Al-Amin
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Muhammad ibn Harun al-Amin (787–813) (Arabic: محمد الأمين بن هارون الرشيد), Abbasid Caliph. He succeeded his father, Harun al-Rashid in 809 and ruled until he was killed in 813.
Harun al-Rashid had decided the succession to his sons during a pilgrimage to Mecca. Al-Amin, would receive the Caliphate and al-Ma'mun would become governor of Khurasan in eastern Iran and would furthermore be granted almost complete autonomy. On al-Amin's death, according to Haroun's decision, al-Mamun would become Caliph (and his sons after him).
Shortly after Haroun died in 809 and al-Amin was declared caliph, al-Amin announced that his son would inherit rather than al-Ma'mun, provoking the fourth civil war. Enmities amongst the brothers were further inflamed by their different mothers, as well as meddlesome ministers. Also, the fact that Al-Amin was known to be fond of eunuchs was seen by many at the time as a deficit in his character.[1] It has been speculated that the brothers would have been able to cope with the status quo, had the families supporting either of them wished there to be a compromise. Both factions knew that if their champions descendants did not continue to reign, their families would lose prestige.
Al-Ma'mun, whose mother was Persian, received major support from Iran, and as governor, the military center of Khurasan. Playing himself as a champion of Persian liberties, the Iranian plateau united behind him. His faithful general, Tahir bin Husain (d. 822) led his armies into Iraq.
Al-Amin appealed to his mother, Zubaida, to arbitrate the succession and champion his cause as Aisha had done two centuries before. Zubaida refused to do so, and al-Amin retired in despair to Baghdad. In 813, Tahir took Baghdad, and al-Amin was beheaded.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Bernard Lewis, Race and Color in Islam (1979)
| Preceded by: Harun al-Rashid |
Caliph 809–813 |
Succeeded by: al-Ma'mun |
