Harun al-Rashid

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Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi (

Harun established the legendary library Bayt al-Hikma ("House of Wisdom") in Baghdad in present-day Iraq, and during his rule Baghdad began to flourish as a world center of knowledge, culture and trade.^[1] During his rule, the family of Barmakids, which played a deciding role in establishing the Abbasid Caliphate, declined gradually. In 796, he moved his court and government to Raqqa in present-day Syria. Domestically, Harun pursued policies similar to those of his father Al-Mahdi. He released many of the Umayyads and 'Alids his brother Al-Hadi had imprisoned and declared amnesty for all political groups of the Quraysh.^[2] Large scale hostilities broke out with Byzantium, and under his rule, the Abbasid Empire reached its peak.^[3]

A Frankish mission came to offer Harun friendship in 799. Harun sent various presents with the emissaries on their return to Charlemagne's court, including a clock that Charlemagne and his retinue deemed to be a conjuration because of the sounds it emanated and the tricks it displayed every time an hour ticked.^[4][5][6] Portions of the fictional One Thousand and One Nights are set in Harun's court and some of its stories involve Harun himself.^[7] Harun's life and court have been the subject of many other tales, both factual and fictitious.

Early life

Hārūn was born in

On the night of al-Hadi's death,

For the administration of the whole empire, he fell back on his mentor and longtime associate Yahya bin Khalid bin Barmak. Rashid appointed him as his vizier with full executive powers, and, for seventeen years, Yahya and his sons served Rashid faithfully in whatever assignment he entrusted to them.^[15]

Harun made pilgrimages to Mecca by camel (2,820 km or 1,750 mi from Baghdad) several times, e.g., 793, 795, 797, 802 and last in 803. Tabari concludes his account of Harun's reign with these words: "It has been said that when Harun ar-Rashid died, there were nine hundred million odd (dirhams) in the state treasury."^[16]

According to Shia belief, Harun imprisoned and poisoned Musa ibn Ja'far, the 7th Imam, in Baghdad.^{[citation needed]}

Under al-Rashid, each city had its own law enforcement, which besides keeping order was supposed to examine the public markets in order to ensure, for instance, that proper scales and measures were used; enforce the payment of debts; and clamp down on illegal activities such as gambling, usury, and sales of alcohol.^[17]

Harun was a great patron of art and learning, and is best known for the unsurpassed splendor of his court and lifestyle. Some of the stories, perhaps the earliest, of "The Thousand and One Nights" were inspired by the glittering Baghdad court. The character King Shahryar (whose wife, Scheherazade, tells the tales) may have been based on Harun himself.^[18]

Advisors

Hārūn was influenced by the will of his powerful mother in the governance of the empire until her death in 789; When he became caliph, Harun allowed her (Khayzuran) a free hand and, at times, restrained his own desires out of deference to her expressed wishes, and Khayzuran acted as an overseer of affairs, and Yahya deferred to her and acted on her advice. His

The fall of the Barmakids is far more likely due to their behaving in a manner that Harun found disrespectful (such as entering his court unannounced) and making decisions in matters of state without first consulting him.^[citation needed] Al-Fadl ibn al-Rabi succeeded Yahya the Barmakid as Harun's chief minister.^{[citation needed]}

Diplomacy

Both

An alliance was established with the Chinese Tang dynasty by Ar-Rashid after he sent embassies to China.^[25][26] He was called "A-lun" in the Chinese Tang Annals.^[27] The alliance was aimed against the Tibetans.^{[28][29][30][31][32]}

When diplomats and messengers visited Harun in his palace, he was screened behind a curtain. No visitor or petitioner could speak first, interrupt, or oppose the caliph. They were expected to give their undivided attention to the caliph and calculate their responses with great care.^[33]

Rebellions

Because of the Thousand and One Nights tales, Harun al-Rashid turned into a legendary figure obscuring his true historic personality. In fact, his reign initiated the political disintegration of the Abbasid caliphate.

Al-Rashid appointed Ali bin Isa bin Mahan as the governor of Khorasan, who tried to bring to heel the princes and chieftains of the region, and to reimpose the full authority of the central government on them. This new policy met with fierce resistance and provoked numerous uprisings in the region.^{[citation needed]}

Family

Harun's first wife was Zubaidah. She was the daughter of his paternal uncle, Ja'far and maternal aunt Salsal, sister of Al-Khayzuran.^[34] They married in 781–82, at the residence of Muhammad bin Sulayman in Baghdad. She had one son, Caliph Al-Amin.^[35] She died in 831.^[36] Another of his wives was Azizah, daughter of Ghitrif, brother of Al-Khayzuran.^[37] She had been formerly married to Sulayman bin Abi Ja'far, who had divorced her.^[36] Another was Amat-al-Aziz Ghadir, who had been formerly a concubine of his brother al-Hadi.^[37] She had one son Ali.^[35] She died in 789.^[37] Another wife was Umm Muhammad, the daughter of Salih al-Miskin and Umm Abdullah, the daughter of Isa bin Ali. They married in November–December 803 in Al-Raqqah. She had been formerly been married to Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi, who had repudiated her.^[36] Another wife married around the same year was Abbasa, daughter of Sulayman ibn Abi Ja'far.^[36] Another wife was Jurashiyyah al-Uthmanniyah. She was the daughter of Abdullah bin Muhammad, and had descended from Uthman, the third Caliph of the Rashidun.^[36]

Harun's earliest known concubine was Hailanah. She had been a slave girl of Yahya ibn Khalid, the Barmakid. It was she who begged him, while he was yet a prince, to take her away from the elderly Yahya. Harun then approached Yahya, who presented him with the girl. She died three years later^[38] in 789–90,^[39] and Harun mourned her deeply.^[38] Another concubine was Dananir. She was a Barmakid, and had been formerly a slave girl of Yahya ibn Khalid. She had been educated at Medina and had studied instrumental and vocal music.^[40] Another concubine was Marajil. She was a Persian, and came from distant Badhaghis in Persia. She was one of the ten maids presented to Harun. She gave birth to Abdullah (future caliph Al-Ma'mun) on the night of Harun's accession to the throne, in September 786, in whose birth she died. Her son was then adopted by Zubaidah.^[35] Another concubine was Qasif, mother of Al-Qasim. He was Harun's second son, born to a concubine mother. Harun's eldest daughter Sukaynah was also born to her.^[41]

Another concubine was Maridah. Her father was Shabib.^[42] She was a Sogdian, and was born in Kufah. She was one of the ten maids presented to Harun by Zubaidah. She had five children. These were Abu Ishaq (future caliph al-Mu'tasim), Abu Isma'il, Umm Habib, and two others whose names are unknown. She was Harun's favourite concubine.^[43] Some other favourite concubines were, Dhat al-Khal, Sihr, and Diya. Diya died much to Harun's sorrow.^[44] Dhat al-Khal also known as Khubth^[45] was a singer, belonging to a slave-dealer who was himself a freedman of Abbasah, the sister of Al-Rashid. She caught the fancy of Ibrahim al-Mausili, whose songs in praise of her soon reached Harun's attention, who bought her for the enormous sum of 70,000 dinars.^[46] She was the mother of Harun's son, Abu al-Abbas Muhammad.^[45][46] Sihr was mother of Harun's daughters, Khadijah^[46] and Karib.^[47] Another concubine was Inan. Her father was Abdullah.^[48] She was born and brought up in the Yamamah in central Arabia. She was a singer and a poet, and had been a slave girl of Abu Khalid al-Natifi.^[49] She bore Harun two sons, both of whom died young. She accompanied him to Khurasan where he, and, soon after, she died.^[50]

Another concubine was Ghadid, also known as Musaffa, and she was mother of Harun's daughters, Hamdunah^[51] and Fatimah.^[47] She was his favourite concubine.^[51] Hamdunah and Fatimah married Al-Hadi's sons, Isma'il and Ja'far respectively.^[52] Another concubine was Shikl. She was the mother of Abu Ali.^[53] She was purchased by Al-Rashid along with another girl named Shadhr^[54] also known as Sukkar.^[45] When Shadhr became pregnant and had a child named Umm Abiha,^[53] Shikl grew envious of her. This jealousy escalated to the point where it became widely known. Later, Shikl herself became pregnant and gave birth to Abu Ali. Despite the deaths of both mothers, the animosity between Abu Ali and Umm Abiha persisted.^[54] Another concubine was Hilanah. She had been formerly a concubine of his brother al-Hadi.^[55]

Another of Harun's concubines was the captive daughter of a Greek churchman of Heraclea acquired with the fall of that city in 806. Zubaidah once more presented him with one of her personal maids who had caught his fancy. Harun's half-brother, while governor of Egypt from 795 to 797, also sent him an Egyptian maid who immediately won his favour.^[56] Some other concubines were namely: Ri'm, mother of Salih; Irbah, mother of Abu Isa Muhammad; Sahdhrah, mother of Abu Yaqub Muhammad; Rawah, mother of Abu Sulayman Muhammad; Dawaj, mother of Abu Ali Muhammad; Kitman, mother of Abu Ahmad Muhammad; Hulab, mother of Arwa; Irabah, mother of Umm al-Hassan; Rahiq, mother of Umm Salamah; Khzq, mother of Umm al-Qasim; Haly, mother of Umm Ja'far Ramlah; Aniq, mother of Umm Ali; Samandal, mother of Umm al-Ghaliyah; Zinah, mother of Raytah;^[57] Qaina; ^[58] Shajw; Khunth.^[59]

Anecdotes

Many anecdotes attached themselves to the person of Harun al-Rashid in the centuries following his rule.

Al-Masudi relates a number of interesting anecdotes in The Meadows of Gold that illuminate the caliph's character. For example, he recounts Harun's delight when his horse came in first, closely followed by al-Ma'mun's, at a race that Harun held at Raqqa. Al-Masudi tells the story of Harun setting his poets a challenging task. When others failed to please him, Miskin of Medina succeeded superbly well. The poet then launched into a moving account of how much it had cost him to learn that song. Harun laughed and said that he did not know which was more entertaining, the song or the story. He rewarded the poet.^[60]

There is also the tale of Harun asking Ishaq ibn Ibrahim to keep singing. The musician did so until the caliph fell asleep. Then, strangely, a handsome young man appeared, snatched the musician's lute, sang a very moving piece (al-Masudi quotes it) and left. On awakening and being informed of that, Harun said Ishaq ibn Ibrahim had received a supernatural visitation.

Shortly before he died, Harun is said to have been reading some lines by Abu al-Atahiya about the transitory nature of the power and pleasures of this world, an anecdote related to other caliphs as well.

Every morning, Harun gave one thousand dirhams to charity and made one hundred prostrations a day.^[16] Harun famously used to look up at rain clouds in the sky and said: "rain where you like, but I will get the land tax!"^[61]

Harun was terrified for his soul in the afterlife. It was reported that he quickly cried when he thought of God and read poems about the briefness of life.^[62]

Soon after he became caliph, Harun asked his servant to bring him Ibn al-Sammak, a renowned scholar, to obtain wisdom from him. Harun asked al-Sammak what he would like to tell him. Al-Sammak replied, "I would like you always to remember that one day you will stand alone before your God. You will then be consigned either to Heaven or to Hell." That was too harsh for Harun's liking, and he was obviously disturbed. His servant cried out in protest that the Prince of the Faithful will definitely go to heaven after he has ruled justly on earth. However, al-Sammak ignored the interruption and looked straight into the eyes of Harun and said that "you will not have this man to defend you on that day."^[62]

An official, Maan ibn Zaidah, had fallen out of favor with Harun. When Harun saw him in court, he said that "you have grown old." The elderly man responded, "Yes, O Commander of the Faithful in your service." Harun replied, "But you have still some energy left." The old man replied that "what I have, is yours to dispose of as you wish... and I am bold in opposing your foes." Harun was satisfied with the encounter and made the man governor of Basra for his final years.^[63]

On Hajj, he distributed large amounts of money to the people of Mecca and Medina and to poor pilgrims en route. He always took a number of ascetics with him, and whenever he was unable to go on pilgrimage, he sent dignitaries and three hundred clerics at his own expense.^[64]

One day, Harun was visiting a dignitary when he was struck by his beautiful slave. Harun asked the man to give her to him. The man obliged but was visibly disturbed by the loss. Afterward, Harun felt sorry for what he had done and gave her back.^[65]

Harun was an excellent horseman, enjoyed hunting (with Salukis, falcons, and hawks) and was fond of military exercises such as charging dummies with his sword. Harun was also the first Abbasid caliph to have played and promoted chess.^[66]

Harun desired a slave girl that was owned by an official named Isa who refused to give her to Harun, despite threats. Isa explained that he swore (in the middle of a sex act) that if he ever gave away or sold her, he would divorce his wife, free his slaves, and give all of his possessions to the impoverished. Yusuf, a judge and advisor to Harun, was called to arbitrate the case and to figure out a legal way for Isa to maintain his belongings even if Harun walked away with the girl. Yusuf decided that if Isa gave half of the girl to Harun and sold him the other half, it could not be said that Isa had either given her away or sold her, keeping his promise.^[67]

Harun had an anxious soul and supposedly was prone to walk the streets of Baghdad at night. At times Ja'far ibn Yahya accompanied him. The night-time tours likely arose from a genuine and sympathetic concern in the well-being of his people, for it is said that he was assiduous to relieve any of their trials and tend to their needs.^[63]

Death

A major revolt led by

About his accession famous poet and musician al-Mawsili said:

Did you not see how the sun came out of hiding on Harun's accession and flooded the world with light^[70]

About his reign, famous Arab historian Al-Masudi said:

So great were the Splendour and riches of his reign, such was its prosperity, that this period has been called "the Honeymoon".^[71]

Al-Rashid become the progenitor of subsequent Abbasid caliphs. Al-Rashid nominated his son

In popular culture

• 
  Harun al-Rashid as depicted in the

  Arabian Nights

  (One Thousand and One Nights).
• 
  Sketch drawing of Harun al-Rashid by poet and visual artist Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931)
• 
  Harun al-Rashid from the book Kitab khizanat al-ayyam fī tarajim al-ʻizam, first published in New york in 1899.
• 
  A sketch representation of Hārūn al-Rashid from a book entitled Sayr Mulhimah: Min al-Sharq wa-al-Gharb, first translated into Arabic and published in Egypt, 1381 AH/1961
• 
  Harun al-Rashid as depicted in the book Harun Al-Rashid (1951)

• In Shinobu Ohtaka's Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, the former king of Balbadd is called Rashid Saluja. In the spin-off Adventure of Sinbad, Rashid's alias is Harun.
• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a short poem titled "Haroun Al Raschid".
• O. Henry uses the character in his story "The Caliph and the Cad". The theme of the story is "turning the tables on Haroun al Raschid".
• Alfred Tennyson wrote a poem in his youth entitled "Recollections of the Arabian Nights". Every stanza (except the last one) ends with "of good Haroun Alraschid".
• Harun al-Rashid was a main figure and character in several of the stories in some of the oldest versions of the One Thousand and One Nights.
• The Indian television series Alif Laila (1993–1997), an adaptation of the Arabian Nights, features several tales involving the caliph from the classic collection of stories.^[76]
• Hārūn ar-Rashīd figures throughout James Joyce's Ulysses, in a dream of Stephen Dedalus, one of the protagonists. Stephen's efforts to recall this dream continue throughout the novel, culminating in the novel's fifteenth episode, wherein some characters also take on the guise of Hārūn.
• Harun al-Rashid is celebrated in a 1923 poem by W. B. Yeats, "The Gift of Harun al-Rashid".^[77][78]
• A story of one of Harun's wanderings provides the climax to the narrative game of titles at the end of Italo Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveler (1979). In Calvino's story, Harun wanders at night, only to be drawn into a conspiracy in which he is selected to assassinate the Caliph Harun-al-Rashid.
• In Charles Dickens' 1842 travelogue, American Notes for General Circulation, he compares American supporters of slavery to the "Caliph Harun al-Rashid in his angry robe of scarlet".
• The two protagonists of Salman Rushdie's 1990 novel Haroun and the Sea of Stories are Haroun and his father Rashid Khalifa.
• In the Sten science fiction novels by Allan Cole and Chris Bunch, the character of the Eternal Emperor uses the name "H. E. Raschid" when incognito; this is confirmed, in the final book of the series, as a reference to the character from Burton's translation of The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night.
• The movie
  fairy-tale
  Baghdad from Jafar, the evil usurper of the throne. After he finally wins the hand of princess Khairuzan she awards him the title Al-Rashid ("the righteous").
• The
  The Sandman: Fables and Reflections
  .
• Haroun El Poussah in the French comic strip Iznogoud is a satirical version of Hārūn ar-Rashīd.
• In
  the Hero
  as his son is named Hārūn ar-Rashīd. He is often seen prophesying on the streets of Shapeir as The Poet Omar.
• Harun al-Rashid appears as the leader of Arabia in the video game Civilization V.^[79]
• Future US President
  New York Police Department
  , was nicknamed "Haroun-al-Roosevelt" in several local newspapers.
• In The Master and Margarita, by novelist Mikhail Bulgakov, Harun al-Rashid is referenced by the character Korovyev in which he warns a door man not to judge him "by [his] suit", and to reference the story of "the famous caliph, Harun al-Rashid".
• In the 1924 film Waxworks, a poet is hired by a wax museum proprietor to write back-stories for three wax models. Among these wax models is Harun al-Rashid, played by Emil Jannings.
• In the 2006 novel
  Robert Heinlein and Spider Robinson
  , chapter 1 is prefaced with a quotation from Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "Recollections of the Arabian Nights" regarding "good Harun Alrashid", the relevance of which becomes apparent in chapter 2 when one character relates stories (probably apocryphal and presumably drawn from Tennyson) of Harun al-Rahsid to another character in order to use them as an analogy.
• The second chapter in the novel Prince Otto by Robert Louis Stevenson has the title "In which the Prince Plays Haroun al-Raschid".
• Haroun al-Rashid has a character page in the video game Crusader Kings II, and it is possible to play as his descendants of the Abbasid dynasty.
• Harun al-Rashid appears in the children's comic book Mampato, in the stories "Bromiznar de Bagdad" and "Ábrete Sesamo", by the Chilean author Themo Lobos. In this story, al-Rashid is shown at first as lazy and indolent, but after a series of adventures he decides to take the leading role against an evil vizier and help the main character, Mampato.
• Baghdad, Iraq.^[80]
• In his book
  Fiorello H. La Guardia to Harun al-Rashid in the way each "roam[ed] his domain."^[81]
• The Syrian television series Harun Al-Rashid (2018), starring Kosai Khauli, Karis Bashar, and Yasser Al-Masri focuses on Harun and his relation with his brother Caliph Al-Hadi, and that preceded Harun's ascent to the Caliphate. It also focuses on his relations with his elder sons and nomination of Al-Amin and Al-Ma'mun as heir.

See also

• Isma'il ibn Salih ibn Ali al-Hashimi
• Abd al-Malik ibn Salih

References

Citations

1. ^ Audun Holme, Geometry: Our Cultural Heritage p. 150.
2. ISBN 9780810865686
   .
3. ISBN 9780810865686
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4. ^ André Clot, Harun al-Rashid and the world of the thousand and one nights, p. 97.
5. ^ Royal Frankish Annals, DCCCVII.
6. ^ Charlemagne: Translated sources, p. 98.
7. ^ André Clot, Harun al-Rashid and the world of the thousand and one nights.
8. ^ Bobrick 2012, p. 38.
9. ^ Watt, William Montgomery (20 March 2022). Hārūn al-Rashīd. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
10. ^ Bobrick 2012, p. 25.
11. ^ Bobrick 2012, p. 24.
12. ^ Bobrick 2012, p. 37.
13. ^ Bobrick 2012, p. 36.
14. ^ New Arabian nights' entertainments, Volume 3.
15. ^ Masʻūdī, Paul Lunde, Caroline Stone, The meadows of gold: the Abbasids p. 62.
16. ^ ^{a b} Bobrick 2012, p. 42.
17. ^ Bobrick 2012, p. 46.
18. ^ "Harun al-Rashid, the Abbasid Caliph Who Inspired the 'Arabian Nights'". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
19. ISBN 9780521591850
    .
20. ^ Lodovico Antonio Muratori, Giuseppe Catalani (1742), Annali d'Italia: Dall'anno 601 dell'era volare fino all'anno 840, Monaco, p. 465. Muratori describes only some of these gifts.
21. ^ Tarikh ath-Thabari 4/668–669.
22. ^ Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya v 13 p. 650.
23. ^ Mukhtar al-Abadi, Ahmad (2019). In Abbasid and Andalusian History. Ain University Library. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
24. ISBN 978-0-88706-564-4
    . Retrieved 28 September 2021.
25. ISBN 0-7658-0568-5
    . Retrieved 28 June 2010.
26. ISBN 1-60680-248-8
    . Retrieved 14 December 2011.
27. ^ Marshall Broomhall (1910). Islam in China: a neglected problem. London: Morgan & Scott, ltd. pp. 25, 26. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
28. ^ Bajpai 2002, p. 15.
29. ^ Bajpai 1981, p. 55.
30. ^ Chaliand, Gérard (1970). Nomadic Empires: From Mongolia to the Danube. Transaction Publishers. Retrieved 1 September 2018 – via Google Books.
31. ^ Luciano Petech, A Study of the Chronicles of Ladakh (Calcutta, 1939), pp. 73–73.
32. ^ Luciano Petech, A Study of the Chronicles of Ladakh (Calcutta, 1939), pp. 55–85.
33. ^ Bobrick 2012, p. 40.
34. ^ Abbott 1946, pp. 29–30.
35. ^ ^{a b c} Abbott 1946, p. 141.
36. ^ ^{a b c d e} al-Tabari & Bosworth 1989, p. 326.
37. ^ ^{a b c} Abbott 1946, p. 137.
38. ^ ^{a b} Abbott 1946, p. 138.
39. ^ al-Sāʿī, Toorawa & Bray 2017, p. 14.
40. ^ Abbott 1946, pp. 138–39.
41. ^ al-Tabari & Bosworth 1989, p. 327.
42. ^ Masudi 2013, p. 462.
43. ^ Abbott 1946, pp. 141–42.
44. ^ Abbott 1946, p. 143.
45. ^ ^{a b c} al-Tabari & Bosworth 1989, p. 327.
46. ^ ^{a b c} Abbott 1946, p. 144.
47. ^ ^{a b} al-Tabari & Bosworth 1989, p. 328.
48. ^ al-Sāʿī, Toorawa & Bray 2017, p. 8.
49. ^ Abbott 1946, p. 146.
50. ISBN 978-1-78672-959-0
    .
51. ^ ^{a b} al-Sāʿī, Toorawa & Bray 2017, p. 13.
52. ^ Abbott 1946, pp. 157.
53. ^ ^{a b} Kilpatrick 2023, pp. 41, 462. sfn error: no target: CITEREFKilpatrick2023 (help)
54. ^ ^{a b} Kilpatrick 2023, p. 41. sfn error: no target: CITEREFKilpatrick2023 (help)
55. ^ Kilpatrick 2023, pp. 309, 449. sfn error: no target: CITEREFKilpatrick2023 (help)
56. ^ Abbott 1946, pp. 149–50.
57. ^ al-Tabari & Bosworth 1989, pp. 327–28.
58. ^ Masudi 2013, p. 276.
59. ^ Kilpatrick 2023, pp. 309, 462. sfn error: no target: CITEREFKilpatrick2023 (help)
60. ^ Masudi 2013, p. 94.
61. ^ Bobrick 2012, p. 45.
62. ^ ^{a b} Bobrick 2012, p. 62.
63. ^ ^{a b} Bobrick 2012, p. 61.
64. ^ Bobrick 2012, p. 42
65. ^ Bobrick 2012, p. 55.
66. ^ Bobrick 2012, p. 70.
67. ^ Bobrick 2012, p. 57.
68. ^ Bosworth 1995, pp. 385–386.
69. ^ "Hārūn al-Rashīd | ʿAbbāsid caliph | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
70. ISBN 9780863565588
    .
71. ISBN 9780863565588
    .
72. ^ ^{a b} Gabrieli 1960, p. 437.
73. ^ ^{a b c} Rekaya 1991, p. 331.
74. ^ Bosworth 1993, p. 776.
75. ^ Masudi 2013, p. 222.
76. ^ "Alif Laila DVD [20 Disc Set]". Induna.com.
77. ^ "Yeats Poems Titles". Csun.edu. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
78. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
79. ^ Zacny, Rob (24 December 2010). "Civilization V Field Report 2". GamePro. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011.
80. ISBN 978-0691167534
    .
81. ^ Caro, Robert (1974). The Power Broker. New York: Vintage Books. p. 444.

Notes

1. ^ 20 more known concubines
2. ^ First heir-apparent
3. ^ Second heir-apparent
4. third heir
   , however, he was removed by his elder brothers
5. ^ Al-Ma'mun had made no official provisions for his succession during his reign. According to the account of al-Tabari, on his deathbed al-Ma'mun dictated a letter nominating his brother Abu Ishaq Muhammad as his successor, He was acclaimed as caliph on 9 August, with the regnal title of al-Mu'tasim bi'llah

Sources

• Abbott, Nabia (1946). Two Queens of Baghdad: Mother and Wife of Hārūn Al Rashīd. University of Chicago Press.
  ISBN 978-0-86356-031-6
  .
• al-Sāʿī, Ibn; Toorawa, Shawkat M.; Bray, Julia (2017). كتاب جهات الأئمة الخلفاء من الحرائر والإماء المسمى نساء الخلفاء: Women and the Court of Baghdad. Library of Arabic Literature. NYU Press.
  ISBN 978-1-4798-6679-3
  .
• al-Tabari, Muhammad Ibn Yarir (1989). The History of al-Tabari Vol. 30: The 'Abbasid Caliphate in Equilibrium: The Caliphates of Musa al-Hadi and Harun al-Rashid A.D. 785-809/A.H. 169-193. Bibliotheca Persica. Translated by C. E. Bosworth. State University of New York Press.
  ISBN 978-0-88706-564-4
  .
• Bobrick, Benson (2012). The Caliph's Splendor: Islam and the West in the Golden Age of Baghdad. Simon & Schuster.
  ISBN 978-1416567622
  .
• ISBN 978-90-04-09834-3
  .
• ISBN 978-90-04-09419-2
  .
• Gabrieli, F. (1960). "al-Amīn". In
  OCLC 495469456
  .
• ISBN 978-0-7103-0246-5
  .
• Rekaya, M. (1991). "al-Maʾmūn". In
  ISBN 978-90-04-08112-3
  .

Further reading

• al-Masudi, The Meadows of Gold, The Abbasids, transl. Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone, Kegan paul, London and New York, 1989
• al-Tabari
  "The History of al-Tabari" volume XXX "The 'Abbasid Caliphate in Equilibrium" transl. C.E. Bosworth, SUNY, Albany, 1989.
• ISBN 0-941533-65-4
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Harun al-Rashid

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Harun al-Rashid Abbasid dynasty Born: 763 Died: 809
Sunni Islam titles
Preceded by Al-Hadi	Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate 14 September 786 – 24 March 809	Succeeded by Al-Amin