Harun al-Rashid

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Harun al-Rashid هَارُون ٱلرَّشِيد
Caliph Commander of the Faithful
Gold dinar of Harun al-Rashid, minted in Baghdad, 184 AH (800–801 CE)
5th Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate
Reign	14 September 786 – 24 March 809
Predecessor	Al-Hadi
Successor	Al-Amin
Born	17 March 763 or February 766 Ray, Jibal, Abbasid Caliphate (present-day Tehran Province, Iran)
Died	24 March 809(809-03-24) (aged 43) Tus, Khorasan, Abbasid Caliphate (present-day Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran)
Burial	Tomb of Harun al-Rashid in Imam Reza Mosque, Mashhad, Iran
Spouse	Zubaidah bint Ja'far Azizah bint al-Ghitrif Amat al-Aziz Ghadir Umm Muhammad bint Salih Abbasa bint Sulayman Jurashiyyah bint Abdallah Umm Abdallah Marajil (concubine) Maridah bint Shabib (concubine) Qasif (concubine) see more[a]
Issue	Al-Amin[b] Al-Ma'mun[c] Al-Qasim[d] Al-Mu'tasim[e] Abdan ibn Harun al-Rashid Sukaynah bint Harun al-Rashid See more below
Names Harun al-Rashid ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi
Dynasty	Abbasid
Father	Al-Mahdi
Mother	Al-Khayzuran
Religion	Sunni Islam

Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi (Arabic: أَبُو جَعْفَر هَارُون ٱبْنِ مُحَمَّد ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, romanized: Abū Ja'far Hārūn ibn Muḥammad al-Mahdī) or simply Harun ibn al-Mahdi (Arabic: هَارُون ٱبْنِ ٱلْمَهْدِيّ; c. 763 or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid (Arabic: هَارُون ٱلرَّشِيد, romanized: Hārūn ar-Rashīd), was the fifth Abbasid caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, reigning from September 786 until his death in March 809. His reign is traditionally regarded to be the beginning of the Islamic Golden Age. His epithet al-Rashid translates to "the Orthodox", "the Just", "the Upright", or "the Rightly-Guided".

Harun established the legendary library Bayt al-Hikma ("House of Wisdom") in Baghdad in present-day Iraq, and during his rule Baghdad began to flourish as a world center of knowledge, culture and trade.^[1] During his rule, the family of Barmakids, which played a deciding role in establishing the Abbasid Caliphate, declined gradually. In 796, he moved his court and government to Raqqa in present-day Syria. Domestically, Harun pursued policies similar to those of his father Al-Mahdi. He released many of the Umayyads and 'Alids his brother Al-Hadi had imprisoned and declared amnesty for all political groups of the Quraysh.^[2] Large scale hostilities broke out with Byzantium, and under his rule, the Abbasid Empire reached its peak.^[3]

A Frankish mission came to offer Harun friendship in 799. Harun sent various presents with the emissaries on their return to Charlemagne's court, including a clock that Charlemagne and his retinue deemed to be a conjuration because of the sounds it emanated and the tricks it displayed every time an hour ticked.^[4][5][6] Portions of the fictional One Thousand and One Nights are set in Harun's court and some of its stories involve Harun himself.^[7] Harun's life and court have been the subject of many other tales, both factual and fictitious.

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