THE KINGDOM OF ABU JA’FAR Al MANSUR R.A

The Second Abbasid Caliph

De: Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Shams

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Al Mansur (the victorious) was the title taken by the second Abbasid caliph, Abu Jaf’ar. He succeeded his brother Al-Saffah. The Abbasid came to power after throwing the Umayyad Dynasty after a long struggle. They had claimed that the rightful leader should come from the family of the Prophet (S.A.S). By this time, the Shiite, Mawali and Khariji were discontented with the Umayyad rule. They supported the Abbasid revolution and joined their armies. Abu Muslim, the commander of Abbasid led the revolution.

After assuming the office of caliphate, Al Mansur faced several threats. One was posed by his uncle Abdallah, he claimed that he had the right to caliphate. With the help of Abu Muslim, Al Mansur exiled him and was later executed. Abu Muslim himself became popular among his people and became a threat for his caliphate. Al Mansur had him executed too. The Alids were another to Al Mansur’s dynasty. He persecuted them and removed any danger to his seat of caliphate.

Al Mansur founded the round city of Madinat-al-Salam (the city of peace) which was later called Baghdad. The city was built from scratch, recruiting architects and labor from around the world. Soon the city became popular for its unique design and features. The caliph continued the tradition of court and patronage. He was always surrounded by poets, scholars, scientists and other learnt men. He supported their skills which lead to the Golden Age of Islam. He had initiated the translation movement which focused on the translation of Greek works into Arabic.