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 Al-Maʾmûn ʿAbdallâh ibn-ar-Rashîd came to the city from Khurâsân and took up his abode in it. He then left on an expedition during which he died at al-Fadhandûn and was buried at Ṭarsûs.

. Caliph al-Muʿtaṣim-Billah made his residence in it and then left it for al-Ḳâṭûl where he occupied the Ḳaṣr ar-Rashîd which was built when ar-Rashîd dug out Ḳâṭûlah [canal] and called it abu-l-Jund [the father of the army] because the land watered by it produced enough provisions for the army. Al-Muʿtaṣim erected in al-Ḳâṭûl a building which he occupied, and offered the Ḳaṣr to Ashnâs at-Turki [the Turk], his freedman. He started to colonize that region and after beginning a new city, he gave it up and built the city of Surra-man-raʾa. He transplanted people to it and made it his residence. At the meeting point of the streets, he built a cathedral mosque, and called the city Surra-man-raʾa. Al-Muʿtaṣim made his freedman, Ashnâs, together with the other generals who had joined him [Ashnâs], settle at Karkh Fairûz. Other generals were given the houses called al-ʿArabâya. Al-Muʿtaṣim died in Surra-man-raʾa in the year 227.

Hârun al-Wâthiḳ-Billâh lived to the last day of his life in a house which he built at Surra-man-raʾa and called al-Hârûni.

When in dhu-l-Ḥijjah, year 232, the caliph Jaʿfar al-Mutawakkil-ʿAlallâh was installed, he made al-Hârûni his residence. He erected many buildings and assigned to different men fiefs in a place back of Surra-man-raʾa called al