2020-03-17 Tue

Harun al-Rashid, the fifth Abbasid Caliph to rule the Abbasid Caliphate was born today on 17th March, 763. He ruled from 786 to 809, during the peak of the Islamic Golden Age.

Harun al-Rashid was the son of al-Mahdi, the third Abbasid caliph and al-Khayzuran, a former slave girl from Yemen and a woman of strong personality who greatly influenced affairs of state in the reigns of her husband and sons.

He established the legendary library Bayt al-Hikma (House of Wisdom) in Baghdad in present-day Iraq, and during his rule, Baghdad began to flourish as a center of knowledge, culture, and trade. During his rule, the family of Barmakids, which played a deciding role in establishing the Abbasid Caliphate, declined gradually. In 796, he moved his court and government to Raqqa in present-day Syria.,br>
A silver dirham minted in Madinat al-Salam (Bagdad) in 170 AH (786 CE). In the reverse, the inner marginal inscription says: "By order of the slave of God, Harun, Commander of the Faithful".

Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org