Abu Ja'far al-Mansur ibn al-Faḍl al-Mustarshid bi'llah ( ar, أبو جعفر المنصور بن الفضل المسترشد بالله; 1109 – 6 June 1138) usually known by his

regnal name A regnal name, or regnant name or reign name, is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and, subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they ac ...

Al-Rashid bi'llah ( ar, الراشد بالله) was the

Abbasid caliph The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came t ...

in Baghdad from 1135 to 1136. He succeeded his father

al-Mustarshid Abu Mansur al-Faḍl ibn Ahmad al-Mustazhir ( ar, أبو منصور الفضل بن أحمد المستظهر; 1092 – 29 August 1135) better known by his regnal name Al-Mustarshid Billah ( ar, المسترشد بالله) was the Abbasid calip ...

in the year 1135. He ruled for just one year from 1135 up to his deposition on 17 August 1136. When the populace of Baghdad rose in revolt against him.

Biography

Al-Rashid bi'llah was the son of caliph

Al-Mustarshid Abu Mansur al-Faḍl ibn Ahmad al-Mustazhir ( ar, أبو منصور الفضل بن أحمد المستظهر; 1092 – 29 August 1135) better known by his regnal name Al-Mustarshid Billah ( ar, المسترشد بالله) was the Abbasid calip ...

and his mother was one of Al-Mustarshid's concubines was called Khushf. She was from Iraq, and was the mother of his son Mansur, the future Caliph Al-Rashid Billah. His full name was Mansur ibn al-Faḍl al-Mustarshid and his Kunya was ''Abu Jaʿfar''. He was nominated as heir by his father al-Mustarshid. As a prince, he spend his life in magnificent city of Baghdad. His name was minted on coins of Baghdad also on Seljuq coins along with the Caliph. When his father was mysterious killed in 1135, he smoothly ascended to the throne. Like his father,

, al-Rashid made another failed attempt at independence (militarily) from

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

. To avenge his father's death, he insulted the envoy of sultan

Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud ( 1108 – 13 September 1152) was the Seljuq Sultan of Iraq and western Persia in 1133–1152. Reign Ghiyath ad-Din Masud was the son of sultan Muhammad I Tapar, and his wife Nistandar Jahan Khatun. At the age of twelve (1 ...

who came to demand a heavy largess, incited the mob to plunder his palace, and then, supported by Zengi, who was equally hostile to the sultan because of the murder of Dubais ibn Sadaqah, set up a rival sultan. Mas'ud hastened to the rebellious capital and laid siege to it. Baghdad, well defended by the river and its canals, resisted the attack; but in the end the caliph and Zengi, hopeless of success, escaped to Mosul. The sultan's power restored, a council was held, the caliph deposed, and his uncle

al-Muqtafi Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Mustazhir ( ar, أبو عبد الله محمد بن أحمد المستظهر; 9 April 1096 – 12 March 1160), better known by his laqab, regnal name al-Muqtafi li-Amr Allah (), was the List of Abbasid calip ...

was appointed as the new caliph. Al-Rashid fled to

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

where he was assassinated by a team of four Nizari Ismailis (Assassins) in June 1138. This was celebrated in

Alamut Alamut ( fa, الموت) is a region in Iran including western and eastern parts in the western edge of the Alborz (Elburz) range, between the dry and barren plain of Qazvin in the south and the densely forested slopes of the Mazandaran provinc ...

for a week.

Death

Ar-Rashid was assassinated by a team of four Nizari Shia Ismailis (Assassins) in June 1138. A

Mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

was built on his last resting place known as Al-Rashid Mausoleum is a historical mausoleum in

Isfahan city Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Region, Isfahan Province, Iran. It is lo ...

. It dates back to the ''Later Abbasid era of Seljuqs'' and is located on the northern bank of

Zayanderud Zayanderud ( fa, Zāyanderud, script=Latn, from "fertile" or "life giver", and "river"), also spelled as ''Zayandeh-Rood'' or ''Zayanderood'', is the largest river of the Iranian Plateau in central Iran. Geography The Zayandeh starts in ...

beside the Shahrestan bridge. This structure is the burial place of ''Al-Rashid'' the 30th Abbasid Caliph, who left his palace and fled from Baghdad to

, when Mahmud captured Baghdad. Two years later, Al-Rashid was stabbed and killed by

Hashshashins The Order of Assassins or simply the Assassins ( fa, حَشّاشین, Ḥaššāšīn, ) were a Nizārī Ismāʿīlī order and sect of Shīʿa Islam that existed between 1090 and 1275 CE. During that time, they lived in the mountains of P ...

in 1138. The only decorative element of the mausoleum is a

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

Kufic Kufic script () is a style of Arabic script that gained prominence early on as a preferred script for Quran transcription and architectural decoration, and it has since become a reference and an archetype for a number of other Arabic scripts. It ...

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

References

*''This text is adapted from

William Muir Sir William Muir (27 April 1819 – 11 July 1905) was a Scottish Orientalist, and colonial administrator, Principal of the University of Edinburgh and Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Provinces of British India. Life He was born at Gl ...

's 1924 book '' The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline, and Fall'', which is in the public domain.'' 1109 births 1138 deaths 12th-century Abbasid caliphs Assassinated caliphs 12th-century murdered monarchs Dethroned monarchs People of the Nizari–Seljuk wars Victims of the Order of Assassins Sons of Abbasid caliphs Burials in Isfahan {{Islam-bio-stub

Biography

Death

See also

References