The Carolingian and Byzantine Empires and the Califate about 814

There was an Abbasid–Carolingian alliance during the 8th and 9th centuries, effected through a series of embassies, rapprochements and combined military operations between the

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Franks, Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as List of Frankish kings, kings of the Franks since ...

and the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes ...

. The alliance is likely to have formed first between

Pepin the Short the Short (; ; ; – 24 September 768), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian dynasty, Carolingian to become king. Pepin was the son of the Frankish prince Charles Martel and his wife Rotrude of H ...

and

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 ...

, and later to have continued under

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

and

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 unti ...

. These contacts followed the intense conflict between the Carolingians and the

Emirate of Córdoba An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalen ...

, marked by the

Battle of Tours The Battle of Tours, also called the Battle of Poitiers and the Battle of the Highway of the Martyrs (), was fought on 10 October 732, and was an important battle during the Umayyad invasion of Gaul. It resulted in victory for the Frankish an ...

in 732, and were aimed at establishing a counter-alliance with the 'faraway' Abbasid Empire based in the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

. Slightly later, another Carolingian-Abbasid alliance was attempted in a conflict against the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

Primary sources

Direct evidence for Abbasid–Carolingian diplomacy comes almost entirely from Frankish (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

) sources. These are mostly contemporary or nearly so. Especially important are the quasi-official ''

Royal Frankish Annals The ''Royal Frankish Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales regni Francorum''), also called the ''Annales Laurissenses maiores'' ('Greater Lorsch Annals'), are a series of annals composed in Latin in Carolingian Francia, recording year-by-year the state of ...

'',

Einhard Einhard (also Eginhard or Einhart; ; 775 – 14 March 840) was a Franks, Frankish scholar and courtier. Einhard was a dedicated servant of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious; his main work is a biography of Charlemagne, the ''Vita Karoli M ...

's ''

Vita Karoli magni ''Vita Karoli Magni'' (''Life of Charlemagne'') is a biography of Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of the Romans, written by Einhard.Ogg, p. 109 The ''Life of Charlemagne'' is a 33 chapter account starting with th ...

'' and the anonymous '' Vita Hludowici imperatoris''. There is also indirect evidence. Charlemagne's elephant is referenced by Dicuil, an Irishman writing around 825. Likewise, the

Basel roll The Basel roll is a manuscript containing three administrative documents in Latin from the Carolingian Empire. The documents were composed for Charlemagne during his reign as emperor (801–814) and the manuscript that survives was copied somewhat ...

, a record of a survey of the church in the Holy Land commissioned by Charlemagne, corroborates Einhard's account.. The absence of references to Abbasid–Carolingian diplomacy in Islamic sources is not peculiar. The major

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

history of the period, that of

al-Ṭabarī Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd al-Ṭabarī (; 839–923 CE / 224–310 AH), commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Sunni Muslim scholar, polymath, historian, exegete, jurist, and theologian from Amol, Tabaristan, present-day ...

, routinely records relations only with the Byzantine Empire. Otherwise routine diplomacy that went smoothly goes unreported. There is no reference to diplomatic contacts with

Tang China The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

, for example, which is known directly only from Chinese sources. There is only one contemporary source from the Abbasid Caliphate that refers to diplomacy with Charlemagne, versions III and IV of the Arabic Sibylline prophecy, which were redacted in the aftermath of Harun's death.

Background

The

Umayyad invasion of Gaul The Umayyad invasion of Gaul, sometimes also known as the Arab invasion of France, followed the Umayyad conquest of the Iberian peninsula (711–718). The Umayyad invasion occurred in two main phases, from AD 719 and from 732. Although the U ...

from 719 to 759 was a period of intense conflict between the Carolingians and the Umayyads, marked by the

in 732. Umayyad forces were finally expelled from Gaul with the conquest of

Narbonne Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...

in 759 by

, but the Umayyad presence in the Iberian peninsula continued to represent a challenge to the Carolingians.

Pepin the Short and al-Mansur

Embassies

Contacts between the Carolingians and the Abbasids started soon after the establishment of the Abbasid Caliphate and the concomitant fall of the

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member o ...

in 751. The Carolingian ruler

had a powerful enough position in Europe to "make his alliance valuable to the Abbasid

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 ...

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

".Deanesly, p.294
/ref> Former supporters of the Umayyad Caliphate were established in southern Spain under

Abd ar-Rahman I Abd al-Rahman ibn Mu'awiya ibn Hisham (; 7 March 731 – 30 September 788), commonly known as Abd al-Rahman I, was the founder and first emir of the Emirate of Córdoba, ruling from 756 to 788. He established the Umayyad dynasty in al-Andalus, ...

, and constituted a strategic threat both to the Carolingians on their southern border, and the Abbasids at the western end of their dominion. Embassies were exchanged both ways, with the apparent objective of cooperating against the Umayyads of Cordova (Al-Andalus): a Frankish embassy went to

in 765, which returned to Europe after three years with numerous presents, and an Abbasid embassy from

visited France in 768.

Commercial exchanges

Commercial exchanges occurred between the Carolingian and Abbasid realms, and Arabic coins are known to have spread in Carolingian Europe in that period. Arab gold is reported to have circulated in Europe during the 9th century, apparently in payment of the export of

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

and

weapons A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law ...

from Europe to Eastern lands. It is noted that Charlemagne made attempts to establish an open market between the Carolingians and Abbasids, possibly as a means for the Carolingians to economically benefit from trade with the Abbasids. As a famous example, the 8th century English king

Offa of Mercia Offa ( 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death in 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of ...

is known to have minted copies of

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

dinars struck in 774 by Caliph

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 ...

with "Offa Rex" centered on the reverse amid inscriptions in Pseudo-Kufic script.

Charlemagne and Harun al-Rashid

Strategic interest in Spain (777–778)

In 777, pro-Abbasid rulers of northern Spain contacted the Carolingian to request help against the powerful

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

in southern Spain, led by

.Lewis, p.244 The "Spanish Abbasids sought support for their cause in Pepin's Francia; he was content to oblige because the Cordovan dynasty posed a constant military threat to southwestern France".

Sulayman al-Arabi Sulayman ibn Yaqzan al-Kalbi al-Arabi (al-A'rabi meaning the Bedouin; full name in ) was an Arab Muslim wāli (governor) of Barcelona and Girona in the year 777. For the history of al-Arabi, we must rely on the Muslim historian Abu al-Hassan Ali i ...

the pro-Abbasid

Wali The term ''wali'' is most commonly used by Muslims to refer to a saint, or literally a "friend of God".John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008); John ...

(governor) of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

sent a delegation to

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...

, offering his submission, together with the allegiance of Husayn of Zaragoza and

Abu Taur of Huesca Abu Tawr () was ''wali'' of Washka, a Muslim nobleman, perhaps member of the Banu Salama () clan. Alternatively, it has been suggested that he may be the individual Al-Andalus genealogist Ibn Hazm named as Abu Tawr ibn Qasi, son of the eponymous an ...

in return for military aid. The three pro-Abbasid rulers also conveyed that the caliph of Baghdad,

Muhammad al-Mahdi Muhammad al-Mahdi () is believed by the Twelver Shia to be the last of the Twelve Imams and the eschatological Mahdi, who will emerge in the end of time to establish peace and justice and redeem Islam. Hasan al-Askari, the eleventh Imam ...

, was preparing an invasion force against the Umayyad ruler Abd al-Rhaman I. Following the sealing of this alliance at Paderborn, Charlemagne marched across the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

in 778 "at the head of all the forces he could muster".Lewis, p.246 His troops were welcomed in

and

by Sulayman al-Arabi. As he moved towards

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

, the troops of Charlemagne were joined by troops led by Sulayman. Husayn of Zaragoza, however, refused to surrender the city, claiming that he had never promised Charlemagne his allegiance. Meanwhile, the force sent by the Baghdad caliphate seems to have been stopped near

.Lewis, p.249 After a month of siege at Zaragoza, Charlemagne decided to return to his kingdom. On his retreat, Charlemagne suffered an attack from the

Basques The Basques ( or ; ; ; ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a Basque culture, common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous peoples, ...

in central

Navarra Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

. As a reprisal he attacked

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

, destroying it. However, on his retreat north his baggage train was ambushed by the Basques at the

Battle of Roncevaux Pass The Battle of Roncevaux Pass ( French and English spelling, '' Roncesvalles'' in Spanish, ''Orreaga'' in Basque) in 778 saw a large force of Basques ambush a part of Charlemagne's army in Roncevaux Pass, a high mountain pass in the Pyrenees on ...

on August 15, 778. Charlemagne's conflict with the Umayyad Emir of Cordova is one of the possible military conflicts which made him an ally of Harun al-Rashid, as they found a common enemy to unite against. For Charlemagne, the alliance may also have functioned as a counterweight against the

, which was opposed to his role in Italy and his claim to the title of Roman Emperor. For Harun al-Rashid, there was an advantage in having a partner against his rivals in the Emirate of Cordova (Al-Andalus).

Embassies

After these campaigns, there were again numerous embassies between

and the Abbasid caliph

from 797, apparently in view of a Carolingian-Abbasid alliance against

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' continued to be used as a n ...

,Heck, p. 172 or with a view to gaining an alliance against the Umayyads of Cordova.O'Callaghan, p.106 Three embassies were sent by Charlemagne to Harun al-Rashid's court and the latter sent at least two embassies to Charlemagne. The 797 embassy, the first one from Charlemagne, was composed of three men, Isaac the Jew (probably as interpreter), Lantfrid and Sigimud. Four years later in 801, an Abbasid embassy arrived in

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

. They met with Charlemagne who was present in Italy at that time.Gil, p.286 In 799, Charlemagne sent another mission to the Patriarch of Jerusalem, with which the Patriarch of Jerusalem sent Charlemagne the keys to the Holy Sepulcher and the site of

Calvary Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified. Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...

, as well as a Jerusalem Banner. In 802, a second embassy was sent by Charlemagne, which returned in 806.''Mohammed, Charlemagne, and the Origins of Europe'' Richard Hodges, p.12

/ref> In 807, Rodbertus, Charlemagne's ambassador died as he returned from

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. In turn, Abdallah, Harun al-Rashid's envoy reached Charlemagne in

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

accompanied by two monks from

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, George and Felix, who represented of the Patriarch Thomas. The third and final embassy was sent by Charlemagne in 809, but it arrived after Harun al-Rashid had died. The embassy returned in 813 with messages of friendship, but little concrete results.

Diplomatic gifts

The embassies sent by Charlemagne possessed sundry royal red fabrics, a textile noted to be of value within the Abbasid realm. In addition, Charlemagne sponsored the construction of the Church of St. Mary in Jerusalem and its library and sent sums of money with all of his envoys. Harun al-Rashid is reported to have sent numerous presents to Charlemagne, including silks, a brass candelabra, perfume, balsam, a tent with multi-colored curtains, ivory chessmen, and an elephant named Abul al-Abbas. The 802 ''

'' briefly describes the arrival of the emissary referred to as Isaac the Jew, who brought with him the elephant Abul al-Abbas.''Annales regni Francorum'' Anno 810 (,

Monumenta Germaniae Historica The (Latin for "Historical Monuments of Germany"), frequently abbreviated MGH, is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published primary sources, both chronicle and archival, for the study of parts of Northwestern, Central and Souther ...

edition) Abul al-Abbas is reported to have died suddenly in 810, while Charlemagne was on campaign in a town called "Lippeham". (Eng. tr. of ''ARB'' = ''Royal Frankish Annals'') The automatic water-clock made of brass, described in the 807 ''Royal Frankish Annals,'' and had spherical decorations which would strike cymbals below to create a chiming sound for each hour. There were also twelve figurines of horsemen that would animate at the end of each hour. Harun al-Rashid is also reported to have offered the custody of the Holy places in

to Charlemagne. The ivory elephant known as the Chessman of Charlemagne was traditionally held to have been a gift from Harun to Charlemagne. Although this is consistent with its dating, the earliest reference to the carved piece is from Paris in 1505.

Artistic influences

Various Islamic influences seem to appear in Christian religious architecture such as the multi-colored tile designs which may have been inspired by Islamic polychromy in the 800 CE gatehouse at

Lorsch Abbey Lorsch Abbey, otherwise the Imperial Abbey of Lorsch (; or ''Laurissa''), is a former Imperial abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about east of Worms, Germany, Worms. It was one of the most important monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ru ...

. Early Carolingian architecture generally combines

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Early Christian Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and be ...

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and

Northern European The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54°N, or may be based on other geographical factors s ...

designs.''A world history of architecture'' Marian Moffett p.195
/ref> The “

Iconoclasm Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...

” that occurred in the

from 732 to 842, influenced a Christian movement that destroyed idols, icons, amongst other images. Arnold Toynbee has postulated that the successes of the Islamic Military throughout the 8th centuries motivated Byzantine Christians to adopt the notion of Islam that does not favor the imagery of idols. Charlemagne has been recorded as following the iconoclastic fervor of the East Roman Emperor Leo Syrus, however, Charlemagne's attempts were ultimately stopped by

Pope Adrian I Pope Adrian I (; 700 – 25 December 795) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 772 until his death on 25 December 795. Descended from a family of the military aristocracy of Rome known as ''domini de via Lata'', h ...

.''A Study of History: Abridgement of volumes VII-X'' by Arnold Joseph Toynbee p.25

/ref>

Lasting impacts

Harun al-Rashid receives envoys from Charlemagne

It seems that in 831, Harun al-Rashid's son

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 t ...

also sent an embassy to

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

.Heck, p. 173 These embassies also seem to have had the objective of promoting commerce between the two realms. After 814 and the accession of

to the throne, internal dissensions prevented the Carolingians from further ventures into Spain. Almost a century later Bertha, daughter of Lothar II and mother of several tenth-century Italian kings, is reported to have sent an embassy to the Abbasid caliph

Al-Muktafi Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Ṭalḥa ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Muktafī bi'Llāh (; 877/78 – 13 August 908), better known by his regnal name al-Muktafī bi-Llāh (), was the caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate f ...

, requesting friendship and a marital alliance.M. Hamidullah, "An Embassy of Queen Bertha to Caliph al-Muktafi billah in Baghdad 293/906", ''Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society'', I, 1953, pp 272-300.

Notes

References

* Margaret Deanesly ''A History of Early Medieval Europe'' Taylor & Francis, London Methuen & Co, Ltd *

David Levering Lewis David Levering Lewis (born May 25, 1936) is an American historian, a Julius Silver University Professor, and professor emeritus of history at New York University. He is twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, for part o ...

''God's Crucible Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215''

W.W. Norton W. W. Norton & Company is an American publishing company based in New York City. Established in 1923, it has been owned wholly by its employees since the early 1960s. The company is known for its Norton Anthologies (particularly '' The Norton ...

, 2008 * Gene W. Heck ''When worlds collide: exploring the ideological and political foundations of the clash of civilizations''

Rowman & Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an American independent academic publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns ...

, 2007 *

Jack Goody Sir John Rankine Goody (27 July 1919 – 16 July 2015) was an English social anthropologist. He was a prominent lecturer at Cambridge University, and was William Wyse Professor of Social Anthropology from 1973 to 1984. Among his main publica ...

''Islam in Europe'',

Polity Press Polity is an academic publisher in the social sciences and humanities. It was established in 1984 in Cambridge by Anthony Giddens, David Held and John Thompson at the University of Cambridge. Giddens later reported: "We didn't have any publ ...

, 2004, * Joseph F. O'Callaghan ''A History of Medieval Spain''

Cornell University Press The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University, an Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. It is currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, maki ...

, 1983 * *Constantine VII Prophyrogentius, Emperor of the East. ''De Administrando Imperio'', pp. 905–959. Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies, 2008. . *Scholz, Bernhard Walther (1931- ). Rogers, Barbara (1945- ). Nithardus (ca 790-ca 845). Histories (ang.) (2000). ''Carolingian chronicles : Royal Frankish annals and Nithard's Histories''.

University of Michigan Press The University of Michigan Press is a university press that is a part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earn ...

. .

OCLC OCLC, Inc. See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was founded in 1967 as the ...

867938000 * Kennedy, H. (1986). The early Abbasid Caliphate a political history. London: Croom Helm.

0709900929 * Muratori, Lodovico Antonio (1762). Dell'anno 601 dell'era volgare fino all'anno 840, pp. 465. Olzati.

258143787. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbasid-Carolingian Alliance Foreign relations of the Abbasid Caliphate 8th century in international relations 8th-century military history Medieval military alliances 9th century in international relations 9th-century military history Charlemagne Harun al-Rashid Military alliances involving France Military history of al-Andalus Military history of the Abbasid Caliphate 8th century in al-Andalus 9th century in al-Andalus 8th century in Francia Military history of the Carolingian Empire 8th century in the Abbasid Caliphate 9th century in the Abbasid Caliphate Foreign relations of the Carolingian Empire