Hârûn rear-Rachid Ben Muhammad Ben Al-Mansûr or Hârûn rear-Rachid was born in 766, with Ray, whereas his/her father Al-Mahdî remained there. With died of his brother Al-Hâdî in 786, it became the fifth Caliph Abbasside. He died in Tûs in the Khorasan in 809 and is buried there.

History

Youth

Third wire of Al-Mahdî, its childhood occurs in the luxury. He is the preferred son of their mother Al-Khayzurân. Its tutor is Yahyâ Ben Khâlid of the family of the Barmécides. Hârûn is the friend of childhood of wire of Yahyâ Ben Khâlid: Fadl, Ja `far, Mûsâ and Mohammed. Fadl was foster brother of Hârûn and Ja `far his/her close friend.

Hârûn orders forwardings against the Byzantines in 781 and 782. With the course the forwarding of 782, the Arab army reaches the the Bosphorus.

It is then named governor of Egypt of Syria, Arménie and Azerbaïdjan. It charges its former tutor Yahyâ Ben Khâlid with managing these provinces. The brother of Hârûn, Al-Hâdî is in front of him in the order of succession, but the reign of this brother will last only of 784 with 786.

Caliphate

The preceding caliph Al-Hâdî and brother of Hârûn rear-Rachid had wanted to name his son Ja `far like heir. With its takeover Hârûn rear-Rachid forced her nephew Ja `far to make a statement by which he recognized that the capacity belonged to his/her uncle (786).

The day of its establishment it had a first wire `Abd Allah, of the Persian slave Marajil, the caliph interpreted that as a good predicts. Some time later it had a second wire Mohammed Al-Amîn, of his wife legitimates Zubayda. Hârûn wanted to recognize `Abd Allah initially, giving him the Al-Mâ' mûn nickname, like heir apparent, but it had to face the grogne of Zubayda and its partisans, who estimated that Al-Amîn was most legitimate, having been born from Zubayda. Hârûn rear-Rachid yielded and made recognize as heir apparent his son Al-Amîn whereas it was only five years old (802). Later he issued an arrangement between his 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).

It got rid of the viziers and the governors of Al-Hâdî to replace them by men of its choice. Its principal vizier was Yahyâ Ben Khâlid.

In 788 a small son of Hassan, Yahyâ rose in the Tabaristan, his/her brother Idrîs had fled with Tangier (Morocco) where he managed to create a kingdom and a dynasty (Idrissides). Hârûn sent an army of 50  000 men. It treated with the rebel who was accommodated with the honors in Baghdad. Yahyâ was astonished by this reception, but five months after Hârûn made it put in prison and made it poison.

The situation of the empire

Hârûn finds an empire rather fragile although shining.

The Spain had become omeyyade in 755.

The Morocco is controlled by the Idrissides since 788. back Idrîs I {{er}} small son of Hassan had just founded the first Moslem dynasty of the Morocco and the town of Fès. It had conquered a small territory in the north of Morocco. Hârûn made it poison by one of its emissary. Its tomb is with Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, village with mountainside close to the ruins of Volubilis (793).

With the Yemen, the population revolts in 795 against the Abbasid governor. This revolt ceases only into 804.

In Egypt, the crushing impositions are used to maintain the army Ifriqiya ordered by Harthama Ben A' yan and a bad administration, lead to risings of a great width in 788 and 794 - 795.

Ifriqiya is constantly agitated by disorders. Harthama Ben A' yan entrusts of it the administration (797) to Ibrâhîm Ben Al-Aghlab. This one benefitted from it to found its own dynasty in 800 the Aghlabides (until in 903).

In Syria, the opinion remains favorable to the Omeyyades against the Abbasids. In 796, Hârûn sent in Syria, a troop under the command of Fadl Ben Yahyâ to restore the order there.

Many movements of popular revolts take place in all the empire. The social inequalities are too large. These protest movements often take a religious coloring kharijite or Chiite against the sunnism of the central capacity. This context justified a policy of repression against the dissenting religious groups (kharijites and Chiite S), of the restrictive measures with regard to the Dhimmi S in a their imposing distinctive costume, and arrests within an elite “atheistic” (to kāfir) or suspected of being it. This policy was supposed to like to the monks and in the majority Sunnite of the population.

The policy

In 796, Hârûn left Baghdad whose “air was not appropriate to him” for Raqqa then Mosul.

The following year Hârûn made a forwarding in the Roum country (Is of Anatolia). It benefitted thus from what the Byzantine were occupied by a war against the Bulgarian ones. The Arab troops reached Ankara. In 798, the Byzantine empress Irene agree to pay tribute with the caliph. However, as for preceding forwardings that did not result in annexations of territories to the costs of Byzance.

Unfavourable rumors with the governor of the Khorasan him having come with the ears, Hârûn made the decision of going to even deposit this abusive governor to him and at the same time to stop the Ismaéliens which had taken refuge in the area. The governor and the caliph met with Ray (close to the town of current Teheran). By his gifts with the caliph, the governor of Khorasan returned in grace. On the other hand, Ishâq Ben Al `Abbas, governor of Ray which had lodged the Imam ismaélien Mohammed Ben Ismâ `it, were stopped and tortured with death without it revealing anything. To avoid the quarrels between its sons it shared the capacity: Al-Amîn remains the direct heir. Its elder `Abd Allah was designated as the Al-Amîn successor, at this point in time one called it Al-Mâmûn . Its third wire Al-Qâsim was designated as Al-Mâmûn successor. Qâsim accepted the governorship of the Mésopotamie and from the area of Mosul and Al-Mâmûn accepted that of Ray and Khorasan.

After having taken these provisions, Hârûn accompanied by Al-Amîn and Al-Mâmûn, left in pilgrimage with Mecque. Hârûn made there repeat the commitments entered into (802). Tabarî tells that when the two brothers wanted to post the text of this agreement on the door of the Kaaba, the sheet fell to ground what “ was considered by the people as one predicts of nonachievement of the stipulations of the agreement. ”. This year there, the emperor Nicéphore I {{er}} succeeded Irene on the throne of Byzance.

Nicéphore Ier broke the agreements with the Abbasids and refused to pay the tribute envisaged. Hârûn sent this answer to Nicéphore Ier: “I read your letter, you will know my answer. ” and it left immediately to shift against the Byzantines (806). Following the catch of Héraclée and Tyane, Nicéphore Ier beaten agreed to pay the tribute, but hardly Hârûn it had been withdrawn from the Byzantine territory that Nicéphore Ier again refused to pay the tribute.

The Abbasid navy occupied Cyprus in 805 and Rhodos in 807.

Under the administration of its viziers barmécides, Baghdad became the intellectual capital of its time. Schools, hospitals and libraries were built. The translation of the Latin and Greek texts was encouraged and the scientists came to Baghdad from all the areas from the empire. It is said that there was exchange of gifts and of correspondence between Hârûn rear-Rachid and Charlemagne. The ivory elephant, called “elephant of Charlemagne” preserved to the BNF and belonging to the treasure of the abbey of Saint Denis, was regarded a long time as a gift made by Hârûn rear-Rachid.

The fall of Barmécides

The family of the Barmécides (or Barmakides) had provided viziers and governors to the two preceding caliphs. Yahyâ Ben Khâlid had been imprisoned by preceding caliph Al-Hâdî. Hârûn made it release and placed a certain number of members of its family at various posts of vizier or governor of province.

Hârûn very brutally changed attitude with regard to this family. Tabarî sees four possible reasons there:

1. the vizier Yahyâ Ben Khâlid feeling to age asked for Hârûn the authorization of withdraw with Mecque with its two sons. Hârûn refused, requiring of him to choose which of its two sons was to succeed to him. Fadl was thus selected as principal vizier by Ya `hyâ because it was the elder one and wisest. Hârûn would have preferred that it is Ja `far Ben Yahyâ which is selected.
2. At the same time the request of a ouléma of Raqqa arrives in Hârûn denouncing Yahyâ Ben Khâlid and its family like a family of atheists.
3. Ja `far Ben Yahyâ had made an error while releasing without warning Hârûn a Yahyâ rebel who was imprisoned since 788.
4. Enfin Hârûn had a named sister `Abbâssa which had protected it from vindication from its elder Al-Hâdî. Hârûn gave his/her sister in marriage to Ja `far Ben Yahyâ, given that this marriage was to be a “phony marriage”. `Abbâssa was beautiful and was quickly pregnant of Ja `far Ben Yahyâ in spite of his promise. Ibn Khaldûn rises against this assumption insulting for the family of the prophet, and he prefers to keep only one fifth assumption, that of their too great influence and their seizure on the public purses

Hârûn decided to leave in pilgrimage with Mecque with Barmécides. Its return in Iraq, during a feast Hârûn asked eunuque to convene Ja `far Ben Yahyâ in his tent and to cut the head to him. The eunuque one at the last time did not carry out this order for fear it was not due to intoxication and that to him is reproached the following day. It returned close to Hârûn accompanied by Ja `far Ben Yahyâ, on what Hârûn known as “ It is not Ja `far Ben Yahyâ which I required of you, but his head ”. The eunuque one sliced the head of Ja `far Ben Yahyâ. Hârûn sent the head of Ja `far Ben Yahyâ to Baghdad and made stop Yahyâ Ben Khâlid and its three sons. Yahyâ Ben Khâlid died in prison of its tortures. Hârûn made cut the throat of in its presence Fadl Ben Yahyâ and all the Barmécide family, except more the young children (803).

Zoubayda

Zubayda which married Hârûn rear-Rachid in 781, was the most powerful woman of its time.

See also: Zubayda bint Jafar

Sciences and technology

The Arabs had been with the contact with the Chinese during the reign of the first Abbasid Abû Al `Abbâs with the victory of Catholic students (City of the current Kyrgyzstan). This victory which marked the projection more in the East of the Arab armies was the occasion to acquire a certain number of Chinese techniques of which that of the manufacture of paper. Paper was going quickly to replace the parchment: it is easier to manufacture, less expensive, and surer because one cannot easily erase what is written there. Manufactures were created with Samarkand, Baghdad, Damas and in Cairo. Hârûn imposed the use of paper in all the administrations of the empire.

Thousand and One Nights

The collection of tales of the Thousand and One Nights puts in scene on several occasions Hârûn rear-Rachid and its vizier Ja `far Ben Yahyâ. Several of these tales are held around Baghdad.

Poetry

Abbas Ibn Al-Ahnaf was the appointed poet of Haroun Al-Rachid.

Random links:

Ducy-Holy-Marguerite | Saint-Name-of-Jesus | Forest Éloy-Ernest of Boinvilliers | Christopher | Blaenavon