MANSUR, AL-

in full Abu Ja'far Abd Allah Al-mansur Ibn Muhammad born 709, 714, al-Humaymah, Syria died Oct. 7, 775, near Mecca, Arabia [now in Saudi Arabia] the second caliph of the 'Abbasid dynasty (754775), generally regarded as the real founder of the 'Abbasid caliphate. He established the capital city at Baghdad (762763). Al-Mansur was born at al-Humaymah, the home of the 'Abbasid family after their emigration from the Hejaz in 687688. His father, Muhammad, was a great-grandson of 'Abbas; his mother was a Berber slave. Shortly before the overthrow of the Umayyads, the first dynasty of caliphs, by an army of rebels from Khorasan, many of whom were influenced by propaganda spread by the 'Abbasids, the last Umayyad caliph, Marwan II, arrested the head of the 'Abbasid family, al-Mansur's brother Ibrahim. Al-Mansur fled with the rest of the family to Kufah in Iraq, where some of the leaders of the Khorasanian rebels gave their allegiance to another brother of al-Mansur, Abu al-'Abbas as-Saffah, Ibrahim having died in captivity. As-Saffah was the first 'Abbasid caliph. Because his brother died in 754, after only five years as caliph, it was upon al-Mansur that the main burden of establishing the 'Abbasid caliphate fell. Al-Mansur had played an important part in wiping out the last remnants of Umayyad resistance. During his brother's caliphate he led an army to Mesopotamia, where he received the submission of a governor after informing him of the death of the last Umayyad caliph. In Iraq itself, the last Umayyad governor had taken refuge with his army in a garrison town. Promised a safe-conduct by al-Mansur and the Caliph, he surrendered the town, only to be executed with a number of his followers. A danger to al-Mansur's caliphate came from a number of revolts by ambitious army commanders. The most serious of these was the revolt in 754 of al-Mansur's uncle, 'Abd Allah, who thought he had better claims to the caliphate than his nephew. The danger was only averted with the help of Abu Muslim, one of the chief organizers of the revolt against the Umayyads. Al-Mansur was largely responsible for cutting the 'Abbasids free from the movement that had brought them to power. While his brother was still caliph, al-Mansur was involved in the murder of several leading personalities in that movement. Upon becoming caliph himself, one of his first acts was to bring about the death of the man who had helped him become caliph, Abu Muslim. These acts served both to remove potential rivals and to dissociate the 'Abbasids from their extremist supporters. Perhaps in reaction to this policy, a number of revolts broke out, in which some of the pre-Islamic religions of Iran were involved. In 755 in Khorasan, a certain Sunbadh, described as a magi (here probably meaning a follower of the Mazdakite heresy, not an orthodox Zoroastrian), revolted, demanding vengeance for the murdered Abu Muslim. Another group connected with the name of Abu Muslim, the Rawandiyah, was charged with belief in the transmigration of souls and holding al-Mansur to be their god. Because of these excesses, al-Mansur had to suppress them, probably in 757758. Finally, in 767 al-Mansur had to put down another revolt in Khorasan, the leader of which was accused of claiming to be a prophet. Probably the most frustrated of those who had worked against the Umayyads were those who had believed they were fighting for a leader from among the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad's closest male relative, 'Ali. When it became clear that the 'Abbasids had no intention of handing over power to an 'Alid, these groups again moved into opposition. Al-Mansur's consequent harsh treatment of the 'Alids led to a rebellion in 762763, which was quickly put down. Al-Mansur's achievement, however, was not based simply upon military power. His most lasting monument is the great city of Baghdad, upon which work began, at his command, in 762. The decision to build Baghdad was probably in part due to the restlessness of the chief towns in Iraq, Basra and, especially, Kufah, but, in part, too, it was a statement by al-Mansur that the 'Abbasids had come to stay. It was significant that he considered taking some material for the construction of Baghdad from the ruins of Ctesiphon, the capital of the last native Iranian dynasty. Another reason for the construction of the new capital was the need to house the rapidly growing bureaucracy, developed by al-Mansur under the influence of Iranian ideas in an attempt to provide a more stable basis for 'Abbasid rule. By these political and military measures al-Mansur firmly established the 'Abbasid caliphate. Furthermore, he arranged the succession in favour of his son, al-Mahdi, and every future 'Abbasid caliph could trace his descent directly to al-Mansur. Al-Mansur is described as a tall, lean man, with a brown complexion and a sparse beard. There are a number of anecdotes designed to illustrate the simplicity of his life, his tightfistedness, his love of poetry, and his objection to music. He died in 775 on his way to Mecca to perform the pilgrimage and was buried near the holy city. G.R. Hawting Additional reading The only study of al-Mansur's caliphate as a whole is in Theodor Nldeke, Sketches from Eastern History (1892, reprinted 1963). For a general survey of the 'Abbasid rise to power and the early years of their rule, see the article 'Abbasids by B. Lewis in the Encyclopaedia of Islam, new ed., vol. 1, pt. 1 (1960). The Encyclopaedia of Islam should also be consulted for more information on specific details of al-Mansur's life and caliphate (see especially the articles Baghdad and al-Baramika).