Historical Figures Codexery

Harun al-Rashid

The fifth Abbasid caliph whose reign marked the beginning of the Islamic Golden Age.

He established the Bayt al-Hikma library in Baghdad and his rule saw the city become a global center of knowledge and trade.[1] His court inspired portions of the fictional "One Thousand and One Nights".[2][3]

Quick Facts

Religion
Sunni Islam
Reign
14 September 786 – 24 March 809
Predecessor
Al-Hadi
Successor
Al-Amin
Born
17 March 763 or February 766
Birthplace
Ray, Jibal, Abbasid Caliphate
Died
24 March 809 (aged 43 or 46)
Place of death
Tus, Khorasan, Abbasid Caliphate

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Harun was born in Rey, in present-day Iran, to Caliph al-Mahdi and his influential wife al-Khayzuran.[4] Harun died leaving nine hundred million dirhams in the state treasury, according to the historian al-Tabari.[5] His education covered history, geography, rhetoric, music, poetry, and economics, but his primary focus was on mastering hadith and the Quran.[4] Prior to his caliphate, Harun led military expeditions against the Eastern Roman Empire, ruled by Empress Irene, in 780 and 782.[5]

During Harun's rule, the Abbasid Empire attained its greatest extent, and Baghdad became the most magnificent city of its era.[6][7]

What the cited sources add

The Open Library record for ISBN 9780810865686 lists "Historical Dictionary of Iraq" as published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Incorporated in 2004.[8]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Harun al-Rashid" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Audun Holme, Geometry: Our Cultural Heritage p. 150. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Harun al-Rashid" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: André Clot, Harun al-Rashid and the world of the thousand and one nights, p. 97.; Royal Frankish Annals, DCCCVII.; Charlemagne: Translated sources, p. 98.; André Clot, Harun al-Rashid and the world of the thousand and one nights. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Harun al-Rashid" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Harun al-Rashid, the Abbasid Caliph Who Inspired the 'Arabian Nights'", ThoughtCo (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Harun al-Rashid" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bobrick 2012, p. 38; Watt, "Hārūn al-Rashīd", Encyclopedia Britannica, 2022 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Harun al-Rashid" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bobrick 2012, p. 38 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Harun al-Rashid" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ghareeb, "Historical Dictionary of Iraq", Scarecrow Press, 2004; Ghareeb, "Historical Dictionary of Iraq", Scarecrow Press, 2004 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Harun al-Rashid" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Watt, "Hārūn al-Rashīd" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Open Library record, ISBN 9780810865686 ("Historical Dictionary of Iraq"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Harun al-Rashid (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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