Page:The Oriental Biographical Dictionary.djvu/58

 Al-Rashid 46 Al-Saffah voked him to make war upon them, and whom he always overcame. In the year 803 A. D., 187 A. H., the khal'if received a letter from the Greek emporor Nicephorus, commanding him to return all the monej^ he had extorted from the Empress Irane, or expect soon to see an impe- rial army ia the heart of his territories. This insolent letter so exasperated Harun, that he immediately assem- bled his forces and advanced to Heraclea, laying the covmtry, through which he passed, waste with fire and sword. For some time also he kept that city straitly besieged ; which so terrified the Greek emperor that he submitted to pay an annual tribute. In the year 804 A. D., 188 A. H., war was renewed with the Greeks, and Nicephorus with a great army attacl^ed the khalif's forces with the utmost fury. He was, how- ever, defeated with the loss of 40,000 men, and received three wounds in the action ; after which the Moslems committed terrible ravages in his territories, and retui-ned home laden with spoils. The next year Hariin invaded Phrygia ; defeated an imperial army sent to oppose him, and having ravaged the country, returned without any considerable loss. In the year 806, 190 A. H., the khalff marched into the imperial territories with an army of 135,000 men, besides a great number of volunteers and others who were not enrolled among his troops. He first took the city of Heraclea, from which he is said to have carried 16,000 prisoners; after which he made himself master of several ether places, and, ia the conclusion of the expedition, he made a descent on the island of Cyprus, which he plundered in a terrible manner. This success so intimidated Nicephorus, that he immediately sent the tribute due to Harun, the withholding of which had been ■ the cause of the war ; and concluded a peace upon the khalif's own terms. Charlemagne respected his character, and Harun in token of his friendship presented to the European prince a clock, the mechanism and construction of which were regarded among the prodigies of the age. Harun reigned 23 years and died in Khurasan on the eve of Saturday the 24th March, 809 A. D., 3rd Jamad II, 193 A. H., and was buried at Tiis which is now called Mashbad. He was succeeded by his eldest son al-Amm. Al-Rashid BiUah., <^^j}, the thirtieth khalif of the Abbasides succeeded his father al-Mustarashad in August or September, 1135 A. D., Zil'kad, 529 A. H., and died in the year 1136 A. D., 530 A. H. He was succeeded by al-Muktafi the son of al-Mustazahir. Al-Razi, see Eazi. Al-Razi Billall, the son of al-Muktadir and the twentieth khalif of the house of Abbas, was the last who deserved the title of the Commander of the Faithful. He was raised to the throne of Baghdad, after the de- thronement of his uncle al-Kahir Billah by the wazir ibn Makla in April 934 A. D.'. Jamad I, 322 A. H. In the year 936, the khalif finding himself distressed on all sides by usurpers, and having a wazir of no capacity, instituted a new office superior to that of wazir, which he entitled Amir-ul-TTmra. This great officer, Imad-ud-daula AH Boya, was trusted with the management of the finances in a much more absolute and unlimited manner than any of the khalif's wazirs ever had been. Nay he ofiiciated for the khalif in the great mosque at Baghdad, and had his name mentioned in the public prayers throughout the kingdom. In short the khalif was so much under the power of this oflicer, that he could not apply a single dinar to his own use without the leave of the Amir-ul-Umra. In the year 937 A. D. the Moslem empire so great and powerful, was shared among the following usurpers : The cities of Wasat, Basra, Kufa with the rest of the Arabian Irak, were considered as the property of the Amir-ul-Umra, though they had been in the beginning of the year seized upon by a rebel called al-Baridi, who could not be driven out of them. The country of Fars, Faristan, or Persia properly so called, was possessed by Imad-ud-daula AH ibn Boya, who resided in the city of Sh'iraz. Part of the tract denominated al-Jabal, together with Persian Irak, which is the mountainous part of Persia, and the country of the ancient Parthians, obeyed Eukn- ud-daula, the brother of Imad-ud-daula, who resided at Isfahan. The other part of the country was possessed by Washvialcin the Dilamite. Dayar Eabia, Dayar Bikr, Dayar Modar, and the city of Mousal, acknowledged for their sovereign a race of princes called Hamdanites. Egypt and Syria no longer obeyed the khalifs, but Mu- hammad ibn Taj who had formerly been appointed gover- nor of those provinces. Africa and Spain had long been independent. Cicily and Crete were governed by princes of their own. The provinces of Khurasan and Malvarunnahr were under the dominions of al-Nasr ibn Ahmad, of the dynasty of the Samanians. The provinces of Tabristan, Jurjan or Georgia, and Mazindaran, had kings of the first dynasty of the Dfla- mites. The province of Kirman was occupied by Abu AH Mu- hammad ibn Eylia al-Sam5.ni, who had made himself master of it a short time before. And Lastly, the provinces of Yemama and Bahryn, including the district of Hajr, were in the possession of Abu Tahir the Karmatian. Thus the khalifs were deprived of all their dominions, and reduced to the rank of sovereign pontiffs ; in which light, though they continued for some time to be regarded by the neighbouring princes, yet their power never arrived to any height. In this low state the khalifs continued till the extinction of the Khilafat by Halakii Khan the Tartar in the year 1258 A. D., 656 A. H. Al-Razf Biilali reigned 7 years 2 months and 11 days and died in 941 A. D., 329 A. H. He was succeeded by his brother al-Muttaki. Al-Saharawi, <jS)]j^^^} Abul Kasim. Al-SafFah, ^^■'^•'1, surname of Abul Abbas, the son of Mu- hammad, the son of AH, the son of 'Abdullah, the son of Abbas the uncle of the prophet. He was proclaimed khalifa by the inhabitants of Kufa on Friday the 29th of November, 749 A. D., 13thRabiII, 132 A. H., upon which a battle took place between him and Marwan II the last khalifa of the house of Umyya or Ommaides, in which the latter was slain, 5th of August, 750 A. D., 26th Zil-hijja, 132 A. H. Al-Saffah after this victory investing himself with sover- eign power, laid the foundation of the dynasty of the Abbasides, which continued to be transmitted to his family from father to son for 524 lunar years, during a succession of 37 khalifs, till they were dispossessed by Halakii Khan the Tartar king of Persia in 1258 A. D., 656 A. H. By the elevation of the house of Abbas to the dignity of khi- lafat, began that glorious period during which Arabic and Persian literature reached its highest perfection. With some few exceptions these khalifas were the noblest race of kings that ever adorned the throne of sovereignty. Abul Abbas died, after a reign of more than four years, of the small-pox, on Sunday the 9th of June, 754 A. D., 13th Zil-hijja 136 A. H., and was succeeded by his brother Abu Ja'far Almansiir. List of the hhaUfas of the race of Abbas who reigned at Baghdad. 1. Al-Saffah or Abul 'Abbas al-Safi'ah. 2. Al-Mansur. 3. Al-Mahdi son of al-Mansur. 4. Al-Hadi, son of Mahdi. 6. Al-Eashid or Hanin al-Eashid son of Mahdi, 6. Al-Amin, son of Harun. 7. Al-Mamun, son of Harun. Ibrahim son of Mahdi, competitor.