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Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd ((アラビア語:أبو إسحاق محمد بن هارون الرشيد); 796 – 5 January 842), better known by his regnal name al-Muʿtaṣim bi’llāh (, "he who seeks refuge in God"), was the eighth Abbasid caliph, ruling from 833 to his death in 842. A son of Harun al-Rashid, he succeeded his half-brother al-Ma'mun, under whom he had served as a military commander and governor. His reign was marked by the introduction of the Turkish slave-soldiers (''ghilmān'' or ''mamālīk'') and the establishment for them of a new capital at Samarra. This was a watershed in the Caliphate's history, as the Turks would soon come to dominate the Abbasid government, eclipsing the Arab and Iranian elites that had played a major role in the early period of the Abbasid state. Domestically, al-Mu'tasim continued al-Ma'mun's support of Mu'tazilism and its inquisition (''miḥna''), and centralised administration, reducing the power of provincial governors in favour of a small group of senior civil and military officials in Samarra. Al-Mu'tasim's reign was also marked by continuous warfare, both against internal rebellions like the Khurramite revolt of Babak Khorramdin or the uprising of Mazyar of Tabaristan, but also against the Byzantine Empire, where the Caliph personally led the celebrated Sack of Amorium, which secured his reputation as a warrior-caliph. == Early life == The future al-Mu'tasim was born to the Caliph Harun al-Rashid (ruled 786–809) and Marida, a Turkic slave concubine. He was born in the Khuld ("Eternity") Palace in Baghdad, but the date is unclear: according to al-Tabari, his birth was placed by various authorities either in October 796 (Sha'ban AH 180), or earlier, in AH 179 (i.e. spring 796 or earlier). Al-Tabari describes the adult al-Mu'tasim as "fair-complexioned, with a black beard the hair tips of which were red and the end of which was square and streaked with red, and with handsome eyes", while other authors stress his physical strength and the fact that he was almost illiterate. As one of Harun's younger sons, he was initially of little consequence. During the civil war between his elder half-brothers al-Amin (r. 809–813) and al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833) he remained in Baghdad, and, like most members of the Abbasid dynasty and the Abbasid aristocracy (''abnāʾ al-dawla''), supported the anti-caliph Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi in 817–819. Al-Tabari records that Abu Ishaq led the pilgrimage in 816, accompanied by many troops and officials, among whom was Hamdaway ibn Ali ibn Isa ibn Maham, who had just been appointed to the governorship of the Yemen and was on his way there. During his stay in Mecca, his troops defeated and captured a pro-Alid leader who had raided the pilgrim caravans. He also led the pilgrimage in the next year, but no details are known. From ca. 814/5, Abu Ishaq began forming his corps of Turkish troops. The first members of the corps were domestic slaves he bought in Baghdad (the distinguished general Itakh was originally a cook) whom he trained in the art of war, but they were soon complemented by Turkish slaves sent directly from Central Asia after an agreement with the local Samanid rulers. This private force was small—it probably numbered between three and four thousand at the time of his accession—but it was highly trained and disciplined, and made Abu Ishaq a man of power in his own right, as al-Ma'mun increasingly turned to him for assistance. Abu Ishaq's Turkish corps was also politically useful to al-Ma'mun, who aimed to lessen his own dependence on the mostly eastern Iranian leaders who had supported him in the civil war, and who now occupied the senior positions in the new regime. In an effort to counterbalance their influence, al-Ma'mun granted formal recognition to his brother and his Turkish corps, as well as placing the Arab tribal levies of the Mashriq in the hands of his own son, al-Abbas. The nature and identity of al-Mu'tasim's "Turkish slave soldiers" is a controversial subject, with both the ethnic label and the slave status of its members disputed. Although the bulk of the corps were clearly of servile origin, being either captured in war or purchased as slaves, in the sources they are never referred to as slaves (''mamlūk'' or ''ʿabid''), but rather as ''mawālī'' ("clients" or "freedmen") or ''ghilmān'' ("pages"), implying that they were manumitted, a view reinforced by the fact that they were paid cash salaries. In addition, although the corps are collectively called simply "Turks", ''atrāk'', in the sources, prominent early members were neither Turks nor slaves, but rather Iranian vassal princes from Central Asia like al-Afshin, prince of Usrushana, who were followed by their personal retinues (Persian ''chakar'', Arabic ''shākiriyya''). Al-Tabari mentions that in 819 Abu Ishaq commanded a force sent against some Kharijite rebels. During this campaign, one of the Turkish ''ghilmān'' placed himself between a Kharijite lancer and the future caliph, shouting, "Recognize me!" (in Persian "''ashinas ma-ra''"). To express his appreciation, Abu Ishaq on that same day granted this man the name Ashinas. In 828, al-Ma'mun appointed Abu Ishaq as governor of Egypt and Syria in place of Abdallah ibn Tahir, who departed to assume the governorship of Khurasan, while the Jazira and the frontier zone (''thughūr'') with the Byzantine Empire passed to al-Abbas. Egypt had just been brought back under caliphal authority and pacified after the tumults of the civil war with Ibn Tahir, but the situation remained volatile. When Abu Ishaq's governor, Umayr ibn al-Walid, tried to raise taxes, the Nile Delta and Hawf regions rose in revolt. In 830, Umayr tried to forcibly subdue the rebels, but was ambushed and killed along with many of his troops. With the government troops now confined to the capital Fustat, Abu Ishaq intervened in person, at the head of his 4,000 Turks. The rebels were soundly defeated and their leaders executed. In 831, however, soon after his departure, the revolt flared up again, this time encompassing both the Arab settlers and the native Christian Copts under the leadership of Ibn Ubaydus, a descendant of one of the original Arab conquerors of the country. The rebels were confronted by the Turks, led by Afshin, who engaged in a systematic campaign, winning a string of victories and engaging in large-scale executions. Thus the male Copts were executed, and their women and children sold into slavery, while the old Arab elites who had ruled the country since the Muslim conquest of Egypt were practically annihilated. In early 832, al-Ma'mun visited the province, and soon after that the last bastion of resistance, the Copts of the coastal marshes, were subdued. In July–September 830, al-Ma'mun, encouraged by perceived Byzantine weakness and suspicious of collusion between Emperor Theophilos and the Khurramite rebels of Babak Khorramdin, launched the first large-scale invasion of Byzantine territory since the start of the Abbasid civil war, and sacked a number of Byzantine border fortresses. Following his return from Egypt, Abu Ishaq joined al-Ma'mun in his 831 campaign against the Byzantines. After rebuffing Theophilos' offers of peace, the Abbasid army crossed the Cilician Gates and divided into three columns, with the Caliph, his son Abbas, and Abu Ishaq at their head. The Abbasids seized and destroyed several minor forts and the town of Tyana, while Abbas even won a minor skirmish against Theophilos in person, before withdrawing to Syria in September. In 832 al-Ma'mun repeated his invasion of the Byzantine borderlands, capturing the strategically important fortress of Loulon, a success that consolidated Abbasid control of both exits of the Cilician Gates. So encouraged was al-Ma'mun by this victory that he repeatedly rejected Theophilos' ever more generous offers for peace, and publicly announced that he intended to capture Constantinople itself. Consequently Abbas was dispatched in May to convert the deserted town of Tyana into a military colony and prepare the ground for the westwards advance. al-Ma'mun followed in July, but he suddenly fell ill and died on 7 August 833. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Al-Mu'tasim」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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