 This led to unrest in the provinces, especially Khurasan, where, according to Elton L. Daniel, "Abbasid policies [fluctuated] between two extremes. One governor would attempt to extract as much wealth as he could from the province for the benefit of Iraq, the central government, and, not infrequently, himself. When the people protested loudly enough, such governors would be temporarily replaced by ones who would attend to local interests". The Khurasani elites had a long-standing rivalry with the abnaʾ. Although the latter now resided chiefly in what is now Iraq, they insisted on retaining control of Khurasani affairs and demanded that the province's revenues be sent west to supply their salaries, something strongly resisted by the local Arab and Iranian elites. The resulting tension was eased when al-Fadl ibn Yahya, universally praised as a model governor, was appointed to Khurasan in 793, but was re-fanned in 796, when a member of the abnaʾ, Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan, was placed in charge of the province. His harsh taxation measures provoked increasing unrest, which expressed itself in Kharijite uprisings and, finally, a rebellion by the governor of Samarkand, Rafi ibn al-Layth. This uprising forced Harun himself, accompanied by al-Ma'mun and the powerful chamberlain (hajib) and chief minister al-Fadl ibn al-Rabi, to travel to the province in 808. Al-Ma 'mun was sent ahead with part of the army to Marv, while Harun stayed at Tus, where he died on 24 March 809.
