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

CHAPTER
I
Muhammad Al-Amm
547
44
MUHAMMAD AL-AMIN
(809-813 A.D./193-198 A.H.)
Harun had two sons, Muhammad Am in from Zubaydah a Hashimi lady and Ma’mun from a Persian lady. The two step brothers were not on good terms. The seed of enmity had already been sown by Harun himself by dividing the empire between Amin and Ma’mun. The relation between the two were further strained by Amin who being in Baghdad the seat of Government was in an advantageous position. He restricted Qasim’s governorship to Qinnasrin and sent his agent to Merv with two letters to be produced before Ma’mun just after the death of Harun. One letter was addressed to Ma’mun asking him to have both the brothers received the oath of allegiance of the populace as had been desired by their father and the other addressed to the army ordering them to proceed to Baghdad with the arms and weapons of war. This was in contravention of Harun’s will an Amin’s letter addressed to Ma’mun. The letter therefore got annoyed with Amin and remonstrated with the troops against this breach of trust but the army had already moved towards Baghdad and on reaching the city, the soldiers were over by advancing a year’s pay in celebration of Amin’s accession to the throne.
Ma’mun ruling over the Eastern provinces had become popular due to the guidance of an able adviser Fazal Ibn Sahl, a converted Zoroastrian and protege of the Barmakids. He had conciliated the Arabs settled in and around Merv and the Turkish chiefs and princes by foregoing one-forth of their tribute from the mother’s side being a Persian Ma’mun secured a good position among the people over whom he had been appointed to rule by his
father. After the fall of Barmakids towards the end of Harun’s reign the Persian influence began to decline and the Persians therefore tried to regain their power under the cloak of helping their sister’s son Ma’mun. Amin’s behaviour justified Ma’mun’s declaration of war against his step brother and to consolidate his position over the eastern empire extending from Hamadan to Tibet and from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf. Meanwhile peace was restored in Khurasan. Samarqand was conquered for him by Harthamah and Rafi was won over on being pardoned by him. All avenues of communication with Baghdad were closed and Amin’s name was dropped from the Khutbah of the Jum’ah prayer. Later he declared himself as caliph with his capital at Merv and Fazal Ibn Sahl as his Prime Minister in 196/812.’