Al-Mansur | 754CE – 775CE 1

Al-Mansur | 754CE – 775CE

I always say that perhaps more than any other, three people defined the
Islamic Civilization the most, after Prophet Muhammad, of course. The first is
Umar ibn al-Khattab, whose decisions both as Abu Bakr’s advisor and as the
second caliph, protected Islam in its infancy by defeating the Byzantine and
Sassanid Empires. Then comes Abd al-Malik, the man who restored the
Umayyad caliphate after the Second Civil War. He defined what Hugh
Kennedy calls, the Executive Caliphate. Then comes the man this video is
about, the second caliph of the Abbasid Dynasty, Caliph Abu Ja'far al-Mansur.
Abu Ja’far was born in Humayma on the Abbasid family estate. Even though
his father was the leader of the town, Ja’far grew up in a humble
environment. He had travelled extensively throughout his years and had even
been part of a revolt against the Umayyad but his role, while unclear, was
certainly insignificant. When the Abbasid Revolution was in full swing, he
travelled with his brother to Kufa where his brother, who took the title of
“as-Saffah” was sworn as the caliph. Abu Ja’far stayed with his brother
throughout his reign. However, he wasn’t there at the end. When as-Saffah,
the first caliph of the Abbasid Dynasty, passed away in 754CE, Abu Ja’far was
away on pilgrimage to Makkah. While his uncle, Abdullah, tried to make a bid
for the throne, Abu Ja’far was able to secure the loyalty of Abu Muslim which
allowed him to become the caliph in 754CE. He chose the Laqab or title of
al-Mansur, the Victorious. As soon as he became caliph, he realized that he
wasn’t the most powerful man in his own empire. The man he had used to
secure the caliphate was and al-Mansur decided to change that.
Abu Muslim was the man who had led the army against the Umayyads and
had served as the muscle for the Abbasid revolution. He was in control of the
army that the Abbasids relied on. Soon after the instalment of the new caliph,
Abu Muslim arrived in Iraq. This was a great chance that al-Mansur couldn’t
let pass. He invited Abu Muslim to Kufa. Abu Muslim, away from his men in
Khorasan, was reluctant but the caliph insisted. Abu Muslim decided to go to
Kufa. The caliph was warned again and again that what he was planning was
a gamble and if he lost, it would mean the end of his dynasty. Abu Muslim
finally arrived in Kufa and went to see his cousin Isa who lived there. The next
morning Abu Muslim went to see the caliph. Isa was to join him later. Even at
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that time al-Mansur wasn’t sure who he could trust. Abu Muslim was very
popular and if the plot was exposed, al-Mansur would be in grave danger. He
asked one of his commanders and his guards if they would kill Abu Muslim.
The commander reluctantly agreed. Soon after Abu Muslim arrived in the
caliph’s tent. Expecting honours and gifts over everything he had done for the
Abbasids; he was shocked when the caliph started cursing him. Before Abu
Muslim could even speak, the caliph clapped to signal the guards who
entered and cut Abu Muslim down. To ensure, his throat was cut and he was
wrapped in a carpet and thrown on the side of the tent. When Isa arrived, he
inquired about Abu Muslim. “He’s rolled up over there”, the caliph said. Then
an extra tent was set up next to the caliph’s tent to give the illusion the Abu
Muslim was staying there while the caliph tried to do something about Abu
Muslim’s people. al-Mansur sent them all gifts and robes and asked them to
join him. Most of them joined while a small group tried to fight claiming that,
“We have sold our master for pieces of silver”. They were defeated soon after.
If things had gone the other way, if Abu Muslim had lived, it’s possible that
the Abbasids would’ve become puppets of him and his succeeding
commanders. I guess that’ll have to wait. Abu Muslim’s body was dumped in
the Tigris.
There was another threat to the dynasty. While the Abbasids belonged to the
prophet’s family, they weren’t his descendants. His actual descendants, the
Alids, still had a better claim. The people still wanted one of them and well,
al-Mansur understood that sooner or later, one of them would rise up. He
tried to keep them close to make sure he knew what they were up to.
However, in 756CE, two brothers, Muhammad and Ibrahim ibn Abdullah
disappeared. al-Mansur realized that something was up. Over the next eight
years, al-Mansur moved heaven and earth trying to find them. He came close
a few times but to no avail. In 762CE, he arrived in Madinah to finally put an
end to it. al-Mansur had all the Alids in Madinah arrested and taken to Iraq.
Muhammad tried to give himself up but his father, who was also arrested by
al-Mansur, told him to keep trying to recruit supporters. Muhammad was
planning to launch a two-prong attack. He would raise an army from
Madinah and his brother Ibrahim would raise one from Iraq. The plan had two
main problems. First of all, it was rushed and secondly, while Madinah was the
symbolic heart of Islam, it was a terrible place to start a rebellion from. Sure,
Madinah was the city that gave refuge to the prophet when he had nothing
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and the city served as the Prophet’s capital. But Madinah relied on supplies
from other places in the empire. It couldn’t even feed its own population, so it
was vulnerable.
In September of the same year, Muhammad led his followers into the Mosque
of the Prophet. The mosque shared a wall with the governor’s house. From
there, his men attacked the governor’s house. Muhammad, who was called
The Pure Soul by now, urged his followers not to kill anyone. The governor was
expelled and the people swore an oath of allegiance to Muhammad.
al-Mansur was overjoyed at the news of Muhammad having chosen Madinah.
All he had to do was cut supplies to Madinah to starve the rebels. al-Mansur
dispatched an army of just 4,000 to attack Madinah. Muhammad’s followers
told him to leave and set base in Egypt. However, Muhammad being an
idealist decided not to leave the city of the prophet. Not only that but he
decided to do what his ancestor, the Prophet himself, had done to defend
Madinah - he dug a trench. In fact, they even found bricks from the prophet’s
trench which they considered a sign from God. By December, it was clear that
the rebellion had lost. Muhammad told his followers that they were free to
leave if they so wished. The Abbasid army used doors from neighbouring
houses to build a bridge over the trench and entered Madinah on December
6th. By evening, Muhammad had been killed. Legend says that he died
fighting with the sword of Prophet Muhammad until he was hit with an
arrow. Muhammad’s head was removed and sent to al-Mansur who displayed
it in the capital. His brother Ibrahim also raised a rebellion in Iraq which met
the same fate.
The final threat that the new caliphate faced was an Umayyad prince who
had escaped to Iberia and established an Emirate there. al-Mansur sent an
army with an investiture to rule Iberia in his name. The army was defeated
and his governor’s head was sent to him. While al-Mansur was definitely
scared, he was content with the sea God had put between him and Abd
al-Rahman. He decided the threat wasn’t serious enough to worry about.
Other than securing the caliphate, the most important thing he did was set
up a system of government. His new government needed a new city. The city,
obviously, had to be in Iraq and so, after surveys, al-Mansur chose a site close
to Ctesiphon, on the river Tigris. The new city was to be named Baghdad. At
the heart of Baghdad was a round city called the city of Peace. This is where
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the caliph and much of his bureaucracy would reside. The city began
construction in 762CE and took four years to complete. Then, it was expanded
just two years later to accommodate everyone who was coming to Baghdad.
Unfortunately, not much of the original Baghdad remains today but
fortunately, when the caliph went to Syria in 771CE, he commissioned another
city near Raqqa. This city was modelled after Baghdad and its ruins have fared
better than that of Baghdad so we can get an idea of what Baghdad was like.
Baghdad was essentially two cities - the city of Peace on the West Bank of
Tigris and Rusafa on the east bank. The details of the city are a story for
another day.
Large swaths of the new city were given as gifts and prizes to al-Mansur’s
chosen people. al-Mansur was a political genius. He knew who could be
bought and how. Part of the reason for the new city WAS to give land away to
secure loyalties. While military action was always an option, he preferred
diplomacy and perfected the Abbasid tradition of Textile Diplomacy.
Baghdad, not only brought the establishment on his side, but also the people.
The city, due to its ideal location, became a bustling commercial metropolis.
The people saw the success of the city and to some extent, received a share of
that success. They slowly started to side with the Abbasids. With simple
strokes of genius and some luck, al-Mansur had brought the commanders
and the public on his side, making himself powerful and popular. Those who
play Crusader Kings can definitely appreciate what al-Mansur had done. The
remainder of al-Mansur’s reign was fairly peaceful. The frontiers were secured
and internal discontent was quashed.
Now, let’s talk a bit about the kind of person that al-Mansur was. al-Mansur
was one of the more complicated historical figures. He was pious, at least
what is considered pious in an Islamic society. He hated music and wine. He
was also somewhat approachable. He would lead the Friday prayer in person
and make grand speeches before. Anyone who went to the grand mosque on
a Friday could see and even talk to him. Arabs respected the art of oratory
very much and al-Mansur is the only Abbasid caliph to have a good
reputation in that regard. Later Abbasid caliphs abandoned this tradition and
led increasingly secluded lives. He was a very organized man. Told we’d call
him a very professional guy because he was relatively easy going in private
but when he wore his official robes, his whole personality would change. He’d
become ruthless and calculating.
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One example of his ruthlessness, something I found very shocking and

unbelievable, comes from al-Tabari and if you think Umayyads were
monsters, you might want to hold your beer. As Hugh Kennedy writes…
His love of the system extended in more sinister directions. A woman
called Jamra, who had been Mansur’s perfumer and knew some of the
darker secrets of the palace, told a chilling story which could have come out
of one of the more gruesome episodes of the Arabian Nights. Before he left
on a pilgrimage to Makkah on which he died, he gave instructions of a very
particular sort to his daughter-in-law, Rita, wife of his son and heir Mahdi,
who was at that time in Iran. He gave her the keys to all his storerooms but
there was one she was only to open when she was absolutely sure of his
death. Even then only she or her husband were allowed to go in. When he
heard that his father had died, Mahdi hurried to Baghdad to claim his
inheritance and Rita told him about the key to the special store. The young
couple then went to open the store. They found themselves in a vast and
cavernous vaulted chamber in which were laid out the bodies of all the
members of the Family of Ali whom he had executed, no doubt well
mummified in the dry Mesopotamian air. There were a large number of all
ages, from infants to old men. In the ear of each corpse was a label, carefully
inscribed with the name and genealogy of the victim. Mahdi, who hoped to
be able to heal the rift with the Alids was horrified by what he saw. He
ordered the corpses be removed secretly and buried in a common grave, and
a shop was constructed over the site.
It’s pretty chilling to think about that but it’s possible that al-Mansur executed
all the members of the Alids he arrested in Madinah. So… Let’s just move on.
In terms of administrative tasks, al-Mansur was very diligent and personally
attended to every little thing. During the construction of Baghdad, he was
very active and would often obsess over things. On one occasion, he asked his
builders how much material was required for a specific task. When the
builders said they were unsure, he took to calculating everything himself and
ordered material by his calculation which was enough for the task. He was
famous for never wasting any money. He once pretended to be sick because
his son was asking him for money. He often had old worn-out garments
patched.
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He deployed a vast network of officers and spies throughout the empire and
created an organization called Bariid. Much of his day was spent analysing
intelligence gathered by the organization. When Muhammad the Pure Soul
rebelled in Madinah, the news travelled 1,100 kms in just nine days. That’s how
efficient the system was.
The caliph set out for a pilgrimage to Makkah in the summer of 775CE. He
was very ill and considered that death was near. So, he wanted the spiritual
benefit of dying in the Holy Precinct. Caliph Abu Ja’far Abdullah al-Mansur
died on 21st of October, 775CE. He reigned a few days short of 22 years. His
corpse was propped up on a chair behind a curtain to give the illusion that he
was alive while his son and heir al-Mahdi took the oath of allegiance from the
establishment. Even though al-Mansur left twelve sons, the succession went
really smoothly which won’t be the case for most future Caliphs.
See you next time.