Editing Al-Mansur (section)

==Foundation of Baghdad==
[[File:Baghdad 150 to 300 AH.png|thumb|400px|Map of Baghdad between 767 and 912 AD. The city was founded by al-Mansur in 762.]]
In 757 CE, al-Mansur sent a large army to [[Cappadocia]] which fortified the city of [[Malatya]]. In this same year, he confronted a group of the [[Rawandiyya]] from the region of [[Greater Khorasan]] that were performing [[circumambulation]] around his palace as an act of worship.<ref>Berkey, J. P. (2003). The formation of Islam: Religion and society in the Near East, 600–1800. New York: Cambridge University Press.</ref><ref name=Aikin1747 />{{rp|201}} When in 758/9 the people of [[Khorasan Province|Khorasan]] rioted against al-Mansur in the battle of [[Al Hashimiya]], [[Ma'n ibn Za'ida al-Shaybani]], a general from the [[Shayban (tribe)|Shayban]] tribe and companion of [[Yazid ibn Umar al-Fazari]], the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] governor of [[Iraq]], appeared at the scene of the uprising completely masked, and threw himself between the crowd and Mansur, driving the insurgents away. Ma'n reveals himself to al-Mansur as "he whom you have been searching" and upon hearing this, al-Mansur granted him rewards, robes of honor, rank, and amnesty from previously serving the [[Umayyad dynasty]].<ref name=Al-Masudi/>{{rp|23}}
In 762 two descendants of [[Hasan ibn Ali]] rebelled in Medina and Basra. Al-Mansur's troops defeated the rebels first in Medina and then in Basra. This would be the last major uprising against the caliph al-Mansur.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Wiley Blackwell History of Islam |first1=Armando |last1=Salvatore |first2= Roberto |last2=Tottoli |first3= Babak |last3=Rahimi  |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2018|isbn= 9780470657546|pages=125}}</ref>

To consolidate his power al-Mansur founded the new imperial residence and palace city Madinat as-Salam ([[Round city of Baghdad|the city of peace]]), which became the core of the Imperial capital [[Baghdad]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Baghdad: Imago Mundi, and Other Foundation-Lore |author= Charles Wendell |journal= International Journal of Middle East Studies |volume= 2 |year= 1971 }}</ref> Al-Mansur laid the foundations of Baghdad near the old capital of [[al-Mada'in]], on the western bank of the [[Tigris River]], a location acceptable to him and his commanders. The circular city of about 2.4&nbsp;km diameter was enclosed by a double-thick [[defensive wall]] with four gates named Kufa, Syria, Khorasan, and Basra. In the center of the city al-Mansur erected the caliph's palace and the main [[mosque]].<ref name="auto2">{{Cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of Iraq |first1=Edmund A. |last1=Ghareeb | first2= Beth |last2=Dougherty  |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2004|isbn=9780810865686|pages=154–155}}</ref> Al-Mansur had built Baghdad in response to a growing concern from the chief towns in [[Iraq]], [[Basra]], and [[Kufa]] that there was lack of solidity within the regime after the death of Abu'l 'Abbas (later known as [[al-Saffah]]). Another reason for the construction of the new capital was the growing need to house and provide stability for a rapidly developing Abbasid bureaucracy forged under the influence of [[Iran]]ian ideals.<ref name=Hawting2010/> The medieval historians [[al-Tabari]] and [[al-Khatib al-Baghdadi]] would later claim that al-Mansur had ordered the demolition of the Khosrow palace in [[Ctesiphon]] so that the material could be used for the construction of the ''city of peace''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The City in the Islamic World, Volume 94/1 & 94/2 |first1=Salma K. |last1=Jayyusi |first2= Renata |last2=Holod |first3= Attilio |last3=Petruccioli |first4= Andre |last4=Raymond  |publisher=BRILL |year=2008|isbn=9789004162402|pages=225}}</ref>

Al-Mansur pursued his vision of a powerful centralized caliphate in the new Muslim imperial capital of Baghdad. The city was populated with men and women of different faiths and cultures from all over the Islamic world. The Baghdad populace included [[Christians|Christian]], [[Zoroastrian]] and [[Jewish]] minorities and communicated in Arabic. Al-Mansur pursued Islamization by staffing his administration with Muslims of varied backgrounds.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Wiley Blackwell History of Islam |first1=Armando |last1=Salvatore |first2= Roberto |last2=Tottoli |first3= Babak |last3=Rahimi  |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2018|isbn= 9780470657546|pages=126}}</ref> Baghdad became one of al-Mansur's lasting achievements. His rule was largely peaceful as he focused on internal reforms, agriculture and patronage of the sciences,<ref name="auto2"/> thus he paved the way for Baghdad to become a global center of learning and science under the rule of the seventh [[Abbasid caliph]] [[al-Ma'mun]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of Iraq |first1=Edmund A. |last1=Ghareeb | first2= Beth |last2=Dougherty  |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2004|isbn=9780810865686|pages=33}}</ref>

In 764 al-Mansur's son [[al-Mahdi]] was made the designated heir to the caliphate, taking precedence over al-Mansur's nephew [[Isa ibn Musa]], who had been named the designated successor when al-Mansur was crowned caliph. This change in succession was opposed by parts of the Abbasid family and some allies of Isa ibn Musa in [[Khurasan]], but was supported by the Abbasid army. Al-Mansur had cultivated support for his son's accession since 754, while undermining Isa ibn Musa's position within the Abbasid military.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Rituals of Islamic Monarchy: Accession and Succession in the First Muslim Empire: Accession and Succession in the First Muslim Empire|last= Marsham|first=Andrew |date=2009|publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=9780748630776|page=193}}</ref>

[[Al-Tabari]] writes in his ''[[History of Prophets and Kings]]'': "Abu Ja'far had a mirror in which he could descry his enemy from his friend."<ref>{{cite book|last1=al-Tabari|last2=Williams|first2=John Alden|title=The Early 'Abbasi Empire, Volume I: The Reign of Abu Ja'far al-Mansur|date=1988|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=0521326621|pages=66–67}}</ref> Al-Mansur's [[secret service]] extended to remote regions of his empire, and were cognizant of everything from social unrest to the price of figs, making Mansur very knowledgeable of his domains. He rose at dawn, worked until [[Isha prayer|evening prayer]]. He set the example for his son and heir. According to historic sources al-Mansur advised his son: “put not off the work of today until tomorrow and attend in person to the affairs of state. Sleep not, for thy father has not slept since he came to the caliphate. For when sleep fell upon his eyes, his spirit remained awake.” Notably frugal, al-Mansur was nicknamed Abu al-Duwaneek (“the Father of Small Change”), kept close tabs on his [[tax collector]]s, and made sure [[public spending]] was carefully monitored. He is reported as having said “he who has no money has no men, and he who has no men watches as his enemies grow great.”{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|page=13}}