Who is harun ar rashid

He was born in Rayy in Iran, close to modern Tehran. His birthday remains a point of discussion though, as various sources give the dates from to He ruled from to , and his time was marked by scientific, cultural and religious prosperity. Art and music also flourished significantly during his reign. Yahya continued to advise Rashid when he was named the leader of military expeditions against the Byzantines at age fourteen.

The Byzantines were inhabitants of Byzantium, the seat of the Christian Empire. Rashid was rewarded for the success of these campaigns by being named governor of Ifriqiyah Tunisia , Egypt, Syria, Armenia, and Azerbaijan Province in Iran. The honorific, or title, of al-Rashid the Upright was added to his name. Harun al-Rashid. Rashid's father died in and his brother al-Hadi assumed the throne. Al-Hadi, however, died mysteriously in September His death was said to have been the result of a court conspiracy or plot.

Rashid was proclaimed caliph. He at once appointed Yahya as his vizier, or primary minister. Rashid, for the first seventeen years of his reign, relied to a great extent on his vizier and two of the vizier's sons, al-Fadl and Jafar.

Yahya appears to have been an exceptionally good administrator. He is known for showing great wisdom in selecting and training his staff. His two sons had similar qualities. However, they fell from favor suddenly on the night of January 28, , when they were imprisoned and had their lands taken from them.

The basic reason for this action was that the Barmakid family had become too powerful. By this time Rashid was finding it difficult to hold his vast empire together. There was an almost constant series of local uprisings. An independent territory was established in Morocco by the Idrisid dynasty in The following year, a semi-independent territory was established in Tunisia by the Aghlabid dynasty.

Harun founded with his son and successor al-Ma'mum the Bayt al-Hikmah, House of Wisdom, in Baghdad, where works from classical Greece were translated, studied, and preserved. Sources: "Harun al-Rashid. Download our mobile app for on-the-go access to the Jewish Virtual Library. Category » Harun al-Rashid.

Roman Empire.