Misplaced Pages

#526473

78-578: After Abu Hashim's death, the Abbasids claimed that on his deathbed Abu Hashim had nominated his distant cousin Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abd Allah ibn Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim as the Imam . His son Abu al-Abbas Abd Allah al-Saffah became the first Abbasid caliph, repudiating Shi'ism, which effectively extinguished the sect that had recognized Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya as an Imam. Abu Hashim's father

156-541: A growing concern from the chief towns in Iraq , Basra , and Kufa that there was lack of solidity within the regime after the death of Abu'l 'Abbas (later known as al-Saffah ). Another reason for the construction of the new capital was the growing need to house and provide stability for a rapidly developing Abbasid bureaucracy forged under the influence of Iranian ideals. The medieval historians al-Tabari and al-Khatib al-Baghdadi would later claim that al-Mansur had ordered

234-643: A growing interest in ancient Iranian heritage and a Persian revivalist movement which al-Mansur sponsored. The translation and study of works in Pahlavi , a pre-Islamic language of Persia, became fashionable among intellectuals and authors who supported the Abbasid caliphate . Government secretaries of Persian descent in al-Mansur's administration sponsored translations of Pahlavi texts on the history and principles of royal administration. Popular Arabic translations were produced by Ibn al-Muqaffa of texts that documented

312-497: A hero of the early Muslim conquests ; his third was an Iranian servant. He also had a minimum of three concubines: an Arab , a Byzantine, nicknamed the “restless butterfly," and a Kurd . Al-Saffah died after a short five-year reign and al-Mansur took on the responsibility of establishing the Abbasid caliphate by holding on to power for nearly 22 years, from Dhu al-Hijjah 136 AH until Dhu al-Hijjah 158 AH (754 – 775). Al-Mansur

390-632: A location called the Garden of the Bani Amir on the high road to Iraq at the age of sixty-three. According to this narration, he was buried in Mecca with his face uncovered because he was wearing the ihram clothing . 100 graves were dug around Mecca with the intention to thwart any attempt to find and violate his bones. A different narration from Fadl ibn Rabi'ah , who claimed to have been with Mansur at his time of death, states that he died at al-Batha' near

468-497: A matter of public policy . While al-Mansur's regime did not intrude into the private realm of elites, orthodoxy was promoted in public worship , for example through the organization of pilgrim caravans . Al-Mansur's harsh treatment towards the Alids led to a revolt in 762–763, but they were eventually defeated. Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq became the victim of harassment by the Abbasid family and in response to his growing popularity among

546-415: A mirror in which he could descry his enemy from his friend." Al-Mansur's secret service extended to remote regions of his empire, and were cognizant of everything from social unrest to the price of figs, making Mansur very knowledgeable of his domains. He rose at dawn, worked until evening prayer . He set the example for his son and heir. According to historic sources al-Mansur advised his son: “put not off

624-407: A personal example and forming ties of loyalty, reinforced by patronage, between the ruler and the soldiers. Al-Muktafi, on the other hand, did not "in his character and comportment [...], being a sedentary figure, instil much loyalty, let alone inspiration, in the soldiers" (Michael Bonner). The Caliphate was still able to secure major successes over the next few years, including the reincorporation of

702-525: A plot to assassinate the Caliph. They were soon joined, or at least had the tacit approval, of al-Muntasir, who smarted from a succession of humiliations: on 5 December, on the recommendation of al-Fath and Ubayd Allah, he was bypassed in favour of al-Mu'tazz for leading the Friday prayer at the end of Ramadan , while three days later, when al-Mutawakkil was feeling ill and chose al-Muntasir to represent him on

780-464: A remote room in the palace. Al-Radi 's reign marked the end of the Caliph's political power and the rise of military strongmen, who competed for the title of Amir al-umara. Al-Radi is commonly spoken of as the last of the real Caliphs: the last to deliver orations at the Friday service, to hold assemblies with philosophers to discuss the questions of the day, or to take counsel on the affairs of State;

858-545: A safe-conduct by al-Mansur and the Caliph al-Saffah, but after surrendering the town, he was executed with a number of his followers. According to The Meadows of Gold , a history book in Arabic written around 947 CE, al-Mansur's dislike of the Umayyad dynasty is well documented and he has been reported saying: "The Umayyads held the government which had been given to them with a firm hand, protecting, preserving and guarding

SECTION 10

#1732791897527

936-541: A senior Turkic general who had likely been heavily involved in al-Mutawakkil's murder. His reign lasted less than half a year; it ended with his death from unknown causes on Sunday, 7 June 862, at the age of 24 years. During al-Muntasir's short reign (r. 861–862), the Turks pressured him into removing al-Mu'tazz and al-Mu'ayyad from the succession. When al-Muntasir died, the Turkic officers gathered together and decided to install

1014-569: A stomach ailment and called the Christian Syriac -speaking physician Jurjis ibn Bukhtishu from Gundeshapur to Baghdad for medical treatment. In doing so al-Mansur started the tradition among Abbasid caliphs, who would pay physicians of the Nestorian Christian Bukhtishu family to attend to their needs and to write original Arabic medical treatises, as well as translate medical texts into Arabic. In 751

1092-417: A story later circulated that al-Fath and Ubayd Allah were forewarned of the plot by a Turkic woman, but had disregarded it, confident that no-one would dare carry it out. On the night of 10/11 December, about one hour after midnight, the Turks burst into the chamber where the Caliph and al-Fath were having supper. Al-Fath was killed trying to protect the Caliph, who was killed next. Al-Muntasir, who now assumed

1170-559: Is known for founding the 'Round City' of Madinat al-Salam , which was to become the core of imperial Baghdad . Modern historians regard al-Mansur as the real founder of the Abbasid Caliphate, one of the largest polities in world history, for his role in stabilizing and institutionalizing the dynasty. According to al-Suyuti 's History of the Caliphs , al-Mansur lived 95 AH – 158 AH (714 CE – 6 October 775 CE). Al-Mansur

1248-405: Is known of Ja'far and he likely was not involved in politics or had marriage or issue. However, his death is recorded at 802 AD by palace records suggesting he lived into adulthood and continued to live at court rather than having been banished or dying before adulthood. Another concubine was Qali-al Farrashah. She was a Greek, and was the mother of al-Mansur's son Salih al-Miskin. Another concubine

1326-703: Is reported as having said “he who has no money has no men, and he who has no men watches as his enemies grow great.” The Alids , a group descended from Muhammad 's closest male relative and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib , had fought with the Abbasids against the Umayyads. They wanted the power to be given to the Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq , a great-grandson of Ali and one of the most influential scholars in Islamic jurisprudence at

1404-627: The Abbasid Caliphate between 750 and 1258. They were from the Qurayshi Hashimid clan of Banu Abbas, descended from Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib . The Abbasid Caliphate is divided into three main periods: Early Abbasid era (750–861), Middle Abbasid era (861–936) and Later Abbasid era (936–1258). A cadet branch of the dynasty also ruled as ceremonial rulers for the Mamluk Sultanate (1261–1517) until their conquest by

1482-588: The Dabuyid ruler, Khurshid , who was paid with money from the treasures. Al-Mansur ordered a force of 10,000 under Abbasid commander Jahwar ibn Marrar al-lijli to march without delay to Khorasan to fight the rebellion. Sunpadh was defeated and Khorasan reclaimed by the Abbasids. Al-Mansur sent an official to take inventory of the spoils collected from the battle as a precautionary measure against acquisition by his army. Angered by al-Mansur's avarice, general Jahwar gained support from his troops for his plans to split

1560-571: The Emirate of Córdoba . In 768 the envoys of Pippin III returned to Francia along with caliph al-Mansur's ambassadors. Pippin III received al-Mansur's delegation in Aquitaine and gifts were exchanged as a sign of the new alliance. This alliance was solidified when between 797 and 807 king Charlemagne and caliph Harun al-Rashid established embassies. Al-Mansur's treatment of his Christian subjects

1638-601: The Ottoman Empire . The Abbasids descended from Abbas , one of Muhammad 's companions (as well as his uncle) and one of the early Qur'an scholars. Therefore, their roots trace back to Hashim ibn 'Abd Manaf and also Adnan in the following line: Al-‘Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf ibn Qusai ibn Kilab ibn Murrah ibn Ka'b ibn Lu'ay ibn Ghalib ibn Fihr ibn Malik ibn An-Nadr ibn Kinanah ibn Khuzaima ibn Mudrikah ibn Ilyas ibn Mudar ibn Nizar ibn Ma'add ibn Adnan . The Abbasid dynasty

SECTION 20

#1732791897527

1716-655: The Umayyad dynasty . In 762 two descendants of Hasan ibn Ali rebelled in Medina and Basra. Al-Mansur's troops defeated the rebels first in Medina and then in Basra. This would be the last major uprising against the caliph al-Mansur. To consolidate his power al-Mansur founded the new imperial residence and palace city Madinat as-Salam ( the city of peace ), which became the core of the Imperial capital Baghdad . Al-Mansur laid

1794-415: The "Center of Learning". The Abbasid leadership had to work hard in the last half of the 8th century (750–800) under several competent caliphs and their viziers to usher in the administrative changes needed to keep order of the political challenges created by the far-flung nature of the empire, and the limited communication across it. It was also during this early period of the dynasty, in particular during

1872-538: The 1774 Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca .   Caliphs of the Abbasid Caliphate   Caliphs of Cairo Al-Mansur Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr ( / æ l m æ n ˈ s ʊər / ; Arabic : أبو جعفر عبد الله بن محمد المنصور ‎; 95 AH – 158 AH/714 CE – 6 October 775 CE) usually known simply as by his laqab al-Manṣūr (المنصور) was the second Abbasid caliph , reigning from 136 AH to 158 AH (754 CE – 775 CE) succeeding his brother al-Saffah ( r.  750–754 ). He

1950-547: The An Lushan rebellion in the Yangzhou massacre (760) , The Byzantine emperor Constantine V had used the weakness of the Umayyad caliphate to regain land from Muslim rulers. After the Umayyad caliphate was defeated by al-Mansur's predecessor al-Saffah , Constantine V invaded Armenia and occupied parts of it throughout 751 and 752. Under al-Mansur's rule Muslim armies conducted raids on Byzantine territory. Al-Mansur

2028-405: The Arabic translation of Zij al-Sindhind became widely adopted by Muslim scholars. During al-Mansur reign Greek works were also translated, such Ptolemy 's Almagest and Euclid 's Elements . Al-Mansur had Persian books on astronomy, mathematics, medicine, philosophy and other sciences translated in a systematic campaign to collect knowledge. The translation of Persian books was part of

2106-476: The Caliphate, initially claimed that al-Fath had murdered his father, and that he had been killed after; within a short time, however, the official story changed to al-Mutawakkil choking on his drink. The murder of al-Mutawakkil began the tumultuous period known as " Anarchy at Samarra ", which lasted until 870 and brought the Abbasid Caliphate to the brink of collapse. The decline of the Abbasids started with

2184-551: The Islamic prophet, Muhammad . Al-Mansur's brother al-Saffah began asserting his claim to become caliph in the 740s and became particularly active in Khorasan , an area where non-Arab Muslims lived. After the death of the Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik in 743 a period of instability followed. Al-Saffah led the Abbasid Revolution in 747 and his claim to power was supported throughout Iraq by Muslims. He became

2262-520: The Khorasanian rebel leaders gave their allegiance to his brother al-Saffah. Ibrahim died in captivity and al-Saffah became the first Abbasid Caliph. During his brother's reign, al-Mansur led an army to Mesopotamia where he received a submission from the governor after informing him of the last Umayyad Caliph's death. The last Umayyad governor had taken refuge in Iraq in a garrison town. He was promised

2340-568: The Tulunid domains in 904 and victories over the Qarmatians, but with al-Muktafi's death in 908, the so-called "Abbasid restoration" passed its high-water mark, and a new period of crisis began. After al-Muktafi's death, al-Muqtadir came to the throne. He came to the throne at the age of 13, the youngest Caliph in Abbasid history. Al-Muqtadir's long reign (908–932) had brought the Abbasids to their lowest ebb, in which most of Northern Africa

2418-557: The Well of Maimun in which he would have been buried at al-Hajun at sixty-five years of age. In this narration, Mansur was sitting in a domed room hallucinating about ill-omen writings on the wall. When al-Rabiah replied "I see nothing written on the wall. Its surface is clean and white," al-Mansur replied, "my soul is warned that she may prepare for her near departure." After reaching the Well of Maimun, he reportedly said "God be praised" and succumbed to death that very day. When al-Mansur died,

Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya - Misplaced Pages Continue

2496-529: The caliph Al-Mansur founded the city of Baghdad , near the ancient Babylonian capital city of Babylon . Baghdad became the center of science , culture and invention in what became known as the Golden Age of Islam . This, in addition to housing several key academic institutions, including the House of Wisdom , as well as a multiethnic and multi-religious environment, garnered it a worldwide reputation as

2574-536: The capital back to Baghdad, where he engaged in major building activities. Al-Mu'tadid had taken care to prepare his son and successor, al-Muktafi , for his role by appointing him as governor in Rayy and the Jazira. Although al-Muktafi tried to follow his father's policies, he lacked his energy. The heavily militarized system of al-Muwaffaq and al-Mu'tadid required the Caliph to actively participate in campaigns, setting

2652-538: The chronicles of his reign, and medieval historians generally considered his period as the lowest ebb of the Abbasid caliphate, an opinion shared by modern scholars as well. al-Muti was succeeded by his son al-Ta'i who made attempts to restore his political authority until he was deposed by Baha al-Dawla . He was succeeded by his cousin al-Qadir , in his long reign, al-Qadir was successful in restoration his political authority in Baghdad and its surrounding territory. He

2730-715: The clan of the Banu Hashim . According to the Sunnis, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani graded the two sons of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya to be weak in Hadith , arguing that one was a murji'i , and the other to be a Shi'ite . On the other hand, Ibn Sa'd stated that "Abu Hashim has knowledge and transmission. He was reliable in hadith , and had narrated a few accepted hadiths ." Abbasid dynasty The Abbasid dynasty or Abbasids ( Arabic : بنو العباس , romanized :  Banu al-ʿAbbās ) were an Arab dynasty that ruled

2808-418: The cost of gearing the economy almost exclusively towards the maintenance of the army, which resulted in the expansion and rise to power of the central fiscal bureaucracy and contributed to the Caliph's lasting reputation for avarice. Al-Mu'tadid was renowned for his cruelty when punishing criminals, and subsequent chroniclers recorded his extensive and ingenious use of torture. His reign saw the permanent move of

2886-436: The dead body, and kept it several days in order to glut his eyes with the spectacle." The Execution of Abu Muslim caused uproars throughout the province of Khorasan . In 755 Sunpadh , an Iranian nobleman from the House of Karen , led a revolt against al-Mansur, taking the cities of Nishapur , Qumis , and Ray . In Ray, he seized the treasuries of Abu Muslim. He gained many supporters from Jibal and Tabaristan , including

2964-544: The dead caliph's cousin al-Musta'in (son of al-Mutawakkil's brother Muhammad ) on the throne. The new caliph was almost immediately faced with a large riot in Samarra in support of the disenfranchised al-Mu'tazz; the rioters were put down by the military but casualties on both sides were heavy. Al-Musta'in, worried that al-Mu'tazz or al-Mu'ayyad could press their claims to the caliphate, first attempted to buy them off and then threw them in prison. In 866 his nephew al-Musta'in

3042-476: The death of al-Mutawakkil. After his assassination the Anarchy at Samarra began, which was a period of extreme internal instability from 861 to 870 in the history of the Abbasid Caliphate, marked by the violent succession of four caliphs. Al-Muntasir became Caliph on 11 December 861, after his father al-Mutawakkil was assassinated by members of his Turkic guard. Although he was suspected of being involved in

3120-738: The demolition of the Khosrow palace in Ctesiphon so that the material could be used for the construction of the city of peace . Al-Mansur pursued his vision of a powerful centralized caliphate in the new Muslim imperial capital of Baghdad. The city was populated with men and women of different faiths and cultures from all over the Islamic world. The Baghdad populace included Christian , Zoroastrian and Jewish minorities and communicated in Arabic. Al-Mansur pursued Islamization by staffing his administration with Muslims of varied backgrounds. Baghdad became one of al-Mansur's lasting achievements. His rule

3198-488: The designated successor when al-Mansur was crowned caliph. This change in succession was opposed by parts of the Abbasid family and some allies of Isa ibn Musa in Khurasan , but was supported by the Abbasid army. Al-Mansur had cultivated support for his son's accession since 754, while undermining Isa ibn Musa's position within the Abbasid military. Al-Tabari writes in his History of Prophets and Kings : "Abu Ja'far had

Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya - Misplaced Pages Continue

3276-484: The eastern part of his empire on lands that were once part of Persia. Some historians credit al-Mansur with starting the Abbasid–Carolingian alliance . In fact, it was the first Carolingian king Pippin III who initiated a new era of Franconian diplomacy by sending diplomatic envoys to al-Mansur's Baghdad court in 765. It is probable that Pippin III sought an alliance with al-Mansur against their common enemies,

3354-666: The first Abbasid caliph al-Saffah had defeated the Chinese Tang dynasty in the Battle of Talas . Chinese sources record that al-Mansur sent his diplomatic delegations regularly to China. Al-Mansur's delegations were known in China as Heiyi Dashi ( Black Clothed Arabs ). In 756 al-Mansur sent 3,000 mercenaries to assist Emperor Suzong of Tang in the An Lushan rebellion. A massacre of foreign Arab and Persian Muslim merchants by former Yan rebel general Tian Shengong happened during

3432-459: The first caliph of the Abbasid caliphate in 750 after defeating his rivals. Shortly before the overthrow of the Umayyads by an army of rebels from Khorasan that were influenced by propaganda spread by the Abbasids , the last Umayyad Caliph Marwan II , arrested the head of the Abbasid family, Al Mansur's other brother Ibrahim. Al-Mansur fled with the rest of his family to Kufa where some of

3510-499: The foundations of Baghdad near the old capital of al-Mada'in , on the western bank of the Tigris River , a location acceptable to him and his commanders. The circular city of about 2.4 km diameter was enclosed by a double-thick defensive wall with four gates named Kufa, Syria, Khorasan, and Basra. In the center of the city al-Mansur erected the caliph's palace and the main mosque . Al-Mansur had built Baghdad in response to

3588-401: The gift granted them by God. But then their power passed to their effeminate sons, whose only ambition was the satisfaction of their desires and who chased after pleasures forbidden by Almighty God...Then God stripped them of their power, covered them with shame and deprived them of their worldly goods". Mansur's first wife was a Yemeni woman from a royal family; his second was a descendant of

3666-461: The governance of Al-Mansur, Harun al-Rashid, and al-Ma'mun , that its reputation and power were created. Abbasid Caliphate was at its peak until the assassination of Caliph Al-Mutawakkil in 861. Al-Mutawakkil had appointed his oldest son, al-Muntasir , as his heir in 849/50, but slowly had shifted his favour to his second son, al-Mu'tazz , encouraged by al-Fath ibn Khaqan and the vizier Ubayd Allah ibn Yahya ibn Khaqan . This rivalry extended into

3744-431: The increasing power of the Abbasid general Abu Muslim , who gained popularity among the people, al-Mansur carefully planned his assassination. Abu Muslim was conversing with the Caliph when, at an appointed signal, four (some sources say five) of his guards rushed in and fatally wounded the general. John Aikin , in his work General Biography , narrates that Mansur, not content with the assassination, committed "outrages on

3822-483: The last to distribute largess among the needy, or to interpose to temper the severity of cruel officers. Al-Muttaqi and his successors were all considered as later Abbasids. Al-Muti was a weak figure, for all intents and purposes a puppet ruler of the Buyid emir , first Mu'izz al-Dawla, and then his son, Izz al-Dawla ( r.  967–978 ). As a result of his lack of real power, al-Muti' himself barely figures in

3900-477: The latter's assassination. The vacant secretary role was granted to Aban ibn Sadaqa until the death of the caliph al-Mansur. In 757 CE, al-Mansur sent a large army to Cappadocia which fortified the city of Malatya . In this same year, he confronted a group of the Rawandiyya from the region of Greater Khorasan that were performing circumambulation around his palace as an act of worship. When in 758/9

3978-694: The patronage of the Mamluk Sultanate that existed after the takeover of the Ayyubids . Even though they kept the title for about 250 years more, other than installing the Sultan in ceremonies, these Caliphs had little importance. After the Ottomans conquered Egypt in 1517, the Caliph of Cairo, al-Mutawakkil III was transported to Constantinople . Centuries later, a tradition developed saying that, at this time, al-Mutawakkil III formally surrendered

SECTION 50

#1732791897527

4056-598: The people of Khorasan rioted against al-Mansur in the battle of Al Hashimiya , Ma'n ibn Za'ida al-Shaybani , a general from the Shayban tribe and companion of Yazid ibn Umar al-Fazari , the Umayyad governor of Iraq , appeared at the scene of the uprising completely masked, and threw himself between the crowd and Mansur, driving the insurgents away. Ma'n reveals himself to al-Mansur as "he whom you have been searching" and upon hearing this, al-Mansur granted him rewards, robes of honor, rank, and amnesty from previously serving

4134-408: The people was eventually poisoned on the orders of the caliph in the tenth year of al-Mansur's reign. According to a number of sources, Abu Hanifa an-Nu'man , who founded a school of jurisprudence , was imprisoned by al-Mansur. Malik ibn Anas , the founder of another school, was flogged during his rule, but al-Mansur himself did not condone this. Al-Mansur's cousin, the governor of Madinah at

4212-448: The plot to kill al-Mutawakkil, he was able to quickly take control of affairs in the capital city of Samarra and receive the oath of allegiance from the leading men of the state. Al-Muntasir's sudden elevation to the Caliphate served to benefit several of his close associates, who gained senior positions in the government after his ascension. Included among these were his secretary, Ahmad ibn al-Khasib , who became vizier , and Wasif ,

4290-475: The political sphere, as al-Mu'tazz's succession appears to have been backed by the traditional Abbasid elites as well, while al-Muntasir was backed by the Turkic and Maghariba guard troops. In late autumn 861, matters came to a head: in October, al-Mutawakkil ordered the estates of the Turkic general Wasif to be confiscated and handed over to al-Fath. Feeling backed into a corner, the Turkic leadership began

4368-494: The prayer, once again Ubayd Allah intervened and persuaded the Caliph to go in person. Even worse, according to al-Tabari , on the next day al-Mutawakkil alternately vilified and threatened to kill his eldest son, and even had al-Fath slap him on the face. With rumours circulating that Wasif and the other Turkish leaders would be rounded up and executed on 12 December, the conspirators decided to act. According to al-Tabari,

4446-541: The systems and hierarchies of the Sasanian Empire . Al-Mansur was greatly interested in the quality of the translation and paid al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf ibn Maṭar to translate Euclid's Elements twice. Al-Mansur paid for the physician Jabril ibn Bukhtishu to write Arabic translations of medical books, while the first Arabic translations of medical texts written by Galen and Hippocrates were done by al-Mansur's official translator. In 765 al-Mansur suffered from

4524-414: The time, had ordered the flogging and was punished for doing so. Muhammad and Ibrahim ibn Abdallah , the grandsons of Imam Hassan ibn Ali , grandson of Muhammad , were persecuted by al-Mansur after rebelling against his reign. They escaped his persecution, but al-Mansur's anger fell upon their father Abdallah ibn Hassan and others of his family. Abdallah's sons were later defeated and killed. Al-Mansur

4602-406: The time. When it became clear that the Abbasid family had no intention of handing the power to an Alid, groups loyal to Ali moved into opposition. When al-Mansur came to power as second Abbasid caliph he started to suppress what he perceived as extreme elements in the broad Muslim coalition that had supported the Abbasid Revolution . He would be the first Abbasid caliph to uphold Islamic orthodoxy as

4680-529: The title of caliph as well as its outward emblems—the sword and mantle of Muhammad —to the Ottoman Sultan Selim I , establishing the Ottoman sultans as the new caliphal line . Some historians have noted that this story does not appear in the literature until the 1780s, suggesting that it was advanced to bolster the claims of caliphal jurisdiction over Muslims outside the empire, as asserted in

4758-633: The treasures evenly, and revolted against the caliph. This raised alarm in the caliph's court and al-Mansur ordered Mohammad ibn Ashar to march towards Khorasan . Jahwar, knowing his troops were at a disadvantage, retired to Isfahan and fortified in preparation. Mohammad's army pressed the rebel forces and Jahwar fled to Azerbaijan . Jahwar's forces were defeated, but he escaped Mohammad's pursuit. This campaign lasted from 756 to 762 CE (138 to 144 AH). In 759, al-Mansur sent an army under his generals Abu al-Khaṣīb Marzuq and Khazim ibn Khuzayma to Tabaristan to punish Khurshid for his support to Sunpadh. Khurshid

SECTION 60

#1732791897527

4836-455: The work of today until tomorrow and attend in person to the affairs of state. Sleep not, for thy father has not slept since he came to the caliphate. For when sleep fell upon his eyes, his spirit remained awake.” Notably frugal, al-Mansur was nicknamed Abu al-Duwaneek (“the Father of Small Change”), kept close tabs on his tax collectors , and made sure public spending was carefully monitored. He

4914-543: Was Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya , a son of Ali . Abu Hashim had a brother named Hasan . After his father's death in 700 CE, the Hashimiyya sub-sect of the Kaysanites Shia looked to Abu Hashim as the heir of his grandfather Ali. After his own death, the early Abbasids claimed that Abu Hashim had designated Muhammad, father of the first two Abbasid caliphs, al-Saffah and al-Mansur , as his heir and head of

4992-491: Was Isa, one of al-Mansur's uncles. She died during al-Mansur's caliphate. Another wife was Fatimah . Her father was Muhammad, one of the descendants of Talhah ibn Ubaydullah . She had three sons, Sulayman , Isa, and Ya'qub. One of his concubines was a Kurdish woman. She was the mother of al-Mansur's son Ja'far 'Ibn al-Kurdiyyah' ( Nasab translating to "Son of the Kurdish woman"). Unlike his other adult half-brothers, little

5070-436: Was Umm al-Qasim, whose son al-Qasim died at aged ten. Al-Masnur's only daughter Aliyah was born to an Umayyad woman. She married Ishaq ibn Sulayman . Al-Mas'udi writes that Mansur died on Saturday 6, Dhu al-Hijja 158 AH/775 CE. There are varying accounts of the location and circumstances of al-Mansur's death. One account narrates that al-Mansur was on a pilgrimage to Mecca and had nearly reached, when death overtook him at

5148-524: Was born at the home of the Abbasid family in Humeima (modern-day Jordan ) after their emigration from the Hejaz in 714 (95 AH). His mother was Sallamah , a slave woman. Al-Mansur was a brother of al-Saffah . Both were named Abd Allah, and to distinguish between them, al-Saffah was referred to by his kunya Abu al-Abbas. Al-Mansur was a great great-grandson of Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib , an uncle of

5226-557: Was defeated and Abu al-Khasib was appointed as the governor of the region. After relieving former vizier ibn Attiya al-Bahili, al-Mansur transferred his duties to Abu Ayyub al-Muriyani from Khuzestan . Abu Ayyub was previously a secretary to Sulayman ibn Habib ibn al-Muhallab, who in the past, had condemned al-Mansur to be whipped and flogged to pieces. Abu Ayyub had rescued al-Mansur from this punishment. Nevertheless, after appointing him as vizier, al-Mansur suspected Abu Ayyub of various crimes, including extortion and treachery, which led to

5304-474: Was killed by al-Mu'tazz after Fifth Fitna . Al-Mu'tazz's reign marks the apogee of the decline of the Caliphate's central authority, and the climax of centrifugal tendencies, expressed through the emergence of the autonomous dynasties in Abbasid Caliphate. Finally, unable to meet the financial demands of the Turkic troops, in mid-July a palace coup deposed al-Mu'tazz. He was imprisoned and maltreated to such an extent that he died after three days, on 16 July 869. He

5382-404: Was largely peaceful as he focused on internal reforms, agriculture and patronage of the sciences, thus he paved the way for Baghdad to become a global center of learning and science under the rule of the seventh Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun . In 764 al-Mansur's son al-Mahdi was made the designated heir to the caliphate, taking precedence over al-Mansur's nephew Isa ibn Musa , who had been named

5460-574: Was lost. Mosul had thrown off its dependence and the Greeks could make raids at pleasure along the poorly protected borders. Yet in the East formal recognition of the Caliphate remained in place, even by those who virtually claimed their independence; and nearer home, the Carmathians had been for the time put down. After Al-Muqtadir's death, al-Qahir came to power in 932. He ruled for two years until he

5538-413: Was pressured to abdicate in favour of Al-Muqtadir's nominated heir al-Radi ( r.  932–940 ). When He refused to abdicate, he was blinded and cast into prison. According to al-Mas'udi, al-Radi "kept news of him hidden", so that he vanished from common knowledge. He was not freed until eleven years later, when al-Mustakfi ( r.  944–946 ) came to the throne and discovered him locked away in

5616-535: Was proclaimed Caliph on his way to Mecca in the year 753 (136 AH) and was inaugurated the following year. Abu Ja'far Abdallah ibn Muhammad took the name al-Mansur ("the victorious") and agreed to make his nephew Isa ibn Musa his successor to the Abbasid caliphate. This agreement was supposed to resolve rivalries in the Abbasid family, but al-Mansur's right to accession was particularly challenged by his uncle Abdullah ibn Ali . Once in power as caliph, al-Mansur had his uncle imprisoned in 754 and killed in 764. Fearing

5694-405: Was severe; he "collected from them capitation with much vigor and impressed upon them marks of slavery." Al-Mansur's first wife was Arwa known as Umm Musa, whose lineage went back to the kings of Himyar . Her father was Mansur al-Himyari. She had a brother named Yazid. She had two sons, Muhammad (future Caliph al-Mahdi ) and Ja'far . She died in 764. Another wife was Hammadah. Her father

5772-569: Was succeeded by his cousin al-Muhtadi . He ruled until 870, until he was murdered on 21 June 870, and replaced by his cousin, al-Mu'tamid ( r.  870–892 ). In a series of campaigns al-Mu'tadid recovered the provinces of Jazira, Thughur, and Jibal, and effected a rapprochement with the Saffarids in the east and the Tulunids in the west that secured their—albeit largely nominal—recognition of caliphal suzerainty. These successes came at

5850-745: Was succeeded by his son al-Qa'im , and it was during his reign that the Buyids were replaced by the Seljuks . The Abbasids continued their partnership with the Seljuks until the reign of al-Muqtafi . Then Abbasid continued to rule Iraq directly without disturbance until Mongol Invasion in 1258 . The Mamluk Sultans of Egypt and Syria later appointed an Abbasid prince as Caliph of Cairo , but these Mamluk Abbasid Caliphs were marginalized and merely symbolic, with no temporal power and little religious influence. The Cairo Abbasids were largely ceremonial Caliphs under

5928-740: Was the dynasty that ruled the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad . It descends from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE ), from whom the dynasty takes its name. The Abbasids ruled as caliphs for most of the caliphate from their capital in Baghdad in modern-day Iraq , after having overthrown the Umayyad Caliphate in the Abbasid Revolution of 750 CE (132  AH ). The Abbasid Caliphate first centered its government in Kufa , modern-day Iraq, but in 762

6006-487: Was the first Abbasid caliph to hold a ransom meeting with the Byzantine Empire . Diplomats in the service of Constantine V and al-Mansur first negotiated the exchange of prisoners in 756. In 763 al-Mansur sent his troops to conquer al-Andalus for the Abbasid empire . But the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Rahman I successfully defended his territory. Al-Mansur withdrew and thereafter focused his troops of holding

6084-672: Was the first Abbasid caliph to sponsor the Translation Movement . Al-Mansur was particularly interested in sponsoring the translations of texts on astronomy and astrology . Al-Mansur called scientists to his court and became noted as patron of astronomers. When al-Mansur's Baghdad court was presented with the Zij al-Sindhind , an Indian astronomical handbook that included tables to calculate celestial positions, al-Mansur ordered for this major Indian work on astronomy to be translated from Sanskrit to Arabic. The astronomical tables in

#526473