PersonAD 809

Harun al-Rashid

Fifth Abbasid caliph (786–809), under whom Baghdad reached its height; he often appears in the Thousand and One Nights

The fifth Abbasid caliph, he left government to viziers of the Barmakid family and presided over the dynasty’s golden age. He raided Byzantium repeatedly and extracted tribute, and is said to have exchanged embassies with Charlemagne. He opened a palace library and patronised learning, and appears often in the Thousand and One Nights as the caliph who roams Baghdad by night. After his death his two sons fought a civil war.

Show on the map

Where they went

Open the full map

OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap contributors

2 related events

1
AD 762Founding of Baghdadrelated figure
The Abbasid caliph al-Mansur founded a new capital, Baghdad, with circular walls on the Tigris. It became the centre of east–west trade and of Islamic culture.
2
AD 830The House of Wisdom and the Translation Movementrelated figure
In Abbasid Baghdad a great movement translated Greek, Persian and Indian learning into Arabic, and scholars such as al-Khwarizmi made major advances in mathematics and astronomy.

People who appear alongside

al-MansurAD 714 – AD 775
Second Abbasid caliph (754–775), who founded the new capital of Baghdad on the Tigris in 762 and consolidated the dynasty
al-MamunAD 786 – AD 833
Seventh Abbasid caliph (813–833), son of Harun al-Rashid, who expanded the House of Wisdom in Baghdad and sponsored the translation of Greek learning
al-KhwarizmiAD 780 – AD 850
Mathematician and astronomer of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad; the word “algebra” comes from the title of his book, and “algorithm” from his name

Themes this person appears in

The Rise of the Islamic WorldAD 570 – 1055
From the revelation to Muhammad to the Seljuk entry into Baghdad — 450 years in which a new faith from Arabia built a civilisation stretching from Iberia to Central Asia and reached as far as Silla by sea