Episode 51: Holy warrior

Haroon al Rashid is commonly portrayed as a martial caliph, one who menaced the Byzantine empire and led a tireless crusade against them. He is praised in Arab sources for defeating the Greeks time and again, all in defense of the umma’s faith and faithful. While this popular opinion isn’t entirely mistaken, it is remarkably exaggerated, a curiosity which itself deserves special attention. The caliphate’s forces dominated the battlefield, but no tangible gains were made despite their sustained success in war.

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Glossary

• Leo the third: the first Byzantine emperor to catch a break against the Arabs, Leo III rose to power just as Maslama’s lousy “siege” of Byzantium was starting under Sulayman ibn Abdulmalik around 718. After that disaster the Arabs had to deal with some bad caliphs and that gave Leo’s armies the space they needed to regain their morale, though they still avoided pitched battles against the Arabs throughout his long reign.
• Constantine the fifth: this popular emperor was fortunate enough to reign during the caliphate’s peak disarray. He didn’t push deep into the umma’s domain or anything, but he used this opportunity to strengthen the border between the two realms, and depopulate its immediate vicinity. When he was confident enough, he ordered raids against the Arab forts and towns, and those often met with success.
• Leo the Khazar: Constantine’s son ruled for only 10 years. Like his father he was an Iconoclast, though he was a bit more conciliatory towards Iconodules like his wife at the beginning of his reign before cracking down on them towards its end. His armies raided deeper into Syria than his father had in 778, a few years into al Mahdi’s time in charge. He passed away suddenly in 780.
• Constantine the sixth: Leo’s son was just 9 or 10 years old when his father died, and so his mother ruled in his stead. She controlled things for the next decade, but he finally managed to push her out of power in 790 after some Iconoclasts decided she’d gone too far. He pissed off his own people in different ways, and was generally a lousy emperor. 
• Irene: the empress consort who ruled for 10 years, then blinded and exiled her son to rule for another 5 is truly a peerless figure. She was about 25 or 30 when her first stint started, and so she must have ruled on and off until she was about 50. She was exiled by the man who usurped her throne, and died a year later in abject poverty.
• Nikephoros: the finance minister whom Iconoclasts united behind to oust Irene. He faced the caliph’s armies in battle several times, and seems to have taken an active military role throughout his short reign. He came to power in 802, and led the armies against the umma in 804, 805, and 806. He also led them against the Bulgars during these and other years, and he eventually died returning from one of his campaigns against them. The Bulgarian khan is said to have made a drinking cup out of his skull.
• Yazid ibn Mazyad al Shaybani: the leader of the Shaybani tribe was a regular in al Rashid’s armies. His effectiveness on the battlefield made him invaluable to the caliph, both for his contribution against the Khazars that we mention today, and the many internal rebellions we’ll talk about next time. 
• Khuzayma ibn Khazim: the son of the legendary Khazim ibn Khuzayma continued to grow his family’s legacy of military service to the caliphate during al Rashid’s time. He led several other campaigns, became governor of some provinces, and eventually was even appointed a tutor to the caliph’s youngest heir, al Qasim.
• Al Qasim: a son of one of the caliph’s favorite concubine, al Qasim was born in 789. He accompanied his father on his campaign against the Byzantines in 804, indicating that al Rashid had bigger plans for the child, a subject we’ll pick up in our episode on succession.