Al-Mansur

Al-Manṣūr (714 – 6 October 775) was the second Abbasid caliph, ruling from 754 until his death. He took over from his brother al-Saffah and is seen by modern historians as the true architect of the Abbasid Caliphate, one of the largest empires in history, because he stabilized and institutionalized the dynasty. He also built the circular city of Madinat al-Salam, which later formed the heart of Baghdad.

Background and early life

Born in 714 in the Abbasid family home at Humeima (in modern-day Jordan), after they had moved from the Hejaz, al-Manṣūr was the son of a slave woman named Sallamah. He and his brother al-Saffah shared the name Abd Allah, so al-Saffah was distinguished by his kunya, Abu al-Abbas. Al-Manṣūr was a great-great-grandson of Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, an uncle of the Prophet Muhammad. During the 740s, al-Saffah began pushing his claim to the caliphate, especially in Khorasan, where many non-Arab Muslims lived.

After the Umayyad caliph Hisham died in 743, instability grew. Al-Saffah launched the Abbasid Revolution in 747, gained support across Iraq, and became the first Abbasid caliph in 750 after defeating his rivals. Shortly before the Umayyads fell, the last Umayyad caliph, Marwan II, arrested al-Manṣūr’s other brother, Ibrahim, the head of the Abbasid family. Al-Manṣūr fled with the rest of his family to Kufa, where Khorasanian rebel leaders pledged allegiance to al-Saffah.

Ibrahim died in captivity. During his brother’s reign, al-Manṣūr led an army to Mesopotamia and secured the submission of the local governor by telling him of the last Umayyad caliph’s death. That governor had taken refuge in a garrison town; he was promised safe-conduct by al-Manṣūr and al-Saffah, but after surrendering, he and many of his followers were executed. Al-Manṣūr’s dislike of the Umayyads is well recorded; he once said they held power firmly at first, but then passed it to effeminate sons who chased forbidden pleasures, so God stripped them of their rule and covered them with shame.

Al-Manṣūr married three times: first to a Yemeni woman from a royal family, then to a descendant of a hero of the early Muslim conquests, and finally to an Iranian servant. He also had at least three concubines: an Arab, a Byzantine nicknamed the “restless butterfly,” and a Kurd.

Accession to the caliphate

Al-Saffah died after only five years as caliph, and al-Manṣūr took over, ruling for nearly 22 years, from 754 to 775. He was proclaimed caliph while traveling to Mecca in 753 and formally inaugurated the next year.

Taking the name al-Manṣūr (“the victorious”), he agreed to make his nephew Isa ibn Musa his successor to settle family rivalries. However, his uncle Abdullah ibn Ali challenged his right to rule. Once in power, al-Manṣūr had his uncle imprisoned in 754 and killed in 764.

Execution of Abu Muslim and aftermath

Relations with the powerful general Abu Muslim quickly soured. Al-Manṣūr sent his chamberlain to inventory war spoils and then appointed Abu Muslim governor of Syria and Egypt, far from his power base. After a bitter exchange of letters, Abu Muslim feared execution if he met the caliph. He eventually changed his mind, swayed by al-Manṣūr’s promise to keep him as governor of Khurasan and by assurances from aides, some of whom the caliph had bribed.

In 755, Abu Muslim went to al-Mada’in to meet al-Manṣūr. The caliph listed his grievances, while Abu Muslim reminded him of his role in putting him on the throne. Accused also of being a heretic (zindiq), Abu Muslim was killed when, at a signal, four or five guards rushed in and fatally wounded him.

Al-Manṣūr had the body thrown into the Tigris and bribed Abu Muslim’s generals into accepting the murder. He justified it in a public speech, saying anyone who broke allegiance to the caliph deserved death. This execution sparked a revolt in Khorasan in 755, led by the Iranian nobleman Sunpadh, who seized the cities of Nishapur, Qumis, and Ray, along with Abu Muslim’s treasures. He gained many supporters from Jibal and Tabaristan, including the Dabuyid ruler Khurshid, who was paid.