View source for Al-Mahdi

{{Short description|3rd Abbasid caliph (r. 775–785)}}
{{Lowercase title}}
{{for-multi|the Islamic eschatological figure|Mahdi|the 10th-century Fatimid ruler|Abd Allah al-Mahdi Billah|the 11th-century Andalusian ruler|Muhammad II of Córdoba|other uses|Mahdi (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = al-Mahdi <br/> ٱلْـمَـهْـدِي{{lrm}}
| title        = [[List of Caliphs|Khalifah]] <br/>[[Amir al-Mu'minin]]
| image        = [[File:Abbasid Dinar - Al Mahdi - 167 AH (783 AD).jpg|300px]]
| alt          = 
| caption      = [[Gold Dinar]] of al-Mahdi
| succession   = 3rd [[Caliph]] of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]]
| reign        = 6 October 775 – 24 July 785
| coronation   = 
| birth_date   = 744 or 745
| birth_place  = [[Humeima]], [[Bilad al-Sham]]<br>(modern-day [[Jordan]])
| death_date   = 24 July 785 (aged 40–41)
| death_place  = 
| spouse       = {{Collapsible list|
* [[Rayta bint al-Saffah]] 
* [[al-Khayzuran|al-Khayzuran bint Atta]] 
* Asma bint Atta{{efn|Asma was divorced within a month or few days by al-Mahdi}} 
* Umm Abdallah 
* Ruqayya
* Muhayyat
* Rahim
* Bahtariyah
* Shaklah
* Maknunah
* Basbas
* Hulah
* Hasanah
* Malkah}}
| spouse-type  = Consorts
| issue        = {{plainlist|
* [[al-Hadi|Musa al-Hadi]]
* [[Harun al-Rashid]]
* [[Abbasa bint al-Mahdi|Abbasa]]
* [[Ubaydallah ibn al-Mahdi|Ubayd Allah]]
* [[Ulayya bint al-Mahdi|Ulayya]]
* [[Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi|Ibrahim]]
* [[Mansur ibn al-Mahdi|Mansur]]
* Banuqa
* Aliyah
* [[Ali ibn al-Mahdi|Ali]]
* Abd Allah
* Isa}}
| full name    = Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn [[al-Mansur|ʿAbd Allāh]] al-Mahdī
| house        = [[Abbasid dynasty|Abbasid]]
| house-type   = Dynasty
| father       = [[al-Mansur]]
| mother       = [[Arwa bint Mansur al-Himyari|Umm Musa Arwa bint Mansur al-Himyari]]
| type         = caliph
| predecessor1 = [[al-Mansur]]
| successor1   = [[al-Hadi]]
| place of burial = Masabadhan
| religion     = [[Islam]]
}}
'''Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn [[al-Mansur|ʿAbd Allāh]] al-Manṣūr''' ({{langx|ar|أبو عبد الله محمد بن عبد الله المنصور}}; 744 or 745 – 785), better known by his [[laqab|regnal name]] '''al-Mahdī''' ({{lang|ar|المهدي}}, "He who is guided by God"), was the third [[Abbasid]] [[Caliph]] who reigned from 775 to his death in 785. He succeeded his father, [[al-Mansur]].

==Early life==
Al-Mahdi was born in 744 or 745 AD in the village of [[Humeima]] (modern-day [[Jordan]]). His mother was called [[Arwa bint Mansur al-Himyari|Arwa]], and his father was [[al-Mansur]]. When al-Mahdi was ten years old, his father became the second [[Abbasid Caliph]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?id=1260|title=The Abbasid Caliphs During the Lifetime of Imam Reza (A.S.)|website=Imam Reza Network|access-date=10 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220090051/http://www.imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?id=1260|archive-date=2016-12-20|url-status=dead}}</ref> When al-Mahdi was young, his father needed to establish al-Mahdi as a powerful figure in his own right. So, on the east bank of the [[Tigris]], al-Mansur oversaw the construction of East Baghdad, with a mosque and royal palace at its heart. Construction in the area was also heavily financed by the [[Barmakids]], and the area became known as [[al-Rusafa, Iraq|Rusafa]].{{sfn|Marozzi|2015|pages=21–2}}

According to reports, he was tall, charming, and stylish; he had tan skin, a long forehead, and wavy hair. He loved women.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=19}}

When he was 15 years old, al-Mahdi was sent to defeat the uprising of Abdur Rahman bin Abdul Jabbar Azdi in [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]]. He also defeated the [[Tabaristan uprising|uprisings of Ispahbud]], the governor of [[Tabaristan]], and Astazsis,{{verify source|2017|03|23|date=March 2017}} massacring more than 70,000 of his followers in Khorasan. These campaigns put Tabaristan, which was only nominally within the caliphate, firmly under Abbasid control.{{sfn|Toyib|2011|p=36}} In 762 AD, al-Mahdi was the governor of the Abbasid Caliphate's eastern region, based in [[Rey, Iran|Ray]]. It was here that he fell in love with [[al-Khayzuran]] (translates as "bamboo"), a daughter of a warlord in [[Herat]]{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=19}} and had several children, including the fourth and fifth future Caliphs, [[al-Hadi]] and [[Harun al-Rashid]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kennedy|first=Hugh|year=2004|title=The True Caliph of the Arabian Nights|url=http://www.historytoday.com/hugh-kennedy/true-caliph-arabian-nights|journal=History Today|volume=54|issue=9}}</ref> Around 770 AD (153 AH), al-Mahdi was appointed as [[Amir al-hajj]].<ref name=":0" /> Al-Khayzuran was gifted to Mahdi by his father.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=19}}

== Reign ==
Al-Mahdi's father, [[al-Mansur]], died on the [[hajj]] to [[Mecca]] in 775. The throne then passed to al-Mansur's chosen successor, his son al-Mahdi. According to [[Justin Marozzi|Marozzi]], "[it] was, by the standards of the future, blood-soaked successions of the Abbasid caliphate, a model of order and decorum."{{sfn|Marozzi|2015|pages=25–6}}

Al-Mahdi, whose nickname means "Rightly-guided" or "Redeemer", was proclaimed caliph when his father was on his deathbed. His peaceful reign continued the policies of his predecessors.

Mahdi commenced his rule by releasing several political prisoners, expanding and decorating the holy places of Mecca and Medina, and building fountains and lofts for Hajj pilgrims. He expanded the mail service, increased his secret service, fortified cities, and increased judicial appointments. His charitable giving was also impressive.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=24}}

Rapprochement with the [[Alids]] in the Caliphate occurred under al-Mahdi's reign. The [[Barmakid]] family, which had advised the Caliphs since the days of [[As-Saffah|Abu al-Abbas]] as [[Vizier (Abbasid Caliphate)|vizier]]s, gained even greater powers under al-Mahdi's rule, and worked closely with the caliph to ensure the prosperity of the Abbasid state.
[[File:Abbasid al-Mahdi dirham Kirman 166AH.jpg|thumb|left|[[Dirham]] of al-Mahdi, 166 AH, [[Kerman|Kirman]], silver 2.95 g.]]
Al-Mahdi reigned for ten years. He imprisoned his most trusted vizier [[Ya'qub ibn Dawud]]. In the year 167 AH/ 783 AD, al-Mahdi instituted an official inquisition which led to the execution of alleged [[Zindiq]] (heretics). He was fond of music and poetry and during his caliphate many musicians and poets received his patronage and he supported musical expression and poetry across his dominion; accordingly, his son [[Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi]] (779–839) and his daughter [[‘Ulayya bint al-Mahdī|Ulayya bint al-Mahdi]] (777-825) were both noted poets and musicians.<ref>Hilary Kilpatrick, ‘''Mawālī'' and Music’, in ''Patronate and Patronage in Early and Classical Islam'', ed. by Monique Bernards and John Nawas (Leiden: Brill, 2005) pp. 326-48.</ref>

In 775, a [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] envoy, Tarath, travelled to Baghdad to convey the congratulations of the Byzantine emperor to al-Mahdi on his accession to the throne. Tarath was so pleased with the hospitality he received that he offered to put his engineering knowledge to use and build a mill that would generate annual profits, of 500,000 [[dirham]]s, equal to the cost of its construction. On completion, the envoy's forecast proved to be correct, and so, delighted, al-Mahdi ordered that all profits should be given to the envoy, even after he left Baghdad. It is believed this continued to his death, in 780.{{sfn|Marozzi|2015|p=25}}

In 775, [[al-Fadl ibn Salih]] was appointed governor of the region of [[Al-Jazira (caliphal province)|al-Jazira]] north of Damascus by the caliph al-Mahdi. He moved to al-Jazira the same year. Al-Fadl returned to [[Damascus]] following his trip to [[Jerusalem]] in 780 where he accompanied al-Mahdi as part of his entourage.<ref name="Cobb27">Cobb, 2001, pp.27-28.</ref>

While the first Abbasid caliphs were distracted with cementing their authority, the Byzantines were occupied fighting Slavic clans in Macedonia and [[Thrace]] and battling the Bulgars. Once Mahdi felt secure in his rule, he fought the Byzantines with more force than his predecessors. He increased his line of control from Syria to the Armenian frontier and claimed the strategic town of [[Tarsus, Mersin|Tarsus]], that linked [[Anatolia]], Syria, and northern Iraq.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=24}}

In 777 AD (160 AH) he put down the insurrection of Yusuf ibn Ibrahim in Khurasan. In the same year al-Mahdi deposed [[Isa ibn Musa]] as his successor and appointed his own son [[Musa al-Hadi]] in his place and took allegiance (''[[Bay'ah|bayah]]'') for him from the nobles.

Al-Mahdi released many [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyads]] and 'Alids from prison and returned their wealth and property.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d-mUDwAAQBAJ&dq=al-mahdi+released+umayyads&pg=PA488 | title=Historical Dictionary of Iraq | isbn=9781538120057 | last1=Dougherty | first1=Beth K. | date=15 June 2019 }}</ref> His son [[Harun al-Rashid|Harun]] would also pursue similar policies, releasing many of the Umayyads and Alids his brother [[Al-Hadi]] had imprisoned and declaring 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 | date=18 March 2004 }}</ref>

Mahdi also embarked on two important military voyages, one in 779 and another in 781 with his son [[Harun al-Rashid|Harun]]. In this Mahdi was teaching and training his son to be the future Caliph, just as his father had prepared him.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=25}}

Al-Mahdi was poisoned by one of his concubines in 785 AD (169 AH). The concubine's name was Hasanah and she was jealous of another female slave to who Mahdi was drawing closer. She prepared a dish of sweets and placed a poisonous pear at the top of the plate. The pit of the pear was removed and replaced with a lethal paste. She sent the dish to her adversary via a servant, however, Mahdi intercepted the plate and ate the pear without hesitation. Shortly afterward, he complained of stomach pain and died that night at 43 years old.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=27}}

A separate account said al-Mahdi fell off his horse while hunting and died.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=27}}

==Family==
Al-Mahdi's first concubine when he was a prince was Muhayyat. In 759–60, she gave birth to a son who died in infancy.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=21}} Another concubine was Rahim, who was the mother of his oldest surviving child, [[Abbasa bint al-Mahdi|Abbasa]].{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=21}} Another was [[al-Khayzuran|al-Khayzuran bint Atta]]. She was the mother of caliphs [[al-Hadi]] and [[Harun al-Rashid]].{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=24}} She had another son named Isa,{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=31}} and a daughter named Banuqah or Banujah.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=32}} She was born in Mecca and brought up in Jurash.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=26}} She had two sisters, Salsal{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=29}} and Asma,{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=31}} and a brother Ghitrif.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=29}} She was al-Mahdi's favourite wife.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|pages=26, 20}} In 761, al-Mahdi married [[Raitah bint al-Saffah|Raytah]] as his first wife after his return from Khurasan.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=25}} She was the daughter of Caliph [[al-Saffah]] and his wife Umm Salamah, a [[Banu Makhzum|Makhzumite]].{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=11}} She gave birth to two sons, [[Ubaydallah ibn al-Mahdi|Ubaydallah]] and Ali.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=25}}

Another concubine was al-Bahtariyah, the noble-born daughter of the Persian rebel,{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=33}} [[Masmughans of Damavand|Masmughan of Damavand]],<ref name="houtsma">{{cite book | last=Houtsma | first=Martijn Theodoor | title=E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936 | publisher=E.J. Brill | series=E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936 | issue=v. 5 | year=1993 | isbn=978-90-04-09791-9 | page=399}}</ref> against whom Mahdi was first sent to Khurasan.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=33}} Her mother was Bakand, the daughter of Isbahbadh, [[Farrukhan the Little]].<ref name="Al-Tạbarī ">{{cite book | author1 =[[Al-Tabari]]| author2 = John Alden Williams | title=Al-̣Tabarī: Volume 1, The Reign of Abū Ja'Far Al-Maṇsūr A. D. 754-775: The Early 'Abbāsī Empire | publisher=Cambridge University Press | series=Al-Tabari. the Early Abbasi Empire | year=1988 | isbn=978-0-521-32662-9 | page=46}}</ref> She had a sister named Smyr.<ref name="houtsma"/> She bore al-Mahdi a son named for his grandfather, [[Mansur ibn al-Mahdi|Mansur]], and two daughters, Sulaimah and Aliyah.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=33}} Another was Shaklah, a Negress.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=33}} Her father was Khwanadan, steward of Masmughan.<ref name="Al-Tạbarī "/> She had a brother named Humayd.<ref>{{cite book | last=Fishbein | first=Michael | title=The History of al-Tabari Vol. 31: The War between Brothers: The Caliphate of Muhammad al-Amin A.D. 809-813/A.H. 193-198 | publisher=State University of New York Press | series=SUNY series in Near Eastern Studies | year=2015 | isbn=978-1-4384-0289-5 | page=187}}</ref> She was acquired by al-Mahdi together with al-Bahtariyah, when she was a child. He presented her to his concubine Muhayyat, who, discovering musical talent in the child, sent her to the famous school of Taif in the Hijaz for a thorough musical education. Years later al-Mahdi, then caliph, took her as his concubine. She gave birth to al-Mahdi's powerful and dark-skinned son [[Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi|Ibrahim]].{{sfn|Abbott|1946|pages=33–34}}

Another concubine was Maknunah, a singer.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=36}} She was owned by al-Marwaniyyah.<ref>{{cite book | last=Al-Heitty | first=A.K. | title={{rlm}}دور المرأة الشاعرة في القصر العباسي، ١٣٢-٢٤٧، ٧٥٠-٨٦١ | publisher=Al Rayan | year=2005| page= 185}}</ref> Al-Mahdi, while yet a prince, bought her for 100,000 silver dirhams. She found such favor with the prince that al-Khayzuran used to say, "No other woman of his made my position so difficult." She gave birth to al-Mahdi's daughter [[Ulayya bint al-Mahdi|Ulayya]].{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=36}} Another was Basbas, a singer trained at Medina. He had bought her about the same period for 17,000 gold dinars.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=36}} Another was Hasanah, a Persian.<ref>{{cite book | last=Klonsky | first=Milton | title=The Fabulous Ego: Absolute Power in History | publisher=Quadrangle | year=1974 | isbn=978-0-8129-0490-1 | page=87}}</ref> She was a singer, and was al-Mahdi's favourite concubine. She gave al-Khayzuran some uneasy moments.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=37}} According to some versions, she was unintentionally but tragically involved in al-Mahdi's death.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=38}}{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=27}} Some other concubines were Hullah, another singer, and Malkah.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=37}}

Al-Mahdi's second wife was Asma, al-Khayzuran's younger sister. She grew up at the court. In 775–776, al-Mahdi formed a sudden attachment for her. He then married her, settling on her a marriage portion of one million dirhams. Al-Khayzuran, who had been on the pilgrimage, learned of the marriage. After her return, al-Mahdi divorced Asma, and married al-Khayzuran as his third wife.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|pages=38–39}} That same year, he married his fourth wife Umm Abdallah, a noble Arab woman. The next year he married his fifth wife Ruqaiyah, an Uthmanid.{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=39}} After al-Mahdi's death, she married an [[Alids|Alid]].{{sfn|Abbott|1946|p=98}}

==Wars with Byzantium==
In 778, the Byzantines, under [[Michael Lachanodrakon]], seized the town of [[Germanikeia]] (Ma'rash), where they captured significant amounts of [[Looting|booty]] and took many [[Christianity in Syria|Syrian Christians]] captive, and defeated an army sent against them by the Abbasid general [[Thumama ibn al-Walid]].{{sfn|Treadgold|1988|pp=33–34}}{{sfn|Brooks|1923|p=123}}<ref name="EHW1">{{harvnb|Makripoulias|2002|loc=[http://asiaminor.ehw.gr/forms/fLemmaBodyExtended.aspx?lemmaid=7895&boithimata_State=&kefalaia_State=#chapter_1 Chapter 1] {{Cite web |url=http://asiaminor.ehw.gr/forms/fLemmaBodyExtended.aspx?lemmaid=7895&boithimata_State=&kefalaia_State= |title=Great Online Encyclopaedia of Asia Minor |access-date=2012-03-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109192317/http://asiaminor.ehw.gr/forms/fLemmaBodyExtended.aspx?lemmaid=7895&boithimata_State=&kefalaia_State= |archive-date=2013-11-09 |url-status=live }}}}.</ref> In the next year, the Byzantines took and razed the fortress city of [[Hadath]], forcing Caliph al-Mahdi ({{reign|775|785}}) to replace the rather passive Thumama with the veteran [[al-Hasan ibn Qahtaba]]. Hasan led over 30,000 troops in an invasion of Byzantine territory, but the Byzantines offered no opposition and withdrew to well-fortified towns and refuges, until a lack of supplies forced Hasan to return home without achieving much.{{sfn|Brooks|1923|p=123}}<ref name="EHW1"/>{{sfn|Treadgold|1988|p=34}}

In response to these Byzantine successes, Caliph al-Mahdi now resolved to take the field in person. On 12 March 780, Mahdi departed [[Baghdad]] and via [[Aleppo]] marched to Hadath, which he refortified. He then advanced to [[Arabissus]], where he left the army and returned to Baghdad. His son and heir [[Harun al-Rashid|Harun]]—better known by his ''[[laqab]]'', or regnal name, al-Rashid—was left in charge of one half of the army, which raided the [[Armeniac Theme]] and took the small fort of Semaluos. Thumama, who had been entrusted with the other half, penetrated deeper into Asia Minor. He marched west as far as the [[Thracesian Theme]], but was heavily defeated there by Lachanodrakon.{{sfn|Treadgold|1988|p=34}}{{sfn|Brooks|1923|p=124}}{{sfn|Lilie|1996|p=148}} In June 781, as the Arab invasion force assembled at Hadath under Abd al-Kabir, a great-great-nephew of the Caliph [[Umar]] ({{reign|634|644}}), and again prepared to launch their annual raid, Empress [[Irene of Athens|Irene]] called up the thematic armies of Asia Minor and placed them under the [[eunuch]] ''[[sakellarios]]'' John. The Muslims crossed into Byzantine [[Cappadocia (theme)|Cappadocia]] over the Pass of Hadath, and were met near Caesarea by the combined Byzantine forces under Lachanodrakon. The ensuing battle resulted in a costly Arab defeat, forcing Abd al-Kabir to abandon his campaign and retreat to [[Bilad al-Sham|Syria]].{{sfn|Brooks|1923|p=124}}{{sfn|Lilie|1996|p=148}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1988|pp=66–67}}

This defeat infuriated the Caliph al-Mahdi, who prepared a new expedition. Intended as a show of force and a clear display of the Caliphate's superiority,{{efn|name=fn1|In contrast with their [[Umayyad]] predecessors, the Abbasid caliphs pursued a conservative foreign policy. In general terms, they were content with the territorial limits achieved, and whatever external campaigns they waged were retaliatory or pre-emptive, meant to preserve their frontier and impress Abbasid might upon their neighbours.{{sfn|El-Hibri|2010|p=302}} At the same time, the campaigns against Byzantium in particular were important for domestic consumption. The annual raids were a symbol of the continuing ''[[jihad]]'' of the early Muslim state and were the only external expeditions where the Caliph or his sons participated in person. They were closely paralleled in official propaganda by the leadership by Abbasid family members of the annual pilgrimage (''[[hajj]]'') to [[Mecca]], highlighting the dynasty's leading role in the religious life of the Muslim community.{{sfn|El-Hibri|2010|pp=278–279}}{{sfn|Kennedy|2001|pp=105–106}} Harun al-Rashid in particular actively strove to embody this duty: he was said to have alternated between leading the ''hajj'' one year and attacking Byzantium the next.{{sfn|El-Cheikh|2004|pp=89–90}} The hitherto unseen extent of his personal involvement in the ''jihad'' converted it into a central tenet of his conception of the caliphate, leading modern historians to consider Harun as the creator of a new type of model ruler, the "''ghazi''-caliph".{{sfn|Bosworth|1989|p=xvii}}{{sfn|Bonner|1996|pp=99–106}}{{sfn|Haug|2011|pp=637–638}}}} it was the largest army sent against Byzantium in the second half of the 8th century: it allegedly comprised 95,793 men, about twice the total Byzantine military establishment present in Asia Minor, and cost the Abbasid state some 1.6 million ''[[solidus (coin)|nomismata]]'', almost as much as the Byzantine Empire's entire annual income. His son, Harun was the nominal leader, but the Caliph took care to send experienced officers to accompany him.{{sfn|Lilie|1996|p=150}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1988|p=67}}

===Caliph's Invasion of Byzantine in 782===
{{Main|Abbasid invasion of Asia Minor (782)}}
On 9 February 782, His son, Harun departed Baghdad; the Arabs crossed the [[Taurus Mountains]] by the Cilician Gates, and swiftly took the border fortress of [[Niğde|Magida]]. They then advanced along the military roads across the plateau into [[Phrygia]]. There, Harun left his lieutenant, the ''hadjib'' [[al-Rabi' ibn Yunus]], to besiege [[Nakoleia]] and guard his rear, while another force, reportedly 30,000 men, under al-Barmaki (an unspecified member of the powerful [[Barmakid]] family, probably [[Yahya ibn Khalid]]), was sent to raid the rich western coastlands of Asia Minor. Harun himself, with the main army, advanced to the [[Opsician Theme]]. The accounts of subsequent events in the primary sources ([[Theophanes the Confessor]], [[Michael the Syrian]], and [[al-Tabari]]) differ on the details, but the general course of the campaign can be reconstructed.{{sfn|Brooks|1923|p=124}}{{sfn|Lilie|1996|pp=150–151}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1988|pp=67–68}}

According to [[Warren Treadgold]], the Byzantine effort seems to have been led by Irene's chief minister, the eunuch [[Staurakios (eunuch)|Staurakios]], whose strategy was to avoid an immediate confrontation with Harun's huge army, but wait until it had split up and advanced to meet its various detachments independently.{{sfn|Treadgold|1988|p=68}} The Thracesians under Lachanodrakon confronted al-Barmaki at a place called Darenos, but were defeated and suffered heavy losses (15,000 men according to Theophanes, 10,000 according to Michael the Syrian). The outcome of al-Rabi's siege of Nakoleia is unclear, but he was probably defeated; Theophanes's phrasing may imply that the town was taken, but Michael the Syrian reports that the Arabs suffered great losses and failed to capture it, a version of events confirmed by hagiographic sources.{{sfn|Lilie|1996|pp=150–151}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1988|p=68}}<ref name="EHW2.1">{{harvnb|Makripoulias|2002|loc=[http://asiaminor.ehw.gr/forms/fLemmaBodyExtended.aspx?lemmaid=7895&boithimata_State=&kefalaia_State=#chapter_3 Chapter 2.1] {{Cite web |url=http://asiaminor.ehw.gr/forms/fLemmaBodyExtended.aspx?lemmaid=7895&boithimata_State=&kefalaia_State= |title=Great Online Encyclopaedia of Asia Minor |access-date=2012-03-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109192317/http://asiaminor.ehw.gr/forms/fLemmaBodyExtended.aspx?lemmaid=7895&boithimata_State=&kefalaia_State= |archive-date=2013-11-09 |url-status=live }}}}.</ref>{{sfn|Mango|Scott|1997|pp=629–630}} Al-Tabari reports that part of the main army under [[Yazid ibn Mazyad al-Shaybani]] met a Byzantine force led by a certain Niketas who was "count of counts" (perhaps the Count of the Opsician Theme), probably somewhere near [[Nicaea]]. In the ensuing battle, Niketas was wounded and unhorsed in single combat with the Arab general and forced to retire, probably to [[Nicomedia]], where the imperial ''[[tagma (military)|tagmata]]'' (professional guard regiments) under the [[Domestic of the Schools]] Anthony were assembled. Harun did not bother with them, and advanced to the town of Chrysopolis, across the [[Bosporus Strait]] from Constantinople itself. Lacking ships to cross the Bosporus, and with no intention of assaulting Constantinople in the first place, Harun probably intended this advance only as a show of force.<ref name="EHW2.1"/>{{sfn|Lilie|1996|p=151}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1988|pp=68–69}}<ref name="Tabari">{{harvnb|Kennedy|1990|pp=220–222}}.</ref>

Furthermore, despite his success so far, Harun's position was precarious, as the defeat of al-Rabi threatened his lines of communication with the Caliphate. Consequently, after plundering the Byzantine capital's Asian suburbs, Harun turned his army back, but during his march along the valley of the [[Sangarius River]], east of Nicaea, he was surrounded by the forces of the ''tagmata'' under Anthony in his rear and of the [[Bucellarian Theme|Bucellarians]] under their general [[Tatzates]] to his front.{{sfn|Lilie|1996|p=151}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1988|p=69}}<ref name="EHW2.2">{{harvnb|Makripoulias|2002|loc=[http://asiaminor.ehw.gr/forms/fLemmaBodyExtended.aspx?lemmaid=7895&boithimata_State=&kefalaia_State=#chapter_4 Chapter 2.2] {{Cite web |url=http://asiaminor.ehw.gr/forms/fLemmaBodyExtended.aspx?lemmaid=7895&boithimata_State=&kefalaia_State= |title=Great Online Encyclopaedia of Asia Minor |access-date=2012-03-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109192317/http://asiaminor.ehw.gr/forms/fLemmaBodyExtended.aspx?lemmaid=7895&boithimata_State=&kefalaia_State= |archive-date=2013-11-09 |url-status=live }}}}.</ref> Fortunately for him, at this point Tatzates, an Armenian prince who had defected from his [[Emirate of Armenia|Arab-ruled homeland]] to the Byzantines in 760 and was closely associated with the [[Byzantine Iconoclasm|iconoclast]] regime of Constantine V, secretly made contact with him. Tatzates offered to aid Harun in exchange for a pardon and a safe return for himself and his family to his native Armenia. Theophanes explains Tatzates's actions with his hostility towards Irene's favourite, Staurakios, but this evidently masks a broader dissatisfaction with Irene's regime. As the German Byzantinist Ralph-Johannes Lilie writes, "Tatzates did not see any big opportunities for himself under the new regime and indeed used the good chance that the situation offered him".{{sfn|Mango|Scott|1997|pp=629–630}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1988|p=69}}<ref name="EHW2.2"/>{{sfn|Lilie|1996|p=152}}

Thus, when Harun asked for negotiations, Irene dispatched a delegation of three of her most senior officials: the Domestic Anthony, the ''[[magistros]]'' Peter, and Staurakios himself. Confident of their military position, they neglected to secure promises for their safety or hostages of their own, so that when they arrived in the Arab camp, they were made prisoners. Coupled with the treachery of Tatzates and the unreliability of the troops under his command, Irene was now forced to negotiate for their release, especially of her trusted aide Staurakios.{{sfn|Mango|Scott|1997|pp=629–630}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1988|p=69}}<ref name="EHW2.2"/>{{sfn|Lilie|1996|p=152}}

The two states concluded a three-year truce in exchange for a heavy annual tribute—the Arab sources mention various amounts between 70,000 and 100,000 [[gold]] ''nomismata'', while one also adds 10,000 pieces of [[silk]].{{sfn|Lilie|1996|p=152}} Tabari's account records that the tribute amounted to "ninety or seventy thousand ''[[gold dinar|dinars]]''", to be paid "at the beginning of April and in June every year".{{sfn|Kennedy|1990|p=221}}<ref>{{harvnb|Treadgold|1988|p=69}} interprets this to mean two annual installments, of 90,000 and of 70,000 coins on April and June respectively.</ref> In addition, the Byzantines were obliged to provide provisions and guides for Harun's army on its march home, and to hand over Tatzates's wife and property. Harun released all his captives (5,643 according to Tabari), but kept the rich plunder he had gathered, and returned to the Caliphate in September 782.{{sfn|Mango|Scott|1997|pp=629–630}}{{sfn|Kennedy|1990|p=221}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1988|pp=69–70}} Tabari, in his account of the expedition, says that Harun's forces captured 194,450 ''dinars'' in gold and 21,414,800 ''[[dirham]]s'' in [[silver]], killed 54,000 Byzantines in battle and 2,090 in captivity and took over 20,000 riding animals captive while slaughtering 100,000 [[cattle]] and [[sheep]]. Tabari also reports that the amount of plunder was such that "a work horse was sold for a ''dirham'' and a mule for less than ten ''dirhams'', a coat of mail for less than a ''dirham'', and twenty swords for a ''dirham''"{{sfn|Kennedy|1990|p=221}}—at a time when one to two ''dirhams'' was the usual daily salary of a labourer or soldier.{{sfn|Kennedy|2001|pp=78–79}}

== Assessment and legacy ==
===Cultural and administrative aspects of his reign===
The cosmopolitan city of [[Baghdad]] blossomed during al-Mahdi's reign. The city attracted immigrants from [[Arabia]], [[Iraq]], [[Syria]], [[Iran|Persia]], and lands as far away as [[Afghanistan]] and [[Spain]]. Baghdad was home to [[Christianity|Christians]], [[Jew]]s and [[Zoroastrians]], in addition to the growing Muslim population. It became the world's largest city.

Al-Mahdi continued to expand the Abbasid administration, creating new ''diwans'', or departments: for the army, the chancery, and taxation. ''Qadis'' or judges were appointed, and laws against non-Arabs were dropped.

The Barmakid family staffed these new departments. The [[Barmakids]], who were of [[Persian people|Persian]] extraction, had originally been [[Buddhists]]. Their short-lived Islamic legacy would count against them during the reign of [[Harun al-Rashid]].

The introduction of [[paper]] from China (see [[Battle of Talas]]) in 751 had a profound effect. Paper had not yet been used in the West with the Arabs and Persians using papyrus and the Europeans using vellum. The paper-related industry boomed in Baghdad where an entire street in the city center became devoted to the sale of paper and books. The cheapness and durability of paper was a vital element in the efficient growth of the expanding Abbasid bureaucracy.

Al-Mahdi had two important religious policies: the persecution of the ''[[zanadiqa]]'', or dualists, and the declaration of orthodoxy. Al-Mahdi focused on the persecution of the ''zanadiqa'' in order to improve his standing among the purist Shi'i, who wanted a harder line on heresies, and found the spread of syncretic Muslim-polytheist sects to be particularly virulent. Al-Mahdi declared that the caliph had the ability, and indeed the responsibility, to define the orthodox theology of Muslims to protect the ''[[ummah|umma]]'' against heresy.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}} Al-Mahdi made great use of this broad, new power, and it would become important during the '[[mihna]]' crisis of [[al-Ma'mun]]'s reign.

Though Mahdi fulfilled most of his national and external goals during his reign, he was not as thrifty as his predecessor and father, [[al-Mansur]] had been. Al-Mahdi was very interested in consulting with his wife, al-Khaizuran in the all important daily affairs of the government. Her commands and prohibitions in the palace were equal to her husband's and many times she applied them outside the palace as well. Al-Mahdi did not oppose her, and he gave her a relatively free hand from the [[Bayt al-mal]] (treasury). Finally, al-Khayzuran held her own court in the harem and in her quarters where she met petitioners, both men and women, who asked her for favors or to intercede on their behalf with her husband, the caliph. These petitioners included court officials, military officers, nobles, and merchants: 
:"She was dominant during Mahdi's time, people used to come and go through her door.. . She gave ordaining and forbidding, interceded and hindered, rejections and confirmations at her own will."
Al-Mahdi vacationed for long periods of time at al-Rusafa, officially, allowed his wife, [[Khaizuran]] to run certain matters pertaining to the state, and in general, liked to have a good time. Usually he went on such trips a lot or was away from the capital during the campaign, so he allowed her to act on his behalf and officials and officers took their orders from her. Former caliphs who embarked on the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca had made the long voyage with canteens full of muddy water and satchels of dates. Mahdi saw no reason for such extreme self-restraints, instead, he traveled like royalty, and even brought ice lugged all the way from the mountains of northern Persia so that his drinks could be cold.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=20}}

===Famous anecdote about al-Mahdi===
One day, al-Mahdi was out hunting deer. Shortly after embarking, Mahdi and his aide became separated from the rest of his entourage. Soon the two became exhausted and hungry and luckily found a tent belonging to a poor Bedouin and asked him if he had anything to eat. The man said yes and provided the two with bread, butter, and oil. Mahdi asked for wine, and the Bedouin gave him some. Mahdi asked the Bedouin if he knew who he was and the Bedouin, uninterested, said no he did not. Few people who did not live on the royal grounds would have known the caliph by sight. Mahdi told the Bedouin that he was a servant of the caliph. The Bedouin, impressed, said that is a good job. After another cup of wine, Mahdi asked again if the Bedouin knew who he was. The man replied that Mahdi already told him. Mahdi said no, I was lying, I am one of the top generals in the caliph's army. After another cup of wine, the caliph pronounced that in reality, he was in fact the caliph himself! The Bedouin refused to serve Mahdi any more wine and exclaimed if he did so, next Mahdi would proclaim himself the messenger of God!{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=26}}

===Coinage of al-Mahdi===
Al-Mahdi used several styles of coinage but the traditional Islamic style of [[Gold dinar]], [[Dirham|silver dirham]] and [[fals|Copper fals]] were common.
<gallery widths="250">
File:Dirhem of al-Mahdi, AH 158-169.jpg|alt=|Dirham of al-Mahdi, Medinat al-Salam ([[Baghdad]]) mint. Dated AH 162 (AD 778/9)
File:M17 Abassides Sogdiane 2 (8011745146).jpg|alt=|Dirham of al-Mahdi minted in Bukhara
File:Arab-Sasanian coin of the Tabaristan type issued under Caliph al-Mahdi.jpg|alt=|Dirham of al-Mahdi minted in [[Tabaristan]], (the Abbasid newly conquered territory).
File:M28 Abassides Sogdiane 1 (8012037450).jpg|alt=|[[Bukhara]]n coinage, under Al-Mahdi.
</gallery>

==Succession==
His elder son was Al-Hadi, the older brother of Harun al-Rashid. Al-Hadi was very dear to his father, al-Mahdi and was appointed as the first [[Wali al-Ahd|heir]] by his father at the age of 16 and was chosen as the leader of the army.<ref>Khiḍrī, Tārīkh-i khalāfat-i ʿabbāsīyān, p. 51</ref>

His second, 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 Caliph's heir and given the responsibility of governing the empire's western territories, from [[Syria]] to [[Azerbaijan (Iran)|Azerbaijan]].{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=24}} Al-Hadi was nominated his first heir and Harun al-Rashid was named second. After al-Mahdi's death he was succeeded by Al-Hadi. He ruled for a year and two months. Al-Hadi was succeeded by his brother Harun as per the succession plan of al-Mahdi.

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin|2}}
* [[al-Masudi]]. ''The Meadows of Gold, The Abbasids''. transl. Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone, [[Routledge|Kegan Paul]], London and New York, 1989.
* {{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 |isbn=978-0-86356-031-6 }}
* {{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}}
* {{cite book |last=Bonner |first=Michael |title=Aristocratic Violence and Holy War: Studies in the Jihad and the Arab–Byzantine Frontier |year=1996 |publisher=American Oriental Society |location=New Haven, Connecticut |isbn=0-940490-11-0}}
* {{The History of al-Tabari |volume=30 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wqf1gwM9O58C}}
* {{cite book |last=Brooks |first=E. W. |author-link=Ernest Walter Brooks |title=The Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. IV: The Eastern Roman Empire (717–1453) |editor-last=Bury |editor-first=J.B. |editor-link=J.B. Bury |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgemedieva04buryuoft/page/118 |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1923 |chapter=Chapter V. (A) The Struggle with the Saracens (717–867) |pages=119–138 |oclc=241580719}}
* {{cite book |last=El-Cheikh |first=Nadia Maria |title=Byzantium Viewed by the Arabs |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher=Harvard Center of Middle Eastern Studies |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-932885-30-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QC03pKNpfaoC}}
* {{New Cambridge History of Islam |volume=1 |chapter=The empire in Iraq, 763–861 |pages=269–304 |first=Tayeb |last=El-Hibri}}
* {{cite journal |last=Haug |first=Robert |title=Frontiers and the State in Early Islamic History: Jihād Between Caliphs and Volunteers |journal=History Compass |volume=9 |issue=8 |issn=1478-0542 |pages=634–643 |year=2011 |doi=10.1111/j.1478-0542.2011.00791.x}}
* {{The History of al-Tabari |volume=29 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xWtKTONN7BoC}}
* {{cite book |author-link=Justin Marozzi|last=Marozzi |first= Justin |title=Baghdad: City of Peace, City of Blood |publisher= [[Penguin Books]] |year= 2015}}
* {{cite web |last=Toyib |first=Biodun |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714055522/http://www.nou.edu.ng/uploads/NOUN_OCL/pdf/SASS/ISL272%20The%20Abbasid%20Caliphate.pdf |url=http://www.nou.edu.ng/uploads/NOUN_OCL/pdf/SASS/ISL272%20The%20Abbasid%20Caliphate.pdf |archive-date=July 14, 2015 |title= Abbasid Caliphate |publisher= School of Art and Social Sciences, [[National Open University of Nigeria]] |year= 2011}}
*{{cite book|title=White banners: contention in ʻAbbāsid Syria, 750-880|first=Paul M.|last=Cobb|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2C6KIBw4F9YC&q=Fadl+Salih+Ali|publisher=SUNY Press|year=2001|isbn=0-7914-4880-0}}
* {{cite book | last=Kennedy | first=Hugh | author-link=Hugh N. Kennedy | title=The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State | location=London | publisher=Routledge | year=2001 | isbn=978-0-203-45853-2 | url=https://archive.org/details/armiesofcaliphsm0000kenn | url-access=registration }}
* {{cite book | last=Lilie | first=Ralph-Johannes |author-link=Ralph-Johannes Lilie| title=Byzanz unter Eirene und Konstantin VI. (780–802) | language=de | trans-title = Byzantium under Irene and Constantine VI (780–802) | location=Frankfurt am Main | publisher=Peter Lang | year=1996 | isbn=3-631-30582-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vVhoAAAAMAAJ }}
* {{cite encyclopedia|last=Makripoulias |first=Christos |title=Campaign of the Arabs in Asia Minor, 781-82 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor |location=Athens |publisher=Foundation of the Hellenic World |year=2002 |url=http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=7895 |access-date=15 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109231007/http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=7895 |archive-date=9 November 2013 }}
* {{cite book | last1=Mango | first1=Cyril | author1-link=Cyril Mango | last2=Scott | first2=Roger | title=The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor. Byzantine and Near Eastern History, AD 284–813 | location=Oxford | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=1997 | isbn=0-19-822568-7 }}
* {{The Byzantine Revival, 780–842}}
{{refend}}
{{wikisource|works=or}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Abbasid dynasty]]||744 or 745||785|[[Banu Hashim]]|name=al-Mahdi}}
{{s-rel|su}}
{{s-bef|before=[[al-Mansur]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Abbasid caliphs|Caliph]] of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]]|years=775 – 785}}
{{s-aft|after=[[al-Hadi]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Abbasids}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahdi}}
[[Category:740s births]]
[[Category:785 deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:Arab Muslims]]
[[Category:8th-century Abbasid caliphs]]
[[Category:One Thousand and One Nights characters]]
[[Category:Sons of Abbasid caliphs]]
[[Category:Harun al-Rashid]]