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Zubaidah Bint Ja`far
Zubaidah bint Ja`far ibn al-Mansur () (died 26 Jumada I 216 AH / 10 July 831 CE) was the best known of the Abbasid princesses, and the wife and double cousin of Harun al-Rashid. She is particularly remembered for the series of wells, reservoirs and artificial pools that provided water for Muslim pilgrims along the route from Baghdad to Mecca and Medina, which was renamed the Darb Zubaidah in her honor. The exploits of her and her husband, Harun al-Rashid, form part of the basis for '' The Thousand and One Nights''. Biography Zubaidah's birthdate is unknown; it is known that she was at least a year younger than Harun. Her father, Ja'far was a brother of the Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi. Her mother, Salsal, was an elder sister of al-Khayzuran, second and most powerful wife of al-Mahdi, and mother of the future caliphs Musa al-Hadi and Harun al-Rashid. Zubaidah is a pet name, given by her grandfather, caliph al-Mansur. The name means "little butter ball". Zubaidah's real name at birth ...
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Harun Al-Rashid
Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn Muḥammad ar-Rāshīd (), or simply Hārūn ibn al-Mahdī (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Hārūn al-Rāshīd (), was the fifth Abbasid caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, reigning from September 786 until his death in March 809. His reign is traditionally regarded to be the beginning of the Islamic Golden Age. His epithet ''al-Rashid'' translates to "the Just", "the Upright", or "the Rightly-Guided". Harun established the legendary library Bayt al-Hikma ("House of Wisdom") in Baghdad in present-day Iraq, and during his rule Baghdad began to flourish as a world center of knowledge, culture and trade. During his rule, the family of Barmakids, which played a deciding role in establishing the Abbasid Caliphate, declined gradually. In 796, he moved his court and government to Raqqa in present-day Syria. Domestically, Harun pursued policies similar to those of his father Al-Mahdi. He released many of the Umayyads and 'Alids his brother Al ...
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Al-Khayzuran
Al-Khayzuran bint Atta () (died 789) was the wife of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mahdi and mother of both Caliphs Al-Hadi and Harun al-Rashid. She maintained de facto influence from 775 to 789 during the reign of her husband and sons and is known for her immense influence on state affairs. al-Khayzuran was not formally a ruler, but was nevertheless the first woman in the history of Islam to rule de facto and was the first woman in the history of Muslims to have gold coins in her name. She became one of the most powerful women of her time under the name of her husband and sons, al-Mahdi, al-Hadi and al-Harun. During the reign of al-Mahdi, al-Khayzuran often appeared at the court when the caliph was present and also used great political power, and caliph sought her views on most matters before issuing orders. Al-Khayzuran was also the first woman to have her own bureaucracy and court and accept petitions and the audience of officials and the people, and to command and forbid in the cal ...
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Zamzam Well
The Zamzam Well ( ) is a Water well, well located within the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is located east of the Kaaba, the holiest place in Islam. In the Islamic teachings, the well is a miraculously generated source of water, which opened up thousands of years ago when Ishmael in Islam, Ismaʿil (Ishmael), the son of Abraham in Islam, Ibrahim (Abraham), was left with his mother Hagar in Islam, Hajar (Hagar) in the desert. It is said to have dried up during the settlement of the tribe Jurhum or after their defeat by Banu Khuza'ah , Khuza'ah the well was backfilled by Jurhum. The well has been rediscovered and excavated in the 6th century by Abd al-Muttalib, grandfather of the prophet Muhammad. Etymology The origin of the name is uncertain. According to historian Jacqueline Chabbi, the noun is an onomatopoeia. She associates the noun with the adjectives and which are onomatopoeic denoting a dull sound stemming from either a distant roll (of thunder) or a gu ...
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Qur'an
The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides its religious significance, it is widely regarded as the finest work in Arabic literature, and has significantly influenced the Arabic language. It is the object of a modern field of academic research known as Quranic studies. Muslims believe the Quran was orally revealed by God to the final Islamic prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel incrementally over a period of some 23 years, beginning on the Laylat al-Qadr, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632, the year of his death. Muslims regard the Quran as Muhammad's most important miracle, a proof of his prophethood, and the culmination of a series of divine messages starting with those revealed to the first Islamic prophet Adam, including the holy books of the Torah, Psalms, ...
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Beehive
A beehive is an enclosed structure which houses honey bees, subgenus '' Apis.'' Honey bees live in the beehive, raising their young and producing honey as part of their seasonal cycle. Though the word ''beehive'' is used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature distinguishes ''nest'' from ''hive''. ''Nest'' is used to discuss colonies that house themselves in natural or artificial cavities or are hanging and exposed. The term ''hive'' is used to describe a manmade structure to house a honey bee nest. Several species of ''Apis'' live in colonies. But for honey production, the western honey bee (''Apis mellifera'') and the eastern honey bee (''Apis cerana'') are the main species kept in hives. The nest's internal structure is a densely packed group of hexagonal prismatic cells made of beeswax, called a honeycomb. The bees use the cells to store food (honey and pollen) and to house the brood (eggs, larvae, and pupae). Beehives serve several ...
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Fourth Fitna
The Fourth Fitna, Fourth Muslim Civil War, or Great Abbasid Civil War resulted from the conflict between the brothers al-Amin and al-Ma'mun over the succession to the throne of the Abbasid Caliphate. Their father, Caliph Harun al-Rashid, had named al-Amin as the first successor, but had also named al-Ma'mun as the second, with Khurasan granted to him as an appanage. Later a third son, al-Qasim ibn Harun al-Rashid, al-Qasim, had been designated as third successor. After Harun died in 809, al-Amin succeeded him in Baghdad. Encouraged by the Baghdad court, al-Amin began trying to subvert the autonomous status of Khurasan, and al-Qasim was quickly sidelined. In response, al-Ma'mun sought the support of the provincial élites of Khurasan and made moves to assert his own autonomy. As the rift between the two brothers and their respective camps widened, al-Amin declared his own son Musa as his heir and assembled a large army. In 811, al-Amin's troops marched against Khurasan, but al-Ma'mu ...
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Al-Ma'mun
Abū al-ʿAbbās Abd Allāh ibn Hārūn al-Maʾmūn (; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name al-Ma'mun (), was the seventh Abbasid caliph, who reigned from 813 until his death in 833. His leadership was marked by the power and prosperity of the Abbasid Caliphate, al-Ma'mun promoted the Graeco-Arabic translation movement, the House of Wisdom, flowering of learning and the sciences in Baghdad, and the publishing of al-Khwarizmi's The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing, book now known as "Algebra". Making him one of the most important caliphs in the Islamic Golden Age. He is also known as a proponent of the rational Islamic theology of Mu'tazilism. Al-Ma'mun succeeded his half-brother al-Amin after a Fourth Fitna, civil war, much of his reign was spent on peace campaigns. His strong support for Mu'tazilism led him to imprison a Sunni Islam, Sunni Imam, Ahmad ibn Hanbal in an event that became known as ''mihna.'' Al-Ma'mun's for ...
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Al-Amin
Abū Mūsā Muḥammad bin Hārūn al-Amīn (; April 787 – 24/25 September 813), better known by just his laqab of al-Amīn (), was the sixth Abbasid caliph from 809 to 813. Al-Amin succeeded his father, Harun al-Rashid, in 809 and ruled until he was deposed and killed in 813, during the civil war by his half-brother, al-Ma'mun. Early life and the issue of succession Muhammad, the future al-Amin, was born in April 787 to the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid () and Zubayda, herself descended from the second Abbasid caliph, al-Mansur (). Muhammad had an elder half-brother, Abdallah, the future al-Ma'mun (), who had been born in September 786. However, Abdallah's mother was a Persian slave concubine, and his pure Abbasid lineage gave Muhammad seniority over his half-brother. Indeed, he was the only Abbasid caliph to claim such descent. Already in 792, Harun had Muhammad receive the oath of allegiance ('' bay'ah'') with the name of ''al-Amīn'' ("The Trustworthy"), effectively ...
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Dhu Al-Hijjah
Dhu al-Hijjah (also Dhu al-Hijja ) is the twelfth and final month in the Islamic calendar. Being one of the four sacred months during which war is forbidden, it is the month in which the '' Ḥajj'' () takes place as well as Eid al-Adha (). The Arabic name of the month, ''Dhu al-Hijjah'', means "Possessor of the Pilgrimage" or "The Month of the Pilgrimage". During this month, Muslim pilgrims from all around the world congregate at Mecca to visit the Kaaba. The Hajj rites begin on the eighth day and continue for four or five days. The Day of Arafah takes place on the ninth of the month. Eid al-Adha, the "Festival of the Sacrifice", begins on the tenth day and ends on the thirteenth day. The name of this month is also spelled Dhul-Hijja. In modern Turkish, the name is Zilhicce. Timing The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, and months begin when new moon is sighted. Since the Islamic lunar calendar year is 11 to 12 days shorter than the solar year, Dhu al-Hijjah migr ...
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Al-Mansur
Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ‎; 714 – 6 October 775) usually known simply as by his laqab al-Manṣūr () was the second Abbasid caliph, reigning from 754 to 775 succeeding his brother al-Saffah (). He is known for founding the 'Round City' of Madinat al-Salam, which was to become the core of imperial Baghdad. Modern historians regard al-Mansur as the real founder of the Abbasid Caliphate, one of the largest polities in world history, for his role in stabilizing and institutionalizing the dynasty.''The Cambridge History of Islam, volume 1: The Formation of the Islamic World'', ed. Chase F Robinson, March 2011 Background and early life According to al-Suyuti's ''History of the Caliphs'', al-Mansur lived 95 AH – 158 AH (714 CE – 6 October 775 CE). Al-Mansur was born at the home of the Abbasid family in Humeima (modern-day Jordan) after their emigration from the Hejaz in 714 (95 AH). His mother was Sallamah, a slave woman. Al-Mansur was a brot ...
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Caliph
A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entire Muslim world (''ummah''). Historically, the caliphates were polities based on Islam which developed into multi-ethnic trans-national empires. During the medieval period, three major caliphates succeeded each other: the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661), the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750), and the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1517). In the fourth major caliphate, the Ottoman Caliphate, the rulers of the Ottoman Empire claimed caliphal authority from 1517 until the Ottoman caliphate was Abolition of the Caliphate, formally abolished as part of the Atatürk's reforms, 1924 secularisation of Turkey. An attempt to preserve the title was tried, with the Sharifian Caliphate, but this caliphate fell quickly after its conquest by the Sultanate o ...
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