structure Under the Abbasidb
581
followed in the footsteps of their great predecessor. After the Caliph ceased to be the de-facto ruler and real power passed into the hands of his functionaries.