num_pages: 268
description: A symbol of the fabled Orient, Harun al Rashid, the caliph portrayed in The Thousand and One Nights , where we see him living grandly his palace in Baghdad, surrounded by his wives, his concubines, musicians, and learned men, is not merely a figure of legend. He was the son of a Yemenite slave who cleared his path to power, very probably by poisoning the reigning caliph, her older son. Harun reigned for a quarter-century, and was the most famous caliph of the Abbasid dynasty.Through Arab chronicles, the author corrects our vision of Harun the Good', and gives a remarkable account of his development as a ruler. Though in Western countries he is remembered for the presents he sent to Charlemagne–notably the famous elephant, Abul Abbas–he was first and foremost a successful soldier who made war on the Byzantines. His empire was shaken by religious and social insurrections, and he did not shrink from annihilating the Barmecides, a powerful family whose wealth and influence he finally found unbearable. As a patron of pets and intellectuals, Harun contributed greatly to the cultural supremacy of Baghdad, whose merchants and navigators spread the name of the caliph throughout the world.
language: English
title: Harun Al-Rashid and the World of a Thousand and One Nights
titlecomplete: Harun Al-Rashid and the World of a Thousand and One Nights
characters: Harun al-Rashid
genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction
ratings_count: 49
places: Baghdad
publisher: New Amsterdam Books