My Article on the Abbasids

 

Origins (566-750)

 
The story of the Abbasid caliphate originally traces its roots back to Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (where the etymology of the word Abbasid is based on); one of the younger uncles of the prophet Mohammed and member of the tribe of the Prophet Mohammed; the Quraish. It was this heritage that enabled them to have a suitable pretext for their eventual domination of much of the Islamic world by around 950 and rulers of Mecca as opposed to the Umayyads. Through almost half a millennia of cultural and intellectual development, the Abbasid Caliphate became one of the most important nations in introducing the Western world to eastern produce. As a result, the Abbasids were to become a major player in Islamic politics for many hundreds of years, and fundamentally, one of the key civilizations in shaping our world today.

Around 712, a man named Muhammad ibn 'Ali (A great grandson of Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib) began to protest against the current state of power in the Middle East, and demand that sovereignty over Mecca and the Middle East be returned to Mohammed�s family. Intensive propaganda began around 718 in Iraq and Khurasan, and Muhammad was succeeded to his claims by his son Ibrahim the imam, who decided to concentrate his efforts on Khurasan. The protest gradually began to gain momentum, from the time of Umayyad Caliph, Umar II (682-720) to the reign of the Caliph Marwan II (688-750) where finally, a full scale revolt was organized against Umayyad power. Lead by Ibrahim the Imam, the revolutionaries found considerable success and was supported by the province of Khurasan after sending an embassy there in 745 lead by his friend Abu Muslim.  

In this conflict for power against the Umayyads, the Abbasids were largely successful, one of the reasons being their appealing to non-Muslim Arabs known as the Mawali who made up much of the lower classes of the Umayyad caliphate. It was the minorities like these who would eventually help cause the fall of the Umayyad caliphate. Other such examples of Abbasid minority support amongst the Umayyad Caliphate was their emphasis on the fact that Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, the uncle of Mohammed, was also an uncle to Abu Talib, a man holy to Shia Muslims and the Alid arabs (from whom they were descended). The decadent policies of the late Umayyad caliphs had failed to keep these minorities under control and thus, more liberal (by comparison at the time) and stronger caliphates such as the rising Abbasids would have been attractive to them. This propaganda was in the long run, very subversive to the Umayyad state and aided in the crumbling of their society, much to the Abbasids� benefit. Events in Europe and other areas of the Middle East did not bode well for the crumbling Umayyad Caliphate either- the Berber rebellion, combined with the loss of the battle of Tours, not to mention the numerous Byzantine victories under Leo the Isaurian in the early 8th century caused a crumbing of Umayyad diplomatic and political power abroad. This created a vacuum of power into which a young state like the Abbasids could easily fill. In 747, these events reached a climax that would eventually lead to the unravelling of Umayyad hegemony and ultimately the collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate.

Ibrahim the Imam, however, died after being captured by the Umayyad authorities in 747, but this could not stop of the inevitable course of fate. His brother, Abu al-'Abbas as-Saffah (later to become the first caliph of the Abbasid caliphate) soon took up his late brothers� work and proceeded to march (now with a considerable force) to Iraq in 749 and on January 25th 750, met the Umayyad forces in a final pitched battle at the river Zab which would prove the ultimate destruction of the Umayyad state.

Despite the numerical advantage for the Umayyad Caliph Marwan II; the battle was not decisive, as an already weakened Umayyad army (despite containing veterans in earlier campaigns against the Byzantine Empire) was demoralized and their support for their Caliph was waning. The Abbasid army, on the other hand, under the command of future Caliph Abu al-'Abbas as-Saffah (although not as large) contained many fresh recruits, and the air of victory was still present after their recent victories against other Umayyad forces. Not to mention that their size had also been increased with fresh numbers of Mawali, Persians and Abbasids who supported the rebellion.

The battle itself was a quick and bloody affair- the Abbasid army took the defensive by forming a fortified phalanx locked in tight formation. The Umayyad cavalry and later infantry simply hurled wave after wave of attackers at the near impregnable wall of spears and (not surprisingly) getting cut down in swathes in the process. It is possible that, due to the veteran nature of the Umayyad army, they believed that they could break the wall by fighting experience alone, but this proved to be ineffective- the Umayyad army retreated; leaving the battlefield completely demoralized and attempted to retreat across the river Zab where they were either drowned or butchered by the Abbasid army in pursuit.

All was not lost for the Umayyad state however; the caliph Marwan II and fled to Bursir- a small town in Lower Egypt, where he finally died in a small skirmish with the remainder of his army. The Umayyad caliphate was now officially dead in the Middle East, and Abu al-'Abbas as-Saffah was instated the new ruler of Damascus (then the seat of Umayyad power) and Caliph.

The recent civil war was thought by many prominent Islamic scholars to be a great conflict between good and evil. These feelings could have been justified by the Umayyads use of the black flag in battle, and the Abbasids the White. Many Islamic scholars also prophesized that Abu al-'Abbas as-Saffah was the Mahdi- a holy leader or saint of Islam.

Although the Umayyad state as a political entity had been well and truly destroyed in the Middle East, there were still some influences from surviving members of the Umayyad dynasty that, if allowed to continue, would have been subversive to the newly rising Abbasid caliphate. What was As-Saffah�s solution to this? Elimination- the entire remainder of the Umayyad dynasty were invited to a royal banquet where they were subsequently clubbed to death. It was events like these that gave the first Abbasid Caliph the title of As-Saffah, or �The blood thirsty & ruthless killer�. The Abbasids thus inherited the vast empire that the Umayyads had forged over hundreds of years that stretched from the Pyrenees to Armenia. The only notable noble survivor of the Umayyad dynasty was one Abd ar-Rahman (731-788) escaped to Spain where he subsequently continued the Umayyad caliphate for roughly another three centuries. Islamic Spain remained a rival to the Abbasid state for many centuries, as the Umayyad splinter state which ruled there portrayed itself as the legitimate alternative to the new Abbasid rule in the Middle East.

 

Rise and Golden age (750-883)

With the largest source of resistance eliminated (The Umayyads), most of the Middle East was now firmly under Abbasid control. This must have been due to their preservation of the bureaucracies and mechanics that kept the vast Umayyad Empire in check, as there were no large scale resistances from local leaders or external sources against the new dynasty instated in Iraq. Thus we must assume that the Abbasid Empire left many of these institutions and organizations in place to maintain their new empire.

Almost immediately after the Abbasid Caliphate had been instated, new trouble brewed in the east. In the Abbasid territories that are today Kyrgyzstan, a power struggle was soon emerging between forces of the Chinese tang Dynasty and those of the newly formed Abbasid Caliphate. In 751, an Abbasid army under the command Ziyad ibn Salih numbering roughly 50�000 to 150�000 troops and a Tang army under the command of Gao Xianzhi, Li Siye and Duan Xiushi met on the banks of the river Talas to fight one of the most decisive battles concerning the control of Central Asia. The Chinese army were eventually defeated following the general rout of their infantry after a heavy attack by Abbasid heavy cavalry. The defeat was mainly, however, the result of the defection of Qarluq mercenaries who were hired to fight by the Tang. The Qarluq cut a large proportion of the Chinese forces off from the main body of the army. This enabled the Abbasid pockets to deal with the Chinese in small pockets of resistance rather than one single engagement. This battle was instrumental for aiding the eventual spread of the Muslim religion throughout central Asia and parts of China. The general commander of the Tang forces, Gao Xianzhi, was able to escape with a small number of troops, but the majority of the Tang forces were butchered. Although the Tang managed to raise another army fairly quickly, they never did return to this area in large numbers, as the disruptive effect of the Mongol incursions and the An Lushan rebellion in 755 caused the Tang to have more pressing issues that needed to be resolved. Thus, the Tang Chinese and the Abbasids would not engage in large scale military conflict such as this again.

This battle did not only allow the Abbasids to extend their influence deeper into central Asia, but interestingly enough, it also brought the technology of paper making into the Middle East as a result by Chinese prisoners captured from the battle. Until then, the Persians and Arabs had been using Papyrus and the Europeans vellum, but this new discovery would eventually lead to Abbasid Baghdad as practically the centre of the paper-trading industry in the Middle East and Europe

After two successive wars, first against the Umayyads, and then against the Tang, Abu al-'Abbas as-Saffah began to embark on the building of his new caliphate. His supporters were heavily represented in the new caliphate as a reward for aiding him in his successful revolution. He found it hard, however, to gain the support of many of the peoples who had aided him in his struggle, partially with the Shia Muslims, as the Abbasids claimed legitimacy by their heritage to the prophet Mohammed. Once in power, the Abbasid state declared Sunni Islam the official state religion, and withdrew all support for any other form of Islam. Abu al-�Abbas as-Saffah had turned his back on his promises he made to the Shia community and this would have severe repercussions for many Abbasid caliphs later in the days of the Caliphate.  

With the exceptions of the Shias, Abu al-`Abbas's attempted to reward most of the peoples who had taken part in his revolution, and invoked a general reform of the army. Asides from the rank and file, he also made large changes to the officer class, selecting Abu Muslim (an intelligent man with a talent for soldiering who would serve in the army until 755) to head this new army. This reform came to incorporate non-Muslims and non-Arabs in an attempt to contrast with the Umayyad army, who had refused any soldiers that were of either background.

Abu al-�Abbas as-Saffah, �The blood thirsty & ruthless killer� (750-755), died on 755 and was replaced by Abu Ja'far Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Mansur, or Al-Mansur (754-775). It was only until this Caliph�s rule that the changes that were made under the revolution were seen to have a large affect. Despite the Abbasids� Arab routes, many more pro-Persian changes were made to the Caliphate, such as the introduction of Sassanid governmental and count structures in some areas. In order to reign supreme, however, he had to deal with several contenders, the most prestigious of these being Abu Muslim, the commander of the army recently instated under Abu al-�Abbas as-Saffah. Abu Muslim was now the much liked, and much respected governor of Iran and Transoxiana. Al-Mansur�s authority now reigned supreme.

The first major change that Al-Mansur made to the organization to his new state was the movement of the capital from Damascus to Iraq in 762. The main reason for this may perhaps be to locate the seat of Abbasid power closer to the Persian and Arab support base that that had helped Ibrahim the Imam�s rebellion succeed. The new Baghdad was built on the Tigris near Ctestiphon and was also conveniently closer to Mecca, which must have been an added advantage, as this would have allowed the new Caliphate to exercise its new authority over the holy city of Islam.

The new Baghdad was an ingenious affair, based on Ardashir�s Sassanid city of Gur in Persia; it consisted of a series of concentric rings massed around a central plaza. First was a circular wall, then an outer suburbs, arranged in a ring, surrounded by its own wall, then, further in, there were more central areas of the city and then, further still was a circular plaza containing the palace, treasury, barracks and mosque. This ideas was indeed a highly advanced feat of architecture but there was one thing that the Caliph and his architects had perhaps not taken into consideration. This was population demographics and the gradual change of class size and prestige. As a result, the strictly oriented rings containing certain suburbs for certain classes soon broke down and smaller districts began to spill over the city walls. The idea simply did not allow enough leniency for population and social growth unlike cities like early Rome, which was subordinate and relative to its population (for example, the incorporation of the Quirinal, Vimminal and the Esquline hills under the King Servius Tullius in the late Roman Kingdom), whereas the new Baghdad was not and tried to focus more on architectural concept more than practicality.

A new internal structure for the court of the caliph was devised. New positions, such as that of grand vizier were instated, and more power was given to local leaders which would eventually result in a decentralization of the empire and a gradual reduction of power from the Caliph, resulting in a decrease of his powers and more depictions of him being a figurehead rather than a head of state. The new Abbasid court under Al-Mansur also placed many Persians and Arabs in positions of authority as compensation for their help in the revolution. These advantages, however, were not offered to Shia Muslims after the first Caliph, Abu al-�Abbas as-Saffah actively promoted Sunni orthodoxy. The main mechanics of state and the court were placed in the hands of the Persian Barmakid family. This is a typical example of the Abbasid Empire�s adoption of both Persian and Arabian systems of state. The Abbasids saw themselves not only as the descendants of Mohammed�s uncle, but also as descendants of the Parthian and Sassanid states in Persia. This mix of culture can be seen in many aspects of Abbasid culture and art, as well as distinct Hellenistic and pre-Islamic Mesopotamian influences taking place. This was aided by the blooming paper industry that had recently arrived in the Middle East from captured Tang Chinamen in the battle of Talas in 751.

Al-Mansur�s reign also saw a large percentage of the citizens of the Caliphate convert to Islam. In 750, roughly 8% of the citizens were Muslims, but this would almost double to around 15% after Al-Mansur�s reign.

The almost constantly military action that had existed since the founding of the caliphate, which was itself founded by war, finally stopped, with just one major campaign being fought by Al-Mansur�s forces against the Shia rebel Nafs az-zakiya in southern Iraq, defeating him without much effort or damage to his own forces, but this further alienated and ostracized other Shia grounds around the area. The Abbasid caliphate was now almost fully instated, now progressing on solid foundations.

Thanks to the newly developed links to China through the short lived affair with the Tang in 751, and the vast influx of scholarly development through the famous �four schools� in Baghdad, the Abbasids were able to introduce a vast amount of new concepts and culture to Europe, and this is just one example of the vast amount of culture, technology and development that Western Europe has obtained from the middle east. For example, the concept of manliness was actually derived from the Bedouin concept of �muru'ah�, or �manliness," which demanded an observance of the virtues of courage, honour and loyalty. New foods, such as Spices, Rice, Apricots and Sugar began appearing in Europe thanks to the new commercial opportunities provided by the Abbasid caliphate. Thanks to this link to the east, the Abbasids were able to pioneer in new advancements in armour, weaponry, architecture (the pointed and gothic architecture were introduced from Iran and South East Asia) and the arts. It was also in this period that some of the first Islamic chroniclers began to appear, such as al-Waqidi, Ibn Hisham, and al-Tabari, whose works are instrumental in providing a picture of the early Islamic Middle East. A great amount of development occurred in Baghdad on an architectural basis as well- as is often the case with great empires, the first leader- the unifier who wins a great war- but it is his successors who usually build up his empire into what it is remembered for, and Al-Mansur is an example of this case as it was he who built the Abbasid palace and Imperial residence, the Madinat as-Salam which would be used for generations until the new palace of Samara was constructed by the Caliph Al-Mu`mun 836.

The developments occurred in Al-Mansur�s time rather than Al-Abbas�s time because of the rapid centralisation that his reign saw- it was impossible for the Abbasids to attempt to develop their culture to such a large degree when the foundations for the state were still being laid. Even after Abbasid independence had been won on the banks of the river Zeg in 750, it was not fully instated into anything like a sovereign state and until this period the boarders had not been secured against encroaching enemies and the mechanics for a state had not been laid in place. This is most probably because of the strengthening of the role of the state as a champion of Orthodox Sunni Islam, which helped unify the Abbasid people and various factions. Al-Mansur denounced the Shia origins of government, which is somewhat ironic when taking into consideration the heavy Persian, Sassanid and Shia systems of religion and government would heavily influence Abbasid society in his son�s reign. This sudden transition from seemingly endless wars and rebellions to centralization and peaceful intellectual and cultural development was a crucial period in the history of the Abbasid Caliphate, as it is from this point onward that we see the intellectual and artistic brilliance of the Abbasid Caliphate truly emerge to light. Unfortunately, however, Al-Mansur was not able to see the fruits of this period blossom- he died in 775 whilst on the Hajj to the holy city of Mecca.

His reign was generally, as has been said, one of centralisation and development, but there was still one rebelion which required urgent military action, one which the Abbasids hoped would be the last- they would be disappointed, as although he was victorious against Nafs az-zakiya, a Shiite rebel in Southern Iraq and in the Arabian Peninsula, all this did was further alienate certain Shia and Arab groups that had already been repressed before by the Umayyad Caliphate. The support of those ethnic minorities that had aided in the revolution; won over by the Abbasids� promises of freedom and equality were not fulfilled, and this was a major reason for the slow decline of the Caliphate and its eventual collapse. The slow collapse of the Caliphate shows clearly that it was internal problems that caused it, whereas if it had been fast, it would have most probably been external problems that caused it to suddenly collapse. Although the annexation by Tughril Beg and the Seljuqs and finally the Mongol invasion did cause the end of the empire, these were aided to an unprecedented degree by the neglect of the promises and treaties that had been made in this early period- evidently the Abbasids overestimated themselves and underestimated the power of these small groups within the empire. One example of this blatant breach of their promises is the Abbasid desire to tax non-Muslims to such a large degree, and although many Muslim states have historically instituted the �Jizya� (tax on non-Muslims), right up to the last days of the Ottoman empire, it is still considered highly unusual that a strong Muslim Orthodox Sunni state that was fiercely strong in its beliefs at the time, would actively discourage non-Muslims to convert in order to gain money from them through the tax. Even the national religion not soon after the time of the Prophet Mohammed, Islam was somehow pushed aside when it came to trying to break the promises to the minorities from which they received their initial help. This move of Al-Mansur�s was somewhat a contradiction as, looking hypothetically, a small group of non-Muslims living in a young and powerful nation which is predominantly Muslim is eventually going to convert- and this is exactly what happened and the population of newly converted Muslims from non-Muslim background and peoples sprang from 8% to 15 % at the end of Al-Mansur�s reign. We can conclude from this that either, the Abbasids had promised liberties and freedoms that they could not provide, or they simply had lied and did not care about these minorities. But when one takes into consideration the complexity and intelligence that ran behind the Caliphate, option number one is the most plausible- so strong was their desire at the time that they probably did not think of the consequences and it was this that ultimately leads to their downfall. Although this period was one of the greatest moments of the Abbasid Caliphate, it also echoes the political neglect and diplomatic incompetence that would end their rule over the Middle East.

After his father�s death, the prince Muhammad ibn Mansur al-Mahdi (literally meaning �Redeemer� or �Rightly guided�) was proclaimed Caliph at his father�s deathbed. The Prince was similar to his father in many of his policies, and continued the peaceful policies that ensured a growing centralization of the state, but was different to his father in his attitudes to minorities, and he soon dropped the tax on non-Muslims. Also, the denunciation of Shia Islam was also stopped, and many prominent Shia Muslims continued to serve the imperial court as Grand Viziers and Imperial advisors. This new acceptance of minorities under his rule caused a vast influx of immigration, and caused many Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians and even Hindus to emigrate to Abbasid Baghdad. This caused Baghdad to swell to become one of the world�s largest cities outside China.

It was not only the newly instated ethnic rules that caused the Abbasid state to continue to prosper, however; Al-Mahdi displayed a firm understanding of economics, politics and organisation and continued to expand the Abbasid imperial system, creating �Diwans� or sections that would aid with the bureaucracy of the army, treasury and even the imperial court itself. These �Diwans� were staffed chiefly by Persians, most notably the Barmakids who, once Buddhists had converted to Zoroastrianism before the arrival of the Arab forces.  This family is just one example of how deeply Persian influence cut into the very core of the Abbasid state.

Although generally regarded as a more tolerant man than his father in most respects, religiously, Al-Mahdi viciously pursued the completion of two pieces of legislation- the first of which was declaration of Orthodoxy. Al-Mahdi stated that it was the Caliphs� holy responsibility to define the theology of the Muslim community, in order to protect the religion from heresy. �Heresy� he declared as mysticism and experimentalist dualists, or �Zanadiqua�, which leads onto his second desire- the eradication and banishment of such groups as those mentioned before. The motivation for this, however, was more political than theological, and this ideal was mainly pursued to aid his reputation in the eyes of the purist Orthodox Shia, how were becoming more prominent in Abbasid society. Al-Mahdi supposedly hoped that this would appease them, because of the amount of influence that they held in the imperial court. Many of the leading scholars, advisors, military commanders and even religious clerics (despite the fact that the Abbasid caliphate officially practiced Sunni Islam) would have then been Shia Muslims from Persia.

Soon, in 785, the Caliph died peacefully and his son, Abu Abdullah Musa ibn Mahdi al-Hadi succeeded him. However, his reign was not as successful as his fathers had been- he ruled for one year- from 785 to 786, and that one year was plagued by rebellions and social problems which would not be fully secured until the next Caliph, and incidentally the most famous Abbasid ruler- Harun Al-Rashid � would ascend to the throne of Baghdad on the 14th of September 786.

The new Caliph was, like his father, an enlightened man who was open to his people, but it was that crucial timing which makes and breaks empires throughout history that rendered his rule largely unsuccessful. It was mainly military conflicts that brought about this insecurity, and it is still not clear why, after the centralisation and military reorganisation that his father efficiently instated, that these offensive military moves would begin to take place.

The first misfortune that began to take place in the still young and relatively inexperienced Caliphs� rule was a full-blown revolt. A wealthy Abbasid leader, Husayn ibn Ali ibn Hasan declared himself caliph in Medina. Al-Hadi responded by crushing the rebellion with a decisive blow by his forces and killed Husayn in the process- the rebellion was over, but with a significant loss of Abbasid prestige and lives and moreover, and perhaps more significantly, one cousin of Husayn escaped to Morocco where he would set up the Idrisi state. There were now two flourishing Abbasid splinter states in the Berber Arab states that, if left to linger, could become a significant threat- the second Umayyad state under one of the last active Umayyad nobles- Abd ar-Rahman (731-788) was by now flourishing, and gaining power. This would almost certainly cause problems for the Abbasids later and it had evidently become apparent to the supporters of Husayn that western North Africa and the Iberian peninsula was well out of Abbasid reach at this time. 

Al-Hadi then had to crush a Kharijite rebellion, and then had to deal with a full scale Byzantine invasion. This invasion was perhaps due to a series of victories that had previously happened under the later Umayyad caliphate against Justinian in around 711. Although this was around 40 years before the start of the Abbasid hegemony in the Middle East, the Byzantines would most probably have viewed the Abbasids trying to do the same in the future. Other factors were Byzantine fears of Abbasid incursions into Southern Italy. The Abbasids would soon manage to obtain large amounts of territory for a limited time in Southern Italy and Sicily in the 9th and 10th Centuries and eventually (with other nations at the time) end Justinian�s (and the few emperors and empresses afterwards) dreams of reconquest. The son and later Caliph, Harun Al-Rashid, commanded an army of 95�000 Arabs and Persians which was sent by his father to invade the Byzantine Empire, this time ruled by the Empress Irene. Harun�s brilliance in military tactics manifested itself in his victory over Irene�s general, Nicetas. He was then able to march his army to Chrysopolis on the Asian side of the Bosporus, where he encamped on the hills in full view from Byzantium. The very fact that he was able to get this close to Byzantium shows his superior skills as a soldier that would show in his later career as Caliph after his father�s death.

 After a somewhat turbulent reign, the young Caliph died 876, little more than a year after he gained the throne. It is common belief that he was murdered by someone employed by his mother, and although the turbulence and instability of his reign could mean that many people had a good motive for his assassination, many of the most prominent and reliable sources of this time, such as the histories of Ibn Khaldun, state that this was not the case and that he died of natural causes. It was, however, customary at the time for the state to often fabricate the nature or time of their monarch�s death- for example, the months of fabrication that surrounded Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent�s death whilst on campaign in Hungry reflects this trend to try to keep the Imperial court calm, as any power vacuum could provide opportunities for usurpers and rebellions to occur. It is more than possible that the Caliph was murdered, perhaps by the various groups whose rebellions he had crushed. When taking into consideration that the various imperial historians of the time have quite strongly denied any notion of Assassination clearly shows that there must have been some incident, otherwise they would have not included a denial of popular rumour in their works.

Al-Hadi was, after his short and violent reign, succeeded by his brother perhaps the most famous Abbasid Caliph, Harun Al-Rashid in 768 which can be translated loosely as �Aaron the Upright or rightly-guided�. The reign of Harun Al-Rashid was one of the most prosperous periods that the Caliphate ever knew, and it is often from this period that people stereotype their perceptions of the Abbasid Caliphate from. As he is probably the most famous of the Abbasid caliphs, his life has been well documented, and he as an individual has been studied thoroughly. His mother was, like many of the Caliphs, a concubine or slave girl, and Al-Rashid�s mother was one Al-Khayzuran, a Yemenite and a woman of a strong composition who was very influential in his court. So strong was her influence, that she directly influenced his politics until 789, the date of his death.

Apart from his wife, many of his decisions as Caliph were aided and influenced heavily by his Grand Vizier Yayha and his sons. As was traditional, the Grand Vizier and his family were all of the Barmakid Persian extraction, as the Barmakids had always served as the bureaucratic and administrative peoples of the nation. Aside from these two heavy influences, he himself was a strong willed and intelligent ruler, and it is not merely due to fate that his reign is remembered as the splendor of the Abbasid caliphate.

On his day of accession, his first son was born- Al-Ma�mun (the future founder of Samara, the new Abbasid capital 836) and later, Al-Amin. The latter child was the son of Zubaida, who was a granddaughter of Al-Mansur, the third Abbasid Caliph. This displays the Abbasid wish to keep the line of the heirs of Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib and from that, their relation to the Quraish, and their right to be Caliphs of the holy city of Mecca. This was intermarrying, as Zubaida was one of Harun�s sisters or cousins.

Court intrigue was particularly documented and seemingly common in Harun Al-Rashid�s time, and the increasing mysticism and curiosity that surrounded the Imperial court like a fog can be seen in the classic piece of literature �The Book of one thousand and one nights�. Although it is doubtful if any of the stories in it have any historical basis, the atmosphere was probably influenced heavily by the magnificence and mystery of the Abbasid court. Also, the Persian influence can be clearly seen in this work in literature through the names, the cultural norms and the organisation. One of the true examples of court intrigue was the dismissal and execution of the Barmakids as the heads of Imperial administration- Yayha and his family had greatly aided the Abbasid court, but evidently in 798, they fell out of favour with the Caliph. It is still not clear if the fault was a change in organisation, the perceptions of the Caliph, or if the Barmakids were actually behaving in a different and unacceptable way, but all that it clear is that they were executed. Popular rumour stated at the time that this is what happened:

�Yahya's son, Ja�far, was the companion of Hārūn, who loved to have his own sister Abbasa and Jafar with him at times of recreation,. But Muslim etiquette forbade their common presence; and, to allow this, Hārūn had the marriage ceremony performed between them, on the understanding that it was purely nominal. But the ban was too weak for Abbasa (some versions of the story have it that she entered Ja'fars bedroom in the darkness, masquerading as one of his slave girls). A child given secret birth was sent by her to Mecca but a maid, quarreling with her mistress, made known the scandal. Hārūn, while on a pilgrimage in Mecca, heard the story and ascertained that the tale was probably true.�

�On his return shortly after, he had Jafar executed, whose body was despatched to Bagdad, and there, divided in two, impaled on either side of the bridge. It stayed there for three years, when Harun, happening to pass through Bagdad from the East, gave command for the remains to be taken down and burned. On the death of Jafar, his father and brother were both cast into prison.�

This is probably not true, but it has already been established that the Barmakids were becoming increasingly more influential in the court, and after years of this power, the family may have become corrupt and began behaving in ways that the Caliph did not see as appropriate. These acts were most possibly making decisions without his permission, coming into the presence of the Caliph unannounced and general incompetence.

After the dismissal and subsequent execution of the Barmakids, Harun Al-Rashid began to take a more meriotocratic approach when appointing his courtiers. The Barmakids had been appointed by heritage, which was naturally not the most secure way of assuring that good candidates were gained for the posts. This act of change within the imperial court raised the average level of living for the Abbasid Arab to an unprecedented amount, and as a rule the new system managed to gain much more competent ministers for the Caliphate.

Externally, although the empire appeared stronger with the brilliance of their new Caliph and court, the frontiers were actually getting more volatile- the empire was hanging on a thread against the Khazars in Armenia and the Byzantines in Syria, Kurdistan and Anatolia. To the west, the Abbasids were also having military troubles with the Tunisians and the Moroccans. This area was especially crucial to control as it contained the two Abbasid splinter states that posed a danger to the future survival of the Caliphate and needed to be kept in check to ensure that they did not grow in power to a large degree. Added to this strain, Persia- which was always a hotspot for rebellious Shia leaders- had begun to rebel again, possibly in outrage against the dismissal of the Barmakids- one of the main leverages that the Shia and Persians had to secure their freedoms and liberties within the Abbasid state.

Further interal upsets began to occur when in 796 when Harun Al-Rashid decided to move his court and centre of government to Ar Raqqah at the mid-Euphrates river. The capital of the Abbasid Caliphate remained here for around 12 years. It was only on one occasion that he returned to Baghdad, and that was only for a short visit. Many of the reasons for this move were more to do with practicality rather than a display of power, which it seems that the Caliph realised was futile without good security. By moving his capital nearer to the Byzantine boarder, he moves the attention of Abbasid forces to the area where their Caliph was. The communications of the area were also excellent, and he could communicate concerning events in Syria and Anatolia much faster and more effectively than he ever could have done in Baghdad. Also, the Agriculture in the region was much more developed and provided a better yield than the area around Baghdad. Al-Rashid probably began to realise, like Turkish republican Mustafa Kemal Ataturk did with Istanbul in the early 20th century, that a large and crowded city does not make for a good capital and that, like Ataturk, that moving the capital nearer to the more far flung provinces would grant it more powerful influence and communications. Also, any rebellions in Iran or Syria could be dealt with much more quickly and easily than before. 

Harun Al-Rashid greatly encouraged multiculturalism in his increasingly cosmopolitan empire, and saw the great benefits that could be raised from encouraging it. He himself was a scholar, poet, academic and musician, and invited people of similar interests to his lavish court At Raqqah and thus his name as a great cultural figure began to spread around the developed Eurasian world at the time. He often hosted foreign leaders in lavish celebrations and treated them with vast amounts of respect, most notably in 802, with Charlemagne, the famous Holy Roman emperor, and it is said that he bestowed him with many lavish gifts, with items such as an elephant named Abul-Abbas, a mechanical water clock from which full size suits of armour emerged on the hour, vast decorated tents, Ivory Chessmen and much more which significantly helped ease the egotistical diplomatic relations at the time. This realisation also manifested itself in internal affairs concerning the management of the empire- for example in 800, he appointed Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab governor over Tunisia. Ibrahim was a semi-autonomous ruler in return for substantial yearly payments. This shows Harun Al-Rashid�s understanding that in certain areas of the provinces, the governors and officials needed to be kept appeased, particularly in North Africa, where the Abbasid splinter states could influence the perceptions of Abbasid officials against the Caliphate.

Harun�s pervious actions when commanding the vast Persian and Arab army against Byzantium when serving under his father, Al-Hadi were instrumental in creating peace with Byzantium. When encamped at Chrysopolis, the Empress Irene sent her ambassadors with the following message:

�The Empress has heard much of your ability as a general. Though you are her enemy, she admires you as a soldier.�

These words were pleasing to Harun, and he was flattered. He walked back and forth in front of his tent in front of the anxious Byzantines and replied thus:

�Tell the Empress that I will spare Constantinople if she will pay me seventy thousand pieces of as a yearly tribute. If the tribute is regularly paid Constantinople shall not be harmed by any Muslim force.�

The Empress complied, and every year from then, it was received at Baghdad with celebration, so much so that that day every year was declared a public holiday. Byzantine and Abbasid troops both played a part in the military parade the followed the tribute through the city to the imperial treasury in the central Plaza. This shows of a very vain ego which was easily turned aside by flattery- Harun had the chance to destroy his people�s enemy with which the Arab people had been fighting a bitter war with for generations, and a simple sentence of flattery was enough for him to turn back, abet with tribute. We can conclude that, either he was vain and egotistic, or he realised that benefits to be had by keeping Byzantium as a vassal and an ally. We can see through his lavish court ceremonies and studies of his character that he was, like many of the pampered monarchs of the age, fairly vain, as this was how he had been raised, but we can also see his ability in diplomacy with his success with the Holy Roman Empire and the Chinese Tang Dynasty. Although the truth about this incident is not known, study of it can tell us a lot about his character, and the truth probably lies in a combination between the two he was undoubtedly vain, but his skills as a diplomat probably also came into the incident.

Harun was seen throughout the western world as almost a demi-god amongst his people. Further incidents for the better of the Abbasid caliphate, such as development of Algebra in Mathematics, with Al-Kwarizmi�s Kitab al-Jabr wa-l-Muqabala ("The Book of Restoration and Comparison, Yakut�s Geographical studies, the development of the Sextant from the Chinese Astrolobe, the translation of Classical Greek and Latin texts into Arabic, and the development of the almanac and the logarithm are all examples of the developments made roughly in the time of the reign of Harun Al-Rashid. His method of ruling left a successful model for other future Caliphs to attempt to replicate, sometimes with limited success. Other military successes also occurred, such as the Abbasid conquest of Cyprus in 807. Despite the fact that Cyprus would not remain Abbasid territory for long, the act of having the ability to capture it for any length of time shows a dramatic increase in Abbasid strength. It was also in this time that the Abbasid Caliphate was near its largest extent, from Spain to Pakistan, and on the other Axis, Yemen to Armenia- Harun�s age truly was the apex of Abbasid development. Harun Al-Rashid died in 809 whilst traveling in his eastern provinces. Al-Amin was initially appointed Caliph, but his first son, Al-Ma�mun would protest and the two would drag the empire down into civil war.