What is Harun al-Rashid?
[[File:Harun-Charlemagne.jpg|thumb|right|Harun al-Rashid [[wikt:receive|receive]]ing people sent by [[Charlemagne]] at his [[Royal court|court]] in Baghdad. 1864 painting by Julius Köckert.]] '''Harun al-Rashid''' (also: '''Haroon al-Rasheed'''), was an Arab [[caliph]] of the [[Abbasid Empire]], ruling from 786 to 809. He has become an icon of the Islamic golden age. He appears in many stories as a wise ruler, who often disguised himself as a peasant in order to walk amongst the people in [[Baghdad]] to find out how they lived and how he could improve their situation. His legacy has been cemented through his representation in the [[Arabian Nights]]. Domestically, Al-Rashid pursued policies similar to those of his father al-Mahdi. He released many of the [[Umayyad| Umayyads]] and 'Alids his brother al-Hadi had imprisoned and declared 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> Large scale hostilities broke out with Byzantium, and under his rule, the Abbasid Empire reached its peak.<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> ==References== {{Commons category|Harun al-Rashid}} {{reflist}} {{bio-stub}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Harun ar-Rashid}} [[Category:Iranian people]] [[Category:Caliphs]] [[Category:760s births]] [[Category:800s deaths]]