Yahya ibn Khalid (Arabic: يحيى بن خالد) was a member of the Persian Barmakids family and son of Khalid ibn Barmak. He was appointed as a governor in Azerbaijan in 765 by caliph Al-Mansur. Yahya's son Fadl ibn Yahya was born in Ray, at the same time Haroon was born. Haroon's father Al-Mahdi entrusted Yahya in 778 with his son's education.
Yahya was put into jail by the caliph Al-Hadi, since he tried many times to persuade him away from appointing his own son as heir instead of Haroon. Haroon's mother were able to kill Al-Hadi shortly, allowing Haroon to take the position of caliphate. He made Yahya as his vizier and he therefore played a huge influential role in the decision making process for the Abbasid dynasty during these years as Haroon himself was only in his early twenties and not too experienced. Eventually, as his and his family's power and influence grew, Haroon casted him to prison as well and died in the year 806.
- ↑ The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline and Fall, from Original Sources by William Muir