Harounal Raschid

Haroun-al-Raschid (Harun - ee - Rashid, "Aaron the orthodox") the fifth Abbasid Khalif (763-809), was born either in 763 or 766, and succeeded his brother Hadi in 786. He owed his throne and much of his reputation to Yahya ibn Barmek, under whom the Khalifate reached its highest point of prosperity. Harun meanwhile gave himself up to the cultivation of learning and the arts, and Bagdad became a great meeting-place of wise men, poets, and musicians. His fame extended to Western Europe, although his correspondence with Charlemagne does not rest upon good authority. In his old age Harun became jealous of the influence of the Barmecides, and caused the whole family, not excluding his especial favourite, Jaafer, son of Yahya, to be put to death. After this rebellions broke out, and the khalif was marching to put down that of Khorassan when he died at Tus. Little is really known of Haroun's private life, and the stories of his midnight wanderings are purely mythical.