43 HARUN AL-RASHID (783-809 A.D./170-193 A.H.) Harun was the greatest Khalifah of the Abbasid dynasty and one of the greatest rulers of the world. ”The ninth century opened with two important names standing supremacy in world affairsCharlemagne in the West and Harun in the East. Of the two Harun was undoubtedly the more powerful and represented the higher culture”. ”Faithful in the observance of his religious duties abstemious in his life, unostentatiously pious and charitable and yet fond of surrounding himself with the pomp and insignia of granm respect of the patronage ufjuis c«iu !its~*-j?e, he had no superior in strength of character and grandeur of intellect in contemporary history of the world. During his reign the genera! prosperity of the people had reached its climax and gigantic progress was made in arts and civilization. Succession Harun had been nominated as the second successor of Mahdi but his elder brother Hadi made the decision in favour of his son who, however, on his father’s death, dropped his claim and Harun succeeded unopposed in Rabi’al-Awwal 170/786. He was nearly twenty-five years of age, and as revengeful in mind as his predecessor had killed the strong supporter of Hadsi’s son.1
Muir, The Caliphate, P.475.
