Q. & A. 711 to 1707 with solved Papers css 1971 to date

Tahirids
Tahir Ibn Hussain of Khurasan who had fought for Ma’mun against Amin was appointed viceroy of the East of Merv in Dhiqad 206 A.H./821 A.D., and his eldest son at Raqqah. He had been entrusted to deal with the Kharijis who revolted on the departure of Ma’mun from Khurasan. He had to control soon the whole province. After a successful rule of two years as it was suspected by the caliph the one eyed general Tahir the descendant of a Persian slave felt so secure that he removed the name of the caliph from the Khutbah in the Juma’ah prayer. The espionage system being perfect the postal relays carried the message of every day happening to Ma’mun and the following day he received the massage that Tahir was found dead in his bed as a confidential eunuch had accompanied Tahir with order to serve poison the time he was found insubordinate. Tahir was a good soldier and ruler and a great patron of art and literature.
His letter of instruction addressed to his son on his being appointed governor of Mesopotamia was a master piece of sociopolitical writing, culture and precept. At the order of the caliph its copies were circulated throughout the empire. Although the act of Tahir was an open rebellion his son Talhah was appointed viceroy of the East in his place and thus the Govt. of Khurasan remained in the hands of the Tahirid family which later on ruled over this part of Muslim world almost independently and extended its dominion as far as the Indian frontier and the transferred the capital later to Naysabur where they ruled for over fifty years till 872 when the Tahirids were over-powered by the Saffarids.
Another son of Tahir Abdullah by name was engaged in the Western provinces. Tahir being discontented had not taken strong action against the rebel Nasr Ibn Shabath the supporter of Amin who maintained himself even after Amin’s death in the Aleppo region. How Abdullah attacked him vigorously and compelled him to take refuge in a fortress on the borders of Asia Minor. The fort was besieged and Nasr was compelled to submit to Ma’mun after five year resistance in 825. He was brought to Baghdad with great rejoicings. Abdullah now turned his attention towards Egypt where peace had been mean while disturbed for ten years (200-210/Aug 14,

815/April 825) by the tribal wars between the Qaysites who sided with Amin and the Kalbites who joined Ma’mun. During this time Alexandria was occupied by the Cordovan refugees who had been expelled by Hakam 1 the Umayyad ruler of Spain. The insurrection

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was suppressed and the Cordovan adventurers were forced to leave Alexandria for Crete which they occupied in 210 (April 825-6). Thus Abdullah succeeded in restoring peace in Egypt. After the death of Talhah he succeeded his brother in Khurasan and Egypt fell into the lots of prince al-Mutasim. War with the Byzantines
There was armed peace between the Byzantine Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate and Ma’mun did not attack Asia Minor even though opportunities came particularly when Thomas, who had been crowned at Antioch in Syria by the Patriarch rebelled against Michael the Amorian, the Greek emperor, and sent rich presents to Ma’mun while the Greek emperor continued to send military aid to the hitherto unvanquished Babak. So far Ma’mun himself generally did not go to the war but towards the end of his reign he had to march against the Byzantines. He started with an army in Muharram

215/March 830 from Tarsus and attacked the Greek emperor Theophilus. He led two other successful summer expeditions against the Greeks in Asia Minor in the succeeding two years and Lu’lu’a a strong fort of Tarsus was captured. In 217/832 Theophilus sued for peace. At Tyana seventy miles north of Tarsus a citadel of three leagues circumference was constructed with four gates under the direct supervision of Ma’mun, and on his return his son Abbas carried on with the v,ork. Ma’mun’s Liberalism

On his return from his third campaign in Asia Minoi he passed through Harran and met the Sabians the Syrian pagans who wore long hair and tight fitting coats. They were aliowed to practise their ancestors custom and religion. On his expedition to Asia Minor, Ma’mun repeatedly visited Damascus and made princely donations to the chiefs and poets and at the chief mosque of Damascus he saw with reverence a rescript from the Holy Prophet with his seal. He abolished the ban against the favourable use of the name of Mu’awiya and other Umayyads. He also granted liberty to the Christians for comparative discussions of the relative values of Qura’n and the Bibie. This was an indication of his toleration and liberalism.
Ma’mun however continued to be prejudiced with Persian ideas which he had acquired during his stay in Khurasan and imbibed from his Persian mother and now also from Persian wife combined with and prochtivities. This entertainment of Persian ideas led him