The Barmakids, also spelled Barmecides, were an influential Iranian family from Balkh, where they were originally hereditary Buddhist leaders, and subsequently came to great political power under the Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad. Khalid, the son of Barmak became the chief minister (vizier) of Al Saffah, the first Caliph of the Abbasid dynasty. His son Yahya aided Harun al-Rashid in capturing the throne and rose to power as the most powerful man in the Caliphate.
Barmakids
Balkh is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan, about 20 km (12 mi) northwest of the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif, and some 74 km (46 mi) south of the Amu Darya river and the Uzbekistan border. Its population was estimated to be 138,594 in 2021-22 by the Afghan National Statistic and Information Authority. Listed as the current 8th most populous city in the country, 2024 estimates set the population of Balkh at 114,883.
Ruins of the Green Mosque (Dari: مَسجدِ سَبز, romanized: Masjid-i Sabz) Pashto شین جومات romanized: |sheen Jumat}} [citation needed] named for its green-tiled Gonbad (Dari: گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001
Ambassador from Balkh (白題國 Baitiguo) to the Tang dynasty, Wanghuitu (王會圖), circa 650 CE.
A dirham of the Abbasid Caliphate minted in Balkh
The Green Mosque of Balkh