Chapter III: American (5)

Hadi, who had never been able to forget that he had narrowly escaped being supplanted by his brother, formed a plan for excluding him from the Caliphate and transmitting the succession to his own son Ja'far. To this he obtained the assent of his ministers and the principal chiefs of his army, with the exception of Yahya b. Khalid, Harun's former tutor, who showed such firmness and boldness that Hadi cast him into prison and resolved on his death. Some historians say that he had already given orders for his execution, when he himself was killed (September 14th, 786) by his mother Khaizoran, who had systematically and successfully intrigued against him with the object of gaining the real power for herself. Hadi, indignant at the fact that she was generally regarded as the real source of authority, had attempted to poison her, and Khaizoran, hoping to find a more submissive instrument of her will in her second and favourite son, caused Hadi to be smothered with cushions by two young slaves whom she had presented to him. She herself died three years later.

5. _Reign of Harun al-Rashid_.--We have now reached the most celebrated name among the Arabian caliphs, celebrated not only in the East, but in the West as well, where the stories of the _Thousand and One Nights_ have made us familiar with that world which the narrators represent in such brilliant colours. Harun ascended the throne without opposition. His first act was to choose as prime minister his former tutor, the faithful Yahya b. Khalid, and to confide important posts to the two sons of Yahya, Fadl and Ja'far, of whom the former was his own foster-brother, the latter his intimate friend. The Barmecide family were endowed in the highest degree with those qualities of generosity and liberality which the Arabs prized so highly, and the chronicles never weary in their praises. Loaded with all the burdens of government, Yahya brought the most distinguished abilities to the exercise of his office. He put the frontiers in a good state of defence; he filled the public treasury, and carried the splendour of the throne to the highest point. His sons, especially Fadl, were worthy of their father.

Although the administration of Harun's states was committed to skilful hands, yet the first years of his long reign were not free from troubles. Towards the year 176 (A.D. 792-793) a man of the house of Ali, named Yahya b. Abdallah, another brother of Mahommed and Ibrahim, who had taken refuge in the land of Dailam on the south-western shores of the Caspian Sea, succeeded in forming a powerful party, and publicly claimed the Caliphate. Harun immediately sent against him an army of 50,000 men, under the command of Fadl, whom he made governor of all the Caspian provinces. Reluctant, however, to fight against a descendant of the Prophet, Fadl first attempted to induce him to submit by promising him safety and a brilliant position at the court of Bagdad. Yahyaaccepted the proposal, but required that the caliph should send him letters of pardon countersigned by the highest legal authorities and the principal personages of the empire. Harun consented and Yahya went to Bagdad, where he met with a splendid reception. At the end of some months, however, he was calumniously accused of conspiracy, and the caliph, seizing the opportunity of ridding himself of a possible rival, threw him into prison, where he died, according to the majority of the historians, of starvation. Others say that Ja'far b. Yahya b. Khalid, to whose care he had been entrusted, suffered him to escape, and that this was the real cause of Harun's anger against the Barmecides (q.v.). Dreading fresh insurrections of the Alids, Harun secured the person of another descendant of Ali, Musa b. Ja'far, surnamed al-Kazim, who enjoyed great consideration at Medina, and had already been arrested and released again by Mahdi. The unfortunate man was brought by the caliph himself to Bagdad, and there died, apparently by poison.

Meanwhile Harun did not forget the hereditary enemy of Islam. In the first year of his reign all the strong places of Kinnesrin and Mesopotamia were formed into a special province, which received the name of al-'Awasim ("the defending fortresses"), with Manbij (Hierapolis) as its capital. The building of the fortress of Hadath having been completed, Harun committed to Faraj the Turk the task of rebuilding and fortifying the city of Tarsus. Thanks to these and similar measures, the Moslem armies were able to advance boldly into Asia Minor. Almost every year successful raids were made, in the year 797 under the command of the caliph himself, so that Irene was compelled to sue for peace. An attack by the Khazars called the caliph's attention from his successes in Asia Minor. This people had made an irruption into Armenia, and their attack had been so sudden that the Moslems and Christians were unable to defend themselves, and 100,000 had been reduced to captivity. Two valiant generals, Khozaima b. Khazim and Yazid b. Mazyad, marched against the Khazars and drove them out of Armenia.

In the midst of the cares of war, Harun was assiduous in his religious duties, and few years passed without his making the pilgrimage. Having determined to fix the order of succession in so formal a manner as to take away all pretext for future contentions, he executed a deed by which he appointed his eldest son Mahommed his immediate heir, and after him the second, Abdallah, and after Abdallah the third, Qasim. Mahommed received the surname of _al-Amin_ ("the Sure"), Abdallah that of _al-Ma'mun_ ("he in whom men trust"), and Qasim that of _al-Mo'tamin billah_ ("he who trusts in God"). Harun further stipulated that Mamun should have as his share during the lifetime of his brother the government of the eastern part of the empire. Each of the parties concerned swore to observe faithfully every part of this deed, which the caliph caused to be hung up in the Ka'ba, imagining that it would be thus guaranteed against all violation on the part of men, a precaution which was to be rendered vain by the perfidy of Amim.

It was in the beginning of the following year, at the very moment when the Barmecides thought their position most secure, that Harun brought sudden ruin upon them. The causes of their disgrace have been differently stated by the annalists (see BARMECIDES). The principal cause appears to have been that they abused the sovereign power which they exercised. Not a few were jealous of their greatness and sought for opportunities of instilling distrust against them into the mind of Harun, and of making him feel that he was caliph only in name. The secret dissatisfaction thus aroused was increased, according to some apparently well-informed authorities, by the releasing of the Alid Yahya b. Abdallah, already mentioned. Finally Harun resolved on their destruction, and Ja'far b. Yahya, who had just taken leave of him after a day's hunting, was arrested, taken to the castle of Harun, and beheaded. The following day, his father Yahya, his brother Fadl, and all the other Barmecides were arrested and imprisoned; all their property was confiscated. The only Barmecide who remained unmolested with his family was Mahommed the brother of Yahya, who had been the chamberlain of the caliph till 795, when Fadl b. Rabi' got his place. This latter had henceforward the greatest influence at court.

In the same year a revolution at Constantinople overthrew the empress Irene. The new emperor Nicephorus, thinking himself strong enough to refuse the payment of tribute, wrote an insulting letter to Harun, who contented himself with replying: "Thou shall not hear, but see, my answer." He entered Asia Minor and took Heraclea, plundering and burning along his whole line of march, till Nicephorus, in alarm, sued for peace. Scarcely had the caliph returned into winter quarters when Nicephorus broke the treaty. When the news came to Rakka, where Harun was residing, not one of the ministers ventured to tell him, until at last a poet introduced it in a poem which pleased the monarch. Notwithstanding the rigour of the season, Harun retraced his steps, and Nicephorus was compelled to observe his engagements. In 805 the first great ransoming of Moslem prisoners took place on the banks of the little river Lamus in Cilicia. But Nicephorus, profiting by serious disturbances in Khorasan, broke the treaty again, and overran the country as far as Anazarba and Kanisat as-sauda ("the black church") on the frontier, where he took many prisoners, who were, however, recovered by the garrison of Mopsuestia. Thus Harun was obliged to take the field again. He entered Asia Minor with an army of 135,000 regulars, beside volunteers and camp followers. Heraclea was taken, together with many other places, and Tyana was made a military station. At the same time his admiral, Homaid b. Ma'yuf, conquered Cyprus, which had broken the treaty, and took 16,000 of its people captive. Nicephorus was now so completely beaten that he was compelled to submit to very harsh conditions. In the year 808 the second ransoming between the Moslems and the Greeks took place near the river Lamus.

The disturbances in Khorasan were caused by the malversations of the governor of that province, Ali b. 'Isa b. Mahan. The caliph went in person to Merv, in order to judge of the reality of the complaints which had reached him. Ali b. 'Isa hastened to meet the caliph on his arrival at Rai (Rhagae), near the modern Teheran, with a great quantity of costly presents, which he distributed with such profusion among the princes and courtiers that no one was anxious to accuse him. Harun confirmed him in his post, and, after having received the chiefs of Tabaristan who came to tender their submission, returned through Bagdad to Rakka on the Euphrates, which city was his habitual residence. In the following year Rafi' b. Laith, a grandson of Nasr b. Sayyar, raised the standard of revolt in Samarkand, and, at the head of a numerous army, defeated the son of Ali b. 'Isa. Thereupon Ali fled from Balkh, leaving the treasury, which was plundered by the populace after his departure. The caliph on learning that the revolt was due to Ali's tyranny, sent Harthama b. A'yan with stringent orders to seize Ali and confiscate his possessions. This order was carried out, and it is recorded that 1500 camels were required to transport the confiscated treasures. The caliph's hope that Rafi' would submit on condition of receiving a free pardon was not fulfilled, and he resolved to set out himself to Khorasan, taking with him his second son Mamun. On the journey he was attacked by an internal malady, which carried him off, ten months after his departure from Bagdad, A.H. 193 (March 809), just on his arrival at the city of Tus. Harun was only forty-five years of age. He was far from having the high qualifications of his grandfather Mansur; indeed he did not even possess the qualities of his father and his brother. When the latter asked him to renounce his right of succession, he was willing to consent, saying that a quiet life with his beloved wife, the princess Zobaida, was his highest wish, but he obeyed his mother and Yahya b. Khalid. As long as the Barmecides were in office, he acted only on their direction. After their disgrace he was led into many impolitic actions by his violent and often cruel propensities. But the empire was, especially in the earlier part of his reign, in a very prosperous state, and was respected widely by foreign powers. Embassies passed between Charlemagne and Harun in the years 180 (A.D. 797) and 184 (A.D. 801), by which the former obtained facilities for the pilgrims to the Holy Land, the latter probably concessions for the trade on the Mediterranean ports. The ambassadors brought presents with them; on one of these occasions the first elephant reached the land of the Franks.

Under the reign of Harun, Ibrahim b. al-Aghlab, the governor of Africa, succeeded in making himself independent of the central government, on condition of paying a fixed annual tribute to his suzerain the caliph. This was, if we do not take Spain into the account, the first instance of dismemberment, later to be followed by many others.

In the days of this caliph the first paper factories were founded in Bagdad.

6. _Reign of Amin_.--On the death of Harun his minister, Fadl b. Rabi', with the view of gaining the new caliph's confidence, hastened to call together all the troops of the late caliph and to lead them back to Bagdad, in order to place them in the hands of the new sovereign, Amin. He even, in direct violation of Harun's will, led back the corps which was intended to occupy Khorasan under the authority of Mamun. Aware, however, that in thus acting he was making Mamun his irreconcilable enemy, he persuaded Amin to exclude Mamun from the succession. Mamun, on receiving his brother's invitation to go to Bagdad, was greatly perplexed; but his tutor and later vizier, Fadl b. Sahl, a Zoroastrian of great influence, who in 806 had adopted Islam, reanimated his courage, and pointed out to him that certain death awaited him at Bagdad. Mamun resolved to hold out, and found pretexts for remaining in Khorasan. Amin, in anger, caused the will of his father, which, as we have seen, was preserved in the Ka'ba, to be destroyed, declared on his own authority that Mamun's rights of succession were forfeited, and caused the army to swear allegiance to his own son Musa, a child of five, on whom he bestowed the title of _an-Natiq bil-Haqq_ ("he who speaks according to truth"), A.H. 194 (A.D. 809-810). On hearing the news, Mamun, strong in the rightfulness of his claim, retaliated by suppressing the caliph's name in all public acts. Amin immediately despatched to Khorasan an army of 40,000 under the command of Ali b. 'Isa, who had regained his former influence, and told the caliph that, at his coming to Khorasan, all the leading men would come over to his side. Zobaida, the mother of the caliph, entreated Ali to treat Mamun kindly when he should have made him captive. It is said that Fadl b. Sahl had, through a secret agent, induced Fadl b. Rabi' to select Ali, knowing that the dislike felt towards him by the Khorasanians would double their strength in fighting against him. Mamun, on his side, sent in all haste an army of less than 4000 men of his faithful Khorasanians, and entrusted their command to Tahir b. Hosain, who displayed remarkable abilities in the war that ensued. The two armies met under the walls of Rai (Shaaban 195, May 811). By a bold attack, in the manner of the Kharijites of yore, Tahir penetrated into the centre of the hostile army and killed Ali. The frightened army fled, leaving the camp with all its treasures to Tahir, who from that day was named "the man with the two right hands." A courier was despatched immediately to Merv, who performed the journey, a distance of about 750 miles, in three days. On the very day of his arrival, Harthama b. A'yan had left Merv with reinforcements. Mamun now no longer hesitated to take the title of caliph.

When the news of Ali's defeat came to Bagdad, Amin sent Abdarrahman b. Jabala to Hamadan with 20,000 men. Tahir defeated him, forced Hamadan to surrender, and occupied all the strong places in Jabal (Media). The year after, Amin placed in the field two new armies commanded respectively by Ahmad b. Mazyad and Abdallah b. Homaid b. Qahtaba. The skilful Tahir succeeded in creating divisions among the troops of his adversaries, and obtained possession, without striking a blow, of the city of Holwan, an advantage which opened the way to the very gates of Bagdad. He was here reinforced by troops sent from Khorasan under the command of Harthama b. A'yan, who was appointed leader of the war against Amin, with orders to send Tahir to Ahwaz. Tahir continued his victorious march, conquered Ahwaz, took Wasit and Madain, and pitched his camp near one of the gates of the capital, where he was rejoined by Harthama. One after the other the provinces fell away from Amin, and he soon found himself in possession of Bagdad alone. The city, though blockaded on every side, made a desperate defence for nearly two years. Ultimately the eastern part of the city fell into the hands of Tahir, and Amin, deserted by his followers, was compelled to surrender. He resolved to treat with Harthama, as he was averse to Tahir; but this step caused his ruin. Tahir succeeded in intercepting him on his way to Harthama, and immediately ordered him to be put to death. His head was sent to Mamun (September 813). It was presented to him by his vizier, Fadl b. Sahl, surnamed Dhu'l-Riyasatain, or "the man with two governments," because his master had committed to him both the ministry of war and the general administration. Mamun hid his joy beneath a feigned display of sorrow.

Amin was only twenty-eight years old. As a ruler he was wholly incompetent. He hardly comprehended the importance of the affairs with which he was called upon to deal. He acted invariably on the advice of those who for the time had his confidence, and occupied himself mainly with the affairs of his harem, with polo, fishing, wine and music. The five years of his reign were disastrous to the empire, and in particular to Bagdad which never entirely recovered its old splendour.

7. _Reign of Mamun._--On the day following the death of Amin Tahir caused Mamun to be proclaimed at Bagdad, and promised in his name a general amnesty. The accession of this prince appeared likely to restore to the empire the order necessary for its prosperity. It was not so, however. The reign of Mamun--that reign in which art, science and letters, under the patronage of the caliph, threw so brilliant a lustre--had a very stormy beginning. Mamun was in no haste to remove to Bagdad, but continued to reside at Merv. In his gratitude to Fadl b. Sahl, to whose service he owed his success, he not only chose him as prime minister of the empire, but also named his brother, Hasan b. Sahl, governor of Media, Fars, Ahwaz, Arabia and Irak. The two generals to whom he owed still more were not treated as they deserved. Harthama was ordered to return to Khorasan; Tahir was made governor of Mesopotamia and Syria, with the task of subduing Nasr b. Shabath, who with numerous adherents refused submission to the caliph. The Alids seized on the elevation of Mamun as a pretext for fresh revolts. At Kufa a certain Ibn Tabataba placed an army in the field under Abu'l-Saraya, who had been a captain in the army of Harthama. An army sent by Hasan b. Sahl was defeated, and Abu'l-Saraya, no longer content to play a second part, poisoned his chief, Ibn Tabataba, and put in his place another of the family of Ali, Mahommed b. Mahommed, whom, on account of his extreme youth, he hoped to govern at his will. Abu'l-Saraya's success continued, and several cities of Irak--Basra, Wasit and Madain--fell into his hands. Mecca, Medina and Yemen also were mastered by the Alids, who committed all kinds of atrocities and sacrilege. Abu'l-Saraya, who even struck money in Kufa, began to menace the capital, when Hasan b. Sahl hastily sent a messenger to Harthama b. A'yan, who was already at Holwan on his way back to Merv, entreating him to come to his aid. Harthama, who was deeply offended by his dismissal, refused at first, but at last consented, and at once checked the tide of disaster. The troops of the Alids were everywhere driven back, and the whole of Irak fell again into the hands of the Abbasids. Kufa opened its gates; Basra was taken by assault. Abu'l-Saraya and Mahommed b. Mahommed fled to Mesopotamia, but were made prisoners. The former was decapitated, the latter was sent to Khorasan, the revolt in Arabia was quickly suppressed, and peace seemed within reach. This, however, was by no means the case. The disorder of civil war had caused a multitude of robbers and vagabonds to emerge from the purlieus of Bagdad. These ruffians proceeded to treat the capital as a conquered city, and it became necessary for all good citizens to organize themselves into a regular militia. Harthama, having vanquished Abu'l-Saraya, did not go to Hasan b. Sahl, but proceeded towards Merv with the purpose of telling Mamun that the state of affairs was not as Fadl b. Sahl represented it to him, and urging him to come to Bagdad, where his presence was necessary. Fadl, informed of his intentions, filled the caliph's mind with distrust against the old general, so that when Harthama arrived Mamun had him cast into prison, where he died shortly afterwards. When the tidings of his disgrace came to Bagdad, the people expelled the lieutenant of Hasan b. Sahl, called by them the Majuzi ("the Zoroastrian"), who had chosen Madain for his residence, and put at their head Mansur, a son of Mahdi, who refused to assume the title of caliph, but consented to be Mamun's vicegerent instead of Hasan b. Sahl.

Meanwhile, at Merv, Mamun was adopting a decision which fell like a thunderbolt on the Abbasids. In A.H. 201 (A.D. 817), under pretence of putting an end to the continual revolts of the partisans of Ali, and acting on the advice of his prime minister Fadl, he publicly designated as his successor in the Caliphate Ali ar-Rida, a son of that Musa al-Kazim who perished in the prison of Mahdi, a direct descendant of Hosain, the son of Ali, and proscribed black, the colour of the Abbasids, in favour of that of the house of Ali, green. This step was well calculated to delight the followers of Ali, but it could not fail to exasperate the Abbasids and their partisans. The people of Bagdad refused to take the oath to Ali b. Musa, declared Mamun deposed, and elected his uncle, Ibrahim, son of Mahdi, to the Caliphate.[33] It was only indirectly that the news reached the caliph, who then saw that Fadl had been treating him as a puppet. His anger was great, but he kept it carefully to himself. Fadl was one day found murdered, and Ali b. Musa died suddenly. The historians bring no open accusation against Mamun, but it seems clear that the opportune removal of these men was not due to chance. Mamun affected the profoundest grief, and, in order to disarm suspicion, appointed as his prime minister the brother of Fadl, Hasan b. Sahl, whose daughter Buran he afterwards married. Soon after the news came to him that Hasan b. Sahl had become insane. Mamun appointed an officer to act as his lieutenant, and wrote that he was coming to Bagdad in a short time. From that moment the pseudo-caliph Ibrahim found himself deserted, and was obliged to seek safety in concealment. His precarious reign had, however, lasted nearly two years. Mamun had found out also that the general uneasiness was largely due to his treatment of Harthama and Tahir, the latter having been put in a rebellious country without the men and the money to maintain his authority. The caliph therefore wrote to Tahir to meet him at Nahrawan, where he was received with the greatest honour. Having taken all precautions, Mamun now made his solemn entry into Bagdad, but, to show that he came as a master, he still displayed for several days the green colours, though at last, at the request of Tahir, he consented to resume the black. From this time, A.H. 204 (August 819), the real reign of Mamun began, freed as he now was from the tutelage of Fadl.

When welcoming Tahir, Mamun bade him ask for any reward he might desire. Tahir, fearing lest the caliph, not being able to endure the sight of the murderer of his brother, should change his mind towards him, contrived to get himself appointed governor of Khorasan. Like most of the great Moslem generals, Tahir, it is said, had conceived the project of creating an independent kingdom for himself. His death, A.H. 207 (A.D. 822), prevented its realization; but as his descendants succeeded him one after the other in the post of governor, he may be said in reality to have founded a dynasty in Khorasan. His son Abdallah b. Tahir was a special favourite of Mamun, He brought Nasr b. Shabath to subjection in Mesopotamia, and overcame by great ability a very dangerous rebellion in Egypt. When he returned thence, the caliph gave him the choice between the government of Khorasan and that of the northern provinces, where he would have to combat Babak the Khorramite. Abdallah chose the former (see below, S 8).

The pseudo-caliph, Ibrahim, who, since Mamun's entry into Bagdad, had led a wandering life, was eventually arrested. But Mamun generously pardoned him, as well as Fadl b. Rabi', the chief promoter of the terrible civil war which had so lately shaken the empire. After that time, Ibrahim lived peacefully at the court, cultivating the arts of singing and music.

Tranquillity being now everywhere re-established, Mamun gave himself up to science and literature. He caused works on mathematics, astronomy, medicine and philosophy to be translated from the Greek, and founded in Bagdad a kind of academy, called the "House of Science," with a library and an observatory. It was also by his orders that two learned mathematicians undertook the measurement of a degree of the earth's circumference. Mamun interested himself too in questions of religious dogma. He had embraced the Motazilite doctrine about free will and predestination, and was in particular shocked at the opinion which had spread among the Moslem doctors that the Koran was the uncreated word of God. In the year 212 (A.D. 827) he published an edict by which the Motazilite (Mu'tazilite) doctrine was declared to be the religion of the state, the orthodox faith condemned as heretical. At the same time he ordered all his subjects to honour Ali as the best creature of God after the Prophet, and forbade the praise of Moawiya. In A.H. 218 (A.D. 833) a new edict appeared by which all judges and doctors were summoned to renounce the error of the uncreated word of God. Several distinguished doctors, and, among others, the celebrated Ahmad b. Hanbal (q.v.), founder of one of the four orthodox Moslem schools, were obliged to appear before an inquisitorial tribunal; and as they persisted in their belief respecting the Koran, they were thrown into prison. Mamun, being at Tarsus, received from the governor of Bagdad the report of the tribunal, and ordered that the culprits should be sent off to him. Happily for these unfortunate doctors, they had scarcely reached Adana, when news of the caliph's death arrived and they were brought back to Bagdad. The two successors of Mamun maintained the edicts--Ahmad b. Hanbal, who obstinately refused to yield, was flogged in the year 834--but it seems that Motasim did not himself take much interest in the question, which perhaps he hardly understood, and that the prosecution of the inquisition by him was due in great part to the charge which was left him in Mamun's will. In the reign of Motawakkil the orthodox faith was restored, never to be assailed again.[34]

In spite of these manifold activities Mamun did not forget the hereditary enemy of Islam. In the years 830, 831 and 832 he made expeditions into Asia Minor with such success that Theophilus, the Greek emperor, sued for peace, which Mamun haughtily refused to grant. Accordingly, he decided on marching in the following year against Amorium, and thence to Constantinople itself. Having sent before him his son Abbas to make Tyana a strong fortress, he set out for Asia Minor to put himself at the head of the army, but died of a fever brought on by bathing in the chill river, Pedendon, 40 m. from Tarsus, in Rajab 218 (A.D. August 833), at the age of forty-eight.

Mamun was a man of rare qualities, and one of the best rulers of the whole dynasty after Mansur. By him the ascendancy of the Persian element over the Arabian was completed. Moreover, he began to attract young Turkish noblemen to his court, an example which was followed on a much larger scale by his successor and led to the supremacy of the Turks at a later period.

8. _Reign of Motasim._--Abu Ishak al-Mo'tasim had for a long time been preparing himself for the succession. Every year he had bought Turkish slaves, and had with him in the last expedition of Mamun a bodyguard of 3000. Backed by this force he seems to have persuaded the ailing caliph to designate him as his successor. The chroniclers content themselves with recording that he himself wrote in the name of the caliph to the chief authorities in Bagdad and elsewhere that he was to be the successor. His accession, however, met at first with active opposition in the army, where a powerful party demanded that Abbas should take the place of his father. Abbas, however, publicly renounced all pretension to the Caliphate, and the whole army accepted Motasim, who immediately had the fortifications of Tyana demolished and hastened back to Bagdad, where he made his public entry on the 20th of September 833.

Motasim wanted officers for his bodyguard. Immediately after his coming to Bagdad, he bought all the Turkish slaves living there who had distinguished themselves. Among them were Ashnas, Itakh, Wasif, Sima, all of whom later became men of great influence. The guard was composed of an undisciplined body of soldiers, who, moreover, held in open contempt the religious precepts of Islam. Tired of the excesses committed by these Turks, the people of Bagdad beat or killed as many of them as they could lay hands on, and Motasim, not daring to act with severity against either his guard or the citizens, took the course of quitting the city. Having bought in 834 territories at Samarra, a small place situated a few leagues above Bagdad, he caused a new residence to be built there, whose name, which could be interpreted "Unhappy is he who sees it," was changed by him into Sorra-man-ra'a, "Rejoiced is he who sees it." Leaving the government of the capital in the hands of his son Harun al-Wathiq, he established himself at Samarra in 836. This resolution of Motasim was destined to prove fatal to his dynasty; for it placed the caliphs at the mercy of their praetorians. In fact, from the time of Wathiq, the Caliphate became the plaything of the Turkish guard, and its decline was continuous.

In the time of the civil war the marshlands in Irak between Basra and Wasit had been occupied by a large population of Indians, called _yat_, or, according to the Arabic pronunciation, _Zott_, who infested the roads and levied a heavy tribute from the ships ascending and descending the Tigris. From the year 821 onwards Mamun had tried in vain to bring them to submission. When Motasim came back to Bagdad, after the death of his brother, he found the people in great distress, their supply of dates from Basra having been cut off by the Zott, and resolved to put them down with all means. After seven months of vigorous resistance, they at last yielded on condition of safety of life and property. In January 835 the Zott in their national costume and with their own music were conducted on a great number of boats through Bagdad. Thence they were transported to Ainzarba (Anazarba) on the frontier of the Greek empire. Twenty years later they entered Asia Minor, whence in a later period they came into Europe, under the name of Athinganoi (Ziganes) and Egyptians (gipsies).[35]

A far more difficult task lay before Motasim, the subjection of Babak al-Khorrami in Azerbaijan. Though the name Khorrami is often employed by the Moslem writers to designate such extravagant Moslem sectaries as the Hashimiya, the real Khorrami were not Moslems, but Persian Mazdaqites, or communists. The name Khorrami, or Khorramdini, "adherent of the pleasant religion," seems to be a nickname. As they bore red colours, they were also called Mohammira, or Redmakers. Their object was to abolish Islam and to restore "the white religion." We find the first mention of them in the year 808, when Harun al-Rashid sent an army against them. During the civil war their power was steadily increasing, and spread not only over Azerbaijan, but also over Media (Jabal) and Khorasan. The numerous efforts of Mamun to put them down had been all in vain, and they were now in alliance with the Byzantine emperor. Therefore, in the year 835, Motasim made Afshin, a Turkish prince who had distinguished himself already in the days of Mamun, governor of Media, with orders to take the lead of the war against Babak. After three years' fighting, Babak was taken prisoner. He was carried to Samarra, led through the city on the back of an elephant, and then delivered to the executioners, who cut off his arms and legs. His head was sent to Khorasan, his body was crucified. For long afterwards the place where this happened bore the name of "Babak's Cross."

In the hope of creating a diversion in Babak's favour, Theophilus in 837 fell upon and laid waste the frontier town of Zibatra. There and in several other places he took a great number of prisoners, whom he mutilated. The news arrived just after that of the capture of Babak, and Motasim swore to take exemplary vengeance. He assembled a formidable army, penetrated into Asia Minor, and took the city of Amorium, where he gained rich plunder. During his return the caliph was informed of a conspiracy in the army in favour of 'Abbas the son of Mamun, of which 'Ojaif b. 'Anbasa was the ringleader. The unfortunate prince was arrested and died soon after in prison. The conspirators were killed, many of them with great cruelty. (For the campaign see Bury in _J.H.S._, 1909, xxix. pt. i.)

Motasim had just returned to Samarra when a serious revolt broke out in Tabaristan, Maziyar, one of the hereditary chiefs of that country, refusing to acknowledge the authority of Abdallah Ibn Tahir, the governor of Khorasan, of which Tabaristan was a province. The revolt was suppressed with great difficulty, and it came out that it was due to the secret instigation of Afshin, who hoped thereby to cause the fall of the Tahirids, and to take their place, with the ulterior object of founding an independent kingdom in the East. Afshin, who stood at that moment in the highest favour of the caliph, was condemned and died in prison. Motasim died a year later, January 842.

9. _Reign of Wathiq._--His son Wathiq, who succeeded, though not in the least to be compared with Mamun, had yet in common with him a thirst for knowledge--perhaps curiosity would be a more appropriate term--which prompted him, as soon as he became caliph, to send the famous astronomer Mahommed b. Musa into Asia Minor to find out all about the Seven Sleepers which he discovered in the neighbourhood of Arabissus,[36] and Sallam the Interpreter to explore the situation of the famous wall of Gog and Magog, which he reached at the north-west frontier of China.[37] For these and other personal pursuits he raised money by forcing a number of high functionaries to disgorge their gains. In so vast an empire the governors and administrators had necessarily enjoyed an almost unrestricted power, and this had enabled them to accumulate wealth. Omar had already compelled them to furnish an account of their riches, and, when he found that they had abused their trust, to relinquish half to the state. As time went on, nomination to an office was more and more generally considered a step to wealth. During the reign of the Omayyads a few large fortunes were made thus. But with the increasing luxury after Mansur, the thirst for money became universal, and the number of honest officials lessened fast. Confiscation of property had been employed with success by Harun al-Rashid after the disgrace of the Barmecides, and occasionally by his successors, but Wathiq was the first to imprison high officials and fine them heavily on the specific charge of peculation.

The caliph also shared Mamun's intolerance on the doctrinal question of the uncreated Koran. He carried his zeal to such a point that, on the occasion of an exchange of Greek against Moslem prisoners in 845, he refused to receive those Moslem captives who would not declare their belief that the Koran was created. The orthodox in Bagdad prepared to revolt, but were discovered in time by the governor of the city. The ringleader Ahmad b. Nasr al-Khoza'i was seized and brought to Samarra, where Wathiq beheaded him in person. The only other event of importance in the reign of Wathiq was a rising of the Arabian tribes in the environs of Medina, which the Turkish general Bogha with difficulty repressed. When he reached Samarra with his prisoners, Wathiq had just died (August 846). That the predominance of the praetorians was already established is clear from the fact that Wathiq gave to two Turkish generals, Ashnas and Itakh respectively, the titular but lucrative supreme government of all the western and all the eastern provinces. In his days the soldiery at Samarra was increased by a large division of Africans (Maghribis).

10. _Reign of Motawakkil._--As Wathiq had appointed no successor the vizier Mahommed Zayyat had cast his eye on his son Mahommed, who was still a child, but the generals Wasif and Itakh, seconded by the upper cadi Ibn abi Da'ud, refused their consent, and offered the supreme power to Wathiq's brother Ja'far, who at his installation adopted the name of _al-Motawakkil 'ala 'llah_ ("he who trusts in God"). The new caliph hated the vizier Zayyat, who had opposed his election, and had him seized and killed with the same atrocious cruelty which the vizier himself had inflicted on others. His possessions, and those of others who had opposed the caliph's election, were confiscated. But the arrogance of Itakh, to whom he owed his Caliphate, became insufferable. So, with the perfidy of his race, the caliph took him off his guard, and had him imprisoned and killed at Bagdad. He was succeeded by Wasif.

About this time an impostor named Mahmud b. Faraj had set himself up as a prophet, claiming to be Dhu'l-Qarnain (Alexander the Great) risen from the dead. Asserting that Gabriel brought him revelations, he had contrived to attract twenty-seven followers. The caliph had him flogged, and compelled each of the twenty-seven to give him ten blows on the head with his fist. The "prophet" expired under the blows (850).

One of the first acts of Motawakkil was the release of all those who had been imprisoned for refusing to admit the dogma of the created Koran, and the strict order to abstain from any litigation about the Book of God. The upper cadi Ibn abi Da'ud, the leader of the movement against orthodoxy, who had stood in great esteem with Mamun and had fulfilled his high office under the reigns of Motasim and Wathiq, had a stroke of paralysis in the year 848. His son Mahommed was put in his place till 851, when all the members of the family were arrested. They released themselves by paying the enormous sum of 240,000 dinars and 16,000,000 dirhems, which constituted nearly their whole fortune, and were then sent to Bagdad, where father and son died three years later. An orthodox upper cadi was named instead, and the dogma of the created Koran was declared heresy; therewith began a persecution of all the adherents of that doctrine and other Motazilite tenets. Orthodoxy triumphed, never again to lose its place as the state religion. Hand in hand with these reactionary measures came two others, one against Jews and Christians, one against the Shi'ites. The first caliph who imposed humiliating conditions on the Dhimmis, or Covenanters, who, on condition of paying a certain not over-heavy tribute, enjoyed the protection of the state and the free exercise of their cult, was Omar II., but this policy was not continued. A proposition by the cadi Abu Yusuf to Harun al-Rashid to renew it had not been adopted. Motawakkil, in 850, formulated an edict by which these sectaries were compelled to wear a distinctive dress and to distinguish their houses by a figure of the devil nailed to the door, excluding them at the same time from all public employments, and forbidding them to send their children to Moslem schools. Nevertheless, he kept his Christian medical men, some of whom were high in favour. He showed his hatred for the Shi'ites by causing the mausoleum erected over the tomb of Hosain at Kerbela, together with all the buildings surrounding it, to be levelled to the ground and the site to be ploughed up, and by forbidding any one to visit the spot. A year before, a descendant of Hosain, Yahya b. Omar, had been arrested and flogged on his orders. He escaped afterwards, rose in rebellion at Kufa in 864, and was killed in battle. It is reported that the caliph even permitted one of his buffoons to turn the person of Ali into mockery.

In the year 848-849 Ibn Ba'ith, who had rendered good service in the war against Babak, but had for some cause been arrested, fled from Samarra to Marand in Azerbaijan and revolted. Not without great difficulty Bogha, the Turkish general, succeeded in taking the town and making Ibn Ba'ith prisoner. He was brought before Motawakkil and died in prison. In the year 237 (A.D. 851-852) a revolt broke out in Armenia. Notwithstanding a vigorous resistance, Bogha subdued and pacified the province in the following year. In that same year, 852-853, the Byzantines made a descent on Egypt with 300 vessels. 'Anbasa the governor had ordered the garrison of Damietta to parade at the capital Fostat. The denuded town was taken, plundered and burned. The Greeks then destroyed all the fortifications at the mouth of the Nile near Tinnis, and returned with prisoners and booty. The annual raids of Moslems and Greeks in the border districts of Asia Minor were attended with alternate successes, though on the whole the Greeks had the upper hand. In 856 they penetrated as far as Amid (Diarbekr), and returned with 10,000 prisoners. But in the year 859 the Greeks suffered a heavy defeat with losses of men and cattle, the emperor Michael himself was in danger, whilst the fleet of the Moslems captured and sacked Antalia. This was followed by a truce and an exchange of prisoners in the following year.

In 855 a revolt broke out in Homs (Emesa), where the harsh conditions imposed by the caliph on the Christians and Jews had caused great discontent. It was repressed after a vigorous resistance. A great many leading men were flogged to death, all churches and synagogues were destroyed and all the Christians banished.

In the year 851 the Boja (or Beja), a wild people living between the Red Sea and the Nile of Upper Egypt, the Blemmyes of the ancients, refused to pay the annual tribute, and invaded the land of the gold and emerald mines, so that the working of the mines was stopped. The caliph sent against them Mahommed al-Qommi, who subdued them in 856 and brought their king Ali Baba to Samarra before Motawakkil, on condition that he should be restored to his kingdom.

About this time Sijistan liberated itself from the supremacy of the Tahirids. Ya'qub b. Laith al-Saffar proclaimed himself amir of that province in the year 860, and was soon after confirmed in this dignity by the caliph.

In 858 Motawakkil, hoping to escape from the arrogant patronage of Wasif, who had taken the place of Itakh as head of the Turkish guard, transferred his residence to Damascus. But the place did not agree with him, and he returned to Samarra, where he caused a magnificent quarter to be built 3 m. from the city, which he called after his own name Ja'fariya, and on which he spent more than two millions of dinars (about L900,000). He found the means by following the example of his predecessor in depriving many officials of their ill-gotten gains. He contrived to enrol in his service nearly 12,000 men, for the greater part Arabs, in order to crush the Turks. In the year of his elevation to the Caliphate, he had regulated the succession to the empire in his own family by designating as future caliphs his three sons, _al-Montasir billah_ ("he who seeks help in God"), _al-Mo'tazz billah_ ("he whose strength is of God"), and _al-Mowayyad billah_ ("he who is assisted by God"). By and by he conceived an aversion to his eldest son, and wished to supplant him by Motazz, the son of his favourite wife Qabiha. The day had been fixed on which Montasir, Wasif and several other Turkish generals were to be assassinated. But Wasif and Montasir had been informed, and resolved to anticipate him. In the night before, Shawwal A.H. 247 (December 861), Motawakkil, after one of his wonted orgies, was murdered, together with his confidant, Fath b. Khaqan. The official report, promulgated by his successor, was that Fath b. Khaqan had murdered his master and had been punished for it by death. For the administrative system in this reign see MAHOMMEDAN INSTITUTIONS.

11. _Reign of Montasir._--On the very night of his father's assassination Montasir had himself proclaimed caliph. He was a man of very feeble character, and a mere puppet in the hands of his vizier Ahmad b. Khasib and the Turkish generals. He was compelled to send Wasif, the personal enemy of Ibn Khasib, to the frontier for a term of four years, and then to deprive his two brothers Motazz and Mowayyad, who were not agreeable to them, of their right of succession. He died six months after, by poison, it is said.

12. _Reign of Mosta'in._--The Turkish soldiery, now the chief power in the state, chose, by the advice of Ibn Khasib, in succession to Montasir, his cousin Ahmad, who took the title of _al-Mosta'in billah_ ("he who looks for help to God"). In the reign of this feeble prince the Greeks inflicted serious losses on the Moslems in Asia Minor. A great many volunteers from all parts, who offered their services, were hunted down as rioters by the Turkish generals, who were wholly absorbed by their own interests. The party which had placed Mosta'in on the throne, led by Ibn Khasib and Otamish, were soon overpowered by Wasif and Bogha. Ibn Khasib was banished to Crete, Otamish murdered. The superior party, however, maintained Mosta'in on the throne, because they feared lest Motazz should take vengeance upon them for the murder of his father Motawakkil. But in the year 865 Wasif and Bogha fled with Mosta'in to Bagdad, and Motazz was proclaimed caliph at Samarra. A terrible war ensued; Mosta'in was obliged to abdicate, and was killed in the following year.

In 864 a descendant of Ali, named Hasan b. Zaid, gained possession of Tabaristan and occupied the great city of Rai (Rey) near Teheran. A year later the province was reconquered by the Tahirid governor of Khorasan, so that Hasan was obliged to retreat for refuge to the land of the Dailam. But he returned soon, and after many reverses ruled over Tabaristan and Jorjan for many years.

13. _Reign of Motazz._--Motazz, proclaimed caliph at Bagdad in the first month of 252 (January 866), devoted himself to the object of freeing himself from the omnipotent Turkish generals, especially Wasif and Bogha, who had opposed his election. But such a task demanded an ability and energy which he did not possess. He was obliged to grant them amnesty and to recall them to Samarra. He mistrusted also his brothers Mowayyad and Mowaffaq, who had interceded for them. He put the former to death and drove the latter into exile to Bagdad. Some time after he had the satisfaction of seeing Wasif killed by his own troops, and succeeded, a year later, in having Bogha assassinated. But a more difficult problem was the payment of the Turkish, Persian and African guards, which was said to have amounted in A.H. 252 to 200,000,000 dirhems[38] (about L6,500,000), or apparently twice the revenue derived from the land tax. As the provincial revenues annually decreased, it became impossible to pay this sum, and Salih the son of Wasif, in spite of the remonstrances of the caliph, confiscated the property of state officials. Upon a further demand, Motazz, having failed to procure money from his mother Qabiha, who was enormously rich, was seized upon and tortured, and died of starvation in prison (Shaaban 255, July 868).

The dismemberment of the empire continued fast in these years, and the caliph was compelled to recognize the virtual independence of the governors Ya'qub the Saffarid (see SAFFARIDS and PERSIA, _History_, S B) in Seistan, and Ahmad b. Tulun in Egypt.

14. _Reign of Mohtadi._--Immediately after the seizure of Motazz, the Turks, led by Salih b. Wasif, proclaimed as caliph one of the sons of Wathiq with the title of al-Mohtadi billah ("the guided by God"), who, however, refused to occupy the throne until his predecessor had solemnly abdicated. Mohtadi, who was a man of noble and generous spirit and had no lack of energy, began by applying the precarious measure of power which was left him to the reform of the court. He banished the musicians and singers, and forbade all kinds of games; he devoted himself to the administration of justice, and gave public audiences to the people for the redress of their grievances. At the same time he contrived to elevate the power of the Abna, the descendants of those Persian soldiers who had established the dynasty of the Abbasids, in order to break the supremacy of the Turks and other mercenaries. But Mohtadi came too late, and the Turks did not leave him time to finish his work.

On the news of the conspiracy against Motazz, Musa, the son of the famous general Bogha,[39] then governor of Media (Jabal), ordered his deputy-general Moflih to return at once from a proposed invasion of Dailam, and moved with his army towards Samarra, notwithstanding the peremptory orders of the caliph. At his approach Salih, who was afraid of Musa, hid himself, but was soon discovered and killed. At that moment a Kharijite, named Mosawir, who in 867 had risen in Mesopotamia and beaten more than one general of the government, took Balad and menaced Mosul. Musa could not refuse to comply with the formal command of the caliph to march against him. During the absence of these troops, Mohtadi seems to have tried to get rid of the principal Turkish leaders. A brother of Musa and one of his best generals, Bayikbeg (Baiekbak), were killed, but the soldiery he had gained over for himself were not strong enough. Mohtadi was overwhelmed and killed, Rajab 256 (June 870).

15. _Reign of Motamid._--Whether from weariness or from repentance, the Turkish soldiery discontinued for a time their hateful excesses, and their new leader, Musa b. Bogha, was without the greed and ambition of his predecessors. A son of Motawakkil was brought out of prison to succeed his cousin, and reigned for twenty-three years under the name of _al-Mo'tamid 'ala'llah_ ("he whose support is God"). He was a feeble, pleasure-loving monarch, but Mohtadi had regained for the Caliphate some authority, which was exercised by Obaidallah b. Khaqan, the able vizier of Mohtadi, and by Motamid's talented brother Abu Ahmad al-Mowaffaq; Musa b. Bogha himself remained till his death a staunch servant of the government. During the reign of Motamid great events took place. The great power long wielded by the Tahirids, not only in the eastern provinces, but also at Bagdad itself, had been gradually diminishing, and came to an end in the year 873, when Ya'qub the Saffarid occupied Nishapur and imprisoned Mahommed b. Tahir with his whole family. The power of Ya'qub then increased to such an extent that he was not content with the caliph's offer to recognize him as supreme in the provinces he had conquered, and military governor of Bagdad, but marched against Irak. The caliph himself, wearing the mantle and the staff of the Prophet, then went out against him, and after a vigorous resistance he was beaten by Mowaffaq, who had the command of the troops, and fled to Jondisapur in Khuzistan, where he died three years later, leaving his empire to his brother 'Amr. This prince maintained himself in power till the year 900, when he was beaten and taken prisoner by Isma'il b. Ahmed the Samanid. The Samanids had been governors of Transoxiana from the time of Mamun, and after the fall of the Tahirids, had been confirmed in this office by the caliph. After 287 (900) they were independent princes, and under their dominion these districts attained to high prosperity.

Motamid had also to deal with a rising of the negro slaves in the province of Basra, led by one Ali b. Mahommed, who called himself a descendant of Ali. It lasted from 869 to 883, and tasked the government to its utmost.[40]