Al-Mu'tasim
Also known as Abu Ishaq 'Abbas al-Mu'tasim ibn Harun al-Rashid
Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd (; October 796 – 5 January 842), better known by his regnal name al-Muʿtaṣim biʾllāh (, ), was the eighth Abbasid caliph, ruling from 833 until his death in 842. When al-Ma'mun died unexpectedly on campaign in August 833, al-Mu'tasim was thus well placed to succeed him, with the support of the powerful chief , Ahmad ibn Abi Duwad, he continued to implement the rationalist Islamic doctrine of Mu'tazilism and implementing policy.
Person · Open Library
- Works
- 1
Top works
- Khāṭirāt-i siyāsī-i Farrukh
via Open Library + Wikidata
Key facts
- Royalty.predecessor1
- al-Ma'mun
- Royalty.successor1
- al-Wathiq
- Royalty.spouse
- BadhalQaratisShujaQurut al-Ayn
- Royalty.spouse type
- Consorts
- Royalty.full name
- Abu Ishaq 'Muhammad ibn Harun al-Rashid al-Mu'tasim bi'llah
- Royalty.house
- Abbasid
- Royalty.house type
- Dynasty
- Royalty.father
- Harun al-Rashid
- Royalty.mother
- Marida bint Shabib
Article
19 sectionsContents
- Early life
- Career under al-Ma'mun
- Activity during the civil war
- Formation of the Turkish guard
- Service under al-Ma'mun
- Caliphate
- New elites and administration
- Rise of the Turks
- Foundation of Samarra
- Science and learning
- Mu'tazilism and the ''miḥna''
- Domestic campaigns
- Confrontation with Byzantium
- Death and legacy
- Family
- al-Mu'tasim in literature
- Notes
- References
- Bibliography
Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd (; October 796 – 5 January 842), better known by his regnal name al-Muʿtaṣim biʾllāh (, ), was the eighth Abbasid caliph, ruling from 833 until his death in 842. When al-Ma'mun died unexpectedly on campaign in August 833, al-Mu'tasim was thus well placed to succeed him, with the support of the powerful chief , Ahmad ibn Abi Duwad, he continued to implement the rationalist Islamic doctrine of Mu'tazilism and implementing policy.
A younger son of Caliph Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809), he rose to prominence through his formation of a private army composed predominantly of Turkic slave-soldiers (, sing. ). This proved useful to his half-brother, Caliph al-Ma'mun, who employed al-Mu'tasim and his Turkish guard to counterbalance other powerful interest groups in the state, as well as employing them in campaigns against rebels and the Byzantine Empire.