Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 16.djvu/610

Rh MOHAMMEDANISM [ ABBASIDR. liouse. Thanks to these magnificent gifts, I afterwards gained great wealth, wealth which I still enjoy. Since that day, I have never lost any opportunity of singing the praises of that noble family. And now, Prince, slay me if thou wilt ; I am ready to die.&quot; Harun, affected by this tale, let the man depart, and in future forbade no man to weep for the tragical end of the sons of Uarmak. (El-Fachrl, ed. Ahlwardt, p. 237.) Although the administration of HArun s states was com mitted to skilful hands, yet the first years of his long reign were not free from troubles. Towards the year 176 (A.D. 792-793), a member of the house of All, named YahyA b. AbdallAh, who had taken refuge at Dailam on the shores of the Caspian Sea, succeeded in forming a powerful party, and publicly announced his pretensions to the Caliphate. Harun immediately sent an army of 50,000 men against the rebel, under the command of Fadl. Reluctant, however, to fight against a descendant of the Prophet, Fadl first attempted to induce him to sub mit, by promising him safety for his life and a brilliant position at the court of BaghdAd. Yahya accepted these conditions, but he required that the Caliph should send him letters of pardon countersigned by the highest legal authorities and the principal personages of the empire. Harun consented to do so, and Yahya, furnished with the Caliph s safe-conduct, repaired to Baghdad, where he met with a splendid reception. At the end of some months, however, he was calumniously accused of conspiracy, and the Caliph, seizing this opportunity of ridding himself of a rival who might prove dangerous, threw him into prison, where he was soon after put to death. Dreading fresh insurrections, Harun thought it well to secure the person of another descendant of Ali, MusA b. Ja far, who was resident at Medina, where he enjoyed the highest consider ation. The unfortunate man was sent to Baghdad, and there died by poison. Meanwhile Harun did not forget the hereditary enemy against whom he had already fought. Under his reign all the strong places of Syria were formed into a special province, which received the name of AwAsim. The charge of fortifying the city of Tarsus was committed to Faraj, the chief of the Turkish soldiers, whom the Caliphs were beginning to employ, and who were at a later period to become their masters. The ancient Anazarbus was rebuilt, and garrisoned with a military colony from KhorAsAn. Thanks to these measures, the Moslem armies were able to advance boldly into Asia Minor. Ishak b. SolaimAn entered Phrygia and defeated the Greek gover nor of that province. A Moslem fleet destroyed that of the Greeks in the Gulf of Satalia. Hanin in person invaded Asia Minor in the year 181 (A.D. 797-798), and during the following years his generals gained continual victories over the Byzantines, so that Irene was compelled to sue for peace. An attack by the Khazars called the Caliph s attention from his successes in Asia Minor. That people had made an irruption into Armenia, and their attack had been so sudden that the Moslems were unable to defend themselves, and a hundred thousand of them had been reduced to captivity. Two valiant generals, Khozaima b. KhAzim and Yazid b. Mazyad, marched against the Khazars and drove them out of Armenia. In the midst of the cares of war, .Harun did not forget his religious duties, and few years passed without his making the pilgrimage. In one of these pilgrimages, A.H. 186 (A.D. 802), he was accompanied by his two eldest sons, Mohammed and AbdallAh, and having determined to fix the order of succession in so formal a manner as to take away all pretext for future contentions, he executed a deed by which he appointed Mohammed his immediate heir ; after him AbdallAh, and after AbdallAh a third of his sons, named KAsim. Mohammed received the surname of Al-Amfn (The Sure), AbdallAh that of Al-Ma mi m (He in whom men trust), and KAsim that of Mo tamin billali (He who trusts in God). Harun further stipulated that Ma mun should have as his share, during the lifetime of his brother, the government of the eastern part of the empire. Each of the parties concerned swore to observe faithfully every part of this deed, which the Caliph caused to be hung up in the Ka ba, imagining that it would be thus guaranteed against all violation on the part of men. These precautions were to be rendered vain by the perfidy of Amin. We shall see hereafter how he kept his oath, and how he expiated his treachery by death. It was in the following year, at the very moment when the Barmecides thought their position most secure, that HArun brought sudden ruin upon them. The causes of their disgrace have been differently stated by the annalists. Some relate that the Caliph, preferring to all other society that of his sister AbbAsa and of Ja far b. YahyA, resolved to unite them in marriage, in order to be able to bring them together in his presence without a breach of etiquette. He meant, however, that Ja far should continue to be only the nominal husband of his sister. Ja far accepted this condition, but it was not long before he forgot it, and the Caliph learned that his sister had given birth to a son. This, it is said, was the cause of Ja far s disgrace, which involved his father and his brother. This story may be true ; but the principal cause of the fall of the Barmecides appears to have consisted in the abuses of power of which they had been guilty, and in the sovereign influence which they exercised on those around them. The Barmecides lived in a magnificent palace opposite to that of the Caliph. Seeing one day an extraordinary crowd around the dwelling of his first minister, HArun was moved to say: &quot;Verily YahyA has taken all business into his own hands ; he it is who really exercises supreme power ; as for me, I am Caliph only in name.&quot; This secret dis satisfaction was increased by a new act of disobedience on the part of Ja far. HArun had ordered him to put to death secretly a member of the house of Ali, whose intrigues he dreaded. Ja far allowed the victim to escape, and afterwards swore to the Caliph that his orders had been executed. Soon after, however, information against him was given to HArun, who, after compelling Ja far to acknowledge the truth, had his head struck off and brought to him by Masriir, the chief of his eunuchs. On the very next day YahyA, his son Fadl, and all the other Barme cides, were arrested and imprisoned ; all their property was confiscated ; and HArun chose as his prime minister Fadl b. Rabf, who had been his chamberlain. In the same year, a revolution broke out at Constan tinople, which overthrew the Empress Irene, and raised Nicephorus to power. The new emperor had scarcely ascended the throne, when he thought himself strong enough to refuse the payment of tribute, and wrote an insulting letter to HArun, who contented himself with replying: &quot;Thou shalt not hear, but see, my answer.&quot; He then assembled an army, entered Asia Minor, and took Heraclea, plundering and burning along his whole line of march, till Nicephorus, in his alarm, sued for peace. Scarcely had the Caliph returned into winter quarters, when Nicephorus broke the treaty. Notwith standing the rigour of the season, HArun retraced his steps, and this time Nicephorus was compelled to observe his engagements. The year after, A.H. 189 (A.D. 804- 805), disturbances arose in KhorAsAn. They were caused by the malversations of the governor of that province, Ali b. Isa, and the Caliph went in person to Merv to judge of the reality of the complaints which had reached him. All b. IsA hastened to meet the Caliph on his arrival at Ray. He brought with him a great quantity of presents, which he distributed with such profusion