{"product_id":"the-history-of-altabari-vol-31-the-war-between-brothers-the-caliphate-of-muhammad-alamin-ad-809813ah-193198-031-suny-series-in-near-eastern-studies-9780791410868","title":"The History of alTabari Vol 31 The War between","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis section of the History of al-?abari covers the caliphate of Mu?ammad al-Amin, who succeeded his father, Harun al-Rashid on March 24, 809, and was killed on September 25, 813.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe focus of this section is a single event, the civil war between al-Amin and his half-brother al-Ma?mun. Before his death, al-Rashid had arranged for the succession in a series of documents signed at Mecca and deposited for safekeeping in the Ka''bah. Al-Amin was to become caliph; al-Ma?mun was to govern Khurasan with virtual autonomy from Baghdad. Al-Amin could neither remove his brother from office nor interfere with his revenues or military support. Furthermore, al-Ma?mun was named as al-Amin''s successor, and al-Amin was forbidden to alter the succession. If either brother violated these conditions, he was to forfeit his rights.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt soon became apparent that the good will to carry out these arrangements did not exist. Disagreement broke out when al-Amin insisted that many of the forces that had accompanied al-Rashid and al-Ma?mun to Khurasan return to Baghdad. When the majority of army commanders obeyed the new caliph''s orders, al-Ma?mun was enraged and countered with measures to secure his position. Angry letters were exchanged, with al-Amin pressing his brother to make concessions that al-Ma?mun regarded as contrary to the succession agreement. By March 811, military conflict was imminent. Al-Amin demanded that certain border districts be returned to the control of Baghdad. When al-Ma?mun refused, al-Amin despatched an expedition to seize the districts.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAl-Amin''s resort to force ended in disaster. Al-Ma?mun''s forces, led by ?ahir ibn al-?usayn and Harthamah ibn A''yan, quickly closed in on Baghdad. In a siege lasting over a year, Baghdad suffered extensive damage from the fighting and from bombardment by siege engines. Gangs of vagrants and paupers, organized by al-Amin into irregular units, fought a kind of urban guerrilla war. But, with Tahir and Harthamah enforcing the siege and with most of al-Amin''s associates having switched their loyalties to the winning side, the caliph was forced to sue for terms. These were worked out among representatives of al-Amin, Tahir, and Harthamah. However, when the caliph boarded the boat that was to take him into Harthamah''s custody, troops loyal to Tahir assaulted and capsized the boat. Al-Amin fell into the Tigris, was apprehended, and was executed that night on orders from Tahir. Thus ended this phase of the civil war. Al-Ma?mun was now caliph.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAl-?abari i''s history of these years includes accounts by participants in the event, diplomatic letters betweenal-Amin and al-Ma?mun, Tahir''s long letter toal-Ma?mun on the circumstances of al-Amin''s death, and a dramatic eyewitness account of al-Amin''s last hours. Also noteworthy is a 135-verse poem describing the devastation of Baghdad. The section ends with a series of literary anecdotes on the character of al-Amin.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"State University of New York Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51038136893783,"sku":"9780791410868","price":22.96,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-history-of-altabari-vol-31-the-war-between-brothers-the-caliphate-of-muhammad-alamin-ad-809813ah-193198-031-suny-series-in-near-eastern-studies-9780791410868","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}