Al-Mansur

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Al-Mansur
أبو جعفر عبدالله بن محمد المنصور
Gold dinar of al-Mansur
2nd Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate
Reign10 June 754 – 6 October 775
Predecessoras-Saffah
Successoral-Mahdi
Born714 AD
Syria
Died6 October 775 (aged 61)
near Mecca, Abbasid Caliphate, now Saudi Arabia
SpouseArwa bint Mansur
Hammadah bint Isa
Fatimah bint Muhammad bin Abi Talha
Aliyah bint al-Ummaiyah
Al-Jariyah al-Rummaiyah
Al-Jariyah al-kurdiyah
IssueAl-Mahdi
Names
Abu Ja'far Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Mansur
DynastyAbbasid
FatherMuhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdallah
MotherSallamah
ReligionIslam

Al-Mansur or Abu Ja'far Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Mansur (95 AH – 158 AH (714 AD– 6 October 775 AD);[1] Arabic: أبو جعفر عبدالله بن محمد المنصور) was the second Abbasid Caliph reigning from 136 AH to 158 AH (754 AD – 775 AD)[2][3] and succeeding his brother Abu al-'Abbas al-Saffah. Al-Mansur is generally regarded as the real founder of the Abbasid Caliphate, one of the largest polities in world history, for his role in stabilizing and institutionalizing the dynasty.[4] He is also known for founding the 'round city' of Madinat al-Salam which was to become the core of imperial Baghdad.[5].

Background & Early Life

Al-Mansur was born at the home of the 'Abbasid family after their emigration from the Hejaz in 95 AH (714 CE). "His father, Muhammad, was reputedly a great-grandson of Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, the youngest uncle of Mohammad; his mother, as described in the 14th-century Moroccan historical work Rawd al-Qirtas was one Sallama, "a Berber woman given to his father." [6] He reigned from Dhu al-Hijjah 136 AH until Dhu al-Hijjah 158 AH (754 CE – 775 CE). He ruled for nine days less than twenty two years.[7]


Abbasid Reign

Al-Mansur was proclaimed Caliph on his way to Mecca in the year 753 (136 AH) and was inaugurated the following year.[8] His uncle, Isa ibn Ali, pledged an oath of allegiance first to Mansur and then to Isa ibn Musa who was to be his successor on Sunday, 12 Dhu al-Hijja 136 AH/754 AD. This was a precaution in the event that anything were to happen to Al-Mansur in order to prevent Abu Muslim from rising to power.[9].

In 762 he founded as new imperial residence and palace city Madinat as-Salam (the city of peace), which became the core of the Imperial capital Baghdad.[10] Al-Mansur was concerned with the solidity of his regime after the death of his brother Abu'l `Abbas (later known as as-Saffah). In 754 he defeated Abdallah ibn Ali's bid for the Caliphate, and in 755 he arranged the assassination of Abu Muslim. Abu Muslim was a loyal freed man from the eastern Iranian province of Khorasan who had led the Abbasid forces to victory over the Umayyads during the Third Fitna in 749–750; he was subordinate to al-Mansur but also the undisputed ruler of Iran and Transoxiana. The assassination seems to have been made to preclude a power struggle in the empire; some findings suggest[citation needed] that Abu Muslim became incredulous and paranoid and that this 'necessitated' the assassination.

After relieving former vizier ibn Attiya al-Bahili, Al-Mansur transfered the duties to Abu Ayyub al-Muriyani from Khuzistan. Abu Ayyub was previously a secretary to Sulayman ibn Habib ibn al-Muhallab, who in the past, had condemned Mansur to be whipped and flogged to pieces. Abu Ayyub rescued Mansur from this punishment and solidified a close relationship with the Caliph. Nevertheless, after appointing him as vizier, Mansur suspected Abu Ayyub of various crimes including extortion and treachery, which led to an imminent assassination. The vacant secretary role was granted to Aban ibn Sadaqa until the death of the Caliph.[11]

When Isa ibn Musa, al-Mansur's intended successor, fell under suspicion of corruption, al-Mahdi was appointed in his stead and publicly swore allegiance. Like his elder brother Saffah he wanted to unite the land, so he got rid of all of his opposition.[citation needed]

During his reign, Islamic literature and scholarship in the Islamic world began to emerge in full force, supported by the Abbasid promotion of scholarly research, best exemplified by the Abbasid-sponsored Translation Movement. It was under al-Mansur that a committee, mostly made up of Syriac-speaking Christians, was set up in Baghdad with the purpose of translating extant Greek works into Arabic. Due to the Abbasid's orientation toward the East, many Persians came to play a crucial role in the Empire, both culturally as well as politically. This was in contrast to the preceding Umayyad era, in which non-Arabs were kept out of these affairs. Shu'ubiya emerged at this time, due to the rising of Iranian autonomy; it was a literary movement among Persians which expressed their belief in the superiority of Persian art and culture, and catalyzed the emergence of Arab-Persian dialogues in the 9th century CE.

In 756, al-Mansur sent over 4,000 Arab mercenaries to assist the Chinese in the An Shi Rebellion against An Lushan; after the war, they remained in China.[12][13][14][15][16] Al-Mansur was referred to as "A-p'u-ch'a-fo" in the Chinese T'ang Annals.[17][18][19][20][21][22][23] [24][25][26][27][28][excessive citations]

According to a number of sources, Abu Hanifa an-Nu'man (who founded a school of jurisprudence) was imprisoned by al-Mansur. Malik ibn Anas, the founder of another school, was flogged during his rule, but al-Mansur himself did not condone this – in fact, it was his cousin, the governor of Madinah at the time, who ordered it (and was punished for doing so).[29]

Relationship with Umayyad Dynasty

Al-Mansur, like most Abbasid Caliphs, detested the rival Umayyad Caliphs. Al-Mansur claimed that:

"The Umayyads held the government which had been given to them with a firm hand, protecting, preserving and guarding the gift granted them by God. But then their power passed to their effeminate sons, whose only ambition was the satisfaction of their desires and who chased after pleasures forbidden by Almighty God...Then God stripped them of their power, covered them with shame and deprived them of their worldly goods"[30]

Fadl ibn al-Rabi relates that at a gathering of Abbasid aristocrats, Mansur describes Abd al-Malik, the fifth Umayyad Caliph, as an "arrogant tyrant who did not care what he did." In addition, he comments that Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik's "only ambition lay in his belly and his balls" and Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz was like a "one-eyed man among the blind." Mansur, however, praises Hisham as being the only great man of the dynasty.[31]


In one narration by Al Masudi, Salih ibn Ali, an Abbasid general, mentions to Al Mansur that Abd Al-Malik, the son of Marwan, fled to the land of the Christian Nubians with a small following where he was questioned by the King as to their current situation and what had befallen them. Abd Al-Malik, a prisoner in Mansur's court at the time, relates to Mansur the incident and describes how the King had rebuked him for "breaking God's commandments" and "oppressing those you ruled." He was denied stay in land of the Nubians out of fear of divine punishment. Mansur was moved by this story and felt pity for the former Umayyad Caliph. He elected to free Abd Al-Malik, but Isa ibn Ali reminded him that Abd Al-Malik had already received the oath of allegiance as Marwan's heir, so he was escorted back to prison.[32]


When the people of Khorasan rioted against Al Mansur in the battle of Al Hashimiya, Ma'n ibn Za'ida al-Shaybani, a general from the Shayban tribe and companion of Yazid ibn Umar al-Fazari, the Umayyad governor of Iraq, appeared at the scene of the uprising completely masked, and threw himself between the crowd and Mansur, driving the insurgents away. Ma'n reveals himself to Mansur as "he whom you have been searching" and upon hearing this, Mansur granted him rewards, robes of honor, rank, and amnesty from previously serving the Umayyad dynasty.[33]

Narration of Character

A mancus issued under the Saxon king Offa of Mercia (757–796), copied from a gold dinar of Al-Mansur's reign. It combines the Latin legend OFFA REX with Arabic legends. The date of A.H. 157 (773–774 CE) is readable.[34] British Museum.

Al Mansur's prudence and opportunistic judgement is renown; he was cautious to remove those whom he deemed a threat to his Caliphate, orchestrating the assassinations of notable individuals including Abu Muslim, Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, the sixth Shi'a Imam, and even his own vizier, Abu Ayyub. He would not refuse the most extravagant generosities if there was personal gain involved, but he would refuse granting even the smallest favor if it entailed loss.[35]

Al-Masudi in Meadows of Gold tells of Al-Mansur's interaction with a blind poet, where on two occasions, the man recited poetry of praise for the Umayyads to the Abbasid Caliph, whom he did not recognize; al-Mansur nonetheless rewarded the poet for the verses on the first occasion. Al-Mansur himself narrates on the second occasion that the blind man did not recognize him at first and began reciting the following Umayyad lines of poetry:

The women of the House of Umayya lament
For their daughters are orphaned
Their good fortune slept, their stars set
For fortunes do sleep and stars do set.
Their high minbars are vaccant;
May peace be upon them until I die.[36]

After hearing this, Al-Mansur questions the blind man as to how much and where Marwan II, the Umayyad Caliph, paid him to recite these lines to which the man responded four thousand dinars, a gala robe and two riding camels in Basra. Al-Marwan reveals his identity as the Abbasid Caliph and the blind man begs for forgiveness. Al-Mansur narrates that he wanted to punish the man but remembered he was a pilgrim and therefore sacrosanct and elected to let him free.[37] [38]

In another account by Al-Masudi, the military tactics being employed by Hisham during one of his campaigns was discussed in front of Al-Mansur, who thereupon sent for one of Hisham's officers. The officer was questioned about the tactics used during the campaign and he would give his response, ending with a phrase of blessing for Hashim. Constant praise for his enemy greatly angered Mansur and he ordered the officer to leave. The officer, however, claimed it his duty to bless and propagate Hashim's memory on account of his generosity of providing financial support and a secure haven in times of hardship. Mansur was moved by his response and replied "Would that I had men like him in my army!" and ordered the officer to be given a sum payable at the treasury.[39]

In a narration by Aban ibn abi-Ayyash, Al Mansur was sitting in an audience hall above the Khurasan Gate looking out over the Tigris when an arrow was shot from an unknown location at his feet. Decorated on the vanes were verses prompting him to reflect on his reign as Caliph and to remember his appointment with Judgement day

Do you expect to live till Judgement Day?
Do you imagine there will be no Final Reckoning?
You will be asked to answer for your sins-
And then questioned on the state of the Believers.[40]

The messages on the other vanes insinuated Mansur's negligence towards the people and reminded him of the ephemeral nature of fortune and fate. The shaft of the arrow contained the message 'Hamadan- a man from this town is held unjustly in your prisons'.

Upon reading this, Al-Mansur ordered an investigation of all the prisons and dungeons in town until they found a cell with a length of cloth hung like a curtain over the entrance. Inside, there was a notable old man loaded with chains facing the direction of Mecca repeating the verse "Those who oppress will learn what misfortune has been prepared for them" (Qur'an 26:227). The man claimed to be from Hamadan and was imprisoned on account of rebellion for the past four years after refusing to relinquish his domain worth a million dirham to the governor, who decided to confiscate it after learning the worth.

Upon hearing this injustice, Mansur returns the estate to the old man exempt from taxes for the whole of his lifetime and appoints him as governor. The man graciously accepts the estate but declines the position of governor. Al Mansur gifts the old man with large sums of money and presents and invites the man to correspond with him and inform him of his state and country, specifically with regards to the behavior of his agents concerning matters of war and taxes. The current governor was dismissed and punished for his injustice towards the old man.[41]

Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq was the victim of some harassment by the Abbasid caliphs, and was eventually, according to most Shia Muslims, poisoned at the orders of the Caliph al-Mansur .[a] This was in the tenth year of Al-Mansur's reign[42] There is also an account of foreboding verses al-Mansur saw written on the wall just before his death.

Death

Al-Masudi writes that Mansur died on Saturday 6, Dhu al-Hijja 158 AH/775 AD. There are varying accounts on the location and circumstances of Al-Mansur's death. One account narrates that Al-Mansur was on a pilgrimage to Mecca and had nearly reached, when death overtook him at a location called the Garden of the Bani Amir on the highroad to Iraq at the age of sixty three. According to this narration, he was buried in Mecca with his face uncovered because he was wearing the ihram clothing.


A different narration from Fadl ibn Rabi'ah, who claimed to have been with Mansur at his time of death, states that he died at al-Batha' near the Well of Maimun in which he would have been buried at al-Hajun at sixty five years of age. In this narration, Mansur is sitting in a domed room hallucinating about ill-omen writings on the wall. When Al-Rabiah replies "I see nothing written on the wall. It's surface is clean and white," Mansur replies, "my soul is warned that she may prepare for her near departure." After reaching the Well of Maimun, he reportedly says "God be praised" and succumbs to death that very day.[43]


When al-Mansur died, the caliphate's treasury contained 600,000,000 dirhams and fourteen million dinars.[44]

In 2008, MBC 1 depicted the life and leadership of al-Mansur in a historical series aired during the holy month of Ramadan.

Notes

  1. ^ al-Fusul al-muhimmah, p.212; Dala’il al-imamah, p.lll: Ithbat al-wasiyah, p.142.

References

  1. ^ Al-Souyouti, Tarikh Al-Kholafa'a (The History of Caliphs)
  2. ^ Stanley Lane-Poole, The Coins of the Eastern Khaleefahs in the British Museum
  3. ^ Axworthy, Michael (2008); A History of Iran; Basic, USA; ISBN 978-0-465-00888-9. See p.81.
  4. ^ The Cambridge History of Islam, volume 1: The Formation of the Islamic World, ed. Chase F Robinson, March 2011, page 265
  5. ^ The Cambridge History of Islam, volume 1: The Formation of the Islamic World, ed. Chase F Robinson, March 2011, page 270
  6. ^ World's Great Men of Color vol. II
  7. ^ Al-Masudi, Meadows of Gold pg.21
  8. ^ Aikin, John (1747). General biography: or, Lives, critical and historical, of the most eminent persons of all ages, countries, conditions, and professions, arranged according to alphabetical order. London: G. G. and J. Robinson. p. 201. ISBN 1333072457. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  9. ^ Al-Masudi, Meadows of Gold pg.21
  10. ^ Charles Wendell (1971). "Baghdad: Imago Mundi, and Other Foundation-Lore". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 2.
  11. ^ Al Masudi, Meadows of Gold pg. 26
  12. ^ Oscar Chapuis (1995). A history of Vietnam: from Hong Bang to Tu Duc. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 92. ISBN 0313296227. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  13. ^ Joseph Mitsuo Kitagawa (2002). The religious traditions of Asia: religion, history, and culture. Routledge. p. 283. ISBN 0700717625. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  14. ^ Bradley Smith, Wango H. C. Weng (1972). China: a history in art. Harper & Row. p. 129. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  15. ^ Hugh D. R. Baker (1990). Hong Kong images: people and animals. Hong Kong University Press. p. 53. ISBN 9622092551. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  16. ^ Charles Patrick Fitzgerald (1961). China: a short cultural history. Praeger. p. 332. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  17. ^ Marshall Broomhall (1910). Islam in China: a neglected problem. LONDON 12 PATERNOSTER BUILDINGS, E.C.: Morgan & Scott, ltd. pp. 25, 26. Retrieved 14 December 2011.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  18. ^ Frank Brinkley (1902). China: its history, arts and literature, Volume 2. Vol. Volumes 9–12 of Trübner's oriental series. BOSTON AND TOKYO: J.B.Millet company. pp. 149, 150, 151, 152. Retrieved 14 December 2011. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)Original from the University of California
  19. ^ Frank Brinkley (1904). Japan [and China]: China; its history, arts and literature. Vol. Volume 10 of Japan [and China]: Its History, Arts and Literature. LONDON 34 HENRIETTA STREET, W. C. AND EDINBURGH: Jack. pp. 149, 150, 151, 152. Retrieved 14 December 2011. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)CS1 maint: location (link)Original from Princeton University
  20. ^ Arthur Evans Moule (1914). The Chinese people: a handbook on China ... LONDON NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, W.C.: Society for promoting Christian knowledge. p. 317. Retrieved 14 December 2011.Original from the University of California
  21. ^ Herbert Allen Giles (1886). A glossary of reference on subjects connected with the Far East (2 ed.). HONGKONG: Messrs. Lane. p. 141. Retrieved 14 December 2011. MAHOMEDANS: IEJ Iej. First settled in China in the Year of the Mission, A.D. 628, under Wahb-Abi-Kabcha a maternal uncle of Mahomet, who was sent with presents to the Emperor. Wahb-Abi-Kabcha travelled by sea to Cantoa, and thence overland to Si-ngan Fu, the capital, where he was well received. The first mosque was built at Canton, where, after several restorations, it still exists. Another mosque was erected in 742, but many of these M. came to China simply as traders, and by and by went back to their own country. The true stock of the present Chinese Mahomedans was a small army of 4,000 Arabian soldiers sent by the Khaleef Abu Giafar in 755 to aid in putting down a rebellion. These soldiers had permission to settle in China, where they married native wives; and three centuries later, with the conquests of Genghis Khan, largo numbers of Arabs penetrated into the Empire and swelled the Mahomedan community.Original from the New York Public Library
  22. ^ Herbert Allen Giles (1926). Confucianism and its rivals. Forgotten Books. p. 139. ISBN 1606802488. Retrieved 14 December 2011. In 789 the Khalifa Harun al Raschid dispatched a mission to China, and there had been one or two less important missions in the seventh and eighth centuries; but from 879, the date of the Canton massacre, for more than three centuries to follow, we hear nothing of the Mahometans and their religion. They were not mentioned in the edict of 845, which proved such a blow to Buddhism and Nestorian Christianity perhaps because they were less obtrusive in ithe propagation of their religion, a policy aided by the absence of anything like a commercial spirit in religious matters.
  23. ^ Confucianism and its Rivals. Forgotten Books. p. 223. ISBN 145100849X. Retrieved 14 December 2011. The first mosque built at Canton, where, after several restorations, it may still be seen. The minaret, known as the Bare Pagoda, to distinguish it from a much more ornamental Buddhist pagoda near by, dates back to 850. There must at that time have been a considerable number of Mahometans in Canton, thought not so many as might be supposed if reliance could be placed on the figures given in reference to a massacre which took place in 879. The fact is that most of these Mahometans went to China simply as traders; they did not intend to settle permanently in the country, and when business permitted, they returned to their old haunts. About two thousand Mussulman families are still to be found at Canton, and a similar number at Foochow; descendants, perhaps, of the old sea-borne contingents which began to arrive in the seventh and eighth centuries. These remnants have nothing to do with the stock from which came the comparatively large Mussulman communities now living and practising their religion in the provinces of Ssŭch'uan, Yünnan, and Kansuh. The origin of the latter was as follows. In A.D. 756 the Khalifa Abu Giafar sent a small army of three thousand Arab soldiers to aid in putting down a rebellion.
  24. ^ Everett Jenkins (1999). The Muslim diaspora: a comprehensive reference to the spread of Islam in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Vol. Volume 1 of The Muslim Diaspora (illustrated ed.). McFarland. p. 61. ISBN 0786404310. Retrieved 14 December 2011. China • Arab troops were dispatched by Abu Gia- far to China. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)(Original from the University of Michigan )
  25. ^ Travels in Indo-China and the Chinese empire. p. 295. Retrieved 21 May 2013. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  26. ^ Stanley Ghosh (1961). Embers in Cathay. Doubleday. p. 60. Retrieved 14 December 2011. During the reign of Abbassid Caliph Abu Giafar in the middle of the eighth century, many Arab soldiers evidently settled near the garrisons on the Chinese frontier.(Original from the University of Michigan, Library of Catalonia )
  27. ^ Heinrich Hermann (1912). Chinesische Geschichte (in German). D. Gundert. p. 77. Retrieved 14 December 2011.(Original from the University of California )
  28. ^ Deutsche Literaturzeitung für Kritik der Internationalen Wissenschaft, Volume 49, Issues 27–52. Weidmannsche Buchhandlung. 1928. p. 1617. Retrieved 14 December 2011.(Original from Indiana University )
  29. ^ Ya'qubi, vol.III, p. 86; Muruj al-dhahab, vol.III, p. 268–270.
  30. ^ Al-Masudi, Meadows of Gold pg. 24
  31. ^ Al-Masudi, Meadows of Gold pg. 24
  32. ^ Al-Masudi,Meadows of Gold, A Conversation with the King of Nubia, pg. 24-25
  33. ^ Al-Masudi, Meadows of Gold, In the Audience Hall, pg 28
  34. ^ Medieval European Coinage By Philip Grierson p.330
  35. ^ Al Masudi, Meadows of Gold pg 33
  36. ^ Al-Masudi,Meadows of Gold pg.22
  37. ^ Al-Masudi,Meadows of Gold pg.22
  38. ^ Al Masudi (2010). Meadows of Gold (2010 ed.). New York: Routledge. p. 22. ISBN 0-7103-0246-0. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  39. ^ Al Masudi, Meadows of Gold, Loyalty to Hashim pg 27
  40. ^ Al-Masudi, Meadows of Gold, In the Audience Hall, pg 29
  41. ^ Al-Masudi, Meadows of Gold, In the Audience Hall, pg 29-30
  42. ^ Al-Masudi,Meadows of Gold pg.26
  43. ^ Al-Masudi, Meadows of Gold pg.21
  44. ^ Al-Masudi, Meadows of Gold pg.33

Bibliography

  • Mas'udi, The Meadows of Gold: The Abbasids, transl. Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone, Kegan Paul, London and New York, 1989
  • Kennedy, Hugh, When Baghdad Ruled The Muslim World, Cambridge, Da Capo Press, 2004
  • Aikin, John (1747). General biography: or, Lives, critical and historical, of the most eminent persons of all ages, countries, conditions, and professions, arranged according to alphabetical order. London: G. G. and J. Robinson. p. 201. ISBN 1333072457.

External links

Al-Mansur
of the Ahl al-Bayt
Clan of the Banu Quraish
Born: c. 714 CE Died: c. 775 CE
Shia Islam titles
Preceded by Abu Ja`far `Abdu'llāh ibn Muhammad "al-Imām"
The ninth and last Imam of
Hashimiyya Kaysanites Shia
10 June 754 – 6 October 775 		Succeeded by
Al-Mansur
Born: 714 Died: 6 October 775
Sunni Islam titles
Preceded by Caliph of Islam
10 June 754 – 6 October 775 		Succeeded by
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