ebooks Medical Doctors of Maryland in the C.S.A. by Daniel D. Hartzler in History

Description

This section of al-Tabari's History covers the eight-year reign of al-Mu'tasim (833-42); immediately following the reign of his elder brother al-Ma'mun; when the Islamic caliphate was once more united after the civil strife and violence of the second decade of the ninth century A.D. Al-Mu'tasim's reign is notable for the transfer of the administrative capital of the caliphate from Baghdad north to the military settlement of Samarra on the Tigris; where it was to remain for some 60 years. This move meant a significant increase in the caliphs' dependence on their Turkish slave guards. Al-Mu'tasim's reign was also marked by periods of intense military activity along the northern fringes of the Islamic lands: against the Byzantines in Anatolia; against the sectarian Babak and his followers--the "wearers of red;" the Khurramiyyah--in northwestern Persia; and against the politically ambitious local prince Mazyar in the Caspian provinces of Persia. These episodes take up the greater part of al-Tabari's account of al-Mu'tasim's reign; and he has provided graphic and detailed narratives of the respective campaigns; including valuable details on military organization and tactics during this period.