Fourth Fitna
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Fourth Fitna
The Fourth Fitna, Fourth Muslim Civil War, or Great Abbasid Civil War resulted from the conflict between the brothers al-Amin and al-Ma'mun over the succession to the throne of the Abbasid Caliphate. Their father, Caliph Harun al-Rashid, had named al-Amin as the first successor, but had also named al-Ma'mun as the second, with Khurasan granted to him as an appanage. Later a third son, al-Qasim ibn Harun al-Rashid, al-Qasim, had been designated as third successor. After Harun died in 809, al-Amin succeeded him in Baghdad. Encouraged by the Baghdad court, al-Amin began trying to subvert the autonomous status of Khurasan, and al-Qasim was quickly sidelined. In response, al-Ma'mun sought the support of the provincial élites of Khurasan and made moves to assert his own autonomy. As the rift between the two brothers and their respective camps widened, al-Amin declared his own son Musa as his heir and assembled a large army. In 811, al-Amin's troops marched against Khurasan, but al-Ma'mu ...
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Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member of the clan. The family established dynastic, hereditary rule with Mu'awiya I, the long-time governor of Greater Syria, who became caliph after the end of the First Fitna in 661. After Mu'awiya's death in 680, conflicts over the succession resulted in the Second Fitna, and power eventually fell to Marwan I, from another branch of the clan. Syria remained the Umayyads' main power base thereafter, with Damascus as their capital. The Umayyads continued the Muslim conquests, conquering Ifriqiya, Transoxiana, Sind, the Maghreb and Hispania ( al-Andalus). At its greatest extent (661–750), the Umayyad Caliphate covered , making it one of the largest empires in history in terms of area. The dynasty was toppled by the Abbasids in 750. S ...
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Al-Fadl Ibn Sahl
Abu l-Abbas al-Fadl ibn Sahl ibn Zadhanfarukh al-Sarakhsi (; died 818), titled Dhu 'l-Ri'āsatayn (, "the man of the two headships"), was a famous Persian vizier of the Abbasid era in Khurasan, who served under Caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813–832). He played a crucial role in the civil war between al-Ma'mun and his brother al-Amin (r. 809–813), and was the vizier of the Abbasid Caliphate until 817. Family Fadl's father Sahl was a Zoroastrian from Kufa, who later converted to Islam and joined the Barmakids. At the urging of Barmakid Yahya ibn Khalid, Fadl also converted to Islam, probably in 806, and entered the service of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid and his son al-Ma'mun.Bosworth 1999 Fadl realized very early on that after Harun al-Rashid's death, his throne would be disputed between his sons, and urged al-Ma'mun, the son of a Persian concubine, to accompany his father on his expedition to Khurasan, to secure a power-base in Iranian lands. When the events unfolded as accurately as ...
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Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of the modern Middle East. Just beyond it lies southwestern Iran, where the region transitions into the Iranian plateau, Persian plateau, marking the shift from the Arab world to Iran. In the broader sense, the historical region of Mesopotamia also includes parts of present-day Iran (southwest), Turkey (southeast), Syria (northeast), and Kuwait. Mesopotamia is the site of the earliest developments of the Neolithic Revolution from around 10,000 BC. It has been identified as having "inspired some of the most important developments in human history, including the invention of the wheel, the planting of the first cereal crops, the development of cursive script, mathematics, astronomy, and agriculture". It is recognised as the cradle of some of t ...
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Battle Of Ray (811)
This Battle of Rayy (Ray, Iran, as a military objective, one among many) was fought on May 1, 811 AD as part of an Abbasid civil war (the "Fourth Fitna") between the two half-brothers, al-Amin and al-Ma'mun. Causes Caliph Harun al-Rashid (the father of the two brothers) had foreseen that upon his death there would be a struggle between the two for Order of succession, succession to the Caliphate (the first born succession concept used in Christendom, Christian monarchies was not prevalent in Islam). Thus he decreed that al-Amin would rule the Abbasid Caliphate until his death, while al-Ma'mun acted as viceroy of Khurasan province in Eastern Iran. Then al-Ma'mun or one of his sons would succeed al-Amin as caliph, and in turn be succeeded by someone chosen by al-Amin. Naturally such a scheme, well-intentioned as it was, was doomed to fail. Both brothers were influenced by their viziers, Fadl ibn al-Rabi and Fadl ibn Sahl respectively, into attempting to claim power. Ultimately a ...
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Baghdad
Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the Arab world, most populous cities in the Middle East and Arab world and forms 22% of the Demographics of Iraq, country's population. Spanning an area of approximately , Baghdad is the capital of its Baghdad Governorate, governorate and serves as Iraq's political, economic, and cultural hub. Founded in 762 AD by Al-Mansur, Baghdad was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate and became its most notable development project. The city evolved into a cultural and intellectual center of the Muslim world. This, in addition to housing several key academic institutions, including the House of Wisdom, as well as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious environment, garnered it a worldwide reputation as the "Center of Learning". For much of the Abbasid era, duri ...
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Al-Qasim Ibn Harun Al-Rashid
Al-Qāsim ibn Hārūn ar-Rāshīd ibn Muḥammad al-Mahdī () was an Abbasid prince, the third son of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809), and for a time third-in-line to the Abbasid throne. Biography Qasim was Harun's third son, born to a slave mother named Qasif. Sukaynah, Harun's eldest daughter, was also Qasim's full sister. In his youth, Qasim was placed under the tutorship of the influential general Abd al-Malik ibn Salih. Thanks to Abd al-Malik's influence with Harun, Qasim was named as third in line of succession in 802 or 803, shortly after the so-called "Meccan documents" which established the precedence in succession of his elder brothers Muhammad (the caliph al-Amin, ) and Abdallah (the caliph al-Ma'mun, ). On this occasion, Qasim also received the honorific epithet () al-Mu'tamin (), but Harun also stipulated that Abdallah could, once caliph, alter the succession in favour of his own sons. In addition, Harun entrusted Qasim with the command over the ...
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Appanage
An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was common in much of Europe. The system of appanage greatly influenced the territorial construction of France and the German states and explains why many of the former provinces of France had coats of arms which were modified versions of the king's arms. Etymology Late Latin , from or 'to give bread' (), a for food and other necessities, hence for a "subsistence" income, notably in kind, as from assigned land. Original appanage: in France History of the French appanage An appanage was a concession of a fief by the sovereign to his younger sons, while the eldest son became king on the death of his father. Appanages were considered as part of the inheritance transmitted to the (younger sons). The word was specifically used for the r ...
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Harun Al-Rashid
Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn Muḥammad ar-Rāshīd (), or simply Hārūn ibn al-Mahdī (; 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 ...
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Abu Al-Umaytir Al-Sufyani
Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Khālid ibn Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān, better known as Abū al-ʿUmayṭir al-Sufyānī, was an Umayyad rebel against Abbasid rule in Syria during the Fourth Muslim Civil War and a self-proclaimed messiah who, in 811, attempted to restore the Umayyad Caliphate, which had been toppled by the Abbasids in 750. He expelled the Abbasid governor of Syria, Sulayman ibn Abi Ja'far, from Damascus and set up a quasi-administration in the city. His claim to the caliphate soon after gained recognition in different parts of the Damascus, Homs and Qinnasrin districts, including the port of Sidon and city of Homs. Abu al-Umaytir's support base consisted of the Banu Kalb, historically associated with his Sufyanid branch of the Umayyad family, and the wider Yaman tribal group, which put him at odds with the Yaman's rivals, the Qays. Persecution of the Qays in Damascus led to a campaign by the Qaysi chief and Abbasid loyalist, Ibn Bayhas ...
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Ibrahim Ibn Musa Al-Kadhim
Ibrāhīm ibn Mūsā al-Kāẓim (), known as al-Murtaḍā (), died 825 or after 837, was a ninth century Alid leader who led a rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate in the Yemen in the aftermath of the Fourth Fitna. He later seized control of Mecca in ca. 817, and was subsequently recognized as legal governor of the city by the caliph al-Ma'mun. Background An Alid by birth, Ibrahim was one of the eighteen or nineteen sons of the seventh Shi'ite imam Musa al-Kazim (d. 799), and a great-great-great-great-grandson of Ali. He was a brother of the eighth imam Ali al-Rida (d. 818), who was briefly the designated heir of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833). Revolt in the Yemen Ibrahim became active as a rebel following the damaging civil war of 811–813 between the rival caliphs al-Amin and al-Ma'mun, which had greatly weakened the ability of the Abbasid government to maintain its authority in Baghdad and the provinces of the empire. While in Mecca in 815, he was appoint ...
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Muhammad Ibn Ja'far Al-Sadiq
Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq (), surnamed al-Dībāj (), was a son of the sixth Shi'a imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq, who led a failed revolt against the Abbasid Caliphate in 815. Life Muhammad was the fourth and youngest son of Ja'far al-Sadiq. After the death of al-Sadiq without a clearly designated successor in 765, his followers split their allegiance, giving rise to several groups. Some held that al-Sadiq would return as the Mahdi, while others followed al-Sadiq's sons, Abdallah al-Aftah, Musa al-Kazim, and Muhammad al-Dibaj. Musa al-Kazim, regarded as the seventh imam by later Twelver Shi'ism, quickly gained the following of the majority of his father's followers, especially after al-Aftah died merely seventy days after their father. Al-Dibaj's followers became known as the Shumaytiyya or Sumaytiyya sect, after their leader, Yaya ibn Abi Shumayt or Sumayt. Al-Dibaj's doctrines are unclear, but in at least one source he appears to espouse a Zaydi-style imamate. He thus led a revolt i ...
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Abu'l-Saraya
Abu'l-Sarāyā al-Sarī ibn Manṣūr al-Shaybānī ( d. 18 October 815) was leader of a Zaydi revolt against the Abbasid Caliphate in Kufa and Iraq in 815. The revolt spread quickly across southern Iraq, and his agents even took over Mecca and Medina. At one point, the rebels threatened even Baghdad, but the Abbasid general Harthama ibn A'yan drove them back to Kufa in a series of victories. Forced to abandon Kufa in late August, Abu'l-Saraya and his followers tried to flee, but were pursued, defeated, and captured. Abu'l-Saraya himself was executed at Baghdad on 18 October. The uprising continued in the Hejaz for a few months under Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq as anti-caliph at Mecca, until this too was suppressed by the Abbasid troops. Life Abu'l-Saraya's early life is obscure. His hometown was Ras al-Ayn, and claimed descent from the pre-Islamic Shabani chieftain Hani ibn Qabisah, but is said to have been a donkey driver and a bandit, before he entered the service of Yazid ...
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