Ma’mun, Abu’l-‘Abbas ‘Abd Allah al-
Ma’mun, Abu’l-‘Abbas ‘Abd Allah al- (Abu’l-‘Abbas ‘Abd Allah al-Ma’mun) ('Abdallah al-Mamun) (Abu Jafar al-Mamun ibn Harun) (September 14, 786 - August 9, 833). ‘Abbasid caliph (r. 813-833). He restored the unity of the empire and, in 827, proclaimed Mu‘tazilism as the official doctrine. One of the logical consequences of this step was imposing the doctrine that the Qur’an was created. This measure inaugurated a period of “trial” (in Arabic, mihna) which was to last officially during the caliphates of his successors al-Mu‘tasim bi-Allah and al-Wathiq bi-‘llah. Al-Ma’mun’s measure was revoked by the Caliph al-Mutawakkil. This doctrine was strongly opposed by many, the most prominent among them being Ahmad ibn Hanbal, whom the caliph had flogged. Al-Ma’mun excelled in Hanafi jurisprudence and was distinguished by his love of knowledge. He encouraged the translation into Arabic of Greek and Syriac works on philosophy, astronomy, mathematics and medicine.
Al-Mamun was the son of Harun al-Rashid and a Persian slave girl, Marajil. Born about 786, he was slightly older than his half brother Amin, son of the Arab Zubayda, but Amin was first heir to the caliphate and al-Mamun second.
In 802, Harun al-Rashid father of al-Mamun and Amin ordered that Amin would succeed him and that al-Mamun would serve as governor of Khurasan (with Fadl ibn-Sahl as vizier) and as caliph after the death of Amin. Al-Mamun was reportedly the older of the two brothers, but his mother was a Persian woman while Amin's mother was a member of the reigning 'Abbasid family. After al-Rashid's death in 809, the relationship between the two brothers deteriorated. In response to al-Mamun's moves toward independence, Amin declared his own son Musa to be his heir. This violation of al-Rashid's testament led to a civil war in which al-Mamun's newly recruited Khurasani troops, led by Tahir bin Husain, defeated Amin's armies and laid siege to Baghdad. In 811, Amin was beheaded and al-Mamun was recognized as caliph throughout the empire.
Al-Mamun became caliph but continued to reside in the East despite disturbances in Iraq, Syria, and Egypt. In the struggle of rival interest groups, al-Mamun, hoping for wider support, in 817 designated as his successor Ali ar-Rida, head of the descendants of Ali, Muhammad's cousin. This step provoked a revolt in Baghdad, and Ibrahim, al-Mamun's uncle, was proclaimed caliph. Al-Mamun moved slowly back toward Iraq, entered Baghdad without difficulty, and ended the revolt (819). Ali ar-Rida had meanwhile died at Meshed.
(Al-Mamun, in an attempt to win over the Shi'a Muslims to his camp, named the eighth Imam, Ali ar-Rida, his successor, if he should oulive al-Mamun. Most Shi'ites realized, however, that ar-Rida was too old to survive al-Mamun and saw al-Mamun's gesture as empty. Indeed, ar-Rida died in 818. The incident served to further alienate the Shi'ites from the 'Abbasids, who had already been promised and denied the Caliphate by al-'Abbas.)
A significant development during al-Mamun's reign was the rise of a semi-independent hereditary dynasty under the caliph. A Persian general called Tahir played a large part in al-Mamun's success against his brother. After some time in the West, he was, in 821, made governor of Khurasan, where there was serious trouble. Tahir gave signs of aiming at independence, and, when he died in 822, al-Mamun, who could not risk losing the province, appointed Tahir's son Talha to the governorship. One of Talha's brothers succeeded in 828. On the model of the Tahirid, independent dynasties, nominally appointed by and subordinate to the caliph, became a feature of the Islamic world, until the caliphs had no real power left.
(Al-Mamun had been named governor of Khurasan by Harun, and after his ascension to power, the caliph named Tahir as governor for his military services in order to assure his loyalty. It was a move that al-Mamun soon regretted, as Tahir and his family became entrenched in Persian politics and became increasingly powerful in the state, contrary to al-Mamun's desire to centralize and strengthen Caliphal power. The rising power of the Tahirid dynasty became a threat as al-Mamun's own policies alienated them and his other opponents.)
For most of the rest of his reign, there were disorders to be suppressed in various parts of the empire. Despite this fact, however, trade flourished, and the 'Abbasids were at the zenith of their prosperity. By 830, al-Mamun felt capable of mounting annual expeditions against the Byzantines. It was on one of these that he died in August 9, 833 at Tarsus. He was succeeded by his half-brother, al-Mu'tasim.
(At-Tabari recounts how al-Mamun was sitting on the river bank telling those with him hw splendid the water was. He asked what would go best with this water and was told a specific kind of fresh date. Noticing supplies arriving, he asked someone check whether such dates were included. As they were, he invited those with him to enjoy the water with these dates. All who did this fell ill. Others recovered. Al-Mamun died. As he was dying, he spoke, expressing his belief in the unity of God and his reliance on God's mercy. He encouraged his successor to continue his policies and not burden the people with more than they could bear.)
Al-Mamun became an enthusiast for Greek thought and is credited with the founding of the House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikma), an institute for translating foreign, especially Greek, books into Arabic. Translations had been made of Sanskrit and Persian works in the time of his great-grandfather and of Greek books of that of his father. Many Greek books were already extant in Iraq in Syriac translations, and most of the first translations into Arabic were made by Christians from these Syriac versions. The earliest interest of the Arabs was in astronomy (with astrology) or medicine, but Greek philosophy also attracted attention.
The interest in Greek philosophy is linked with the rise of the theological school of the Mutazilites. Nineteenth century European scholars admired their apparent rationalism and liberal views, such as a belief in freedom of the will. It is now realized that, despite their interest in Greek ideas, they remained close to their Islamic basics. Several leading Mutazilites were prominent at al-Mamun's court, notably Thumama and Ahmad ibn-Abi Duad. Al-Mamun was probably attracted not only by the philosophical but also by the political aspect of their thought, for they were attempting to reconcile contemporary tensions. The stimulation of interest in Greek works influence the whole subsequent course of Islamic thought.
In accordance with Mutazilite teaching, al-Mamun established toward the end of his reign (perhaps in 827) the inquisition, or mihna. All higher officials had publicly to profess that they believed the Qur'an to be the created not the uncreated, word of God. This was not mere theological hairsplitting but the basis of a hoped for compromise between opposing forces. Most officials made the required declaration, but a leading jurist, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, refused and was prevented from lecturing. The inquisition lasted until about 850.
The mihna is comparable to Medieval European inquisitions only in the sense that it involved imprisonment, a religious text, and a loyalty oath. The casualties of 'Abbasid inquisition would not approach a fraction of those executed in Europe under similar circumstances. In the effort to centralize power and test the loyalty of his subjects, al-Mamun required elites, scholars, judges and other government officials to undergo the test, which was a series of questions relating to theology and faith. The penalty for failing the mihna could include death.
The controversy over the mihna was exacerbated by al-Mamun's sympathy for Mu'tazili theology. Mu'tazili theology was deeply influenced by Aristotelian thought and Greek rationalism, and stated that matters of belief and practice should be decided by reasoning on the basis of the Qur'an. This defied the literalist position, according to which everything a believer needed to know about faith and practice was spelled out literally in the Qur'an and the hadith. Moreover, the Mu'tazilis stated that the Qur'an was created rather than eternal, in opposition to general Muslim opinion that the Qur'an and the Divine were co-eternal. The fact that the Mu'tazili school had its foundations in teh paganism of Greece further disenchanted a majority of Islamic clerics.
Although al-Mahdi had proclaimed that the caliph was the protector of Islam against heresy, and had claimed the ability to declare orthodoxy, religious schlars in the Islamic world believed that al-Ma'mun was overstepping his bounds in the mihna. The penalties of the mihna became increasingly difficult to enforce as the ulama became firmer and more united in their opposition. Although the mihna persisted through the reigns of two more caliphs, al-Mutawakkil abandoned it in 848. The failure of the mihna seriously damaged caliphal authority and ruined the reputation of the office for succeeding caliphs. The caliph would lose much of his religious authority to the opinion of the ulama as a result of the mihna.
The ulama and the major Islamic law schools became truly defined in the period of al-Ma'mun and Sunnism, as a religion of legalism, became defined in parallel. Doctrinal differences between Sunni and Shi'a began to become more pronounced. Ibn Hanbal, the founder of the Hanbali legal school, became famous for his opposition to the mihna. Al-Mamun's simultaneous opposition and patronage of intellectuals led to the emergence of important dialogues on both secular and religious affairs, and the Bayt al-Hikma (House of Wisdom) became an important center of translation for Greek and other ancient texts into Arabic. This Islamic renaissance spurred the rediscovery of Hellenism and ensured the survival of these texts into the European renaissance.
Al-Mamun's reign is marked by his efforts to the translation of Greek philosophy and science. Al-Mamun gathered scholars of many religions at Baghdad, whom he treated magnificently and with tolerance. He sent an emissary to the Byzantine Empire to collect the most famous manuscripts there, and had them translated into Arabic. It is said that, victorious over the Byzantine Emperor, Al-Mamun made a condition of peace be that the emperor hand over a copy of the Almagest. Al-Mamun also conducted, in the plains of Mesopotamia, two astronomical operations intended to determine the value of a terrestrial degree, Almanon crater, on the Moon, was named in recognition of al-Mamun's contributions to astronomy.
There were a number of other key developments in the reign of al-Mamun. The shakiriya, which were to trigger the movement of the capital from Baghdad to Samarra during al-Mu'tasim's reign, were raised in al-Mamun's time. The shakiriya were military units from Central Asia and North Africa, hired, complete with their commanders, to serve under the Caliph.
Al-Mamun also attempted to divorce his wife during his reign because she had failed to bear him any children. His wife hired a Syrian judge of her own before al-Mamun was able to select one himself. The judge, who sympathized with the caliph's wife, refused the divorce. Following al-Mamun's experience, no further 'Abbasid caliphs were to marry, preferring to find their heirs in the harem.
Shortly before his death, during a visit to Egypt in 832, al-Mamun ordered the breaching of the Great Pyramid of Giza. He apparently entered the pyramid by unblocking a tunnel made by grave robbers in ancient times. Because the pyramid had already been robbed, his expedition found only the empty granite sarcophagus.
The 'Abbasid empire grew during the reign of al-Mamun. Hindu rebellions in Sindh were put down, and most of Afghanistan was absorbed with the surrender of the leader of Kabul. Mountainous regions of Iran were brought under a tighter grip of the central 'Abbasid government, as were areas of Turkestan. However, battles against the Byzantine Empire continued in Asia Minor, and al-Mamun would die while leading an expedition in Sardis.
Abu'l-'Abbas 'Abd Allah al-Ma'mun see Ma’mun, Abu’l-‘Abbas ‘Abd Allah al-
'Abdallah al-Mamun see Ma’mun, Abu’l-‘Abbas ‘Abd Allah al-
Abu Jafar al-Mamun ibn Harun see Ma’mun, Abu’l-‘Abbas ‘Abd Allah al-
Al-Mamun was the son of Harun al-Rashid and a Persian slave girl, Marajil. Born about 786, he was slightly older than his half brother Amin, son of the Arab Zubayda, but Amin was first heir to the caliphate and al-Mamun second.
In 802, Harun al-Rashid father of al-Mamun and Amin ordered that Amin would succeed him and that al-Mamun would serve as governor of Khurasan (with Fadl ibn-Sahl as vizier) and as caliph after the death of Amin. Al-Mamun was reportedly the older of the two brothers, but his mother was a Persian woman while Amin's mother was a member of the reigning 'Abbasid family. After al-Rashid's death in 809, the relationship between the two brothers deteriorated. In response to al-Mamun's moves toward independence, Amin declared his own son Musa to be his heir. This violation of al-Rashid's testament led to a civil war in which al-Mamun's newly recruited Khurasani troops, led by Tahir bin Husain, defeated Amin's armies and laid siege to Baghdad. In 811, Amin was beheaded and al-Mamun was recognized as caliph throughout the empire.
Al-Mamun became caliph but continued to reside in the East despite disturbances in Iraq, Syria, and Egypt. In the struggle of rival interest groups, al-Mamun, hoping for wider support, in 817 designated as his successor Ali ar-Rida, head of the descendants of Ali, Muhammad's cousin. This step provoked a revolt in Baghdad, and Ibrahim, al-Mamun's uncle, was proclaimed caliph. Al-Mamun moved slowly back toward Iraq, entered Baghdad without difficulty, and ended the revolt (819). Ali ar-Rida had meanwhile died at Meshed.
(Al-Mamun, in an attempt to win over the Shi'a Muslims to his camp, named the eighth Imam, Ali ar-Rida, his successor, if he should oulive al-Mamun. Most Shi'ites realized, however, that ar-Rida was too old to survive al-Mamun and saw al-Mamun's gesture as empty. Indeed, ar-Rida died in 818. The incident served to further alienate the Shi'ites from the 'Abbasids, who had already been promised and denied the Caliphate by al-'Abbas.)
A significant development during al-Mamun's reign was the rise of a semi-independent hereditary dynasty under the caliph. A Persian general called Tahir played a large part in al-Mamun's success against his brother. After some time in the West, he was, in 821, made governor of Khurasan, where there was serious trouble. Tahir gave signs of aiming at independence, and, when he died in 822, al-Mamun, who could not risk losing the province, appointed Tahir's son Talha to the governorship. One of Talha's brothers succeeded in 828. On the model of the Tahirid, independent dynasties, nominally appointed by and subordinate to the caliph, became a feature of the Islamic world, until the caliphs had no real power left.
(Al-Mamun had been named governor of Khurasan by Harun, and after his ascension to power, the caliph named Tahir as governor for his military services in order to assure his loyalty. It was a move that al-Mamun soon regretted, as Tahir and his family became entrenched in Persian politics and became increasingly powerful in the state, contrary to al-Mamun's desire to centralize and strengthen Caliphal power. The rising power of the Tahirid dynasty became a threat as al-Mamun's own policies alienated them and his other opponents.)
For most of the rest of his reign, there were disorders to be suppressed in various parts of the empire. Despite this fact, however, trade flourished, and the 'Abbasids were at the zenith of their prosperity. By 830, al-Mamun felt capable of mounting annual expeditions against the Byzantines. It was on one of these that he died in August 9, 833 at Tarsus. He was succeeded by his half-brother, al-Mu'tasim.
(At-Tabari recounts how al-Mamun was sitting on the river bank telling those with him hw splendid the water was. He asked what would go best with this water and was told a specific kind of fresh date. Noticing supplies arriving, he asked someone check whether such dates were included. As they were, he invited those with him to enjoy the water with these dates. All who did this fell ill. Others recovered. Al-Mamun died. As he was dying, he spoke, expressing his belief in the unity of God and his reliance on God's mercy. He encouraged his successor to continue his policies and not burden the people with more than they could bear.)
Al-Mamun became an enthusiast for Greek thought and is credited with the founding of the House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikma), an institute for translating foreign, especially Greek, books into Arabic. Translations had been made of Sanskrit and Persian works in the time of his great-grandfather and of Greek books of that of his father. Many Greek books were already extant in Iraq in Syriac translations, and most of the first translations into Arabic were made by Christians from these Syriac versions. The earliest interest of the Arabs was in astronomy (with astrology) or medicine, but Greek philosophy also attracted attention.
The interest in Greek philosophy is linked with the rise of the theological school of the Mutazilites. Nineteenth century European scholars admired their apparent rationalism and liberal views, such as a belief in freedom of the will. It is now realized that, despite their interest in Greek ideas, they remained close to their Islamic basics. Several leading Mutazilites were prominent at al-Mamun's court, notably Thumama and Ahmad ibn-Abi Duad. Al-Mamun was probably attracted not only by the philosophical but also by the political aspect of their thought, for they were attempting to reconcile contemporary tensions. The stimulation of interest in Greek works influence the whole subsequent course of Islamic thought.
In accordance with Mutazilite teaching, al-Mamun established toward the end of his reign (perhaps in 827) the inquisition, or mihna. All higher officials had publicly to profess that they believed the Qur'an to be the created not the uncreated, word of God. This was not mere theological hairsplitting but the basis of a hoped for compromise between opposing forces. Most officials made the required declaration, but a leading jurist, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, refused and was prevented from lecturing. The inquisition lasted until about 850.
The mihna is comparable to Medieval European inquisitions only in the sense that it involved imprisonment, a religious text, and a loyalty oath. The casualties of 'Abbasid inquisition would not approach a fraction of those executed in Europe under similar circumstances. In the effort to centralize power and test the loyalty of his subjects, al-Mamun required elites, scholars, judges and other government officials to undergo the test, which was a series of questions relating to theology and faith. The penalty for failing the mihna could include death.
The controversy over the mihna was exacerbated by al-Mamun's sympathy for Mu'tazili theology. Mu'tazili theology was deeply influenced by Aristotelian thought and Greek rationalism, and stated that matters of belief and practice should be decided by reasoning on the basis of the Qur'an. This defied the literalist position, according to which everything a believer needed to know about faith and practice was spelled out literally in the Qur'an and the hadith. Moreover, the Mu'tazilis stated that the Qur'an was created rather than eternal, in opposition to general Muslim opinion that the Qur'an and the Divine were co-eternal. The fact that the Mu'tazili school had its foundations in teh paganism of Greece further disenchanted a majority of Islamic clerics.
Although al-Mahdi had proclaimed that the caliph was the protector of Islam against heresy, and had claimed the ability to declare orthodoxy, religious schlars in the Islamic world believed that al-Ma'mun was overstepping his bounds in the mihna. The penalties of the mihna became increasingly difficult to enforce as the ulama became firmer and more united in their opposition. Although the mihna persisted through the reigns of two more caliphs, al-Mutawakkil abandoned it in 848. The failure of the mihna seriously damaged caliphal authority and ruined the reputation of the office for succeeding caliphs. The caliph would lose much of his religious authority to the opinion of the ulama as a result of the mihna.
The ulama and the major Islamic law schools became truly defined in the period of al-Ma'mun and Sunnism, as a religion of legalism, became defined in parallel. Doctrinal differences between Sunni and Shi'a began to become more pronounced. Ibn Hanbal, the founder of the Hanbali legal school, became famous for his opposition to the mihna. Al-Mamun's simultaneous opposition and patronage of intellectuals led to the emergence of important dialogues on both secular and religious affairs, and the Bayt al-Hikma (House of Wisdom) became an important center of translation for Greek and other ancient texts into Arabic. This Islamic renaissance spurred the rediscovery of Hellenism and ensured the survival of these texts into the European renaissance.
Al-Mamun's reign is marked by his efforts to the translation of Greek philosophy and science. Al-Mamun gathered scholars of many religions at Baghdad, whom he treated magnificently and with tolerance. He sent an emissary to the Byzantine Empire to collect the most famous manuscripts there, and had them translated into Arabic. It is said that, victorious over the Byzantine Emperor, Al-Mamun made a condition of peace be that the emperor hand over a copy of the Almagest. Al-Mamun also conducted, in the plains of Mesopotamia, two astronomical operations intended to determine the value of a terrestrial degree, Almanon crater, on the Moon, was named in recognition of al-Mamun's contributions to astronomy.
There were a number of other key developments in the reign of al-Mamun. The shakiriya, which were to trigger the movement of the capital from Baghdad to Samarra during al-Mu'tasim's reign, were raised in al-Mamun's time. The shakiriya were military units from Central Asia and North Africa, hired, complete with their commanders, to serve under the Caliph.
Al-Mamun also attempted to divorce his wife during his reign because she had failed to bear him any children. His wife hired a Syrian judge of her own before al-Mamun was able to select one himself. The judge, who sympathized with the caliph's wife, refused the divorce. Following al-Mamun's experience, no further 'Abbasid caliphs were to marry, preferring to find their heirs in the harem.
Shortly before his death, during a visit to Egypt in 832, al-Mamun ordered the breaching of the Great Pyramid of Giza. He apparently entered the pyramid by unblocking a tunnel made by grave robbers in ancient times. Because the pyramid had already been robbed, his expedition found only the empty granite sarcophagus.
The 'Abbasid empire grew during the reign of al-Mamun. Hindu rebellions in Sindh were put down, and most of Afghanistan was absorbed with the surrender of the leader of Kabul. Mountainous regions of Iran were brought under a tighter grip of the central 'Abbasid government, as were areas of Turkestan. However, battles against the Byzantine Empire continued in Asia Minor, and al-Mamun would die while leading an expedition in Sardis.
Abu'l-'Abbas 'Abd Allah al-Ma'mun see Ma’mun, Abu’l-‘Abbas ‘Abd Allah al-
'Abdallah al-Mamun see Ma’mun, Abu’l-‘Abbas ‘Abd Allah al-
Abu Jafar al-Mamun ibn Harun see Ma’mun, Abu’l-‘Abbas ‘Abd Allah al-
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