| Jafar ibn Yahya جعفر بن يحيى | |
| Other Names: | Aba-Fadl |
| Father: | Yahya ibn Khalid |
| Mother: | Umm al-Fadl |
| Birth Date: | c. 767 |
| Birth Place: | Khorasan, Abbasid Caliphate |
| Death Date: | c. 803 |
| Death Place: | Abbasid Caliphate |
| Death Cause: | Execution on the orders of Caliph Harun al-Rashid |
| Era: | Abbasid |
| Occupation: | Abbasid vizier |
| Years Active: | c. 798 – 803 |
Jafar ibn Yahya Barmaki or Jafar al-Barmaki (Persian: جعفر بن یحیی برمکی, Arabic: جعفر بن يحيى, Jafar bin yaḥyā) (767–803), also called Aba-Fadl, was a Persian vizier of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid, succeeding his father (Yahya ibn Khalid) in that position. He was a member of the influential Barmakid family, formerly Buddhist leaders of the Nava Vihara monastery. He was executed in 803 at the orders of Harun al-Rashid.
He had a reputation as a patron of the sciences, and did much to introduce Indian science into Baghdad.[1] He was credited with convincing the caliph to open a paper mill in Baghdad, the secret of papermaking having been obtained from Tang Chinese prisoners at the Battle of Talas (in present-day Kyrgyzstan) in 751.
Jafar also appears (under the name of Giafar in most translations) along with Harun al-Rashid in several Arabian Nights tales, often acting as a protagonist. In "The Three Apples" for example, Jafar is tasked with solving a murder, whereas in "The Tale of Attaf", Jafar is more of an adventurer.
More recent media inspired by the Arabian Nights has portrayed Jafar as both a villain and a sorcerer: