Al-Ma'mun: Difference between revisions

'Abd Allah b. Harun, nicknamed al-Ma'mun, was born on Friday eve, [[Rabi' I 15]], [[170]]/[[September 19]], 786 from a Persian mother. His mother, Marajil, was a slave woman from Badghis, [[Afghanistan]].

He was the 7th caliph of [[Abbasid dynasty]]. Harun al-Rashid had appointed [[al-Amin]] as the caliph after himself, and al-Ma'mun as al-Amin's successor. But after the death of Harun, a conflict began between the two brothers and finally al-Mu'mun was able to defeat 'Ali b. 'Isa, the chief commander of the army of al-Amin, in [[195]]/810 by craftiness and perspicacity of [[al-Fadl b. Sahl]]-who later became his vizier-and commanding of Tahir b. al-Husayn titled as Dhu al-Yal-Aminayn, the chief commander of his army. And finally after a serious conflict in [[198]]/813, Tahir conquered Baghdad. Al-Amin was prisoned and then killed. Al-Ma'mun was officially chosen as the caliph in 198/813 and he chose al-Fadl b. Sahl as his vizier.

A main ground of conflict between al-Amin and al-Ma'mun was the issue of succession. When [[Harun]] pledged an allegiance to al-Amin—the younger brother—as his successor and appointed al-Ma'mun as al-Amin's successor and ruler of [[Khorasan]], conflicts began between the two brothers arose which worried Harun about the future of the caliphate and the possibility of a civil war. Thus, Harun ordered the two brothers to make a written pledge in the [[Ka'ba]] to stay committed to each other's successions and not to interfere in each other's realms. To sanctify the pledge and make it more binding, a copy of it was hanged inside the Ka'ba.

After Harun's death and al-Amin's caliphate, al-Amin acted in ways that implied violations of the pledge. His attempts to infiltrate the provinces under the rule of his two brothers, al-Ma'mun and al-Mu'tamin; his selection of his son, Musa, as his successor; and finally, the burning of the pledge hanged inside the Ka'ba were considered as violations of the pledge and an official announcement of war with al-Ma'mun.

[[Al-Fadl b. Sahl]], who had entered the Abbasid system in the heyday of Persian [[Barmakids]] and then became al-Ma'mun's mentor and later his advisor and vizier, tried to protect al-Ma'mun's right to the caliphate in order to fulfill his dream of moving the capital of the caliphate from Baghdad to Merv for the sake of Khorasan's glory. On the other side, [[al-Fadl b. Rabi']], the vizier of Harun and al-Amin who was hostile to Barmakids in the period of Harun and managed to remove them from power and gain the position of Harun's vizier, actively supported the Arabic party and its influence in the Abbasid system and tried to weaken Khorasan. The conflict led to a division among people as well such that Arabs supported al-Amin and Persians supported al-Ma'mun who had a Persian mother and wife.

Al-Ma'mun became the caliph after his wars with the then-caliph al-Amin al-'Abbasi. Drawing on al-Fadl b. Sahl's tact, al-Ma'mun sent an army under the commandership of [[Tahir b. al-Husayn]], known as Dhu l-Yaminayn, in order to combat 'Ali b. 'Isa, the commander of al-Amin's army. al-Amin's army was defeated after the murder of 'Ali b. 'Isa in 195/810 in [[Rey]]. Eventually, al-Ma'mun's army took over Baghdad in 198/813 after a serious battle. After his defeat, al-Amin was imprisoned and killed. With the end of al-Amin's caliphate, al-Ma'mun was officially selected as a caliph in 198/813 in Merv, and appointed al-Fadl b. Sahl as his vizier.

==Relationship with 'Alawis==

Descendants of Imam 'Ali and Shi'as were called Alawis at the time. Numerous 'Alawi uprisings throughout the caliphate territory posed an essential challenge for Abbasid caliphs. 'Alawis who were constantly quenched since the period of [[al-Mansur al-'Abbasi]] began uprisings against Abbasid caliphs when they had the opportunity to do so, though their uprisings usually failed. The conflict between al-Amin and al-Ma'mun over the caliphate during 193/808-197/812 undermined the Abbasid government and led to the increase of 'Alawi uprisings in different areas of [[Hijaz]], [[Yemen]], and [[Iraq]].

==='Alawi Uprisings===

In the period of al-Ma'mun, 'Alawis started a number of uprisings. Most of them were made by the [[Zaydi]] sect of 'Alawis. The most important such an uprising which led to an independent government was the one made by a person called [[Ibn Tabataba]] in [[Kufa]]. It occurred in 199/814, and according to some historians, it was a heavy damage to the Abbasid government, leading to the formation of other fronts and autonomous governments in different areas against the Abbasid government by 'Alawis. Thus in addition to Kufa, [[Zayd b. Musa b. Ja'far]], known as Zayd al-Nar began an uprising in Basra, [[Ibrahim b. Musa b. Ja'far]] in [[Yemen]], [[al-Husayn b. al-Hasan b. 'Ali]] known as Ibn Aftas in [[Mecca]], and Muhammad b. Ja'far known as [[Muhammad al-Dibaj]] in Hijaz. Most of these uprisings were formed after Ibn Tabataba's uprising.

Although such uprisings did not last long, they had consequences. For example, the love of people in Iraq and Khorasan for [[Ahl al-Bayt (a)]] gave the 'Alawis an opportunity to begin uprisings against al-Ma'mun, and there were always some advocates of Ahl al-Bayt (a) in Khorasan and Iraq who supported 'Alawi uprisings. This undermined the stability of the Abbasid caliphate, leaving it with constant worries of riots throughout its territories. Another consequence of such uprisings was that they paved the path for the formation of Zaydi governments in [[Tabaristan]] and [[Yemen]] in later years.

In order to protect himself against the threats of the 'Alawis forever and to establish his government in Khorasan where people loved Ahl al-Bayt (a), al-Ma'mun pretended that he was an advocate of Ahl al-Bayt (a). Thus, he invited Imam al-Rida (a) from Medina to Merv and pretended that he would abandon caliphate and surrender it to the most virtuous person from the progeny of 'Ali (a), that is, Imam al-Rida (a). When the Imam (a) rejected the offer to take over the caliphate, al-Ma'mun forced him to accept his succession.

Al-Ma'mun did not really intend to assign the caliphate to Imam al-Rida (a); he only wanted to appoint the Imam (a) as the caliph and then take the control of everything by himself. When Imam al-Rida (a) had to accept the succession of al-Ma'mun in 201/816, people pledged their allegiance to him. At the command of al-Ma'mun, the Imam (a) was given the title "al-Rida", coins were minted in his name, wages and awards of the army and statesmen were given with these coins, and black clothes, which were signs of the Abbasids, were replaced by green clothes which were signs of the 'Alawis as the official clothes of the Abbasid caliphate. With this policy, al-Ma'mun pretended that the slogan, "al-Rida min Al Muhammad" (al-Rida is from Muhammad's household) with which Abbasids called people to themselves was now realized by the succession of someone who is an instance of "al-Rida", and so there is no reason to start uprisings. This policy led to a remarkable decrease of 'Alawi uprisings.

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