Editing Harun al-Rashid

{{Short description|5th Abbasid caliph (r. 786–809)}}
{{About|fifth Abbasid caliph||Haroon Rashid (disambiguation){{!}}Haroon Rashid}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2016}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Harun al-Rashid<br />{{lang|ar|هَارُون ٱلرَّشِيد}}
| title        = [[List of caliphs|Caliph]] 
| religion     = [[Sunni Islam]]
| image        = [[File:Gold dinar of Harun al-Rashid, AH 170-193.jpg|300px]]
| caption      = [[Gold dinar]] of Harun al-Rashid, minted in [[Baghdad]], 184 AH (800–801 AD)
| succession   = 5th [[Caliph]] of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]]
| reign        = 14 September 786 – 24 March 809
| predecessor  = [[Al-Hadi]]
| successor    = [[Al-Amin]]
| birth_date   = 17 March 763 or February 766
| birth_place  = [[Ray, Iran|Ray]], [[Jibal]], Abbasid Caliphate
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|809|3|24|766|3|17|df=y}}
| death_place  = [[Tus, Iran|Tus]], [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]], Abbasid Caliphate
| spouse       = {{Collapsible list|
* [[Zubaidah bint Ja'far]]
* Azizah bint Ghitrif
* Ghadir
* [[Umm Muhammad bint Salih]]
* [[Abbasa bint Sulayman]]
* Jurashiyyah al-Uthmanniyah
* Hailanah
* Dananir
* [[Marajil]]
* Qasif
* [[Maridah bint Shabib]]
* Dhat al-Khal
* Sihr
* Diya
* [[Inan bint Abdallah]]
* Ghadid
* Shikl
* Shadhr
* Hilanah
* Ri'm
* Sahdhrah
* Rawah
* Dawaj
* Kitman
* Hulab
* Irabah
* Rahiq
* Khzq
* Haly
* Aniq
* Samandal
* Zinah
* Qaina
* Shajw|}}
| spouse-type  = Consorts
| issue        = {{plainlist|
* [[Al-Amin]]{{efn|First [[Wali al-Ahd|heir-apparent]]}}
* [[Al-Ma'mun]]{{efn|Second [[Wali al-Ahd|heir-apparent]]}}
* [[Al-Qasim ibn Harun al-Rashid|Al-Qasim]]{{efn|Al-Qasim was the [[Heir Presumptive|third heir]], however, he was removed by his elder brothers}}
* [[Al-Mu'tasim]]{{efn|Al-Ma'mun had made no official provisions for his succession during his reign. According to the account of [[al-Tabari]], on his deathbed al-Ma'mun dictated a letter nominating his brother ''Abu Ishaq Muhammad'' as his successor, He was acclaimed as caliph on 9 August, with the regnal title of al-Mu'tasim bi'llah}}
* Abdan ibn Harun al-Rashid
* Sukaynah bint Harun al-Rashid
* [[#Family|See more below]]}}
| full name    = Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn [[al-Mahdi|Muḥammad]] ar-Rāshīd
| house        = [[Abbasid dynasty|Abbasid]] <!--[[Banu Hashim]] -->
| house-type   = Dynasty
| father       = [[Al-Mahdi]]
| mother       = [[Al-Khayzuran]]
| image_size   = 
| burial_place = Tomb of Harun al-Rashid in [[Imam Reza Mosque]], [[Mashhad]], Iran
}}

'''Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn Muḥammad ar-Rāshīd''' ({{langx
|ar|أَبُو جَعْفَر هَارُون ٱبْنِ مُحَمَّد ٱلْمَهْدِيّ|Abū Ja'far Hārūn ibn Muḥammad al-Mahdī}}), or simply '''Hārūn ibn al-Mahdī''' ({{Langx|ar|هَارُون ٱبْنِ ٱلْمَهْدِيّ|links=no}}; {{Circa|763}} or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as '''Hārūn al-Rāshīd''' ({{langx|ar|هَارُون ٱلرَّشِيد|Hārūn ar-Rashīd|links=no}}), was the fifth [[Abbasid caliph]] of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]], reigning from September 786 until his death in March 809. His reign is traditionally regarded to be the beginning of the [[Islamic Golden Age]]. His [[laqab|epithet]] ''al-Rashid'' translates to  "the Just", "the Upright", or "the Rightly-Guided".

Harun established the legendary library [[House of Wisdom|Bayt al-Hikma]] ("House of Wisdom") in [[Baghdad]] in present-day [[Iraq]], and during his rule Baghdad began to flourish as a world center of knowledge, culture and trade.<ref>Audun Holme, ''Geometry: Our Cultural Heritage'' p. 150.</ref> During his rule, the family of [[Barmakids]], which played a deciding role in establishing the Abbasid Caliphate, declined gradually. In 796, he moved his court and government to [[Raqqa]] in present-day [[Syria]]. Domestically, Harun pursued policies similar to those of his father [[Al-Mahdi]]. He released many of the [[Umayyad dynasty|Umayyads]] and 'Alids his brother [[Al-Hadi]] had imprisoned and declared amnesty for all political groups of the [[Quraysh]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RIB5qT9sGnwC&dq=harun+al-rashid+released+umayyads&pg=PA191 | title=Historical Dictionary of Iraq | isbn=9780810865686 | last1=Ghareeb | first1=Edmund A. | last2=Dougherty | first2=Beth | year= 2004 | publisher=Scarecrow Press }}</ref> Large scale hostilities broke out with [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantium]], and under his rule, the Abbasid Empire reached its peak.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RIB5qT9sGnwC&dq=harun+al-rashid+released+umayyads&pg=PA191 | title=Historical Dictionary of Iraq | isbn=9780810865686 | last1=Ghareeb | first1=Edmund A. | last2=Dougherty | first2=Beth | date=2004 | publisher=Scarecrow Press }}</ref>

A [[Franks|Frankish]] mission came to offer Harun friendship in 799. Harun sent various presents with the emissaries on their return to [[Charlemagne]]'s court, including a clock that Charlemagne and his retinue deemed to be a conjuration because of the sounds it emanated and the tricks it displayed every time an hour ticked.<ref>André Clot, ''Harun al-Rashid and the world of the thousand and one nights'', p. 97.</ref><ref>Royal Frankish Annals, DCCCVII.</ref><ref>Charlemagne: Translated sources, p. 98.</ref> Portions of the fictional ''[[One Thousand and One Nights]]'' are set in Harun's court and some of its stories involve Harun himself.<ref>André Clot, ''Harun al-Rashid and the world of the thousand and one nights''.</ref> Harun's life and court have been the subject of many other tales, both factual and fictitious.

==Early life==
Hārūn was born in [[Rey, Iran|Rey]], then part of [[Jibal]] in the Abbasid Caliphate, in present-day [[Tehran Province]], [[Iran]]. He was the son of [[al-Mahdi]], the third Abbasid caliph (r. 775–785), and his wife [[al-Khayzuran]], who was a woman of strong and independent personality who greatly influenced affairs of state in the reigns of her husband and sons. Growing up Harun studied history, geography, rhetoric, music, poetry, and economics. However, most of his time was dedicated to mastering [[hadith]] and the Quran. In addition, he underwent advanced physical education as a future mujahid, and as a result, he practiced swordplay, archery, and learned the art of war.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=38}} His birth date is debated, with various sources giving dates from 763 to 766.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Watt |first=William Montgomery |title=Hārūn al-Rashīd |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |date= 2022 |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harun-al-Rashid |access-date=29 April 2022}}</ref>

Before becoming a caliph, in 780 and again in 782, Hārūn had already nominally led campaigns against the caliphate's traditional enemy, the [[Eastern Roman Empire]], ruled by [[Irene of Athens|Empress Irene]]. The [[Abbasid invasion of Asia Minor (782)|latter expedition]] was a huge undertaking, and even reached the Asian suburbs of [[Constantinople]]. According to the Muslim chronicler [[Al-Tabari]], the Byzantines lost tens of thousands of soldiers, and Harun employed 20,000 mules to carry the riches back. Upon his return to the Abbasid realm, the cost of a sword fell to one dirham and the price of a horse to a single gold Byzantine dinar.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=25}}

Harun's raids against the Byzantines elevated his political image and once he returned, he was given the ''[[laqab]]'' "al-Rashid", meaning "the Rightly-Guided One". He was promoted to crown prince and given the responsibility of governing the empire's western territories, from [[Syria]] to [[Azerbaijan (Iran)|Azerbaijan]].{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=24}}

Upon the death of his father in 785, Harun's brother [[al-Hadi]] became caliph. However, al-Hadi's reign was brief: a year and two months. Al-Hadi clashed with their mother over her great influence in court. The historian [[Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari|al-Tabari]] notes varying accounts of al-Hadi's death, e.g. an abdominal ulcer or assassination prompted by his own mother.

==Caliphate==
[[File:Abbasid Provinces ca 788.png|thumb|right|upright=1.2|Map of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] and its provinces, {{circa|788}}]]
On the night of al-Hadi's death, [[al-Khayzuran]] quickly released [[Yahya ibn Khalid]] from prison and ordered him to pay the army's wages, send the letters to the governors to pledge allegiance to al-Rashīd, and prepare him as caliph. They summoned the commanders of the army, [[Harthama ibn A'yan]] and [[Khuzayma ibn Khazim]], and asked them to swear allegiance to Harun as caliph. Khuzayma reportedly gathered and armed 5,000 of his own followers, dragged the Ja'far ibn al-Hādī from his bed and forced him to publicly renounce his claims in favour of Hārūn. Hārūn became caliph in 786 when he was in his early twenties. At the time, he was tall, good looking, and slim but strongly built, with wavy hair and olive skin.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=37}} On the day of accession, his son [[al-Ma'mun]] was born, and [[al-Amin]] some little time later: the latter was the son of [[Zubaidah bint Ja`far|Zubaida]], a granddaughter of [[al-Mansur]] (founder of the city of Baghdad); so he took precedence over the former, whose mother was a Persian. Upon his accession, Harun led [[Friday prayer]]s in Baghdad's [[Great Mosque of al-Mansur|Great Mosque]] and then sat publicly as officials and the layman alike lined up to swear allegiance and declare their happiness at his ascent to [[Amir al-Mu'minin]].{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=36}} He began his reign by appointing very able ministers, who carried on the work of the government so well that they greatly improved the condition of the people.<ref>New Arabian nights' entertainments, Volume 3.</ref>

Under Hārūn al-Rashīd's rule, Baghdad flourished into the most splendid city of its period. Tribute paid by many rulers to the caliph funded [[Abbasid architecture|architecture]], the [[arts]] and court luxuries.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

In 796, Hārūn moved the entire court to [[Raqqa]] on the middle [[Euphrates]], where he spent 12 years, most of his reign. He appointed the [[Hanafi]] jurist [[Muhammad al-Shaybani]] as [[qadi]] (judge), but dismissed him in 803. He visited Baghdad only once. Several reasons may have influenced the decision to move to Raqqa: its closeness to the Byzantine border, its excellent communication lines via the Euphrates to Baghdad and via the Balikh river to the north and via [[Palmyra]] to Damascus, rich agricultural land, and the strategic advantage over any rebellion which might arise in Syria and the middle Euphrates area. [[Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani]], in his anthology of poems, depicts the splendid life in his court. In Raqqa the Barmakids managed the fate of the empire, and both heirs, al-Amin and al-Ma'mun, grew up there. At some point the royal court relocated again to [[Ray, Iran|Al-Rayy]], the capital city of [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]], where the famous philologist and leader of the [[Grammarians of Kufa|Kufan school]], [[Al-Kisa'i]], accompanied the caliph with his entourage. When al-Kisa'i became ill while in Al-Rayy, it is said that Harun visited him daily. It seems al-Shaybani and al-Kisa'i both died there on the same day in 804.

For the administration of the whole empire, he fell back on his mentor and longtime associate Yahya bin Khalid bin Barmak. Rashid appointed him as his [[Vizier (Abbasid Caliphate)|vizier]] with full executive powers, and, for seventeen years, Yahya and his sons served Rashid faithfully in whatever assignment he entrusted to them.<ref>Masʻūdī, Paul Lunde, Caroline Stone, ''The meadows of gold: the Abbasids'' p. 62.</ref>

Harun made pilgrimages to Mecca by [[camel]] ({{convert|1,750|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on|disp=or}} from Baghdad) several times, e.g., 793, 795, 797, 802 and last in 803. Tabari concludes his account of Harun's reign with these words: "It has been said that when Harun ar-Rashid died, there were nine hundred million odd (dirhams) in the state treasury."{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=42}}

According to Shia belief, Harun imprisoned and poisoned Musa ibn Ja'far, the 7th Imam, in Baghdad.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

Under al-Rashid, each city had its own law enforcement, which besides keeping order was supposed to examine the public markets in order to ensure, for instance, that proper scales and measures were used; enforce the payment of debts; and clamp down on illegal activities such as gambling, usury, and sales of alcohol.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=46}}

Harun was a great patron of art and learning, and is best known for the unsurpassed splendor of his court and lifestyle. Some of the stories, perhaps the earliest, of "The Thousand and One Nights" were inspired by the glittering Baghdad court. The character King Shahryar (whose wife, Scheherazade, tells the tales) may have been based on Harun himself.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Harun al-Rashid, the Abbasid Caliph Who Inspired the 'Arabian Nights' |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/harun-al-rashid-1788986 |access-date=28 June 2022 |website=ThoughtCo |language=en}}</ref>

=== Advisors ===

[[File:Dirham of Harun al-Rashid, Madinat al-Salam, 170AH.jpg|thumb|left|A silver [[dirham]] minted in Madinat al-Salam (Baghdad) in 170 [[Anno Hegirae|AH]] (786 CE). At the reverse, the inner marginal inscription says: "By order of the slave of God, Harun, [[Amir al-Mu'minin|Commander of the Faithful]]"]]

Hārūn was influenced by the will of his powerful mother in the governance of the empire until her death in 789; When he became caliph, Harun allowed her (Khayzuran) a free hand and, at times, restrained his own desires out of deference to her expressed wishes, and Khayzuran acted as an overseer of affairs, and Yahya deferred to her and acted on her advice. His [[vizier]] (chief minister) [[Yahya ibn Khalid]], Yahya's sons (especially [[Ja'far ibn Yahya]]), and other [[Barmakids]] generally controlled the administration. The position of [[Persians]] in the Abbasid caliphal court reached its peak during al-Rashid's reign.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Persian Presence in the Islamic World|first1=Richard G.|last1=Hovannisian|first2=Georges|last2=Sabagh|year=1998|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521591850}}</ref>

The Barmakids were an [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] family (from [[Balkh]]) that dated back to the [[Khalid ibn Barmak|Barmak]], a hereditary [[Buddhist]] priest of [[Nava Vihara]], who converted after the Islamic conquest of Balkh and became very powerful under al-Mahdi. Yahya had helped Hārūn to obtain the caliphate, and he and his sons were in high favor until 798, when the caliph threw them in prison and confiscated their land. [[Al-Tabari]] dates this event to 803 and lists various reasons for it: Yahya's entering the Caliph's presence without permission; Yahya's opposition to Muhammad ibn al Layth, who later gained Harun's favour; and Ja'far's release of Yahya ibn Abdallah ibn Hasan, whom Harun had imprisoned.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

The fall of the Barmakids is far more likely due to their behaving in a manner that Harun found disrespectful (such as entering his court unannounced) and making decisions in matters of state without first consulting him.{{citation needed|date=August 2017}} [[Al-Fadl ibn al-Rabi]] succeeded Yahya the Barmakid as Harun's chief minister.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

=== Diplomacy ===

[[File:Harun al-Rashid receives envoys from Charlemagne.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|right|Harun al-Rashid at left receiving a delegation sent by [[Charlemagne]] to his court in Baghdad.<br>1864 painting by Julius Köckert.]]

Both [[Einhard]] and [[Notker the Stammerer]] refer to envoys traveling between the courts of Harun and [[Charlemagne]], king of the [[Franks]], and entering friendly discussions about Christian access to holy sites and gift exchanges. Notker mentions Charlemagne sent Harun Spanish horses, colorful [[Frisian Kingdom|Frisian]] cloaks and impressive hunting dogs. In 802 Harun sent Charlemagne a present consisting of [[silk]]s, [[brass]] [[candelabra]], [[perfume]], [[Balsam of Mecca|balsam]], [[ivory]] chessmen, a colossal tent with many-colored curtains, an [[elephant]] named [[Abul-Abbas]], and a [[water clock]] that marked the hours by dropping bronze balls into a bowl, as mechanical [[knight]]s – one for each hour – emerged from little doors which shut behind them. The presents were unprecedented in Western Europe and may have influenced [[Carolingian]] art.<ref>Lodovico Antonio Muratori, Giuseppe Catalani (1742), [https://books.google.com/books?id=pNVCAQAAMAAJ ''Annali d'Italia: Dall'anno 601 dell'era volare fino all'anno 840''], Monaco, p. 465. Muratori describes only some of these gifts.</ref> This exchange of embassies was due to the fact that Harun was interested, like Charlemagne, in subduing the [[Umayyad dynasty|Umayyad]] [[Emirate of Córdoba|emirs of Córdoba]]. Also, the common enmity against the Byzantines was what brought Harun closer to the contemporary Charlemagne.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

When the Byzantine empress [[Irene (empress)|Irene]] was deposed in 802, [[Nikephoros I]] became emperor and refused to pay tribute to Harun, saying that Irene should have been receiving the tribute the whole time. News of this angered Harun, who wrote a message on the back of the Byzantine emperor's letter and said, "In the name of God the most merciful, From [[Amir al-Mu'minin]] Harun ar-Rashid, commander of the faithful, to Nikephoros, dog of the Romans. Thou shalt not hear, thou shalt behold my reply". After [[Abbasid invasion of Asia Minor (806)|campaigns in Asia Minor]], Nikephoros was forced to conclude a treaty, with humiliating terms.<ref>Tarikh ath-Thabari 4/668–669.</ref><ref>Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya v 13 p. 650.</ref> According to Dr Ahmad Mukhtar al-Abadi, it is due to the particularly fierce second retribution campaign against Nikephoros, that the Byzantine practically ceased any attempt to incite any conflict against the Abbasid again until the rule of [[Al-Ma'mun]].<ref name="Ahmad Mukhtar al Abadi">{{cite book |last1=Mukhtar al-Abadi |first1=Ahmad |title=In Abbasid and Andalusian History |year= 2019 |publisher=Ain University Library |url=https://ebook.univeyes.com/28050/pdf-%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%aa%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%ae-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d8%a8%d8%a7%d8%b3%d9%8a-%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d9%86%d8%af%d9%84%d8%b3%d9%8a-%d9%84%d8%a3%d8%ad%d9%85%d8%af-%d9%85%d8%ae%d8%aa%d8%a7%d8%b1-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d8%a8%d8%a7%d8%af%d9%8a |access-date=28 September 2021}}</ref><ref name="Tabari, bosworth version, SUNY press">{{cite book |last1=C.E |first1=Bosworth |title=The History of al-Tabari Vol. 30: The 'Abbasid Caliphate in Equilibrium: The Caliphates of Musa al-Hadi and Harun al-Rashid A.D. 785–809/A.H. 169–193 |date=1989 |publisher=SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany: State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-88706-564-4 |page=365 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wqf1gwM9O58C |access-date=28 September 2021}}</ref>

An alliance was established with the Chinese [[Tang dynasty]] by Ar-Rashid after he sent embassies to China.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QivwtVwq8ykC|title=The Chinese Machiavelli: 3000 years of Chinese statecraft|author=Dennis Bloodworth, Ching Ping Bloodworth|year=2004|publisher=Transaction Publishers|page=214|isbn=0-7658-0568-5|access-date=28 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=drPQaUGOJQIC&q=harun+raschid+less+obtrusive&pg=PA138|title=Confucianism and its rivals|author=Herbert Allen Giles |year=1926 |publisher=Forgotten Books |isbn=1-60680-248-8 |page=139}}</ref> He was called "A-lun" in the Chinese [[Old Book of Tang|Tang Annals]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_ObcNAAAAIAAJ|title=Islam in China: a neglected problem|author=Marshall Broomhall|access-date=14 December 2011 |year=1910 |publisher=Morgan & Scott, ltd. |location=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_ObcNAAAAIAAJ/page/n46 25], 26}}</ref> The alliance was aimed against the [[Tibetan Empire|Tibetans]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=W4mCH1oCKTkC&dq=Luciano+Petech+Harun+Tibetans&pg=PA15 Bajpai 2002], p. 15.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Tn5oVOER2ogC Bajpai 1981], p. 55.</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aBcdAAAAMAAJ |title=Nomadic Empires: From Mongolia to the Danube|first=Gérard|last=Chaliand|year=1970|publisher=Transaction Publishers|access-date=1 September 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>Luciano Petech, ''A Study of the Chronicles of Ladakh'' (Calcutta, 1939), pp. 73–73.</ref><ref>Luciano Petech, ''A Study of the Chronicles of Ladakh'' (Calcutta, 1939), pp. 55–85.</ref>

When diplomats and messengers visited Harun in his palace, he was screened behind a curtain. No visitor or petitioner could speak first, interrupt, or oppose the caliph. They were expected to give their undivided attention to the caliph and calculate their responses with great care.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=40}}

=== Rebellions ===
[[File:Ar-Rashid AV dinar 171AH Harun amir yevlem.jpg|thumb|200px|Dinar of Harun 171 AH (AD 787–88), the early years of his reign]]
Because of the ''Thousand and One Nights'' tales, Harun al-Rashid turned into a legendary figure obscuring his true historic personality. In fact, his reign initiated the political disintegration of the Abbasid caliphate. [[al-Sham|Syria]] was inhabited by tribes with Umayyad sympathies and remained the bitter enemy of the Abbasids, while Egypt witnessed uprisings against Abbasids due to maladministration and arbitrary taxation. The Umayyads had been established in Spain in 755, the [[Idrisids]] in Morocco in 788, and the ''Aghlabids'' in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia) in 800. Besides, unrest flared up in Yemen, and the Kharijites rose in rebellion in Daylam, Kerman, Fars and Sistan. Revolts also broke out in [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]], and al-Rashid waged many campaigns against the Byzantines.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

Al-Rashid appointed [[Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan|Ali bin Isa bin Mahan]] as the governor of Khorasan, who tried to bring to heel the princes and chieftains of the region, and to reimpose the full authority of the central government on them. This new policy met with fierce resistance and provoked numerous uprisings in the region.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

== Family ==
Harun's first wife was [[Zubaidah bint Ja'far|Zubaidah]]. She was the daughter of his paternal uncle, Ja'far and maternal aunt Salsal, sister of [[Al-Khayzuran]].{{sfn|Abbott|1946|pages=29–30}} They married in 781–82, at the residence of Muhammad bin Sulayman in Baghdad. She had one son, Caliph [[Al-Amin]].{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=141}} She died in 831.{{sfn|al-Tabari|Bosworth|1989|p=326}} Another of his wives was Azizah, daughter of Ghitrif, brother of Al-Khayzuran.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=137}} She had been formerly married to [[Sulayman ibn Abi Ja'far]], who had divorced her.{{sfn|al-Tabari|Bosworth|1989|p=326}} Another was Ghadir also known as Amat-al-Aziz, who had been formerly a concubine of his brother al-Hadi.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=137}} She had one son Ali.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=141}} She died in 789.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=137}} Another wife was [[Umm Muhammad bint Salih|Umm Muhammad]], the daughter of Salih al-Miskin and Umm Abdullah, the daughter of Isa bin Ali. They married in November–December 803 in Al-Raqqah. She had been formerly been married to [[Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi]], who had repudiated her.{{sfn|al-Tabari|Bosworth|1989|p=326}} Another wife married around the same year was [[Abbasa bint Sulayman|Abbasa]], daughter of [[Sulayman ibn Abi Ja'far]].{{sfn|al-Tabari|Bosworth|1989|p=326}} Another wife was Jurashiyyah al-Uthmanniyah. She was the daughter of Abdullah bin Muhammad, and had descended from [[Uthman]], the third Caliph of the [[Rashidun Caliphate|Rashidun]].{{sfn|al-Tabari|Bosworth|1989|p=326}}

Harun's earliest known concubine was Hailanah. She had been a slave girl of [[Yahya ibn Khalid]], the Barmakid. It was she who begged him, while he was yet a prince, to take her away from the elderly Yahya. Harun then approached Yahya, who presented him with the girl. She died three years later{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=138}} in 789–90,{{sfn|al-Sāʿī |Toorawa|Bray|2017|p=14}} and Harun mourned her deeply.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=138}} Another concubine was [[Dananir al Barmakiyya|Dananir]]. She was a Barmakid, and had been formerly a slave girl of Yahya ibn Khalid. She had been educated at Medina and had studied instrumental and vocal music.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|pages=138–39}} Another concubine was [[Marajil]]. She was a Persian, and came from distant [[Badghis Province|Badhaghis]] in Persia. She was one of the ten maids presented to Harun. She gave birth to Abdullah (future caliph [[Al-Ma'mun]]) on the night of Harun's accession to the throne, in September 786, in whose birth she died. Her son was then adopted by Zubaidah.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=141}} Another concubine was Qasif, mother of [[Al-Qasim ibn Harun al-Rashid|Al-Qasim]]. He was Harun's second son, born to a concubine mother. Harun's eldest daughter Sukaynah was also born to her.<ref>{{harvnb|al-Tabari|Bosworth|1989|p=327}}.</ref>

Another concubine was [[Maridah bint Shabib|Maridah]]. Her father was Shabib.{{sfn|Masudi|2013|p=462}} She was a Sogdian, and was born in Kufah. She was one of the ten maids presented to Harun by Zubaidah. She had five children. These were Abu Ishaq (future caliph [[al-Mu'tasim]]), Abu Isma'il, Umm Habib, and two others whose names are unknown. She was Harun's favourite concubine.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|pages=141–42}} Some other favourite concubines were, Dhat al-Khal, Sihr, and Diya. Diya died much to Harun's sorrow.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=143}} Dhat al-Khal also known as Khubth{{sfn|al-Tabari|Bosworth|1989|p=327}}  and Khunth,{{sfn|Kilpatrick|2023|pp=309, 462}} was a singer, belonging to a slave-dealer who was himself a freedman of Abbasah, the sister of Al-Rashid. She caught the fancy of Ibrahim al-Mausili, whose songs in praise of her soon reached Harun's attention, who bought her for the enormous sum of 70,000 dinars.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=144}} She was the mother of Harun's son, Abu al-Abbas Muhammad.{{sfn|al-Tabari|Bosworth|1989|p=327}}{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=144}} Sihr was mother of Harun's daughters, Khadijah{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=144}} and Karib.{{sfn|al-Tabari|Bosworth|1989|p=328}} Another concubine was [[Inan bint Abdallah|Inan]]. Her father was Abdullah.{{sfn|al-Sāʿī|Toorawa|Bray|2017|p=8}} She was born and brought up in the Yamamah in central Arabia. She was a singer and a poet, and had been a slave girl of Abu Khalid al-Natifi.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=146}} She bore Harun two sons, both of whom died young. She accompanied him to Khurasan where he, and, soon after, she died.<ref>{{cite book |last=Caswell |first=Fuad Matthew |title=The Slave Girls of Baghdad: The Qiyan in the Early Abbasid Era |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing | year=2011 |isbn=978-1-78672-959-0 |pages=73–81}}</ref>

Another concubine was Ghadid, also known as Musaffa, and she was mother of Harun's daughters, Hamdunah{{sfn|al-Sāʿī |Toorawa|Bray|2017|p=13}} and Fatimah.{{sfn|al-Tabari|Bosworth|1989|p=328}} She was his favourite concubine.{{sfn|al-Sāʿī |Toorawa|Bray|2017|p=13}} Hamdunah and Fatimah married Al-Hadi's sons, Isma'il and Ja'far respectively.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|pages=157}} Another concubine was Shikl. She was the mother of Abu Ali.{{sfn|Kilpatrick|2023|pp=41, 462}} She was purchased by Al-Rashid along with another girl named Shadhr{{sfn|Kilpatrick|2023|p=41}} also known as Sukkar.{{sfn|al-Tabari|Bosworth|1989|page=327}} When Shadhr became pregnant and had a child named Umm Abiha,{{sfn|Kilpatrick|2023|pp=41, 462}} Shikl grew envious of her. This jealousy escalated to the point where it became widely known. Later, Shikl herself became pregnant and gave birth to Abu Ali. Despite the deaths of both mothers, the animosity between Abu Ali and Umm Abiha persisted.{{sfn|Kilpatrick|2023|p=41}} Another concubine was Hilanah. She had been formerly a concubine of his brother al-Hadi.{{sfn|Kilpatrick|2023|pp=309, 449}}

Another of Harun's concubines was the captive daughter of a Greek churchman of [[Heraclea (Acarnania)|Heraclea]] acquired with the fall of that city in 806. Zubaidah once more presented him with one of her personal maids who had caught his fancy. Harun's half-brother, while governor of Egypt from 795 to 797, also sent him an Egyptian maid who immediately won his favour.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|pages=149–50}} Some other concubines were namely: Ri'm, mother of Salih; Irbah, mother of Abu Isa Muhammad; Sahdhrah, mother of Abu Yaqub Muhammad; Rawah, mother of Abu Sulayman Muhammad; Dawaj, mother of Abu Ali Muhammad; Kitman, mother of Abu Ahmad Muhammad; Hulab, mother of Arwa; Irabah, mother of Umm al-Hassan; Rahiq, mother of Umm Salamah; Khzq, mother of Umm al-Qasim; Haly, mother of Umm Ja'far Ramlah; Aniq, mother of Umm Ali; Samandal, mother of Umm al-Ghaliyah; Zinah, mother of Raytah;{{sfn|al-Tabari|Bosworth|1989|pages=327–28}} Qaina;{{sfn|Masudi|2013|p=276}} Shajw.{{sfn|Kilpatrick|2023|pp=309, 462}}

==Anecdotes ==
 
Many anecdotes attached themselves to the person of Harun al-Rashid in the centuries following his rule. [[Saadi (poet)|Saadi]] of Shiraz inserted a number of them into his ''[[Gulistan of Sa'di|Gulistan]]''.

[[Al-Masudi]] relates a number of interesting anecdotes in ''[[The Meadows of Gold]]'' that illuminate the caliph's character. For example, he recounts Harun's delight when his horse came in first, closely followed by al-Ma'mun's, at a race that Harun held at Raqqa. Al-Masudi tells the story of Harun setting his poets a challenging task. When others failed to please him, Miskin of Medina succeeded superbly well. The poet then launched into a moving account of how much it had cost him to learn that song. Harun laughed and said that he did not know which was more entertaining, the song or the story. He rewarded the poet.{{sfn|Masudi|2013|p=94}}

There is also the tale of Harun asking Ishaq ibn Ibrahim to keep singing. The musician did so until the caliph fell asleep. Then, strangely, a handsome young man appeared, snatched the musician's lute, sang a very moving piece (al-Masudi quotes it) and left. On awakening and being informed of that, Harun said Ishaq ibn Ibrahim had received a supernatural visitation.

Shortly before he died, Harun is said to have been reading some lines by [[Abu al-Atahiya]] about the transitory nature of the power and pleasures of this world, an anecdote related to other caliphs as well.

Every morning, Harun gave one thousand dirhams to charity and made one hundred prostrations a day.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=42}} Harun famously used to look up at rain clouds in the sky and said: "rain where you like, but I will get the land tax!"{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=45}}{{Additional citation needed|date=January 2025 |reason=Some of these anecdotes are unsourced}}

Harun was terrified for his soul in the afterlife. It was reported that he quickly cried when he thought of God and read poems about the briefness of life.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=62}}{{Additional citation needed|date=January 2025 |reason=Some of these anecdotes are unsourced}}

Soon after he became caliph, Harun asked his servant to bring him Ibn al-Sammak, a renowned scholar, to obtain wisdom from him. Harun asked al-Sammak what he would like to tell him. Al-Sammak replied, "I would like you always to remember that one day you will stand alone before your God. You will then be consigned either to Heaven or to Hell." That was too harsh for Harun's liking, and he was obviously disturbed. His servant cried out in protest that the Prince of the Faithful will definitely go to heaven after he has ruled justly on earth. However, al-Sammak ignored the interruption and looked straight into the eyes of Harun and said that "you will not have this man to defend you on that day."{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=62}}

An official, Maan ibn Zaidah, had fallen out of favor with Harun. When Harun saw him in court, he said that "you have grown old." The elderly man responded, "Yes, O Commander of the Faithful in your service." Harun replied, "But you have still some energy left." The old man replied that "what I have, is yours to dispose of as you wish... and I am bold in opposing your foes." Harun was satisfied with the encounter and made the man governor of [[Basra]] for his final years.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=61}}

On [[Hajj]], he distributed large amounts of money to the people of [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]] and to poor pilgrims en route. He always took a number of ascetics with him, and whenever he was unable to go on pilgrimage, he sent dignitaries and three hundred clerics at his own expense.<ref>{{harvnb|Bobrick|2012|p=42}}</ref>

One day, Harun was visiting a dignitary when he was struck by his beautiful slave. Harun asked the man to give her to him. The man obliged but was visibly disturbed by the loss. Afterward, Harun felt sorry for what he had done and gave her back.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=55}}{{Additional citation needed|date=January 2025 |reason=Some of these anecdotes are unsourced}}

Harun was an excellent horseman, enjoyed hunting (with Salukis, falcons, and hawks) and was fond of military exercises such as charging dummies with his sword. Harun was also the first Abbasid caliph to have played and promoted chess.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=70}}

Harun desired a slave girl that was owned by an official named Isa who refused to give her to Harun, despite threats. Isa explained that he swore (in the middle of a sex act) that if he ever gave away or sold her, he would divorce his wife, free his slaves, and give all of his possessions to the impoverished. Yusuf, a judge and advisor to Harun, was called to arbitrate the case and to figure out a legal way for Isa to maintain his belongings even if Harun walked away with the girl. Yusuf decided that if Isa gave half of the girl to Harun and sold him the other half, it could not be said that Isa had either given her away or sold her, keeping his promise.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=57}}{{Additional citation needed|date=January 2025 |reason=Some of these anecdotes are unsourced}}

Harun had an anxious soul and supposedly was prone to walk the streets of Baghdad at night. At times [[Ja'far ibn Yahya]] accompanied him. The night-time tours likely arose from a genuine and sympathetic concern in the well-being of his people, for it is said that he was assiduous to relieve any of their trials and tend to their needs.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=61}}
<!--HIDDEN; mostly redundant
==Timeline==
{{Prose|date=August 2010}}
*763: Hārūn is born on 17 March, the son of Caliph al-Mahdi and the Yemeni girl al-Khayzuran. This date is not certain as other sources give the various dates, from 763 to 768. Apart from 17 March 763, February 766 is the other most probable date of his birth.<ref>{{cite book|title=[[Harun al-Rashid and the World of the Thousand and One Nights]]|page=33|first=André|last=Clot|author-link= André Clot}}</ref>
*780: Hārūn is the leader of military expeditions against the [[Byzantine Empire]].
*782: Hārūn is the leader of a military campaign against the Byzantine Empire under [[Irene of Athens]]. The defection of the Armenian general [[Tatzates]] allows him to reach as far as the [[Bosporus]]. A peace treaty is signed on favorable terms. Harun receives the honorific title ''ar-Rashīd'', named second in succession to the caliphal throne and also appointed governor of [[Tunisia]], [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Armenia]] and [[Azerbaijan (Iran)|Azerbaijan]].
*786: 14 September: Hārūn's brother al-Hadi dies under mysterious circumstances&nbsp;– it was rumored that his supportive mother [[al-Khayzuran]] was responsible. Hārūn becomes the new caliph and makes [[Yahya the Barmakid]] his [[Grand Vizier]] – but al-Khayzuran exercised much influence over the politics.
*789: [[al-Khayzuran]] dies, leaving more of the effective power in the hands of Hārūn.
*791: Hārūn wages war against the [[Byzantine Empire]].
*795: To prevent Shiite rebellions, Hārūn imprisons [[Musa al-Kazim]], the Shiite imam.
*796: Hārūn moves the Imperial residence and the government from Baghdad to Raqqa.
*799: Hārūn orders Sindi ibn Shahiq to poison the 7th Shiite Imam [[Musa al-Kazim]], causing the death of the Shiite leader in prison, four years after having been imprisoned by Hārūn.
*800: Hārūn appoints [[Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab]] governor over Tunisia, making him a semi-autonomous ruler in return for substantial yearly payments.
*802: Hārūn gives two [[albino]] [[elephants]] to [[Charlemagne]] as a diplomatic gift.
*803: Yahya dies, and even more of effective power comes in the hands of Hārūn.
*805: Harun defeats Emperor [[Nikephoros I Logothetes]] at the [[Battle of Krasos]]
*807: Hārūn's forces occupy Cyprus.
*809: Lead 5 expeditions against [[Abdurrahman Ad-Dakhil]] in Cyprus, wins the first battle in the north of [[Cyprus]]. Attacked by [[Ali An-Zabuhn]] while praying on [[Al-Masjid al-Nabawi]], received injuries to his eyes. He died on 30 November after being injured for 1 day.-->

== Death ==
A major revolt led by [[Rafi ibn al-Layth]] was started in [[Samarkand|Samarqand]] which forced Harun al-Rashid to move to [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]]. He first removed and arrested Ali bin Isa bin Mahan but the revolt continued unchecked. (Harun had dismissed Ali and replaced him with [[Harthama ibn A'yan]], and in 808 marched himself east to deal with the rebel [[Rafi ibn al-Layth]], but died in March 809 while at [[Tus, Iran|Tus]]).{{sfn|Bosworth|1995|pp=385–86}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hārūn al-Rashīd {{!}} ʿAbbāsid caliph {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harun-al-Rashid|access-date=11 December 2021|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref> Harun al-Rashid became ill and died very soon after when he reached [[Sanabad]] village in [[Tus, Iran|Tus]] and was buried in ''Dar al-Imarah'', the summer palace of [[Humayd ibn Qahtaba]], the Abbasid governor of Khorasan. Due to this historical event, the Dar al-Imarah was known as the [[Haruniyeh Dome|Mausoleum of Haruniyyeh]]. The location later became known as [[Mashhad]] ("The Place of Martyrdom") because of the martyrdom of [[Ali al-Ridha|Imam al-Ridha]] in 818. Harun al-Rashid and his first [[Heir apparent|Heir]], prince al-Amin (Al-Amin was nominated first heir, Al-Ma'mun second and Al-Qasim was third [[Heir presumptive|heir]].) After Harun's death in 809 he was succeeded by [[Al-Amin]].

== Legacy ==
Al-Rashid become a prominent figure in the [[Muslim culture|Muslim]] and [[Arab culture]], he has been described as one of the most famous Arabs in history. All the [[List of Abbasid caliphs|Abbasid caliphs after him]] were his descendants.

About his accession famous poet and musician [[Ibrahim al-Mawsili|al-Mawsili]] said:

{{blockquote|Did you not see how the sun came out of hiding on Harun's accession and flooded the world with light<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Harun al-Rashid: and the World of the Thousand and One Nights|encyclopedia=Youth and Splendour of the Well-Guided One, part 2|date= 2014|publisher=André Clot|isbn=9780863565588|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EkghBQAAQBAJ&q=harun+al+rashid}}</ref>}}

About his reign, famous Arab historian [[Al-Masudi]] said:
{{blockquote|So great were the Splendour and riches of his reign, such was its prosperity, that this period has been called "the Honeymoon".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Harun al-Rashid: and the World of the Thousand and One Nights|encyclopedia=The Horsemen of Allah, part 1|date= 2014|publisher=André Clot|isbn=9780863565588|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EkghBQAAQBAJ&q=harun+al+rashid}}</ref>}}

Al-Rashid become the progenitor of subsequent Abbasid caliphs. Al-Rashid nominated his son [[Al-Amin|Muhammad al-Amin]] as his first heir. Muhammad had an elder half-brother, Abdallah, the future [[al-Ma'mun]] ({{reign|813|833}}), who had been born in September 786 (six months older than him) However, Abdallah's mother was a Persian concubine, and his pure Abbasid lineage gave Muhammad seniority over his half-brother.{{sfn|Gabrieli|1960|p=437}}{{sfn|Rekaya|1991|p=331}} Indeed, he was the only Abbasid caliph to claim such descent.{{sfn|Rekaya|1991|p=331}} Already in 792, Harun had Muhammad receive the oath of allegiance (''[[bay'ah]]'') with the name of ''[[al-Amīn]]'' ("The Trustworthy"), effectively marking him out as his main heir, while Abdallah was not named second heir, under the name ''al-Maʾmūn'' ("The Trusted One") until 799.{{sfn|Gabrieli|1960|p=437}}{{sfn|Rekaya|1991|p=331}} and his third son [[Al-Qasim ibn Harun al-Rashid|Qasim]] was nominated [[Heir presumptive|third heir]], however he never became caliph.
Harun is sometimes accused of weakening the Abbasid legacy by dividing the kingdoms central powers between his two sons. This ultimately created tension between the two brothers.<ref>Al-Tabari, The History of Prophets and Kings, tr. Michael Fishbein, The History of al-Ṭabarī Volume XXXI: The War between Brothers (Albany, 1992)</ref> Among his sons, al-Amin became caliph after his death in 809. Al-Amin ruled from 809 to 813, until a [[Fourth Fitna|civil war]] broke between him and his brother Abdallah al-Ma'mun (Governor of Khorasan). The reason of war were that caliph al-Amin tried to remove al-Ma'mun as his heir. Al-Ma'mun became caliph in 813 and ruled the caliphate for two decades until 833. He was succeeded by another of Harun's son Abu Ishaq Muhammad (better known as [[Al-Mu'tasim]]), his mother was [[Maridah bint Shabib|Marida]], a concubine.{{sfn|Bosworth|1993|p=776}}{{sfn|Masudi|2013|p=222}}

==In popular culture==
[[File:HarunAlRashid-UAE collection.jpg|center|thumb|274x274px|Harun Al Rashid coins on display in the Emirates Heritage Village collection in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.]]
<gallery widths="250">
File:Harun Al-Rashid and the World of the Thousand and One Nights.jpg|alt=|Harun al-Rashid as depicted in the ''[[Arabian Nights]]'' (One Thousand and One Nights).
File:Harun al-Rashid by Khalil Gibran.png|alt=|Sketch drawing of Harun al-Rashid by poet and visual artist [[Kahlil Gibran]] (1883–1931)
File:Hārūn al-Rashīd.png|alt=|right|Harun al-Rashid from the book Kitab khizanat al-ayyam fī tarajim al-ʻizam, first published in New york in 1899.
File:Hārūn al-Rashid, Sayr mulhimah min al-Sharq wa-al-Gharb.png|alt=|A sketch representation of Hārūn al-Rashid from a book entitled Sayr Mulhimah: ''Min al-Sharq wa-al-Gharb'', first translated into Arabic and published in Egypt, 1381 [[Islamic calendar|AH]]/1961
File:Harun Al-Rashid on the Takht.png|alt=|Harun al-Rashid as depicted in the book ''Harun Al-Rashid'' (1951)
</gallery>
*In [[Shinobu Ohtaka]]'s ''[[Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic]]'', the former king of Balbadd is called Rashid Saluja. In the spin-off ''Adventure of Sinbad'', Rashid's alias is Harun.
*[[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]] wrote a short poem titled "Haroun Al Raschid".
*[[O. Henry]] uses the character in his story "The Caliph and the Cad". The theme of the story is "turning the tables on Haroun al Raschid".
*[[Alfred, Lord Tennyson|Alfred Tennyson]] wrote a poem in his youth entitled "[[Recollections of the Arabian Nights]]". Every stanza (except the last one) ends with "of good Haroun Alraschid".
*Harun al-Rashid was a main figure and character in several of the stories in some of the oldest versions of the ''[[One Thousand and One Nights]]''.
*The Indian television series ''[[Alif Laila]]'' (1993–1997), an adaptation of the ''Arabian Nights'', features several tales involving the caliph from the classic collection of stories.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alif Laila DVD [20 Disc Set] |url=https://www.induna.com/1000006012-productdetails/ |website=Induna.com}}</ref> 
*Hārūn ar-Rashīd figures throughout [[James Joyce]]'s ''[[Ulysses (novel)|Ulysses]]'', in a dream of [[Stephen Dedalus]], one of the protagonists. Stephen's efforts to recall this dream continue throughout the novel, culminating in the novel's fifteenth episode, wherein some characters also take on the guise of Hārūn.
* Harun al-Rashid is celebrated in a 1923 poem by [[W. B. Yeats]], "The Gift of Harun al-Rashid".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csun.edu/~hceng029/yeats/poemsalpha.html|title=Yeats Poems Titles|website=Csun.edu|access-date=1 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.csun.edu/~hceng029/yeats/yeatspoems/GiftOfHarun |title=Archived copy |access-date=16 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008075736/http://www.csun.edu/~hceng029/yeats/yeatspoems/GiftOfHarun |archive-date=8 October 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* A story of one of Harun's wanderings provides the climax to the narrative game of titles at the end of [[Italo Calvino]]'s ''[[If on a winter's night a traveler]]'' (1979). In Calvino's story, Harun wanders at night, only to be drawn into a conspiracy in which he is selected to assassinate the Caliph Harun-al-Rashid.
*In [[Charles Dickens|Charles Dickens']] 1842 [[Travel literature|travelogue]], ''[[American Notes|American Notes for General Circulation]]'', he compares American supporters of slavery to the "Caliph Harun al-Rashid in his angry robe of scarlet".
*The two protagonists of [[Salman Rushdie]]'s 1990 novel ''[[Haroun and the Sea of Stories]]'' are Haroun and his father Rashid Khalifa.
*In the [[The Sten Chronicles|Sten]] science fiction novels by [[Allan Cole]] and [[Chris Bunch]], the character of the Eternal Emperor uses the name "H. E. Raschid" when incognito; this is confirmed, in the final book of the series, as a reference to the character from [[Richard Francis Burton|Burton]]'s translation of ''The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night''.
*The movie ''[[The Golden Blade]]'' (1952), starring [[Rock Hudson]] and [[Piper Laurie]] depicts the adventures of ''Harun'' who uses a [[magic sword]] to free a [[fairy-tale]] Baghdad from Jafar, the evil usurper of the throne. After he finally wins the hand of princess Khairuzan she awards him the title Al-Rashid ("the righteous").
*The [[comic book]] ''[[The Sandman (DC Comics Modern Age)|The Sandman]]'' features a story (issue 50, "Ramadan") set in the world of the ''One Thousand and One Nights'', with Hārūn ar-Rashīd as the protagonist. It highlights his historical and mythical role as well as his discussion of the transitory nature of power. The story is included in the collection ''[[The Sandman: Fables and Reflections]]''.
*[[Haroun El Poussah]] in the French [[comics|comic]] strip ''[[Iznogoud]]'' is a satirical version of Hārūn ar-Rashīd.
*In ''[[Quest for Glory II]]'', the sultan who adopts [[Hero (Quest for Glory)|the Hero]] as his son is named Hārūn ar-Rashīd. He is often seen prophesying on the streets of Shapeir as The Poet Omar.
*Harun al-Rashid appears as the leader of Arabia in the video game ''[[Civilization V]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Zacny |first=Rob |title=Civilization V Field Report 2 |url=http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/217737/civilization-v-field-report-2 |publisher=GamePro |date=24 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106162336/http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/217737/civilization-v-field-report-2 |archive-date=6 January 2011}}</ref>
*Future US President [[Theodore Roosevelt]], when he was a commissioner for the [[New York Police Department]], was nicknamed "Haroun-al-Roosevelt" in several local newspapers.
*In ''[[The Master and Margarita]]'', by novelist [[Mikhail Bulgakov]], Harun al-Rashid is referenced by the character Korovyev in which he warns a door man not to judge him "by [his] suit", and to reference the story of "the famous caliph, Harun al-Rashid".
*In the 1924 film ''[[Waxworks (film)|Waxworks]]'', a poet is hired by a wax museum proprietor to write back-stories for three wax models. Among these wax models is Harun al-Rashid, played by [[Emil Jannings]].
*In the 2006 novel ''[[Variable Star]]'' by [[Robert Heinlein]] and [[Spider Robinson]], chapter 1 is prefaced with a quotation from Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "Recollections of the Arabian Nights" regarding "good Harun Alrashid", the relevance of which becomes apparent in chapter 2 when one character relates stories (probably apocryphal and presumably drawn from Tennyson) of Harun al-Rahsid to another character in order to use them as an analogy.
*The second chapter in the novel ''[[Prince Otto]]'' by [[Robert Louis Stevenson]] has the title "In which the Prince Plays Haroun al-Raschid".
*Haroun al-Rashid has a character page in the video game ''[[Crusader Kings II]]'', and it is possible to play as his descendants of the [[Abbasid dynasty]].
*Harun al-Rashid appears in the children's comic book ''[[Mampato]]'', in the stories "Bromiznar de Bagdad" and "Ábrete Sesamo", by the Chilean author [[Themo Lobos]]. In this story, al-Rashid is shown at first as lazy and indolent, but after a series of adventures he decides to take the leading role against an evil vizier and help the main character, Mampato.
*[[Frank Lloyd Wright]] designed a monument to al-Rashid as part of his proposed 1957 urban renewal plan for [[Baghdad, Iraq]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Urbanism of Frank Lloyd Wright|first=Neil|last=Levine|year= 2015|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0691167534}}</ref>
*In his book ''[[The Power Broker]]'', [[Robert Caro]] compares [[New York City]] [[Mayor of New York City|mayor]] [[Fiorello H. La Guardia]] to Harun al-Rashid in the way each "roam[ed] his domain."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Caro |first1=Robert |title=The Power Broker |date=1974 |publisher=Vintage Books |location=New York |page=444}}</ref>
*The Syrian television series ''Harun Al-Rashid'' (2018), starring [[Kosai Khauli]], [[Caresse Bashar|Karis Bashar]], and [[Yasser Al-Masri]] focuses on Harun and his relation with his brother Caliph Al-Hadi, and that preceded Harun's ascent to the Caliphate. It also focuses on his relations with his elder sons and nomination of Al-Amin and Al-Ma'mun as heir.

==See also==
*[[Isma'il ibn Salih ibn Ali al-Hashimi]]
*[[Abd al-Malik ibn Salih]]
*[[Great Qadi]]

== References ==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Notes===
{{notelist}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin|20em}}
* {{cite book | last=Abbott | first=Nabia | title=Two Queens of Baghdad: Mother and Wife of Hārūn Al Rashīd | publisher=University of Chicago Press | year=1946 | isbn=978-0-86356-031-6 }}
* {{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}}
*{{cite book | last1=al-Tabari | first1=Muhammad Ibn Yarir | last5=Bosworth | first5=Clifford Edmund | title=The History of al-Tabari Vol. 30: The 'Abbasid Caliphate in Equilibrium: The Caliphates of Musa al-Hadi and Harun al-Rashid A.D. 785–809/A.H. 169–193 |translator=C.E. Bosworth | publisher=State University of New York Press | series=Bibliotheca Persica | year=1989 | isbn=978-0-88706-564-4 |ref={{harvid|al-Tabari|Bosworth|1989}}}}
* {{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}}
* {{EI2 | last = Bosworth | volume=8 | title = Rāfiʿ b. al- Layt̲h̲ b. Naṣr b. Sayyār | first = C.E. | authorlink = C. E. Bosworth | pages = 385–86 | doi =10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_6184 }}
* {{EI2 | last = Bosworth | first = C.E. | authorlink=C.E. Bosworth | volume=7 | title=al-Muʿtaṣim Bi'llāh | page = 776 | url = http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/al-mutasim-bi-llah-SIM_5656}}
* {{EI2 | last = Gabrieli | first = F. | title = al-Amīn | volume = 1 | pages = 437–38 | doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_0599}}
* {{cite book | author = Masudi | author-link = al-Masudi | title = The Meadows of Gold: The Abbasids | translator = Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone | publisher = Routledge | location = London and New York | year = 2013 | orig-year = 1989 | isbn = 978-0-7103-0246-5 | url = {{Google Books|_5MrBgAAQBAJ|plainurl=y}} }}
* {{EI2 | last = Rekaya | first = M. | authorlink = | title = al-Maʾmūn | volume = 6 | pages = 331–39 | doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_4889}}
* {{cite book |last=Shābushtī |first=Ali ibn Muhammad |title=The Book of Monasteries |editor-last=Kilpatrick |editor-first=Hilary |date=2023 |publisher=New York University Press |isbn=9781479825769 |ref={{sfnref|Kilpatrick|2023}} }}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|20em}}
*[[al-Masudi]], [[The Meadows of Gold]], The Abbasids, transl. Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone, Kegan paul, London and New York, 1989
*[[Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari|al-Tabari]] "The History of al-Tabari" volume XXX "The 'Abbasid Caliphate in Equilibrium" transl. C.E. Bosworth, SUNY, Albany, 1989.
*{{cite book|last=Clot|first=André|author-link=André Clot|title=Harun Al-Rashid and the Age of a Thousand and One Nights|publisher=New Amsterdam Books|year=1990|isbn=0-941533-65-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/harunalrashidw00clot}}
*[[St John Philby]]. Harun al Rashid (London: P. Davies) 1933.
*Einhard and Notker the Stammerer, "Two Lives of Charlemagne," transl. Lewis Thorpe, Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1977 (1969)
* [[John H. Haaren]], ''Famous Men of the Middle Ages'' [http://www.authorama.com/famous-men-of-the-middle-ages-13.html]
* William Muir, K.C.S.I., ''The Caliphate, its rise, decline, and fall'' [https://archive.org/details/caliphateitsris00muirgoog]
*Theophanes, "The Chronicle of Theophanes," transl. Harry Turtledove, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1982
*{{cite book|last=Norwich| first=John J. | title=Byzantium: The Apogee | publisher=Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. | year=1991 | isbn=0-394-53779-3 }}
*{{cite book | last=Zabeth | first=Hyder Reza | title=Landmarks of Mashhad | publisher=Alhoda UK | year=1999 | isbn=964-444-221-0}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Harun al-Rashid}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wikisource author}}
* {{cite encyclopedia | editor = Thomas Hockey| last = Brentjes | first = Sonja |author-link= Sonja Brentjes | title=Hārūn al-Rashīd | encyclopedia = The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers | publisher = Springer | year = 2007 | location = New York | pages = 474–75 | url=http://islamsci.mcgill.ca/RASI/BEA/Harun_al-Rashid_BEA.htm | isbn=978-0-387-31022-0|display-editors=etal}} ([http://islamsci.mcgill.ca/RASI/BEA/Harun_al-Rashid_BEA.pdf PDF version])

{{S-start}}
{{S-hou|[[Abbasid dynasty]]||763||809}}
{{S-rel|su}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Al-Hadi]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[List of Abbasid caliphs|Caliph]] of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]]|years=14 September 786 – 24 March 809}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Al-Amin]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Abbasids}}
{{Abbasid Caliphate topics}}
{{One Thousand and One Nights}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harun al-Rashid}}
[[Category:Harun al-Rashid| ]]
[[Category:760s births]]
[[Category:809 deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:People from Ray, Iran]]
[[Category:Arab Muslims]]
[[Category:One Thousand and One Nights characters]]
[[Category:8th-century Abbasid caliphs]]
[[Category:9th-century Abbasid caliphs]]
[[Category:Abbasid people of the Arab–Byzantine wars]]
[[Category:Sons of Abbasid caliphs]]
[[Category:Burials at Imam Reza Shrine]]
[[Category:Rulers]]
[[Category:Iraqi folklore]]