Editing Al-Mansur

{{Short description|2nd Abbasid caliph (r. 754–775)}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Lowercase title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = al-Mansur<br />المنصور
| title        = [[List of Caliphs|Khalifah]]<br/>[[Amir al-Mu'minin]]
| image        = Abbāsid Caliph al-Manṣūr from the genealogy (silsilanāma), Cream of Histories (Zübdet-üt Tevarih, 1598).jpg
| caption      = Abbāsid Caliph al-Manṣūr from the genealogy (silsilanāma), "Cream of Histories" (''Zübdet-üt Tevarih'', 1598)
| succession   = 2nd [[Caliph]] of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]]
| reign        = 10 June 754 – 6 October 775
| predecessor  = [[al-Saffah]]
| successor    = [[al-Mahdi]]
| birth_date   = {{circa|714}}
| birth_place  = [[Humeima|al-Humayma]], Jordan
| death_date   = 6 October 775 (aged 61)
| death_place  = near [[Mecca]], [[Abbasid Caliphate]]
| spouse       = {{plainlist| 
* [[Arwa bint Mansur al-Himyari|Arwa bint Mansur]] 
* Hammadah bint Isa 
* [[Fatimah bint Muhammad al-Taymi|Fatimah bint Muhammad]]
* Qali-al Farrashah
* Umm al-Qasim}}
| spouse-type  = Consorts
| issue        = {{plainlist|
* [[Ja'far ibn Abdallah al-Mansur|Ja'far]] ''(b. 742/43)''
* [[al-Mahdi]] ''(b. 744/45)''
* [[Sulayman ibn Abi Ja'far|Sulayman]]
* [[Aliyah bint al-Mansur|Aliyah]]
* [[#Family|see more]]}}
| full name    = Abu Ja'far Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Manṣūr
| dynasty      = [[Abbasid dynasty|Abbasid]]
| father       = [[Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdallah|Muḥammad]] ibn [[Ali ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Abbas|ʿAlī]] ibn [[Ibn Abbas|ʿAbd Allāh]]
| mother       = [[Sallamah Umm Abdallah|Sallamah]]
| religion     = [[Sunni Islam]]
| place of burial = [[Jannat al-Mu'alla|al-Ma'lat Cemetery]]
}}
'''Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr''' ({{IPAc-en|æ|l|m|æ|n|ˈ|s|ʊər}}; {{langx|ar|أبو جعفر عبد الله بن محمد المنصور}}&lrm;; 714 – 6 October 775) usually known simply as by his [[laqab]] '''al-Manṣūr''' ({{lang|ar|المنصور}}) was the second [[Abbasid]] [[caliph]], reigning from 754 to 775 succeeding his brother [[al-Saffah]] ({{Reign|750|754}}). He is known for founding the 'Round City' of [[Madinat al-Salam]], which was to become the core of imperial [[Baghdad]].

Modern historians regard al-Mansur as the real founder of the Abbasid Caliphate, one of the largest polities in world history, for his role in stabilizing and institutionalizing the dynasty.<ref name= Robinson2011>''The Cambridge History of Islam, volume 1: The Formation of the Islamic World'', ed. Chase F Robinson, March 2011</ref>{{rp|265}}

==Background and early life==
According to [[al-Suyuti]]'s ''[[History of the Caliphs]]'', al-Mansur lived 95 AH – 158 AH (714 CE – 6 October 775 CE).<ref>Al-Souyouti, Tarikh Al-Kholafa'a (The History of Caliphs)</ref> Al-Mansur was born at the home of the Abbasid family in [[Humeima]] (modern-day [[Jordan]]) after their emigration from the [[Hejaz]] in 714 (95 AH).<ref name=Hawting2010>{{cite web|last1=Hawting|first1=G.R.|title=Al Mansur: Abbasid Caliph|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/al-Mansur-Abbasid-caliph|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=16 January 2018}}</ref> His mother was [[Sallamah]], a slave woman.<ref>{{Cite book|title=History of Islam (Vol 2)|last=Najībābādī|first=Akbar Shāh K̲h̲ān|date=2001|publisher=Darussalam |isbn=9789960892887|page=287}}</ref> Al-Mansur was a brother of [[al-Saffah]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite book|title=The Middle East in Modern World History|last=Tucker|first=Ernest |date=2016|publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781315508245|page=8}}</ref> Both were named Abd Allah, and to distinguish between them, al-Saffah was referred to by his ''[[Kunya (Arabic)|kunya]]'' Abu al-Abbas.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=41}}

Al-Mansur was a great great-grandson of [[Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib]], an uncle of the Islamic prophet, [[Muhammad]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of Islam|last=Adamec|first=Ludwig W. |date=2016|publisher= Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9781442277243|page=17}}</ref> Al-Mansur's brother al-Saffah began asserting his claim to become caliph in the 740s and became particularly active in [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]], an area where non-Arab Muslims lived. After the death of the Umayyad caliph [[Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik]] in 743 a period of instability followed. Al-Saffah led the [[Abbasid Revolution]] in 747 and his claim to power was supported throughout Iraq by Muslims. He became the first caliph of the [[Abbasid caliphate]] in 750 after defeating his rivals.<ref name="auto"/>

Shortly before the overthrow of the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyads]] by an army of rebels from Khorasan that were influenced by propaganda spread by the [[Abbasids]], the last Umayyad Caliph [[Marwan II]], arrested the head of the Abbasid family, Al Mansur's other brother Ibrahim. Al-Mansur fled with the rest of his family to [[Kufa]] where some of the Khorasanian rebel leaders gave their allegiance to his brother al-Saffah. Ibrahim died in captivity and al-Saffah became the first Abbasid Caliph. During his brother's reign, al-Mansur led an army to [[Mesopotamia]] where he received a submission from the governor after informing him of the last Umayyad Caliph's death. The last Umayyad governor had taken refuge in Iraq in a garrison town. He was promised a safe-conduct by al-Mansur and the Caliph al-Saffah, but after surrendering the town, he was executed with a number of his followers.<ref name=Hawting2010/>

According to ''[[The Meadows of Gold]]'', a history book in Arabic written around 947 CE, al-Mansur's dislike of the Umayyad dynasty is well documented and he has been reported saying:
[[File:Abbasid Dinar - Al Mansur - 140 AH (758 AD).JPG|thumb|250px|[[Gold dinar]] of al-Mansur]]
<blockquote>
The Umayyads held the government which had been given to them with a firm hand, protecting, preserving and guarding the gift granted them by God. But then their power passed to their effeminate sons, whose only ambition was the satisfaction of their desires and who chased after pleasures forbidden by Almighty God...Then God stripped them of their power, covered them with shame and deprived them of their worldly goods.<ref name=Al-Masudi/>{{rp|24}}
</blockquote>

Mansur's first wife was a Yemeni woman from a royal family; his second was a descendant of a hero of the [[early Muslim conquests]]; his third was an [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] servant. He also had a minimum of three concubines: an [[Arab]], a Byzantine, nicknamed the “restless butterfly," and a [[Kurds|Kurd]].{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|page=21}}

==Caliphate ==
Al-Saffah died after a short five-year reign and al-Mansur took on the responsibility of establishing the Abbasid caliphate<ref name=Hawting2010/> by holding on to power for nearly 22 years, from Dhu al-Hijjah 136 AH until Dhu al-Hijjah 158 AH (754 – 775).<ref name= Al-Masudi>Sanders, P. (1990). The Meadows of Gold: The Abbasids by MAS‘UDI. Translated and edited by Lunde Paul and Stone Caroline, Kegan Paul International, London and New York, 1989 {{ISBN|0 7103 0246 0}}. Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, 24(1), 50–51. doi:10.1017/S0026318400022549</ref><ref name=Axworthy>[[Michael Axworthy|Axworthy, Michael]] (2008); ''A History of Iran''; Basic, USA; {{ISBN|978-0-465-00888-9}}. p. 81.</ref> Al-Mansur was proclaimed Caliph on his way to [[Mecca]] in the year 753 (136 AH) and was inaugurated the following year.<ref name=Aikin1747>{{cite book|last1=Aikin|first1=John|title=General biography: or, Lives, critical and historical, of the most eminent persons of all ages, countries, conditions, and professions, arranged according to alphabetical order|date=1747|publisher=G. G. and J. Robinson|location=London|isbn=1333072457|page=201}}</ref> Abu Ja'far Abdallah ibn Muhammad took the name al-Mansur ("the victorious") and agreed to make his nephew [[Isa ibn Musa]] his successor to the Abbasid caliphate. This agreement was supposed to resolve rivalries in the Abbasid family, but al-Mansur's right to accession was particularly challenged by his uncle [[Abdullah ibn Ali]]. Once in power as caliph, al-Mansur had his uncle imprisoned in 754 and killed in 764.<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=192}}</ref>

==Execution of Abu Muslim and aftermath==
[[File:Ancient Khorasan highlighted.jpg|thumb|300px|Khorasan and other territories during the Caliphate in 750.]]
Fearing the increasing power of the Abbasid general [[Abu Muslim]], who had gained popularity among the people, al-Mansur carefully planned his assassination. Abu Muslim was conversing with the Caliph when, at an appointed signal, four (some sources say five) of his guards rushed in and fatally wounded the general.<ref name= Marigny1758>{{cite book|last1=Marigny|first1=François Augier de|title=The history of the Arabians, under the government of the caliphs, from Mahomet, their founder, to the death of Mostazem, the fifty-sixth and last Abassian caliph; containing the space of six hundred thirty-six years. With notes, historical, critical, and explanatory; together with genealogical and chronological tables; and a complete index to each volume|date=1758|publisher=London, T. Payne [etc.]|location=London|isbn=9781171019787|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyarabians02marigoog/page/n32 23]|url=https://archive.org/details/historyarabians02marigoog|access-date=7 January 2018}}</ref> [[John Aikin]], in his work ''General Biography'', narrates that Mansur, not content with the assassination, committed "outrages on the dead body, and kept it several days in order to glut his eyes with the spectacle."<ref name=Aikin1747 />

The execution of Abu Muslim caused uproar throughout the province of [[Khorasan Province|Khorasan]]. In 755 [[Sunpadh]], an Iranian nobleman from the [[House of Karen]], led a revolt against al-Mansur, taking the cities of [[Nishapur]], [[Qumis, Iran|Qumis]], and [[Ray, Iran|Ray]]. In Ray, he seized the treasures of Abu Muslim. He gained many supporters from [[Jibal]] and [[Tabaristan]], including the [[Dabuyid]] ruler, [[Khurshid of Tabaristan|Khurshid]], who was paid with money from the treasures.<ref name= Marigny1758 />{{rp|201}} Al-Mansur ordered a force of 10,000 under Abbasid commander Jahwar ibn Marrar al-lijli to march without delay to Khorasan to put down the rebellion. Sunpadh was defeated, and Khorasan was reclaimed by the Abbasids.<ref name= Marigny1758/>

Al-Mansur sent an official to take inventory of the spoils collected from the battle as a precautionary measure against its distribution to the army. Angered by al-Mansur's avarice, Jahwar gained support from his troops for his plans to split the treasures evenly, and revolted against the caliph. This raised alarm in the caliph's court, and al-Mansur ordered Mohammad ibn Ashar to march towards [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]]. Jahwar, knowing his troops were at a disadvantage, retired to [[Isfahan]] and fortified in preparation. Mohammad's army pressed the rebel forces, and Jahwar fled to [[Azerbaijan]]. Jahwar's forces were defeated, but he escaped Mohammad's pursuit. This campaign lasted from 756 to 762 CE (138 to 144 AH).<ref name= Marigny1758 /> In 759, al-Mansur sent an army under his generals [[Abu al-Khaṣīb Marzuq]] and [[Khazim ibn Khuzayma al-Tamimi|Khazim ibn Khuzayma]] to Tabaristan to punish Khurshid for his support of Sunpadh. Khurshid was defeated and Abu al-Khasib was appointed as the governor of the region.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Malek, Hodge M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zqY0AAAACAAJ |title=The Dābūyid Ispahbads and Early 'Abbāsid Governors of Tabaristān: History and Numismatics |date=2004 |publisher=Royal Numismatic Society |isbn=978-0-901405-83-8 |language=en|page=14}}</ref>

After relieving former vizier ibn Attiya al-Bahili, al-Mansur transferred his duties to Abu Ayyub al-Muriyani from [[Khuzestan]]. Abu Ayyub had been a secretary to Sulayman ibn Habib ibn al-Muhallab, who in the past had condemned al-Mansur to be flogged. Abu Ayyub had rescued al-Mansur from this punishment. Nevertheless, after appointing him as vizier, al-Mansur suspected Abu Ayyub of various crimes, including extortion and treachery, which led to the latter's assassination. The secretary role was granted to Aban ibn Sadaqa until the death of the caliph al-Mansur.<ref name=Al-Masudi/>{{rp|26}}

==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}}

==Islamic scholars under him==
The [[Alids]], a group descended from [[Muhammad]]'s closest male relative and cousin [[Ali ibn Abi Talib]], had fought with the Abbasids against the Umayyads. They wanted the power to be given to the [[Imam]] [[Ja'far al-Sadiq]], a great-grandson of Ali and one of the most influential scholars in Islamic jurisprudence at the time. When it became clear that the Abbasid family had no intention of handing the power to an Alid, groups loyal to Ali moved into opposition.<ref name=Hawting2010/> When al-Mansur came to power as second Abbasid caliph he started to suppress what he perceived as extreme elements in the broad Muslim coalition that had supported the [[Abbasid Revolution]]. He would be the first Abbasid caliph to uphold Islamic orthodoxy as a matter of [[public policy]]. While al-Mansur's regime did not intrude into the private realm of elites, orthodoxy was promoted in public [[worship]], for example through the organization of [[Hajj|pilgrim caravans]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Middle East in Modern World History|last=Tucker|first=Ernest |date=2016|publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781315508245|pages=9–10}}</ref> Al-Mansur's harsh treatment towards the Alids led to a revolt in 762–763, but they were eventually defeated.<ref name=Hawting2010/>

Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq became the victim of harassment by the [[Abbasid dynasty|Abbasid]] family and in response to his growing popularity among the people was eventually poisoned on the orders of the caliph<ref>al-Fusul al-muhimmah, p.212; Dala’il al-imamah, p.lll: Ithbat al-wasiyah, p.142.</ref> in the tenth year of al-Mansur's reign.<ref name=Al-Masudi/>{{rp|26}} According to a number of sources, [[Abu Hanifa an-Nu'man]], who founded a [[Madhhab|school]] of [[fiqh|jurisprudence]], was imprisoned by al-Mansur. [[Malik ibn Anas]], the founder of another school, was [[flogged]] during his rule, but al-Mansur himself did not condone this. Al-Mansur's cousin, the governor of [[Madinah]] at the time, had ordered the flogging and was punished for doing so.<ref>Ya'qubi, vol.III, p.&nbsp;86; Muruj al-dhahab, vol.III, pp.&nbsp;268–270.</ref> Muhammad and [[Ibrahim ibn Abdallah]], the grandsons of Imam [[Hassan ibn Ali]], grandson of [[Muhammad]], were persecuted by al-Mansur after rebelling against his reign. They escaped his persecution, but al-Mansur's anger fell upon their father Abdallah ibn Hassan and others of his family. Abdallah's sons were later defeated and killed.<ref name=Aikin1747 />{{rp|202}}

==Patronage for translations and scholarship ==
[[File:Dirham of Abbasid caliph al-Mansur, AH 150.jpg|thumb|300px|Abbasid Silver [[Dirham]] of Caliph al-Mansur 754–775]]
Al-Mansur was the first Abbasid caliph to sponsor the [[Graeco-Arabic translation movement|Translation Movement]]. Al-Mansur was particularly interested in sponsoring the translations of texts on [[astronomy]] and [[astrology]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Translation Movement and Acculturation in the Medieval Islamic World |last1= Bsoul |first1=Labeeb Ahmed  |publisher=Springer|year=2019|isbn=9783030217037|pages=82}}</ref> Al-Mansur called scientists to his court and became noted as patron of astronomers.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Translation Movement and Acculturation in the Medieval Islamic World |last1= Bsoul |first1=Labeeb Ahmed  |publisher=Springer|year=2019|isbn=9783030217037|pages=85}}</ref> When al-Mansur's Baghdad court was presented with the ''[[Zij al-Sindhind]]'', an Indian astronomical handbook that included tables to calculate celestial positions, al-Mansur ordered for this major Indian work on astronomy to be translated from [[Sanskrit]] to Arabic. The astronomical tables in the Arabic translation of ''Zij al-Sindhind'' became widely adopted by Muslim scholars. During al-Mansur reign Greek works were also translated, such [[Ptolemy]]'s ''[[Almagest]]'' and [[Euclid]]'s ''[[Euclid's Elements|Elements]]''.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite book|title=Translation Movement and Acculturation in the Medieval Islamic World |last1= Bsoul |first1=Labeeb Ahmed  |publisher=Springer|year=2019|isbn=9783030217037|pages=88}}</ref>

Al-Mansur had [[Persian language|Persia]]n books on astronomy, mathematics, medicine, philosophy and other sciences translated in a systematic campaign to collect knowledge.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Translation Movement and Acculturation in the Medieval Islamic World |last1= Bsoul |first1=Labeeb Ahmed  |publisher=Springer|year=2019|isbn=9783030217037|pages=83–84}}</ref> The translation of Persian books was part of a growing interest in ancient Iranian heritage and a Persian revivalist movement which al-Mansur sponsored. The translation and study of works in [[Parthian language|Pahlavi]], a pre-Islamic language of Persia, became fashionable among intellectuals and authors who supported the [[Abbasid caliphate]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Nation and Translation in the Middle East |last1= Selim |first1=Samah  |publisher=Routledge|year=2017|isbn=9781317620648|pages=69–70}}</ref> Government secretaries of Persian descent in al-Mansur's administration sponsored translations of Pahlavi texts on the history and principles of royal administration. Popular Arabic translations were produced by [[Ibn al-Muqaffa]] of texts that documented the systems and hierarchies of the [[Sasanian Empire]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Nation and Translation in the Middle East |last1= Selim |first1=Samah  |publisher=Routledge|year=2017|isbn=9781317620648|pages=72}}</ref>

Al-Mansur was greatly interested in the quality of the translation and paid [[al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf ibn Maṭar]] to translate Euclid's ''Elements'' twice.<ref name="auto1"/> Al-Mansur paid for the physician [[Jabril ibn Bukhtishu]] to write Arabic translations of medical books,<ref name="auto1"/> while the first Arabic translations of medical texts written by [[Galen]] and [[Hippocrates]] were done by al-Mansur's official translator.<ref>{{Cite book|title=History of Islamic Philosophy: With View of Greek Philosophy and Early History of Islam |last1= al-Jubouri  |first1=Imadaldin  |publisher=Authors On Line Ltd|year=2004|isbn=9780755210114|pages=186–187}}</ref> In 765 al-Mansur suffered from a stomach ailment and called the Christian [[Syriac language|Syriac]]-speaking physician [[Jurjis ibn Bukhtishu]] from [[Gundeshapur]] to [[Baghdad]] for medical treatment. In doing so al-Mansur started the tradition among Abbasid caliphs, who would pay physicians of the [[Nestorianism|Nestorian Christian]] [[Bukhtishu]] family to attend to their needs and to write original Arabic medical treatises, as well as translate medical texts into Arabic.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science: Technology, alchemy and life sciences |last1= Morelon |first1=Régis   |publisher=CRC Press|year=1916|isbn=9780415124126|pages=910}}</ref>

==Foreign policy==
[[File:Offa king of Mercia 757 793 gold dinar copy of dinar of the Abassid Caliphate 774.jpg|thumb|300px|right|A [[mancus]] issued under the Saxon king [[Offa of Mercia]] (757–796), copied from a [[gold dinar]] of al-Mansur's reign. It combines the Latin legend OFFA REX with Arabic legends. The date of [[Islamic calendar|A.H.]] 157 (773–774) is readable.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TGkz9NGFXIMC&dq=manqush+coin&pg=PA327|title=Medieval European Coinage: With a Catalogue of the Coins in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge|first1=Philip|last1=Grierson|first2=Mark A. S.|last2=Blackburn|first3=Fitzwilliam|last3=Museum|date=5 August 1986|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521031776 |via=Google Books}}</ref> [[British Museum]].]]
In 751 the first Abbasid caliph [[al-Saffah]] had defeated the Chinese [[Tang dynasty]] in the [[Battle of Talas]]. Chinese sources record that al-Mansur sent his diplomatic delegations regularly to China. Al-Mansur's delegations were known in China as ''Heiyi Dashi'' (''Black Clothed Arabs'').<ref>{{Cite book|title=The New Silk Road leads through the Arab Peninsula: Mastering Global Business and Innovation |first1=Anna |last1=Visvizi|first2= Miltiadis D. |last2=Lytras |first3= Wadee |last3=Alhalabi|first4= Xi |last4=Zhang|publisher=Emerald Group Publishing |year=2019|isbn=9781787566798|pages=19}}</ref> In 756 al-Mansur sent 3,000 [[mercenaries]] to assist [[Emperor Suzong of Tang]] in the An Lushan rebellion.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Needham |first1=Joseph |last2=Ho |first2=Ping-Yu |last3=Lu |first3=Gwei-Djen |last4=Sivin |first4=Nathan |title=Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 4, Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Apparatus, Theories and Gifts |date=1980 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=052108573X |page=416 |edition=illustrated |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xrNDwP0pS8sC&pg=PA416}}</ref> A massacre of foreign Arab and Persian Muslim merchants by former Yan rebel general [[Tian Shengong]] happened during the An Lushan rebellion in the [[Yangzhou massacre (760)]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wan |first1=Lei |year=2017 |title=The earliest Muslim communities in China |series=Qiraat No. 8 (February – March 2017) |publisher=King Faisal Center For Research and Islamic Studies |isbn=978-603-8206-39-3 |page=11 |url=https://www.kfcris.com/pdf/6b438689cf0f36eb4ce727e76d747c3d5af140055feaf.pdf}}</ref>{{sfn|Qi|2010|p=221-227}}

The [[Byzantine]] emperor [[Constantine V]] had used the weakness of the [[Umayyad caliphate]] to regain land from Muslim rulers. After the Umayyad caliphate was defeated by al-Mansur's predecessor [[al-Saffah]], Constantine V invaded [[Armenia]] and occupied parts of it throughout 751 and 752. Under al-Mansur's rule Muslim armies conducted raids on Byzantine territory.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Middle East Conflicts from Ancient Egypt to the 21st Century: An Encyclopedia and Document Collection [4 volumes] |last1= Walker|first1=Alicia  |publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2012|isbn= 9781440853531|pages=258}}</ref> Al-Mansur was the first Abbasid caliph to hold a ransom meeting with the [[Byzantine Empire]]. Diplomats in the service of Constantine V and al-Mansur first negotiated the exchange of prisoners in 756.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Emperor and the World: Exotic Elements and the Imaging of Middle Byzantine Imperial Power, Ninth to Thirteenth Centuries C.E. |last1= Tucker|first1=Spencer C. |publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2019|isbn= 9781107004771|pages=40}}</ref>

In 763 al-Mansur sent his troops to conquer [[al-Andalus]] for the [[Abbasid empire]]. But the [[Umayyad dynasty|Umayyad caliph]] [[Abd al-Rahman I]] [[Siege of Carmona (763)|successfully defended]] his territory. Al-Mansur withdrew and thereafter focused his troops of holding the eastern part of his empire on lands that were once part of Persia.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade |last1= Wise Bauer |first1=Susan |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |year=2010|isbn= 9780393078176|pages=369}}</ref>

Some historians credit al-Mansur with starting the [[Abbasid–Carolingian alliance]]. In fact, it was the first [[Carolingian dynasty|Carolingian king]] [[Pippin III]] who initiated a new era of Franconian diplomacy by sending diplomatic envoys to al-Mansur's Baghdad court in 765. It is probable that Pippin III sought an alliance with al-Mansur against their common enemies, the [[Emirate of Córdoba]]. In 768 the envoys of Pippin III returned to [[Franks|Francia]] along with caliph al-Mansur's ambassadors. Pippin III received al-Mansur's delegation in [[Aquitaine]] and gifts were exchanged as a sign of the new alliance. This alliance was solidified when between 797 and 807 king [[Charlemagne]] and caliph [[Harun al-Rashid]] established embassies.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The ʿAbbasid and Carolingian Empires: Comparative Studies in Civilizational Formation |last1=Tor |first1=Deborah  |publisher=BRILL |year=2017|isbn=9789004353046|pages=85}}</ref>

Al-Mansur's treatment of his Christian subjects was severe; he "collected from them capitation with much vigor and impressed upon them marks of slavery."<ref name=Aikin1747 />{{rp|202}}

==Family==
Al-Mansur's first wife was [[Arwa bint Mansur al-Himyari|Arwa]] known as Umm Musa, whose lineage went back to the 
[[Himyarite Kingdom|kings of Himyar]].<ref name="abbott">{{cite book | last=Abbott | first=Nabia |author-link=Nabia Abbott | title=Two Queens of Baghdad: Mother and Wife of Hārūn Al Rashīd | publisher=University of Chicago Press | year=1946 | pages = 15–16 | isbn=978-0-86356-031-6 }}</ref> Her father was Mansur al-Himyari. She had a brother named Yazid.<ref name="Kennedy">{{cite book|author1=[[al-Tabari]] |author2=Hugh Kennedy | title=The History of al-Tabari Vol. 29: Al-Mansur and al-Mahdi A.D. 763-786/A.H. 146-169 | publisher=State University of New York Press | series=SUNY series in Near Eastern Studies | year=1990 | pages=148–49}}</ref> She had two sons, Muhammad (future Caliph [[al-Mahdi]]) and [[Ja'far ibn Abdallah al-Mansur|Ja'far]].<ref name="abbott"/> She died in 764.<ref name="abbott"/> Another wife was Hammadah. Her father was Isa,<ref name="al-sai">{{cite book | last1=al-Sāʿī | first1=Ibn | last2=Toorawa | first2=Shawkat M. | last3=Bray | first3=Julia | title=كتاب جهات الأئمة الخلفاء من الحرائر والإماء المسمى نساء الخلفاء: Women and the Court of Baghdad | publisher=NYU Press | series=Library of Arabic Literature | year=2017 | isbn=978-1-4798-6679-3 }}</ref> one of al-Mansur's uncles.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Khallikān | first1=Ibn | last2=de Slane | first2=W.M.G. | title=Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary | publisher=Oriental translation fund of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 1 | year=1842 | page=535}}</ref> She died during al-Mansur's caliphate.<ref name="al-sai"/> Another wife was [[Fatimah bint Muhammad al-Taymi|Fatimah]]. Her father was Muhammad, one of the descendants of [[Talhah|Talhah ibn Ubaydullah]]. She had three sons, [[Sulayman ibn Abi Ja'far|Sulayman]], Isa, and Ya'qub.<ref name="Kennedy"/> One of his concubines was a Kurdish woman. She was the mother of al-Mansur's son Ja'far 'Ibn al-Kurdiyyah' ([[Arabic Name|Nasab]] translating to "Son of the Kurdish woman"). Unlike his other adult half-brothers, little is known of Ja'far and he likely was not involved in politics or had marriage or issue. However, his death is recorded at 802 AD by palace records suggesting he lived into adulthood and continued to live at court rather than having been banished or dying before adulthood.<ref name="Kennedy"/> Another concubine was Qali-al Farrashah. She was a Greek, and was the mother of al-Mansur's son Salih al-Miskin.<ref name="Kennedy"/> Another concubine was Umm al-Qasim, whose son al-Qasim died at aged ten.<ref name="Kennedy"/> Al-Masnur's only daughter [[Aliyah bint al-Mansur|Aliyah]] was born to an Umayyad woman. She married [[Ishaq ibn Sulayman al-Hashimi|Ishaq ibn Sulayman]].<ref name="Kennedy"/>

==Death==
[[Al-Mas'udi]] writes that Mansur died on Saturday 6, Dhu al-Hijja 158 AH/775 CE. There are varying accounts of the location and circumstances of al-Mansur's death. One account narrates that al-Mansur was on a pilgrimage to Mecca and had nearly reached it when death overtook him at a location called the Garden of the Bani Amir on the high road to Iraq at the age of 63. According to this narration, he was buried in Mecca with his face uncovered because he was wearing the [[ihram clothing]]. A hundred graves were dug around Mecca to thwart any attempt to find and violate his bones.<ref>{{harvnb|Bobrick|2012|p=16}}</ref>

A different narration from [[Fadl ibn Rabi'ah]], who claimed to have been with Mansur at his time of death, states that he died at al-Batha' near the Well of Maimun, in which he would have been buried at al-Hajun at 65 years of age. In this version, Mansur was sitting in a domed room hallucinating about ill omens written on the wall. When al-Rabiah replied, "I see nothing written on the wall. Its surface is clean and white," al-Mansur said, "My soul is warned that she may prepare for her near departure." After reaching the Well of Maimun, he reportedly said "God be praised" and succumbed that very day.

When al-Mansur died, the caliphate's treasury contained 600,000,000 [[dirhams]] and fourteen million [[dinar]]s.<ref name=Al-Masudi/>{{rp|33}} On his deathbed, Mansur said, “We have sacrificed the life to come for a mere dream!”<ref>{{harvnb|Bobrick|2012|p=19}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Weh Antiok Khosrow|al-Rumiya]], city used temporarily by al-Mansur as his seat
* [[Bay'ah Mosque]] is a mosque outside Mecca in Arabia, It was built on the orders of al-Mansur.
* [[Hasan ibn Zayd ibn Hasan]] Abbasid Governor of Medina 766 to 772.
* [[Ibn Ishaq]]
* [[Sino-Arab relations]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources cited===
* {{cite book |last1=Bobrick |first1=Benson |title=The Caliph's Splendor: Islam and the West in the Golden Age of Baghdad |date=2012 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-1416567622}}
* {{The Abbasid Caliphate: A History}}
* {{citation
  | surname = Qi
  | given = Dongfang
  | chapter = Gold and Silver Wares on the Belitung Shipwreck
  | pages = 221–227
  | chapter-url = https://asia.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/17Qi.pdf
  | title = Shipwrecked: Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds
  | editor1-given = Regina
  | editor1-surname = Krahl
  | editor2-given = John
  | editor2-surname = Guy
  | editor3-given = J. Keith
  | editor3-surname = Wilson
  | editor4-given = Julian
  | editor4-surname = Raby
  | publisher = Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
  | location = Washington, DC
  | year = 2010
  | isbn = 978-1-58834-305-5
  | url = https://asia.si.edu/research/exhibition-catalogues/shipwrecked-catalog/
  | access-date = 9 July 2022
  | archive-date = 4 May 2021
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210504233858/https://asia.si.edu/research/exhibition-catalogues/shipwrecked-catalog/
  | url-status = dead
  }}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{wikisource author-inline}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-hou|branch=Clan|name='''al-Mansur'''|[[Banu Hashim]]||{{circa}} 714 [[Common Era|CE]]||{{circa}} 775 [[Common Era|CE]]|[[Quraysh (tribe)|Banu Quraish]]}}
{{S-rel|sh}}
{{S-bef|rows=2|before = [[al-Saffah]]}}
{{S-ttl|title = [[Imamah (Shia doctrine)|Imam]] of the [[Hashimiyya]] [[Kaysanites Shia]]|years = 10 June 754 – 6 October 775}}   
{{S-aft|rows=2|after = [[al-Mahdi]]}}
{{s-ttl| title = [[List of Abbasid caliphs|Caliph]] of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]]| years = 10 June 754 – 6 October 775}}
{{S-end}}

{{Abbasids}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansur}}
[[Category:714 births]]
[[Category:775 deaths]]
[[Category:Arab Muslims]]
[[Category:8th-century Abbasid caliphs]]
[[Category:Baghdad under the Abbasid Caliphate]]
[[Category:City founders]]