Abû Al `Abbâs “Al-Ma' mûn” `Abd Allah Ben Hârûn rear-Rachid called Al-Mamûn or Almanon was born in 786 with Baghdad and died with Tarse the August 10th 833, at the forty seven years age, was a Abbasid Caliph which reigned of 813 with 833.

History

It was born the day from the establishment of his father Hârûn rear-Rachid and was called `Abd Allah. His/her mother was a named Persian slave Marajil. Some time later Hârûn rear-Rachid had a second wire Mohammed, of his wife legitimates Zubayda little girl of the caliph Al-Mansûr. Initially, Hârûn wanted to recognize `Abd Allah, like heir apparent giving him the Al-Mâ' mûn nickname. It had to face the grogne of Zubayda and its partisans who estimated that Al-Amîn was most legitimate. Hârûn rear-Rachid yielded and made recognize as heir apparent his son Al-Amîn whereas it was only five years old (802). It is during a pilgrimage with Mecque that Hârûn rear-Rachid issued an arrangement between her two sons: Al-Amîn was the heir apparent and controlled the west of the empire (Iraq Syria) and Al-Ma' mûn became the second in the order of succession and directed is empire (Khorasan) and resided at Merv.

The seizure of power

As of the death of Hârûn rear-Rachid, the relations between the two brothers worsened. In violation of the agreement of Mecque, Al-Amîn designated his/her son like presumptive successor. Each of both showed the other to have broken the pact.

The Al-Amîn armies come from Iraq and Syria and those of Al-Ma' mûn come from the Khorasan and led by Tâhir, clashed first once close to Ray. The battle started with a singular combat between the two generals, but the army of Khorasan made a load which put in rout the army of Baghdad. Al-Ma' mûn was then acclaimed as caliph in Khorasan and the Tabaristan. Al-Amîn was folded up on Baghdad where it had to face mutinies in the army.

In 813, a new series of defeats (with Bassora and the doors of Baghdad) of the armies of Baghdad, new mutinies in the troop, and a revolt of the population of Baghdad obliged Al-Amîn to be folded up in the palates. September 1st 813, the palate was taken by storm by the troops of Al-My' mûn. Al-Amîn was decapitated, its head, the sceptre and the coat of the prophet as well as the ring of the caliphate were sent to Al-My' mûn. On a purely posthumous basis Al-Amîn was called Al-Makhlû `. Two of wire of Al-My' mûn and their mother which were held by Al-Amîn left to join their father. The Al-Amîn wire were made captive and sent to Al-My' mûn.

Al-Ma ' mûn seemed to change policy with regard to the Shiites. He thought that Persians were favorable to the Hachémites and asked for the support of rear-Ridhâ Alî. He invited it to come to join him with Merv. In 818, `rear-Ridhâ Ali joined Al-My `mûn, leaving in Médine only his/her son Muhammad At-Taqî and his wife. The marks of honor which the caliph gave to `rear-Ridhâ Ali caused movements of hostility on behalf of notable Arabic. Al-Ma' mûn indicated `rear-Ridhâ Alî like successor in the hope to reconcile the Shiites. This succession was to take place only if `rear-Ridhâ Alî survived Al-Ma' mûn. This last changed the color of the flag leaving the black, color of the Abbasids in green color of the Alides. Disorders took place in all Iraq in opposition to Al-Ma' mûn and its policy of alliance with the Shiites. `Rear-Ridhâ Ali warned Al-Ma' mûn on the choice of its governor of Iraq which carried out these disorders. The Shiites consider that this offer did not have any value because `rear-Ridhâ Ali was old and was not likely any to survive to Al-Ma' mun, they suspect even Al-Ma' mûn of having poisoned it.

A beginning of agitated reign

In 816, Bâbak Khurramdîn took the head of the movement of the Khurramites. This movement anti-Arabic and anti-Moslem carried out a war of independence located on the Azeri territory (left Iranian and left Azerbaijani). Bâbak was carried out on January 4th 838 with Samarra during the reign of Al-Mu' tasim.

In Baghdad, Ibrâhîm Ben Al-Mahdî, wire of the caliph Al-Mahdî revolts against this arrangement with `rear-Ridhâ Ali bus thinks it: Al-my' mûn is dispossessing the Abbasid family. On Friday, July 24 817, Ibrâhîm went up in pulpit to Baghdad proclaimed Al-My' mûn deposed and proclaimed caliph.

Under its orders, an army left Baghdad seized Koufa, another seized Madayn to the doors of Baghdad. In same time a group of Kharidjites carries out a revolt in Sawâd. Ibrâhîm wanted to attack these new adversaries, but its generals sympathized with them and the troop claimed its pay. After having paid its soldiers on the treasures of Baghdad, it moved towards Wâsit which it took. The Kharidjite revolt is contained.

Al-Ma ' mûn is alerted by this situation. It finally left Merv on January 22nd 818 towards Tus where his/her father is buried. It makes halt with Sarakhs, it made there assassinate its vizier Fadhl. It sets out again towards Tus at the end of Ramadan 202 It is shortly after this stay with Tus which `rear-Ridhâ Alî died. It carried on its road towards Iraq while passing by Ray. With each stage it decreased the taxes to obtain the support of the population thus. When the generals of Baghdad learning the arrival from Al-Ma' mûn betrayed Ibrâhîm and joined with Al-Ma' mûn. Ibrâhîm east flees and the town of Baghdad accepted Al-Ma' mûn on August 12th 819 carrying the black suit of the Abbasids again.

Dissidence of Tâhir

In 821, in thanks of its services Al-Ma' mûn named Tâhir governor of Khorasan. However, Al-Ma' mûn was wary of Tâhir especially when he learned from Zubayda the account of the Al-Amîn assassination by Tahîr whereas the orders which he had given were to make it captive. In 822 Tâhir omitted to quote the caliph in the prayer of Friday, thus declaring its independence. Al-Ma' mûn had introduced a slave with for mission of poisoning Tâhir if it had suddenly declared his independence. The evening even the slave achieves his mission and Tâhir died.

Ma' mûn let the son of Tâhir succeed to him. This decision was going to sanction the dismemberment of the empire. The Tâhirides, successors of Tâhir, can be regarded as the first founders of an independent State in Iran after the Arab conquest in 642.

The Maghreb

Idris II was well installed with Fes. The Aghlabides reigned on the Ifriqiya, theoretically with the service of the Abbasids but they were practically independent like the Tahirides with the Khorasan.

Al-Ma ' mûn and scientists: the “ Observatory of Baghdad ” and the “ House of Wisdom ”

The Al-Ma' mûn reign was a great success on the cultural level. It is particularly interested in the work of the scientists, particularly of those which knew the Greek . It had joined together in Baghdad of the scientists of all the beliefs, which it magnificiently treated and with the most complete tolerance. It made come from Byzance of the manuscripts, It posed like condition of peace with the Byzantine empire the handing-over of a copy of the Almageste.

Set on Astronomy, it created in 829, in the highest district of Baghdad, close to the door Chammassiya, the first permanent observatory in the world, the Observatoire of Baghdad, allowing its astronomers, who had translated the Traité Astronomy of the Greek Hipparque, as his star catalog, to supervise the movement of planets methodically. It undertook two astronomical experiments intended to determine the distance from a degree of terrestrial latitude. In recognition for this work, a lunar crater bears its name Almanon.

Of its stay in Central Asia, it had brought back with him three wire of Mûsâ Ben Shâkir, former brigand, had become astronomer and companion of the future caliph. With died of their father, it made give the three brothers of which he had become the tutor, Muhammad, Ahmad and Hassan, a solid formation in sciences applied and granted to them a considerable fortune to found in 832 and to direct to Baghdad the Maison of wisdom.

Large the Mathématicien Abû Ja `far Muhammad Ben Mûsâ Al-Khawârizmî passed most of its life to Baghdad, under the patronage of the Caliph Al-Ma' mûn. It translated into Arab, with his colleagues, the Greek manuscripts of Byzance joined together in the library rested by the caliph within the House of Wisdom, and studied, from those the Géométrie, the Algèbre and the Astronomie.

The Al-Ma' mûn dream

One night tells Al-Ma' mûn: I in dream a man sitting in the posture of wise, I asked him “whom are you saw? ”, he answered me “Aristote the Wise one”. Then I asked him the question “Say how to define a word to me right? ”, Aristote “That which is in conformity with the reason”. Al-Ma' mûn “But still? ”, Aristote “That appreciates the interlocutor”. Al-Ma' mûn “But still? ” Aristote “That which one does not have to fear the consequences”. Al Al-Ma' mûn “But still? ” Aristote “It does not have there yet, the remainder is only used to divert the asses”. It is to learn how to distinguish a word right from an entertainment from the asses, that the caliph Al-Ma' mûn will give a decisive impulse to the house of wisdom. This one was rested by his/her father Hârûn rear-Rachid, but then, like a library with the exclusive use of the prince. Under Al-Ma' mûn, this library opens with the erudite elite. It becomes the support of a great intellectual ambition, on the scale of the empire.

Religious policy

In 830 whereas Al-Ma' mun crossed the town of Harran at the time of its last countryside against the Byzantines, he noticed people with the long hair and the clothing tightened with the size. They were anything else only Syrians remained pagan who continued to practice the religion of their ancestors without to be disturbed by the arrival of the Christendom then of Islam. One did not leave them whereas the choice which conversion to Islam or the sword enters. They could escape this dilemma while protesting which they were Sabéens, a sect recognized by the Coran. They thus continued their religious practices.

In 833, the Mutazilisme becomes the official belief in the court of the Abbasid caliphate, after being officially embraced by the caliph Al-Ma' mûn. The mutazilism was deeply influenced by the rationalism of Aristote and affirmed that the faith and the religious practice were to be directed by the reason while being based on Coran. That went against the tradition which said that each one must find all the answers in the literal reading of Coran and of the Hadith S. Moreover the mutazilites affirmed that Coran had been created against the general opinion which affirms that Coran is eternal.

Al-Mahdî had declared that the caliph was not only one sovereign, but who it was of his duty to define the religious Orthodoxie in order to maintain the cohesion of the community of the believers (umma). In 828, Al-Ma' mûn created an inquisitorial court in charge of the control of religious orthodoxy: the mihna (rear RTL محنة, test, examination ). The sanctions imposed by the mihna became increasingly difficult to support for the Oulémas which were linked to be opposed to it. This situation perduré until in 848 when the caliph Al-Mutawakkil returned to the tradition. The religious capacity of the caliphs left there decreased to the profit that the oulémas. This period is called period of the Test , of the Ordalie (English: Ordeal ) or of the Enquiry .

It is for this period that the legal universities (Madhhab) were really affirmed. In particular the doctrinal differences between Shiism and Sunnisme were specified. Ibn Hanbal was made famous for its opposition to the mihna .

Plunderer of tombs in Egypt?

In 832, Al-Ma' mûn made carry out excavations (act did of archaeological excavations or rather of plundering?) in Egypt, in the large pyramid of Gizeh built by the Pharaon Khéops (2590 av. J. - C. with 2565 av. J. - C.), wire of king Snéfrou, considered per many historians as one largest of the history of the ancient Egypt. It would seem that the “visitors” could reach relatively easily the funerary room of the Pharaon and his treasures. That should not astonish us: the profanations of Mastaba S and Pyramide S were current practice for a long time. However, the methods of construction of the pyramids and the provision of the parts inside those were extremely similar and were found from one pyramid to another. The site of the funerary rooms, placed after a succession of rooms intended for the offerings, in an axial alignment was often the same one. Al-Ma' mûn, which was not with its first attempt, had already been able to observe the interior architecture of the Pyramide S; it thus made bore the good face of the Pyramide of Khéops, just in its axis, thus avoiding the obstacle of the ascending corridor, to arrive without encumbers and waste of time with the funerary room and to its treasures.

End of the reign

Al-Ma ' mûn tried to divorce his wife because it had not given him of heir. His wife had consulted a Syrian judge before Al-Ma' mûn could not indicate one of them itself. The judge refused the divorce. Following this experiment the following caliphs did not marry preferring to find the mother of their heirs in the harem.

During the Al-Ma' mûn reign the empire increased somewhat. Rebelled Hindou are in the Sind were subdued and most of the Afghanistan was absorbed after rendering of the king of Kabul. The mountains of Iran were controlled better by the central capacity. Battles against the Byzantine Empire continued and it is during a campaign in Cilicie that he died the August 10th 833 close to Tarse, whose current mosque contains its tomb. Little time before its death Al-Ma' mûn designated his/her brother Abû Ishâq like heir apparent under the name of Al-Mu' tasim.

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