Preface
Abbreviations
Translator's Foreword
Genealogical Table of the `Abbasids
Genealogical Table of the Barmaki Family of Secretaries and Viziers
Maps
1. Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and the Eastern Provinces during the Reigns of al-Hadi and al-Rashid
2. The Arab-Byzantine Marches during This Period
The Caliphate of Musa al-Hadi
The Events of the Year 169 (cont'd) (785/786)
The Succession of Musa al-Hadi as Caliph on His Father al-Mahdi's Death and His New Administrative Appointments
Musa al-Hadi's Repression of the Dualist Infidels
The Remainder of the Events of This Year
The Revolt and Killing of al-Husayn b. `Ali
Idris b. `Abdallah b. Hasan's Escape to the Maghrib and His Foundation of the Idrisid Dynasty in Morocco
More Accounts of the Battle of Fakhkh and Its Aftermath
Various Items of Information
The Events of the Year 170 (786/787)
The Reason Why al-Khayzuran Had Ordered the Slave Girls to Kill al-Hadi
The Time of al-Hadi's Death, the Term of His Life, the Extent of His Rule and (the Names of) Those Who Led the Worship over Him
Mention of His Children
Some of the Historical Events Involving Him and Some Aspects of His Behavior
The Caliphate of Harun al-Rashid
The Events of the Year 170 (cont'd) (786/787)
Harun's Assumption of the Caliphate on Musa al-Hadi's Death
Harun's Official Appointments and Dismissals
The Events of the Year 171 (787/788)
The Events of the Year 172 (788/789)
The Events of the Year 173 (789/790)
The Death of Muhammad b. Sulayman and the Confiscation of His Fortune
The Time of al-Khayzuran's Death and Her Burial
The Events of the Year 174 (790/791)
The Events of the Year 175 (791/792)
The Reasons for al-Rashid's Exacting Allegiance to Muhammad al-Amin as Heir
The Events of the Year 176 (792/793)
Yahya b. `Abdallah b. Hasan's Uprising and His Role in These Events
Yahya b. `Abdallah al-`Alawi's Altercation with Bakkar b. `Abdallah al-Zubayri
Al-Rashid's Repudiation of Yahya b. `Abdallah's Guarantee of Safe- Conduct
More Accusations from the Zubayri Family against Yahya b. `Abdallah al-`Alawi
The Internecine Strife (fitnah) among the North and South Arabs in Syria
The Reason behind al-Rashid's Appointment of Ja`far al-Barmaki over Egypt and the Latter's Appointment of 'Umar b. Mihran (as His Deputy) over It
The Events of the Year 577 (793/794)
The Events of the Year 178 (794/795)
Harthamah b. A`yan Restores Order in Ifriqiyah
Al-Fadl b. Yahya's Governorship in Khurasan and the Poetic Eulogies of Him
The Events of the Year 179 (795/796)
The Events of the Year 180 (796/797)
The Outcome of the Factional Strife in Syria and the Poetic Eulogies of Ja`far b. Yahya, Restorer of Order There
Ja`far b. Yahya's Return from Syria and His Address of Thanks to the Caliph
Various Items of Information
The Events of the Year 181 (797/798)
The Events of the Year 182 (798/799)
The Events of the Year 183 (799/800)
The Khazar Invasion of Armenia
Various Items of Information
The Events of the Year 182 (800/801)
The Events of the Year 185 (805/802)
The Events of the Year 186 (802)
Al-Rashid's Succession Arrangements for His Three Sons
The Taking of the Solemn Oaths in the Ka`bah by the Two Princes
Text of the Document Laying Down Conditions Which `Abdallah Son of the Commander of the Faithful Wrote Out in His Own Hand in the Ka`bah
The Text of the Letter of Harun b. Muhammad, al-Rashid, to the Provincial Governors
Al-Rashid's Subsequent Renewal of the Succession Pledges to alMa'mun and al-Qasim at Qarmasin
The Events of the Year 187 (802/803)
The Reason for al-Rashid's Killing of Ja`far al-Barmaki, the Manner of His Killing, and What al-Rashid Did to Him and the Members of His Family
Ja`far's Alleged Connivance with the Release of the `Alid Yahya b. `Abdallah b. Hasan
The Barmakis' Wealth and Ostentation as a Reason for Their Fall
The Barmakis' Growing Fears of the Caliph's Threatening Intentions
The Alleged Misconduct between Ja`far and the Caliph's Sister `Abbasah
The Killing of Ja`far
Poetry Written on the Fall of the Barmakis
Al-Rashid's Anger against `Abd al-Malik b. Salih and His Consequent Imprisonment
Al-Qasim's Raid into the Byzantine Lands
The Correspondence between the Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus and al-Rashid on the Occasion of the Former's Breaking the Peace Agreement, and the Caliph's Punitive Measures against the Byzantines
Al-Rashid's Killing of Ibrahim b. `Uthman b. Nahik
The Events of the Year 188 (803/804)
The Events of the Year 189 (804/805)
Al-Rashid's Journeying to al-Rayy in Order to Investigate Complaints against the Governor of Khurasan, `Ali b. `Isa b. Mahan, and His Confirmation of `Ali in Office
Al-Rashid Receives the Allegiance of the Local Rulers of the Caspian Provinces and Daylam, and Appoints Various Governors in Western Persia and Eastern Arabia
Al-Rashid's Return to Iraq
The Events of the Year 190 (805/806)
The Reason behind Raft' b. Layth's Revolt
Various Campaigns by al-Rashid against the Byzantines and Diplomatic Exchanges with the Emperor Nicephorus
The Events of the Year 191 (806/807)
Various Raids into the Byzantine Lands, and Measures against the Protected Peoples
The Reason for al-Rashid's Dismissal of `Ali b.`Isa and His Anger against Him
Al-Rashid's Letter Dismissing `All b. `Isa and His Charge to Harthamah
What Befell Harthamah in the Course of His Journey to Khurasan, and What Happened to `Ali b. `Isa and His Sons
Harthamah's Letter to al-Rashid Announcing the Successful Completion of His Mission
Al-Rashid's Answer to Harthamah's Letter
The Events of the Year 192 (807/808)
Al-Rashid's Preparations for His Journey to Khurasan
Al-Rashid's Serious Medical Condition and His Premonitions of Death
Various Items of Information
The Events of the Year 193 (808/809)
The Illness and Death of al-Fadl b. Yahya al-Barmaki
Al-Rashid's Journey from Jurjan to Tus
Al-Rashid's Vengeance on Rafi` b. Layth's Brother Bashir
The Occasion of al-Rashid's Death and the Place Where He Died
The Governors in the Provincial Capitals in Harun al-Rashid's Reign
Some Aspects of al-Rashid's Conduct and Mode of Life
Al-Rashid's (Free) Wives Who Were Endowed with Substantial Dowries (al-maha'ir)
Al-Rashid's Children
More Aspects of al-Rashid's Conduct and Mode of Life
Bibliography of Cited Works
Index

This volume of al-¿abari's History covers nearly a quarter of a century, and after covering the very brief caliphate of al-Hadi, concentrates on that of Harun al-Rashid. During these years, the caliphate was in a state of balance with its external foes; the great enemy, Christian Byzantium, was regarded with respect by the Muslims, and the two great powers of the Near East treated each other essentially as equals, while the Caucasian and Central Asian frontiers were held against pressure from the Turkish peoples of Inner Eurasia. The main stresses were internal, including Shi'ite risings on behalf of the excluded house of 'Ali, and revolts by the radical equalitarian Kharijites; but none of these was serious enough to affect the basic stability of the caliphate.
Harun ar-Rashid's caliphate has acquired in the West, under the influence of a misleading picture from the Arabian Nights, a glowing image as a golden age of Islamic culture and letters stemming from the Caliph's patronage of the exponents of these arts and sciences. In light of the picture of the Caliph which emerges from al-¿abari's pages, however, this image seems to be distinctly exaggerated. Al-Rashid himself does not exhibit any notable signs of administrative competence, military leadership or intellectual interests beyond those which convention demanded of a ruler. For much of his reign, he left the business of government to the capable viziers of the Barmakid family--the account of whose spectacular fall from power forms one of the most dramatic features of al-¿abari's narratives here--and his decision to divide the Islamic empire after his death between his sons was to lead subsequently to a disastrous civil war. Nevertheless, al-¿abari's story is full of interesting sidelights on the lives of those involved in the court circle of the time and on the motivations which impelled medieval Muslims to seek precarious careers there.
A discounted price is available when purchasing the entire 39-volume History of al-¿abari set. Contact SUNY Press for more information.