Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi (Arabic: إبراهيم بن المهدي) (779–839) was an Abbasid prince, singer, composer and poet. He was the son of the third Abbasid caliph Al-Mahdi.[1] He was not a full brother of Al-Mahdi's sons Al-Hadi and Harun al-Rashid, since his mother was not Al-Khayzuran but rather an Afro Iranian princess named Shikla or Shakla. Historian Ibn Khallikan reported that Ibrahim was consequently "of dark complexion."[2]
Ibrahim was proclaimed caliph on 20 July 817 by the people of Baghdad, who gave him the regnal name of al-Mubarak (Arabic: المبارك) and declared his reigning nephew Al-Ma'mun deposed. Ibrahim received the allegiance of the Hashemites.[3] He had to resign in 819, and spent the rest of his life as a poet and a musician. He is remembered as "one of the most gifted musicians of his day, with a phenomenal vocal range."[1]