Harun al-Rashid

Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn Muḥammad ar-Rāshīd, or simply Hārūn ibn al-Mahdī (c. 763 or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Hārūn al-Rāshīd, was the fifth Abbasid caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, reigning from September 786 until his death in March 809. His reign is traditionally regarded to be the beginning of the Islamic Golden Age. His epithet al-Rashid translates to "the Just", "the Upright", or "the Rightly-Guided".

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

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

Hārūn was born in Rey, then part of Jibal in the Abbasid Caliphate, in present-day Tehran Province, Iran. He was the son of al-Mahdi, the third Abbasid caliph (r. 775–785), and his wife al-Khayzuran, who was a woman of strong and independent personality who greatly influenced affairs of state in the reigns of her husband and sons. Growing up Harun studied history, geography, rhetoric, music, poetry, and economics. However, most of his time was dedicated to mastering hadith and the Quran. In addition, he underwent advanced physical education as a future mujahid, and as a result, he practiced swordplay, archery, and learned the art of war. His birth date is debated, with various sources giving dates from 763 to 766.

Before becoming a caliph, in 780 and again in 782, Hārūn had already nominally led campaigns against the caliphate's traditional enemy, the Eastern Roman Empire, ruled by Empress Irene. The latter expedition was a huge undertaking, and even reached the Asian suburbs of Constantinople. According to the Muslim chronicler Al-Tabari, the Byzantines lost tens of thousands of soldiers, and Harun employed 20,000 mules to carry the riches back. Upon his return to the Abbasid realm, the cost of a sword fell to one dirham and the price of a horse to a single gold Byzantine dinar.

Harun's raids against the Byzantines elevated his political image and once he returned, he was given the laqab "al-Rashid", meaning "the Rightly-Guided One". He was promoted to crown prince and given the responsibility of governing the empire's western territories, from Syria to Azerbaijan.

Upon the death of his father in 785, Harun's brother al-Hadi became caliph. However, al-Hadi's reign was brief: a year and two months. Al-Hadi clashed with their mother over her great influence in court. The historian al-Tabari notes varying accounts of al-Hadi's death, e.g. an abdominal ulcer or assassination prompted by his own mother.

On the night of al-Hadi's death, al-Khayzuran quickly released Yahya ibn Khalid from prison and ordered him to pay the army's wages, send the letters to the governors to pledge allegiance to al-Rashīd, and prepare him as caliph. They summoned the commanders of the army, Harthama ibn A'yan and Khuzayma ibn Khazim, and asked them to swear allegiance to Harun as caliph. Khuzayma reportedly gathered and armed 5,000 of his own followers, dragged the Ja'far ibn al-Hādī from his bed and forced him to publicly renounce his claims in favour of Hārūn. Hārūn became caliph in 786 when he was in his early twenties. At the time, he was tall, good looking, and slim but strongly built, with wavy hair and olive skin. On the day of accession, his son al-Ma'mun was born, and al-Amin some little time later: the latter was the son of Zubaida, a granddaughter of al-Mansur (founder of the city of Baghdad); so he took precedence over the former, whose mother was a Persian. Upon his accession, Harun led Friday prayers in Baghdad's Great Mosque and then sat publicly as officials and the layman alike lined up to swear allegiance and declare their happiness at his ascent to Amir al-Mu'minin. He began his reign by appointing very able ministers, who carried on the work of the government so well that they greatly improved the condition of the people.