al-Mahdi
al-Mahdi ٱلْـمَـهْـدِي | |||||
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Died | 24 July 785 (aged 40–41) | ||||
Burial | Masabadhan | ||||
Consorts | List
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Concubines | List
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Issue |
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Dynasty | Abbasid | ||||
Father | al-Mansur | ||||
Mother | Umm Musa Arwa bint Mansur al-Himyari | ||||
Religion | Islam |
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Manṣūr (
Early life
Al-Mahdi was born in 744 or 745 AD in the village of
According to reports, he was tall, charming, and stylish; he had tan skin, a long forehead, and wavy hair. He loved women.[3]
When he was 15 years old, al-Mahdi was sent to defeat the uprising of Abdur Rahman bin Abdul Jabbar Azdi in
Reign
Al-Mahdi's father, al-Mansur, died on the hajj to Mecca in 775. The throne then passed to al-Mansur's chosen successor, his son al-Mahdi. According to Marozzi, "[it] was, by the standards of the future, blood-soaked successions of the Abbasid caliphate, a model of order and decorum."[6]
Al-Mahdi, whose nickname means "Rightly-guided" or "Redeemer", was proclaimed caliph when his father was on his deathbed. His peaceful reign continued the policies of his predecessors.
Mahdi commenced his rule by releasing several political prisoners, expanding and decorating the holy places of Mecca and Medina, and building fountains and lofts for Hajj pilgrims. He expanded the mail service, increased his secret service, fortified cities, and increased judicial appointments. His charitable giving was also impressive.[7]
Rapprochement with the
Al-Mahdi reigned for ten years. He imprisoned his most trusted vizier
In 775, a Byzantine envoy, Tarath, travelled to Baghdad to convey the congratulations of the Byzantine emperor to al-Mahdi on his accession to the throne. Tarath was so pleased with the hospitality he received that he offered to put his engineering knowledge to use and build a mill that would generate annual profits, of 500,000 dirhams, equal to the cost of its construction. On completion, the envoy's forecast proved to be correct, and so, delighted, al-Mahdi ordered that all profits should be given to the envoy, even after he left Baghdad. It is believed this continued to his death, in 780.[9]
In 775, Al-Fadl ibn Salih was appointed governor of the region of al-Jazira north of Damascus by the caliph al-Mahdi. He moved to al-Jazira the same year. Al-Fadl returned to Damascus following his trip to Jerusalem in 780 where he accompanied al-Mahdi as part of his entourage.[10]
While the first Abbasid caliphs were distracted with cementing their authority, the Byzantines were occupied fighting Slavic clans in Macedonia and Thrace and battling the Bulgars. Once Mahdi felt secure in his rule, he fought the Byzantines with more force than his predecessors. He increased his line of control from Syria to the Armenian frontier and claimed the strategic town of Tarsus, that linked Anatolia, Syria, and northern Iraq.[7]
In 777 AD (160 AH) he put down the insurrection of Yusuf ibn Ibrahim in Khurasan. In the same year al-Mahdi deposed
Al-Mahdi released many Umayyads and 'Alids from prison and returned their wealth and property.[11] His son Harun would also pursue similar policies, releasing many of the Umayyads and 'Alids his brother Al-Hadi had imprisoned and declaring amnesty for all political groups of the Quraysh.[12]
Mahdi also embarked on two important military voyages, one in 779 and another in 781 with his son Harun. In this Mahdi was teaching and training his son to be the future Caliph, just as his father had prepared him.[13]
Al-Mahdi was poisoned by one of his concubines in 785 AD (169 AH). The concubine's name was Hasanah and she was jealous of another female slave to who Mahdi was drawing closer. She prepared a dish of sweets and placed a poisonous pear at the top of the plate. The pit of the pear was removed and replaced with a lethal paste. She sent the dish to her adversary via a servant, however, Mahdi intercepted the plate and ate the pear without hesitation. Shortly afterward, he complained of stomach pain and died that night at 43 years old.[14]
A separate account said al-Mahdi fell off his horse while hunting and died.[14]
Family
Al-Mahdi's first concubine when he was a prince was Muhayyat. In 759–60, she gave birth to a son who died in infancy.
Another concubine was al-Bahtariyah, the noble-born daughter of the Persian rebel,[24] Masmughan of Damavand,[25] against whom Mahdi was first sent to Khurasan.[24] Her mother was Bakand, the daughter of Isbahbadh, Farrukhan the Little.[26] She had a sister named Smyr.[25] She bore al-Mahdi a son named for his grandfather, Mansur, and two daughters, Sulaimah and Aliyah.[24] Another was Shaklah, a Negress.[24] Her father was Khwanadan, steward of Masmughan.[26] She had a brother named Humayd.[27] She was acquired by al-Mahdi together with al-Bahtariyah, when she was a child. He presented her to his concubine Muhayyat, who, discovering musical talent in the child, sent her to the famous school of Taif in the Hijaz for a thorough musical education. Years later al-Mahdi, then caliph, took her as his concubine. She gave birth to al-Mahdi's powerful and dark-skinned son Ibrahim.[28]
Another concubine was Maknunah, a singer.[29] She was owned by al-Marwaniyyah.[30] Al-Mahdi, while yet a prince, bought her for 100,000 silver dirhams. She found such favor with the prince that al-Khayzuran used to say, "No other woman of his made my position so difficult." She gave birth to al-Mahdi's daughter Ulayya.[29] Another was Basbas, a singer trained at Medina. He had bought her about the same period for 17,000 gold dinars.[29] Another was Hasanah, a Persian.[31] She was a singer, and was al-Mahdi's favourite concubine. She gave al-Khayzuran some uneasy moments.[32] According to some versions, she was unintentionally but tragically involved in al-Mahdi's death.[33][14] Some other concubines were Hullah, another singer, and Malkah.[32]
Al-Mahdi's second wife was Asma, al-Khayzuran's younger sister. She grew up at the court. In 775–776, al-Mahdi formed a sudden attachment for her. He then married her, settling on her a marriage portion of one million dirhams. Al-Khayzuran, who had been on the pilgrimage, learned of the marriage. After her return, al-Mahdi divorced Asma, and married al‐Khayzuran as his third wife.[34] That same year, he married his fourth wife Umm Abdallah, a noble Arab woman. The next year he married his fifth wife Ruqaiyah, an Uthmanid.[35] After al-Mahdi's death, she was married by an Alid prince.[36]
Wars with Byzantium
In 778, the Byzantines, under
In response to these Byzantine successes, Caliph al-Mahdi now resolved to take the field in person. On 12 March 780, Mahdi departed
This defeat infuriated the Caliph al-Mahdi, who prepared a new expedition. Intended as a show of force and a clear display of the Caliphate's superiority,[b] it was the largest army sent against Byzantium in the second half of the 8th century: it allegedly comprised 95,793 men, about twice the total Byzantine military establishment present in Asia Minor, and cost the Abbasid state some 1.6 million nomismata, almost as much as the Byzantine Empire's entire annual income. His son, Harun was the nominal leader, but the Caliph took care to send experienced officers to accompany him.[51][52]
Caliph's Invasion of Byzantine in 782
On 9 February 782, His son, Harun departed Baghdad; the Arabs crossed the
According to
Furthermore, despite his success so far, Harun's position was precarious, as the defeat of al-Rabi threatened his lines of communication with the Caliphate. Consequently, after plundering the Byzantine capital's Asian suburbs, Harun turned his army back, but during his march along the valley of the
Thus, when Harun asked for negotiations, Irene dispatched a delegation of three of her most senior officials: the Domestic Anthony, the
The two states concluded a three-year truce in exchange for a heavy annual tribute—the Arab sources mention various amounts between 70,000 and 100,000 gold nomismata, while one also adds 10,000 pieces of silk.[63] Tabari's account records that the tribute amounted to "ninety or seventy thousand dinars", to be paid "at the beginning of April and in June every year".[64][65] In addition, the Byzantines were obliged to provide provisions and guides for Harun's army on its march home, and to hand over Tatzates's wife and property. Harun released all his captives (5,643 according to Tabari), but kept the rich plunder he had gathered, and returned to the Caliphate in September 782.[57][64][66] Tabari, in his account of the expedition, says that Harun's forces captured 194,450 dinars in gold and 21,414,800 dirhams in silver, killed 54,000 Byzantines in battle and 2,090 in captivity and took over 20,000 riding animals captive while slaughtering 100,000 cattle and sheep. Tabari also reports that the amount of plunder was such that "a work horse was sold for a dirham and a mule for less than ten dirhams, a coat of mail for less than a dirham, and twenty swords for a dirham"[64]—at a time when one to two dirhams was the usual daily salary of a labourer or soldier.[67]
Assessment and legacy
Cultural and administrative aspects of his reign
The cosmopolitan city of
Al-Mahdi continued to expand the Abbasid administration, creating new diwans, or departments: for the army, the chancery, and taxation. Qadis or judges were appointed, and laws against non-Arabs were dropped.
The Barmakid family staffed these new departments. The
The introduction of paper from China (see Battle of Talas) in 751 had a profound effect. Paper had not yet been used in the West with the Arabs and Persians using papyrus and the Europeans using vellum. The paper-related industry boomed in Baghdad where an entire street in the city center became devoted to the sale of paper and books. The cheapness and durability of paper was a vital element in the efficient growth of the expanding Abbasid bureaucracy.
Al-Mahdi had two important religious policies: the persecution of the
Though Mahdi fulfilled most of his national and external goals during his reign, he was not as thrifty as his predecessor and father, al-Mansur had been. Al-Mahdi was very interested in consulting with his wife, al-Khaizuran in the all important daily affairs of the government. Her commands and prohibitions in the palace were equal to her husband's and many times she applied them outside the palace as well. Al-Mahdi did not oppose her, and he gave her a relatively free hand from the Bayt al-mal (treasury). Finally, al-Khayzuran held her own court in the harem and in her quarters where she met petitioners, both men and women, who asked her for favors or to intercede on their behalf with her husband, the caliph. These petitioners included court officials, military officers, nobles, and merchants:
- "She was dominant during Mahdi's time, people used to come and go through her door.. . She gave ordaining and forbidding, interceded and hindered, rejections and confirmations at her own will."
Al-Mahdi vacationed for long periods of time at al-Rusafa, officially, allowed his wife,
Famous anecdote about al-Mahdi
One day, al-Mahdi was out hunting deer. Shortly after embarking, Mahdi and his aide became separated from the rest of his entourage. Soon the two became exhausted and hungry and luckily found a tent belonging to a poor Bedouin and asked him if he had anything to eat. The man said yes and provided the two with bread, butter, and oil. Mahdi asked for wine, and the Bedouin gave him some. Mahdi asked the Bedouin if he knew who he was and the Bedouin, uninterested, said no he did not. Few people who did not live on the royal grounds would have known the caliph by sight. Mahdi told the Bedouin that he was a servant of the caliph. The Bedouin, impressed, said that is a good job. After another cup of wine, Mahdi asked again if the Bedouin knew who he was. The man replied that Mahdi already told him. Mahdi said no, I was lying, I am one of the top generals in the caliph's army. After another cup of wine, the caliph pronounced that in reality, he was in fact the caliph himself! The Bedouin refused to serve Mahdi any more wine and exclaimed if he did so, next Mahdi would proclaim himself the messenger of God![69]
Coinage of al-Mahdi
Al-Mahdi used several styles of coinage but the traditional Islamic style of Gold dinar, silver dirham and Copper fals were common.
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Dirham of al-Mahdi, Medinat al-Salam (Baghdad) mint. Dated AH 162 (AD 778/9)
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Dirham of al-Mahdi minted in Bukhara
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Dirham of al-Mahdi minted in Tabaristan, (the Abbasid newly conquered territory).
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Bukharan coinage, under Al-Mahdi.
Succession
His elder son was Al-Hadi, the older brother of Harun al-Rashid. Al-Hadi was very dear to his father, al-Mahdi and was appointed as the first heir by his father at the age of 16 and was chosen as the leader of the army.[70]
His second, Harun's raids against the Byzantines elevated his political image and once he returned, he was given the
Notes
- ^ Asma was divorced within a month or few days by al-Mahdi
- Umayyad predecessors, the Abbasid caliphs pursued a conservative foreign policy. In general terms, they were content with the territorial limits achieved, and whatever external campaigns they waged were retaliatory or pre-emptive, meant to preserve their frontier and impress Abbasid might upon their neighbours.[44] At the same time, the campaigns against Byzantium in particular were important for domestic consumption. The annual raids were a symbol of the continuing jihad of the early Muslim state and were the only external expeditions where the Caliph or his sons participated in person. They were closely paralleled in official propaganda by the leadership by Abbasid family members of the annual pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca, highlighting the dynasty's leading role in the religious life of the Muslim community.[45][46] Harun al-Rashid in particular actively strove to embody this duty: he was said to have alternated between leading the hajj one year and attacking Byzantium the next.[47] The hitherto unseen extent of his personal involvement in the jihad converted it into a central tenet of his conception of the caliphate, leading modern historians to consider Harun as the creator of a new type of model ruler, the "ghazi-caliph".[48][49][50]
References
- ^ a b "The Abbasid Caliphs During the Lifetime of Imam Reza (A.S.)". Imam Reza Network. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
- ^ Marozzi 2015, pp. 21–2.
- ^ a b c Bobrick 2012, p. 19.
- ^ Toyib 2011, p. 36.
- ^ Kennedy, Hugh (2004). "The True Caliph of the Arabian Nights". History Today. 54 (9).
- ^ Marozzi 2015, pp. 25–6.
- ^ a b c Bobrick 2012, p. 24.
- ^ Hilary Kilpatrick, ‘Mawālī and Music’, in Patronate and Patronage in Early and Classical Islam, ed. by Monique Bernards and John Nawas (Leiden: Brill, 2005) pp. 326-48.
- ^ Marozzi 2015, p. 25.
- ^ Cobb, 2001, pp.27-28.
- ISBN 9781538120057.
- ISBN 9780810865686.
- ^ Bobrick 2012, p. 25.
- ^ a b c Bobrick 2012, p. 27.
- ^ a b Abbott 1946, p. 21.
- ^ Abbott 1946, p. 24.
- ^ a b Abbott 1946, p. 31.
- ^ Abbott 1946, p. 32.
- ^ Abbott 1946, p. 26.
- ^ a b Abbott 1946, p. 29.
- ^ Abbott 1946, pp. 26, 20.
- ^ a b Abbott 1946, p. 25.
- ^ Abbott 1946, p. 11.
- ^ a b c d Abbott 1946, p. 33.
- ^ ISBN 978-90-04-09791-9.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-32662-9.
- ISBN 978-1-4384-0289-5.
- ^ Abbott 1946, pp. 33–34.
- ^ a b c Abbott 1946, p. 36.
- ^ Al-Heitty, A.K. (2005). دور المرأة الشاعرة في القصر العباسي، ١٣٢-٢٤٧، ٧٥٠-٨٦١. Al Rayan. p. 185.
- ISBN 978-0-8129-0490-1.
- ^ a b Abbott 1946, p. 37.
- ^ Abbott 1946, p. 38.
- ^ Abbott 1946, pp. 38–39.
- ^ Abbott 1946, p. 39.
- ^ Abbott 1946, p. 98.
- ^ Treadgold 1988, pp. 33–34.
- ^ a b Brooks 1923, p. 123.
- ^ a b Makripoulias 2002, Chapter 1 "Great Online Encyclopaedia of Asia Minor". Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2012-03-16..
- ^ a b Treadgold 1988, p. 34.
- ^ a b c Brooks 1923, p. 124.
- ^ a b Lilie 1996, p. 148.
- ^ Treadgold 1988, pp. 66–67.
- ^ El-Hibri 2010, p. 302.
- ^ El-Hibri 2010, pp. 278–279.
- ^ Kennedy 2001, pp. 105–106.
- ^ El-Cheikh 2004, pp. 89–90.
- ^ Bosworth 1989, p. xvii.
- ^ Bonner 1996, pp. 99–106.
- ^ Haug 2011, pp. 637–638.
- ^ Lilie 1996, p. 150.
- ^ Treadgold 1988, p. 67.
- ^ a b Lilie 1996, pp. 150–151.
- ^ Treadgold 1988, pp. 67–68.
- ^ a b Treadgold 1988, p. 68.
- ^ a b Makripoulias 2002, Chapter 2.1 "Great Online Encyclopaedia of Asia Minor". Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2012-03-16..
- ^ a b c d Mango & Scott 1997, pp. 629–630.
- ^ a b Lilie 1996, p. 151.
- ^ Treadgold 1988, pp. 68–69.
- ^ Kennedy 1990, pp. 220–222.
- ^ a b c Treadgold 1988, p. 69.
- ^ a b c Makripoulias 2002, Chapter 2.2 "Great Online Encyclopaedia of Asia Minor". Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2012-03-16..
- ^ a b c Lilie 1996, p. 152.
- ^ a b c Kennedy 1990, p. 221.
- ^ Treadgold 1988, p. 69 interprets this to mean two annual installments, of 90,000 and of 70,000 coins on April and June respectively.
- ^ Treadgold 1988, pp. 69–70.
- ^ Kennedy 2001, pp. 78–79.
- ^ Bobrick 2012, p. 20.
- ^ Bobrick 2012, p. 26.
- ^ Khiḍrī, Tārīkh-i khalāfat-i ʿabbāsīyān, p. 51
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