Harun
al-Rashid
Hārūn al-Rashīd (Arabic: and Persian:هارون الرشيد ); also spelled Harun ar-Rashid, Haroun al-Rashid or Haroon
al Rasheed; English: Aaron
the Upright, Aaron the Just, or Aaron the Rightly-Guided; March 17, 763
– March 24, 809)
was born in Rayy near Tehran, Iran and was the fifth and most
famous Abbasid Caliph.
He ruled from 786
to 809, and his time was marked by scientific, cultural, and
religious prosperity. Art and music also flourished significantly during his
reign. He established a library Bayt al-Hikma.
His life and the fabulous court
over which he held sway have been the subject of many tales: some are factual
but most are believed to be fictitious. The famous The
Book of One Thousand and One Nights contained many stories that
might have been inspired by Harun's magnificent court.
Life
Hārūn was born in the Tehran provence of Iran.
Hārūn was the son of al-Mahdi, the third 'Abbasid
caliph (ruled 775–785), and al-Khayzuran, a former slave girl from Yemen
and a woman of strong personality who greatly influenced affairs of state in
the reigns of her husband and sons.
Hārūn was strongly influenced by
the will of his mother in the governance of the empire until her death in 789.
His vizier (chief minister) Yahya the Barmakid,
his sons, and other Barmakids generally
controlled the administration.
The Barmakids were a Persian family that had become very powerful
under al-Mahdi. Yahya had aided Hārūn in obtaining the caliphate, and he and
his sons were in high favor until 798, when the caliph threw them
in prison and confiscated their land. Muhammad ibn
Jarir al-Tabari(v. 30 p. 201f) dates this in 803 and lists various
accounts for the cause: Yahya's entering the Caliph's presence without
permission, Yahya's opposition to Muhammad ibn al Layth who later gained
Harun's favour, Jafar's release of Yahya ibn Abdallah ibn Hasan whom Harun had
imprisoned, Barmaki ostentatious wealth and the alleged romantic relationship
between Jafar and Harun's sister Abasa.
Yahya's son, Ja'far, was the companion of Hārūn, who loved to
have his own sister Abbasa and Jafar with him [1] 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 Jafar's 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.
This romantic story is highly
doubted by ibn Khaldun and most modern scholars. See the translator's note on
page 215 of at Tabari v. 30.
On his return shortly after, he
had Jafar executed, whose body was despatched to Baghdad, and there, divided in two, impaled
on either side of the bridge. It stayed there for three years, when Harun, happening
to pass through Baghdad
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.
The aforementioned story is
likely nothing more. The real reason for the fall of the Barmakids is far more
likely due to the fact that Barmakids were behaving in a manner that Harun
found disrespectful (such as entering his court unannounced) and were making
decisions of the state without consulting him first.
Hārūn became caliph when he was
in his early twenties. 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 slave-girl. 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.
It was under Hārūn ar-Rashīd that
Baghdad
flourished into the most splendid city of its period. Tribute was paid by many
rulers to the caliph, and these funds were used on architecture, the arts
and a luxurious life at court.
Julius Köckert's painting of Harun al-Rashid receiving
the delegation of Charlemagne demonstrates
the latter's recognition of Hārūn ar-Rashīd as the most powerful man of his
culture.
In 796 the Caliph Hārūn ar-Rashīd
decided to move his court and the government to Ar Raqqah at the middle Euphrates. Here he spent 12 years, most of his
reign. Only once he returned to Baghdad
for a short visit. Several reasons might have influenced the decision to move
to al-Raqqa. It was close to the Byzantine border. The communication lines via
the Euphrates to Baghdad and via the Balikh
river to the north and via Palmyra to Damascus were excellent. The agriculture was
flourishing to support the new Imperial center. And from Raqqa any rebellion in
Syria and the middle Euphrates area could be controlled. Abu al-Faraj
al-Isfahani pictures in his anthology of poems the splendid life in
his court. In ar-Raqqah the Barmekids managed the fate of the
empire, and there both heirs, al-Amin and al-Ma'mun grew up.
Hārūn gave great encouragement to
learning, poetry and music.
He was a scholar and poet
himself and whenever he heard of learned men in his own kingdom, or in
neighboring countries, he invited them to his court and treated them with
respect. The name of Hārūn, therefore, became known throughout the world. At
Tabari (v. 30 p. 313) refers to the physician Mankah coming from India to treat
Harun. Harun had diplomatic relations with China
and with Charlemagne.
Both Einhard and Nokter the
Stammerer refer to envoys travelling between Harun's and Charlemagne's courts,
amicable discussions concerning Christian access to the Holy
Land and the exchange of gifts. Notker (p. 147) mentions
Charlemagne sent Harun Spanish horses, colourful Frisian cloaks and impressive
hunting dogs. Harun sent gifts in return. In 802
Harun sent Charlemagne a present consisting of silks,
brass candelabra, perfume, slaves, balsam, ivory chessmen, a colossal tent
with many-colored curtains, an elephant named Abul-Abbas, and a water clock that marked the
hours by dropping bronze balls into a bowl, as mechanical knights — one for each hour — emerged from little
doors which shut behind them. The presents were unprecedented in Western Europe and may have influenced Carolingian art.
The following text is
paraphrased from and parts copied directly from Famous Men of the Middle Ages By John H. Haaren, LL.D.
In military matters, Hārūn was an
excellent soldier and showed this ability at a young age when his father was
still caliph. He later commanded an army of 95,000 Arabs
and Persians sent by his father to invade the Byzantine Empire, formerly the Eastern
Roman Empire, which was then ruled by the Empress Irene. After defeating Irene's famous
general, Nicetas, Harun marched his army to Chrysopolis
(now Üsküdar in Turkey) on the Asiatic
coast, opposite Constantinople. He
encamped on the heights in full view of the Byzantine capital.
Abbasid coins during
Hārūn's reign
The Empress saw that the city
would certainly be taken by the Muslims. She therefore sent ambassadors to
Harun to arrange terms; but he sternly refused to agree to anything except
immediate surrender. It is reported that then one of the ambassadors said,
The Empress has heard much of your ability as a general. Though you are her
enemy, she admires you as a soldier.
These flattering words were
pleasing to Hārūn. He walked to and fro in front of his tent and then spoke
again to the ambassadors.
Tell the Empress that I will spare Constantinople
if she will pay me seventy thousand pieces of gold
as a yearly tribute. If the tribute is regularly paid Constantinople
shall not be harmed by any Muslim force.
The Empress agreed to these
terms. She paid the first year's tribute; and soon the great Muslim army set
out on its homeward march. The tribute of gold that the Empress Irene agreed to
pay Hārūn was sent regularly for many years. It was always received at Baghdad with great
ceremony. The day on which it arrived was made a holiday. The Byzantine
soldiers who came with it entered the gates in procession. Muslim troops also
took part in the parade. When the gold had been delivered at the palace, the
Byzantine soldiers were hospitably entertained, and were escorted to the main
gate of the city when they set out on their journey back to Constantinople.
When empress Irene died,
Nicephorus became emperor and refused to pay tribute to Harun, saying that
Irene should have been receiving the tribute the whole time. Then Harun became
angry and said that Nicephorus would soon see his answer.
Harun sent and led other
expeditions against the Byzantines, a notable one in 806 in which he commanded
an army 135,000 men and forced the Byzantine Empire
to pay him 50,000 gold pieces immediately and 30,000 gold pieces annually. In
A.H. 181 (797-798) he took a fortress called "The Willows" beyond the
Cilician Gates. In A.H. 190 (806-807) he captured
Heraklia.
At Tabari describes Harun as
devout, charitable, munificent, patron of poets and averse to religious
disputes. His justice is extolled. In A.H. 189 (804-805) during his stay in Rayy,
Iran
he investigated complaints against his Khurasani governor in Iran,
Ali ibn Isa. On that occasion the governor satisfied him. In A.H. 191 (806-807)
further complaints against Ali ibn Isa resulted in the dispatch of a new
governor, Harthamah, who arrested Isa, his sons and agents and returned Isa's
excessive acquisitions to those wronged.
Harun led the pilgrimage several
times, e.g. A.H. 177 (793-794), A.H. 179 (795-796), A.H. 181 (797-798), A.H.
186 (802) and last in A.H. 188 (803-804).
At Tabari concludes his account
of Harun's reign with these words: "It has been said that when Harun
al-Rashid died, there were nine hundred million odd (dirhams) in the state
treasury." v. 30 p. 335.
In 808
when Harun al-Rashid, Abbasid caliph, was passing through there to settle down the
insurrection of "Rafi ibn Leith" in Transoxania, he became ill and died. He was
buried under the palace of "Hamid ibn Qahtabi", the governor of Khorasan,Iran.
That place later known as Mashhad(the place of
martyrdom) due to martyrdom of Imam Reza in 818. [1]
Al-Masudi's Anecdotes
Al-Masudi has a number of interesting anecdotes
in The Meadows of Gold
illuminating the character of this famous caliph. For example, he recounts (p.
94) Harun's delight when his horse came in first, closely followed by
al-Ma'mun's, at a race Harun held at Raqqa. Al-Masudi tells the story of Harun
setting his poets a challenging task. When others failed to please him, Miskin
of Medina succeeded superbly well. The poet then launched into a moving account
of how much it had cost him to learn that song. Harun laughed saying he knew
not what was more entertaining the song or the story. He rewarded the poet.
There is also the tale of Harun
asking Ishaq ibn Ibrahim to keep singing. The musician did until the caliph
fell asleep. Then, strangely a handsome young man appeared, snatched his lute,
sang a very moving piece (al-Masudi quotes it) and left. On awakening and being
informed of this, Harun said Ishaq ibn Ibrahim had received a supernatural
visitation.
Harun, as a number of caliphs,
has an anecdote connecting a poem with his death. Shortly before he died he is
said to have been reading some lines by Abu al-Atahiya about the transitory nature of the
power and pleasures of this world.
Timeline
·
763:
Hārūn is born on March 17, the son of Caliph al-Mahdi and the Yemeni slave girl
al-Khayzuran.
·
780:
Hārūn is the nominal leader of military expeditions against the Byzantine Empire.
·
782:
Hārūn is nominal leader of a military campaign against the Byzantine Empire
reaching as far as the Bosporus. A peace treaty is
signed on favourable terms. Harun receives the honorific title ar-Rashīd,
named second in succession to the caliphal throne and also appointed governor
of Tunisia, Egypt,
Syria, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
·
786
September 14: Hārūn's brother al-Hadi dies under
mysterious circumstances — it was rumoured that his mother al-Khayzuran was
responsible. Hārūn becomes the new caliph and makes Yahya the Barmakid
his Grand Vizier - but al-Khayzuran exercised much
influence over the politics.
·
789:
al-Khayzuran dies, leaving more of the effective
power in the hands of Hārūn.
·
791:
Hārūn wages war against the Byzantine Empire.
·
795: To prevent Shiite
rebellions, Hārūn imprison Musa al-Kazim, the
Shiite imam.
·
796:
Hārūn moves the Imperial residence and the government from Baghdad to ar-Raqqah.
·
800:
Hārūn appoints Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab
governor over Tunisia,
making him a semi-autonomous ruler in return for substantial yearly payments.
·
802:
Hārūn gives two albino elephants to Charlemagne as a diplomatic gift.
·
803:
Yahya dies, and even more of effective power comes in the hands of Hārūn.
·
807:
Hārūn's forces occupy Cyprus.
·
809:
Dies while travelling in the eastern parts of his empire. al-Amin succeeds him as caliph.
Hārūn is widely considered the
greatest of the Abbasid caliphs, presiding over the Arab Empire at its political and cultural peak.
Consequently, Islamic literature (the work of ibn Kather, for example) has raised him to the
level of an ideal figure, a great military and intellectual leader, even a
paragon for future rulers to emulate. His best-known portrayal in the West, in
the stories of the Thousand and One
Nights, has little basis in historical fact, but does show the
mythic stature he has attained over time.
Popular culture and references
Literature
·
Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow wrote a poem which started
One day Haroun Al-Raschid read
A book wherein the poet said
Where are the kings and where the rest
Of those who once the world possessed?
·
Harun al-Rashid was a main figure
and character throughout several of the stories of some of the oldest versions
of the 1001 Nights
·
Hārūn ar-Rashīd figures
throughout James Joyce's Ulysses, in a dream of Stephen Dedalus, one of the protagonists.
Stephen's efforts to recall this dream continue throughout the novel,
culminating in the novel's fifteenth episode, wherein some characters also take
on the guise of Hārūn.
·
Harun al-Rashid is also
celebrated in the 1923 poem by W.B. Yeats
"The Gift of Harun al-Rashid".
·
Harun al-Rashid is noted in Bulgakov's The Master and
Margarita by the character Korovyov.
·
The two protagonists of Salman Rushdie's 1990
novel Haroun and the
Sea of Stories are Haroun and his father Rashid Khalifa.
Comics
·
The comic book The Sandman
issue 50 featured a story (No. 50, "Ramadan") set in the world of the
Arabian Nights, with Hārūn ar-Rashīd as the protagonist. The story is
included in the collection The
Sandman: Fables and Reflections.
·
Haroun El Poussah in the French comic strip Iznogoud is a satirical
version of Hārūn ar-Rashīd.
·
The graphic novel Dschinn Dschinn by Ralf König has as its backstory the delegation
from Harun bringing gifts to Charlemagne.
Games
·
In Quest for Glory II,
the sultan who adopts the Hero as
his son is named Hārūn ar-Rashīd. He is often seen prophesizing on the streets
of Shapeir as The Poet Omar.
Other
·
Future U.S. President
Theodore Roosevelt,
when he was a New York Police
Department Commissioner, was called in the local newspapers
"Haroun-al-Roosevelt" for his habit of lonely all-night rambles on
the streets of Manhattan, surreptitiously
catching police officers off their posts. (Harun al-Rashid is said in the 1001 Nights to have wandered Baghdad at night dressed as merchant in order to
observe the lives of his subjects).
al-Rashid
Hārūn al-Rashīd (Arabic: and Persian:هارون الرشيد ); also spelled Harun ar-Rashid, Haroun al-Rashid or Haroonal Rasheed; English: Aaron
the Upright, Aaron the Just, or Aaron the Rightly-Guided; March 17, 763
– March 24, 809)
was born in Rayy near Tehran, Iran and was the fifth and most
famous Abbasid Caliph.
He ruled from 786
to 809, and his time was marked by scientific, cultural, and
religious prosperity. Art and music also flourished significantly during his
reign. He established a library Bayt al-Hikma.
His life and the fabulous court
over which he held sway have been the subject of many tales: some are factual
but most are believed to be fictitious. The famous The
Book of One Thousand and One Nights contained many stories that
might have been inspired by Harun's magnificent court.
Life
Hārūn was born in the Tehran provence of Iran.
Hārūn was the son of al-Mahdi, the third 'Abbasid
caliph (ruled 775–785), and al-Khayzuran, a former slave girl from Yemen
and a woman of strong personality who greatly influenced affairs of state in
the reigns of her husband and sons.
Hārūn was strongly influenced by
the will of his mother in the governance of the empire until her death in 789.
His vizier (chief minister) Yahya the Barmakid,
his sons, and other Barmakids generally
controlled the administration.
The Barmakids were a Persian family that had become very powerful
under al-Mahdi. Yahya had aided Hārūn in obtaining the caliphate, and he and
his sons were in high favor until 798, when the caliph threw them
in prison and confiscated their land. Muhammad ibn
Jarir al-Tabari(v. 30 p. 201f) dates this in 803 and lists various
accounts for the cause: Yahya's entering the Caliph's presence without
permission, Yahya's opposition to Muhammad ibn al Layth who later gained
Harun's favour, Jafar's release of Yahya ibn Abdallah ibn Hasan whom Harun had
imprisoned, Barmaki ostentatious wealth and the alleged romantic relationship
between Jafar and Harun's sister Abasa.
Yahya's son, Ja'far, was the companion of Hārūn, who loved to
have his own sister Abbasa and Jafar with him [1] 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 Jafar's 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.
This romantic story is highly
doubted by ibn Khaldun and most modern scholars. See the translator's note on
page 215 of at Tabari v. 30.
On his return shortly after, he
had Jafar executed, whose body was despatched to Baghdad, and there, divided in two, impaled
on either side of the bridge. It stayed there for three years, when Harun, happening
to pass through Baghdad
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.
The aforementioned story is
likely nothing more. The real reason for the fall of the Barmakids is far more
likely due to the fact that Barmakids were behaving in a manner that Harun
found disrespectful (such as entering his court unannounced) and were making
decisions of the state without consulting him first.
Hārūn became caliph when he was
in his early twenties. 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 slave-girl. 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.
It was under Hārūn ar-Rashīd that
Baghdad
flourished into the most splendid city of its period. Tribute was paid by many
rulers to the caliph, and these funds were used on architecture, the arts
and a luxurious life at court.
Julius Köckert's painting of Harun al-Rashid receivingthe delegation of Charlemagne demonstrates
the latter's recognition of Hārūn ar-Rashīd as the most powerful man of his
culture.
In 796 the Caliph Hārūn ar-Rashīd
decided to move his court and the government to Ar Raqqah at the middle Euphrates. Here he spent 12 years, most of his
reign. Only once he returned to Baghdad
for a short visit. Several reasons might have influenced the decision to move
to al-Raqqa. It was close to the Byzantine border. The communication lines via
the Euphrates to Baghdad and via the Balikh
river to the north and via Palmyra to Damascus were excellent. The agriculture was
flourishing to support the new Imperial center. And from Raqqa any rebellion in
Syria and the middle Euphrates area could be controlled. Abu al-Faraj
al-Isfahani pictures in his anthology of poems the splendid life in
his court. In ar-Raqqah the Barmekids managed the fate of the
empire, and there both heirs, al-Amin and al-Ma'mun grew up.
Hārūn gave great encouragement to
learning, poetry and music.
He was a scholar and poet
himself and whenever he heard of learned men in his own kingdom, or in
neighboring countries, he invited them to his court and treated them with
respect. The name of Hārūn, therefore, became known throughout the world. At
Tabari (v. 30 p. 313) refers to the physician Mankah coming from India to treat
Harun. Harun had diplomatic relations with China
and with Charlemagne.
Both Einhard and Nokter the
Stammerer refer to envoys travelling between Harun's and Charlemagne's courts,
amicable discussions concerning Christian access to the Holy
Land and the exchange of gifts. Notker (p. 147) mentions
Charlemagne sent Harun Spanish horses, colourful Frisian cloaks and impressive
hunting dogs. Harun sent gifts in return. In 802
Harun sent Charlemagne a present consisting of silks,
brass candelabra, perfume, slaves, balsam, ivory chessmen, a colossal tent
with many-colored curtains, an elephant named Abul-Abbas, and a water clock that marked the
hours by dropping bronze balls into a bowl, as mechanical knights — one for each hour — emerged from little
doors which shut behind them. The presents were unprecedented in Western Europe and may have influenced Carolingian art.
The following text isparaphrased from and parts copied directly from Famous Men of the Middle Ages By John H. Haaren, LL.D.
In military matters, Hārūn was an
excellent soldier and showed this ability at a young age when his father was
still caliph. He later commanded an army of 95,000 Arabs
and Persians sent by his father to invade the Byzantine Empire, formerly the Eastern
Roman Empire, which was then ruled by the Empress Irene. After defeating Irene's famous
general, Nicetas, Harun marched his army to Chrysopolis
(now Üsküdar in Turkey) on the Asiatic
coast, opposite Constantinople. He
encamped on the heights in full view of the Byzantine capital.
Abbasid coins during
Hārūn's reign
The Empress saw that the city
would certainly be taken by the Muslims. She therefore sent ambassadors to
Harun to arrange terms; but he sternly refused to agree to anything except
immediate surrender. It is reported that then one of the ambassadors said,
The Empress has heard much of your ability as a general. Though you are her
enemy, she admires you as a soldier.
These flattering words were
pleasing to Hārūn. He walked to and fro in front of his tent and then spoke
again to the ambassadors.
Tell the Empress that I will spare Constantinople
if she will pay me seventy thousand pieces of gold
as a yearly tribute. If the tribute is regularly paid Constantinople
shall not be harmed by any Muslim force.
The Empress agreed to these
terms. She paid the first year's tribute; and soon the great Muslim army set
out on its homeward march. The tribute of gold that the Empress Irene agreed to
pay Hārūn was sent regularly for many years. It was always received at Baghdad with great
ceremony. The day on which it arrived was made a holiday. The Byzantine
soldiers who came with it entered the gates in procession. Muslim troops also
took part in the parade. When the gold had been delivered at the palace, the
Byzantine soldiers were hospitably entertained, and were escorted to the main
gate of the city when they set out on their journey back to Constantinople.
When empress Irene died,
Nicephorus became emperor and refused to pay tribute to Harun, saying that
Irene should have been receiving the tribute the whole time. Then Harun became
angry and said that Nicephorus would soon see his answer.
Harun sent and led other
expeditions against the Byzantines, a notable one in 806 in which he commanded
an army 135,000 men and forced the Byzantine Empire
to pay him 50,000 gold pieces immediately and 30,000 gold pieces annually. In
A.H. 181 (797-798) he took a fortress called "The Willows" beyond the
Cilician Gates. In A.H. 190 (806-807) he captured
Heraklia.
At Tabari describes Harun as
devout, charitable, munificent, patron of poets and averse to religious
disputes. His justice is extolled. In A.H. 189 (804-805) during his stay in Rayy,
Iran
he investigated complaints against his Khurasani governor in Iran,
Ali ibn Isa. On that occasion the governor satisfied him. In A.H. 191 (806-807)
further complaints against Ali ibn Isa resulted in the dispatch of a new
governor, Harthamah, who arrested Isa, his sons and agents and returned Isa's
excessive acquisitions to those wronged.
Harun led the pilgrimage several
times, e.g. A.H. 177 (793-794), A.H. 179 (795-796), A.H. 181 (797-798), A.H.
186 (802) and last in A.H. 188 (803-804).
At Tabari concludes his account
of Harun's reign with these words: "It has been said that when Harun
al-Rashid died, there were nine hundred million odd (dirhams) in the state
treasury." v. 30 p. 335.
In 808
when Harun al-Rashid, Abbasid caliph, was passing through there to settle down the
insurrection of "Rafi ibn Leith" in Transoxania, he became ill and died. He was
buried under the palace of "Hamid ibn Qahtabi", the governor of Khorasan,Iran.
That place later known as Mashhad(the place of
martyrdom) due to martyrdom of Imam Reza in 818. [1]
Al-Masudi's Anecdotes
Al-Masudi has a number of interesting anecdotes
in The Meadows of Gold
illuminating the character of this famous caliph. For example, he recounts (p.
94) Harun's delight when his horse came in first, closely followed by
al-Ma'mun's, at a race Harun held at Raqqa. Al-Masudi tells the story of Harun
setting his poets a challenging task. When others failed to please him, Miskin
of Medina succeeded superbly well. The poet then launched into a moving account
of how much it had cost him to learn that song. Harun laughed saying he knew
not what was more entertaining the song or the story. He rewarded the poet.
There is also the tale of Harun
asking Ishaq ibn Ibrahim to keep singing. The musician did until the caliph
fell asleep. Then, strangely a handsome young man appeared, snatched his lute,
sang a very moving piece (al-Masudi quotes it) and left. On awakening and being
informed of this, Harun said Ishaq ibn Ibrahim had received a supernatural
visitation.
Harun, as a number of caliphs,
has an anecdote connecting a poem with his death. Shortly before he died he is
said to have been reading some lines by Abu al-Atahiya about the transitory nature of the
power and pleasures of this world.
Timeline
·
763:
Hārūn is born on March 17, the son of Caliph al-Mahdi and the Yemeni slave girl
al-Khayzuran.
·
780:
Hārūn is the nominal leader of military expeditions against the Byzantine Empire.
·
782:
Hārūn is nominal leader of a military campaign against the Byzantine Empire
reaching as far as the Bosporus. A peace treaty is
signed on favourable terms. Harun receives the honorific title ar-Rashīd,
named second in succession to the caliphal throne and also appointed governor
of Tunisia, Egypt,
Syria, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
·
786
September 14: Hārūn's brother al-Hadi dies under
mysterious circumstances — it was rumoured that his mother al-Khayzuran was
responsible. Hārūn becomes the new caliph and makes Yahya the Barmakid
his Grand Vizier - but al-Khayzuran exercised much
influence over the politics.
·
789:
al-Khayzuran dies, leaving more of the effective
power in the hands of Hārūn.
·
791:
Hārūn wages war against the Byzantine Empire.
·
795: To prevent Shiite
rebellions, Hārūn imprison Musa al-Kazim, the
Shiite imam.
·
796:
Hārūn moves the Imperial residence and the government from Baghdad to ar-Raqqah.
·
800:
Hārūn appoints Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab
governor over Tunisia,
making him a semi-autonomous ruler in return for substantial yearly payments.
·
802:
Hārūn gives two albino elephants to Charlemagne as a diplomatic gift.
·
803:
Yahya dies, and even more of effective power comes in the hands of Hārūn.
·
807:
Hārūn's forces occupy Cyprus.
·
809:
Dies while travelling in the eastern parts of his empire. al-Amin succeeds him as caliph.
Hārūn is widely considered the
greatest of the Abbasid caliphs, presiding over the Arab Empire at its political and cultural peak.
Consequently, Islamic literature (the work of ibn Kather, for example) has raised him to the
level of an ideal figure, a great military and intellectual leader, even a
paragon for future rulers to emulate. His best-known portrayal in the West, in
the stories of the Thousand and One
Nights, has little basis in historical fact, but does show the
mythic stature he has attained over time.
Popular culture and references
Literature
·
Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow wrote a poem which started
One day Haroun Al-Raschid read
A book wherein the poet said
Where are the kings and where the rest
Of those who once the world possessed?
·
Harun al-Rashid was a main figure
and character throughout several of the stories of some of the oldest versions
of the 1001 Nights
·
Hārūn ar-Rashīd figures
throughout James Joyce's Ulysses, in a dream of Stephen Dedalus, one of the protagonists.
Stephen's efforts to recall this dream continue throughout the novel,
culminating in the novel's fifteenth episode, wherein some characters also take
on the guise of Hārūn.
·
Harun al-Rashid is also
celebrated in the 1923 poem by W.B. Yeats
"The Gift of Harun al-Rashid".
·
Harun al-Rashid is noted in Bulgakov's The Master and
Margarita by the character Korovyov.
·
The two protagonists of Salman Rushdie's 1990
novel Haroun and the
Sea of Stories are Haroun and his father Rashid Khalifa.
Comics
·
The comic book The Sandman
issue 50 featured a story (No. 50, "Ramadan") set in the world of the
Arabian Nights, with Hārūn ar-Rashīd as the protagonist. The story is
included in the collection The
Sandman: Fables and Reflections.
·
Haroun El Poussah in the French comic strip Iznogoud is a satirical
version of Hārūn ar-Rashīd.
·
The graphic novel Dschinn Dschinn by Ralf König has as its backstory the delegation
from Harun bringing gifts to Charlemagne.
Games
·
In Quest for Glory II,
the sultan who adopts the Hero as
his son is named Hārūn ar-Rashīd. He is often seen prophesizing on the streets
of Shapeir as The Poet Omar.
Other
·
Future U.S. President
Theodore Roosevelt,
when he was a New York Police
Department Commissioner, was called in the local newspapers
"Haroun-al-Roosevelt" for his habit of lonely all-night rambles on
the streets of Manhattan, surreptitiously
catching police officers off their posts. (Harun al-Rashid is said in the 1001 Nights to have wandered Baghdad at night dressed as merchant in order to
observe the lives of his subjects).
