the reign of the caliph al-wathiq

136 Pages·2008·4.99 MB·English

(Zamel al-Rasheed)
THE REIGN OF THE CALIPH AL-WATHIQ (842-847 A.D.).
ABSTRACT
Author: Zamel al-Rasheed.
Title: The Reign of the Caliph Al-wathiq (842-847 A.D.), According
.
to Al-TabarI's History: An Annotated Translation •
Department: Institute of Islamic Studies.
Degree: Masters.
•
This thesis concerns the Reign of al-wathiq, the ninth lAbbasid
caliph (227-232/842-847), a time considered the seal of the Golden
Period of the lAbbasid Caliphate. The thesis comprises a translation
into English of the account of al-~abarï on the reign of al-Wâthiq
which has not previously been translated into any other language.
The Annotations give an explanation of the important events, terms
and personalities mentioned in the text, and correèt some information
related to certain events. The Introduction gives portraits of al-Wâthiq
as viewed by other historians; the Conclusion gives a brief comment on
and evaluation of the caliph in his military and civil activities.
~. •• J
THE REIGN OF THE CALIPH AL-WATHIQ (842-847 A.D.)
.
ACCORDING TO AL-TABARÏ'S HISTORY:
AN ANNOTATED TRANSLATION.
by
Zamel Al-Rasheed
A Thesis Submitted to the Facu1ty of Graduate Studies and
Research in partial fulfi1ment of the requirements
for the degree of Master of Arts.
Institute of Islamic Studies, March, 1972.
McGi1l University.
€) Zame1 al-Rasheed 1972
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
l should like to express my sincere gratitude to the following:
a) The Government of Saudi Arabia for providing a fellowship for my
studies at McGill University;
b) My former advisor, Professor l.K. Poonawala, who guided me in
selecting the topic and beginning the research;
c) My,current advisor, Professor R.N. Verdery, who devoted a great
deal of his time to reading the thesis, guiding and offering valuable
suggestions;
d) Mr. M.H. al-Naqib for his assistance;
and e) Miss E. Yuile for typing the thesis.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION p. 1
Annotations p. 9
THE CALIPHATE OF HARUN AL-WATHIQ, ABU JA(FAR p. 16
Annotations p. 17
THE EVENTS OF THE YEAR 228 (842/843) p. 21
Annotations p. 22
THE EVENTS OF THE YEAR 229 (843/844) p. 26
Annotations p. 31
THE EVENTS OF THE YEAR 230 (844/845) p. 40
Annotations p. 44
THE EVENTS OF THE YEAR 231 (845/846) p. 51
Annotations p. 71
THE EVENTS OF THE YEAR 232 (846/847) p. 94
Annotations p. 105
CONCLUSION p. 116
BIBLIOGRAPHY p. 123
INTRODUCTION
~abari's History, Tarikh al-Rusul wa-al-muluk, is considered the
l
most important work in the history of Islam. The well-known Leiden
edition gives only an abbreviated text of the original work, which is
said to be ten times longer. Very little of ~abari's History has been
translated into English, although the need for complete translation
has long been recognized. l have selected for translation and annota-
tion, the period of al-wathiq (the ninth 'Abbasid caliph, according to
Tabari's History) because of several important points:
1. The account of on this reign gives the
~abari
lengthiest and most detailed record in comparison
to the other sources.
2. The reign of al-wathiq is considered the seal of the
glorious period of the 'Abbasid caliphate.
2
3. The Mu'tazilah influence in the court reached its
climax, when al-wathiq, in strong support of the Mi~na3
personally executed the leading traditionalist,
A~mad
4
b. Na~r al-Khuza'i for not believing in the createdness
5
of the Qur'an.
4. The period has been given little consideration by modern
historians, in spite of the prosperous intellectual life
that flourished under that rule.
With thL:!"anslation and the annotations, l hope to clarify the
events that occurred, discuss the personalities who played distinguished
- 2 ..;
roles, as weIl as those who were merely mentioned. The annotations
also provide an explanation of terms omitted by the author.
It is profitable in this introduction to shed sorne light on
TabarI's work and personality, and then elucidate on the caliph
al-W"athiq.
Abü Ja~far Muhammad b. JarIr al-fabarI was born in 225/839 at
~Amül, in the province of ~abaristan. He went to Baghdad to study
under A~mad b. ?anbal, who died in 855, shortly before fabarI's arrivaI
there. He spent his youth travelling and seeking after knowledge, and
acquired eminence in Tradition, Law, Reading of the Qur'an, and
History.
TabarI first followed the Shafi'i school of law, and then founded
his own school, the followers of which called themselves JarIriyya,
6
after his father's name. TabarI died on Saturday, the twenty-sixth
of Shawwal A.Ho 3l0/A.D. 923, and was buried on Sunday morning in a
7
house in Ra~bat Ya(qüb in Baghdad. Sorne say, however, that he was
buried at night, for fear of the populace, since he was suspected of
favouring the ShI4ah sect, which was the case with many historians
8
of d~o st~0 nct1.0 ono al-Kha~Ib al-BaghdadI (d. 1071) asserted however,
that the funeral of TabarI was attended by a large number of mourners,
and prayers were said at his tomb for a number of months, both day and
h 9
mo g t.
fabarI, in his History, attempted for the most part to give a
digest of aIl the historical information of the Arabs, and no later
compiler ever set out to collect and investigate the vast material of
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the early history of Islam. They either extracted it from
~abari,
or began where ~abari left off.10 T. abari collected the material
from oral tradition, which he had ample opportunity to learn on his
travels, which were devoted to the seeking of knowledge; and from
studies under celebrated scholars. So the accounts appear to be
ll
faithful reproductions, dealing with only Asian affairs. The Islamic
history of Africa and Europe cannot be acquired from but from
~abari,
other historians such as Ibn al-Athir and Ibn Khaldün.
The method which Tabari followed is influenced by the established
12
tradition of collecting information from different sources and accounts.
He also employed the annalistic method of setting all the events that
happened in a year into a self-contained unit. Each year is intro-
duced by the formula phrase, "then the year .•• commenceâ." "The
information given within each yearly division is not a continuous narrative,
but information related by his different authorities. Within the unit,
individual episodes are introduced by means of other formula phrases,
such as, "and in this year" and "and in it". The year concluded with
a brief recognition of the presiding leader of the pilgrimage.
In spite of the massive information which gave in his
~abari
history, he did not organize the material into a connected account of
historical events. He was content instead, to collect the available
material and to record the different, sometimes contradictory, accounts
13
as they were handed down to him. He accepted no responsibility for
the traditions he collected, nor did he attempt to give personal opinions,
or even comments. He also gives no intelligiae account of the progress
of events, and omits important details; hence, the all-powerful wazirs
- 4 -
14
and caliphs of his time are shadowy figures.
Tabarï's account of the reign of al-wathiq is exclusive and
excellent compared to his accounts on the other caliphs. He recorded
the information of the plot and trial of b. went into
A~mad Na~r,
great detail concerning the exchange of prisoners, the confiscation
of the secretaries, and the tribal disturbances in Arabia. However,
Tabarï omitted the intellectual aspect of that reign, the character
of the caliph, and the people of that time, so this information must
be sought elsewhere. For example, he described only the physical
aspect of al-wathiq (based on reporter's accounts) saying that the
caliph "was of light complexion, handsome, of medium height, and of
beautiful build."
For this reason, l will shed sorne light on the caliph al-wathiq
through the available information from other sources as well as
Tabarï.
Al-wathiq was the ninth caliph of the ~Abbasid dynasty, the dynasty
that acquired a halo in popular imagination and became the most
celebrated in the history of Islam, ruling the Muslim community from
A.H. 132/750 to A.D. 656/1258.
The period of al-wathiq was the end of the most brilliant and
prosperous period in the history of the 'Abbasids, which was inaugurated
15
by al-Man~ür, the second caliph, and lasted nearly a hundred years.
Shortly after al-W3thiq's death, the state started on its downward
course until, under the thirty-seventh caliph, al-Musta "sim;
it met its final destruction at the hands of the Mongols in the year
16
1258 A.D.
- 5 -
Little is known about al-W8thiq's early years. The sources
give no information concerning his childhood, the school he went
to, the type of education he was given, or the scholars under whom
he was educated. This is important in my opinion, because of his
religious view of favouring the Mu~tazila, and applying the doctrine
of the as his uncle and father did. It is important to decide
Mi~na
whether he was Mu~tazilï by conviction, as al-Ma'mün,17 or under the
same sort of pressure as his father al-Mu'ta~im.18
Al-Wâthiq, according to one source, undertook an intensive
19
education with celebrated scholars. Among his teachers was Harün
b. Ziyad (d. 852), a famous philologist, who once attended the court,
and was shown great respect by who told the attendants:
al-~thiq,
"This is the first who unloosed my tongue to recite the praises of God
and brought me within the compass of his mercy.,,20
Many other scholars with great knowledge in philosophy, literature,
music, and the science of singing must have provided him with these
arts, as his later court life expressed in his intellectual discussions
with philosophers, lawyers, literary men, and men of medicine. He
was an unchallenged, cultured person and became known for this among
the people of his time as "the younger Ma' mün". 21 He requested several
scholars to write books in their fields, among them b.
~unayn Is~aq
(d. 873), who composed his al-Masa'il al-~abï~iyyah.22
He he Id seminars at his palace and encouraged scholars to
participate in aIl branches of knowledge. Al-Ma~üdï (d. 956) in his
23
Murüj al-Dhahab recorded excellent examples of such discussions.
He had a talent for poetry and for performing on the lute, and his