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Abu Musa Muhammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, better known by his laqab of al-Amin, was the sixth Arab Abbasid caliph from 809 to 813.
Abu al-Abbas Abdallah ibn Harun al-Rashid, better known by his regnal name al-Ma'mun, was the seventh Abbasid caliph, who reigned from 813 until his death in 833. He succeeded his half-brother al-Amin after a civil war, during which the cohesion of the Abbasid Caliphate was weakened by rebellions and the rise of local strongmen; much of his domestic reign was consumed in pacification campaigns. Well educated and with a considerable interest in scholarship, al-Ma'mun promoted the Translation Movement, the flowering of learning and the sciences in Baghdad, and the publishing of al-Khwarizmi's book now known as "Algebra". He is also known for supporting the doctrine of Mu'tazilism and for imprisoning Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the rise of religious persecution (mihna), and for the resumption of large-scale warfare with the Byzantine Empire.
Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd, better known by his regnal name al-Muʿtaṣim biʾllāh, was the eighth Abbasid caliph, ruling from 833 until his death in 842. A younger son of Caliph Harun al-Rashid, he rose to prominence through his formation of a private army composed predominantly of Turkic slave-soldiers. 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. When al-Ma'mun died unexpectedly on campaign in August 833, al-Mu'tasim was thus well placed to succeed him, overriding the claims of al-Ma'mun's son al-Abbas.
The Tahirid dynasty was a culturally Arabized Sunni Muslim dynasty of Persian dehqan origin, that ruled as governors of Khorasan from 821 to 873 as well as serving as military and security commanders in Abbasid Baghdad until 891. The dynasty was founded by Tahir ibn Husayn, a leading general in the service of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun. For his support of al-Ma'mun in the Fourth Fitna, he was granted the governance of Khorasan. The Tahirids initially made their capital in Merv but later moved to Nishapur. The Tahirids, however, were not an independent dynasty—according to Hugh Kennedy: "The Tahirids are sometimes considered as the first independent Iranian dynasty, but such a view is misleading. The arrangement was effectively a partnership between the Abbasids and the Tahirids." Indeed, the Tahirids were loyal to the Abbasid caliphs and in return enjoyed considerable autonomy; they were in effect viceroys representing Abbasid rule in Persia. The tax revenue from Khorasan sent to the caliphal treasury in Baghdad was perhaps larger than those collected previously.
Abū al-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad al-Muʿtaṣim bi-ʾllāh, better known by his regnal name al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh was the tenth Abbasid caliph. He succeeded his brother, al-Wathiq, and is known for expanding the empire to its maximum extent. He was deeply religious, and is remembered for discarding the Muʿtazila, ending the Mihna, and releasing Ahmad ibn Hanbal. He is also known for his tough rule, especially with respect to non-Muslim subjects.
Osrušana or Ustrushana was a former Iranian region in Transoxiana, home to the Principality of Ushrusana, an important pre-Islamic polity of Central Asia. Oshrusana lay to the south of the great, southernmost bend of the Syr Darya and extended roughly from Samarkand to Khujand. The capital city of Oshrusana was Bunjikat. The exact form of the Iranian name Osrušana is not clear from the sources, but the forms given in Hudud al-'alam, indicate an original *Sorušna.
Ḥaydar ibn Kāwūs, better known by his hereditary title of al-Afshīn, was a senior general of Sogdian Iranian descent at the court of the Abbasid caliphs and a vassal prince of Oshrusana. He played a leading role in the campaigns of Caliph al-Mu'tasim, and was responsible for the suppression of the rebellion of Babak Khorramdin and for his battlefield victory over the Byzantine emperor Theophilos during the Amorium campaign. Eventually he was suspected of disloyalty and was arrested, tried and then executed in June 841.
Abu Ja'far Ashinas was a general of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mu'tasim. One of the earliest and most prominent members of al-Mu'tasim's Turkic guard, he rose to become one of the leading figures of the empire under al-Mu'tasim, serving as a commander in the Amorium campaign, and playing a leading role in the purge of the old Abbasid elites that followed. He was also governor of Egypt from 834, as well as of the Levant and Upper Mesopotamia from 838 on, although in practice he appointed deputies to govern in his stead. Under al-Mu'tasim's successor al-Wathiq, his powers were extended further into a virtual viceroyalty over all western provinces of the caliphate.
Abu Ahmad Talha ibn Ja'far, better known by his laqab as Al-Muwaffaq Billah, was an Abbasid prince and military leader, who acted as the de facto regent of the Abbasid Caliphate for most of the reign of his brother, Caliph al-Mu'tamid. His stabilization of the internal political scene after the decade-long "Anarchy at Samarra", his successful defence of Iraq against the Saffarids and the suppression of the Zanj Rebellion restored a measure of the Caliphate's former power and began a period of recovery, which culminated in the reign of al-Muwaffaq's own son, the Caliph al-Mu'tadid.
The Dulafid or Dolafid dynasty was an Arab dynasty that served as governors of Jibal for the Abbasid caliphs in the 9th century. During the weakening of the authority of the caliphs after 861, their rule in Jibal became increasingly independent of the central government in Samarra. In the last decade of the 9th century, however, they were defeated by the Abbasids who proceeded to reincorporate Jibal into their empire.
Zubaidah bint Ja`far ibn al-Mansur was the best known of the Abbasid princesses, and the wife and double cousin of Harun al-Rashid. She is particularly remembered for the series of wells, reservoirs and artificial pools that provided water for Muslim pilgrims along the route from Baghdad to Mecca and Medina, which was renamed the Darb Zubaidah in her honor. The exploits of her and her husband, Harun al-Rashid, form part of the basis for The Thousand and One Nights.
Bishr ibn Dawud al-Muhallabi was a governor of al-Sind for the Abbasid Caliphate, serving during the caliphate of al-Ma'mun.
The Faraghina were a regiment in the regular army of the Abbasid Caliphate which was active during the ninth century A.D. Consisting of troops who originated from the region of Farghana in Transoxiana, the Faraghina participated in several military campaigns and played a significant role in the politics of the central government, especially during the Anarchy at Samarra.
The Ushrusaniyya were a regiment in the regular army of the Abbasid Caliphate. Formed in the early ninth century A.D., the unit consisted of soldiers who were originally from the region of Ushrusana in Transoxiana. The Ushrusaniyya initially served under the prominent general al-Afshin, but they remained active after his downfall, and are frequently mentioned during the period known as the Anarchy at Samarra.
The Principality of Ushrusana was a local dynasty ruling the Ushrusana region, in the northern area of modern Tajikistan, from an unknown date to 892 CE. Ushrusana, just like Ferghana, did not belong to Sogdia proper, but its inhabitants wrote in Sogdian, and may have spoken the Sogdian language as well. The rulers of the principality were known by their title of Afshin.
The Abbasid dynasty or Abbasids were an Arab dynasty that ruled the Abbasid Caliphate between 750 and 1258. They were from the Qurayshi Hashimid clan of Banu Abbas, descended from Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The Abbasid Caliphate is divided into three main periods: Early Abbasid era (750–861), Middle Abbasid era (861–936) and Later Abbasid era (936–1258). A cadet branch of the dynasty also ruled as ceremonial rulers for the Mamluk Sultanate as Caliph (1261–1517), until their conquest by the Ottoman Empire.
Abu al-Husayn Ishaq ibn Ibrahim was a ninth-century official in the service of the Abbasid Caliphate. A member of the Mus'abid family, he was related to the Tahirid governors of Khurasan, and was himself a prominent enforcer of caliphal policy during the reigns of al-Ma'mun, al-Mu'tasim, al-Wathiq, and al-Mutawakkil.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, better known as Ibn al-Zayyāt, was a wealthy merchant who became a court official and served as vizier of the Abbasid caliphs al-Mu'tasim, al-Wathiq, and al-Mutawakkil, from 836 until his downfall and death by torture in 847.
Muḥammad ibn al-Muʿtaṣim was an Abbasid prince, the son of Caliph al-Mu'tasim. He was a contemporary of the caliph al-Wathiq and al-Mutawakkil. His son Ahmad became the twelfth Abbasid caliph as al-Musta'in. Muhammad was the first prince in the Abbasid history whose son became a caliph, no other Abbasid prince before him had this prestige.
Umm ʿĪsā bint Mūsā al-Hādī was the Abbasid princess, daughter of caliph al-Hadi, niece of caliph Harun al-Rashid and principal wife of the seventh Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun.