The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 31

<p>This section of the History of al-Ṭabarī covers the caliphate of Muḥammad al-Amīn who succeeded his father Hārūn al-Rashīd on March 24 809 and was killed on September 25 813.</p><p>The focus of this section is a single event the civil war between al-Amīn and his half-brother al-Maʾmūn. Before his death al-Rashīd had arranged for the succession in a series of documents signed at Mecca and deposited for safekeeping in the Ka'bah. Al-Amīn was to become caliph; al-Maʾmūn was to govern Khurasan with virtual autonomy from Baghdad. Al-Amīn could neither remove his brother from office nor interfere with his revenues or military support. Furthermore al-Maʾmūn was named as al-Amīn's successor and al-Amīn was forbidden to alter the succession. If either brother violated these conditions he was to forfeit his rights.</p><p>It soon became apparent that the good will to carry out these arrangements did not exist. Disagreement broke out when al-Amīn insisted that many of the forces that had accompanied al-Rashīd and al-Maʾmūn to Khurasan return to Baghdad. When the majority of army commanders obeyed the new caliph's orders al-Maʾmūn was enraged and countered with measures to secure his position. Angry letters were exchanged with al-Amīn pressing his brother to make concessions that al-Maʾmūn 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-Maʾmūn refused al-Amīn despatched an expedition to seize the districts.</p><p>Al-Amīn's resort to force ended in disaster. Al-Maʾmūn's forces led by Ṭāhir ibn al-Ḥusayn 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-Amīn into irregular units fought a kind of urban guerrilla war. But with Tahir and Harthamah enforcing the siege and with most of al-Amīn'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-Amīn 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-Amīn fell into the Tigris was apprehended and was executed that night on orders from Tahir. Thus ended this phase of the civil war. Al-Maʾmūn was now caliph.</p><p>Al-Ṭabarī i's history of these years includes accounts by participants in the event diplomatic letters betweenal-Amīn and al-Maʾmūn Tahir's long letter toal-Maʾmūn on the circumstances of al-Amin's death and a dramatic eyewitness account of al-Amīn'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-Amīn.</p>