• 5th Abbasid Caliph
• Reign: 170-193 AH (786-809 AD)

Hārūn al-Rashīd (Arabic: هارون الرشيد‎; properly pronounced Hārūn ar-Rashīd; English: Aaron the Upright, Aaron the Just, or Aaron the Rightly Guided) (17 March 763 or February 766 – 24 March 809) was the fifth Arab Abbasid Caliph that encompassed modern Iraq. His birth date remains a point of discussion, though, as various sources give the dates from 763 to 766).

He ruled from 786 to 809, and his time was marked by scientific, cultural and religious prosperity. Art and music Hamd o Na'at also flourished significantly during his reign. He established the legendary library Bayt al-Hikma ("House of Wisdom").[1]

Since Harun was intellectually, politically and militarily resourceful, his life and the court over which he held sway have been the subject of many tales: some are claimed to be factual but most are believed to be fictitious. An example of what is claimed to be known to be factual, but is not, is the story of the clock that was among various presents that Harun had sent to Charlemagne. The presents were carried by the returning Frankish mission that came to offer Harun friendship in 799. Charlemagne and his retinue deemed the clock to be a conjuration for the sounds it emanated and the tricks it displayed every time an hour ticked.[2] Among what is known to be fictional is The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, which contains many stories that are fantasized by Harun's magnificent court and even Harun al-Rashid himself.[3]

The family of Barmakids which played a deciding role in establishing the Abbasid Caliphate declined gradually during his rule.

From Wikipedia- follow the link for more about

Source 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harun_al-Rashid

Source 2: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harun_ar-Raschid

Source 3: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zubaidah_bint_Ja%60far

Source 4: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ma%27mun

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[... Al-Hadi determined to make his son Ja'far the heir apparent, but his brother Harun, supported according to some accounts by Yahya the Barmakid, refused to withdraw from the succession. Al-Hadi may have been killed by his mother Al-Khaysuran, who resented her exclusion from politics and wanted her favourite son Harun to remain the first heir. when therefore Harun al-Rashid succeeded to the caliphate on 4th September 786, he felt deeply indebted to his mother and to her allies, the Barmakids. This remarkable Khurasanian family was descended from the hereditary high priest of a Buddist temple near Balkh. They had a long history of successful service to the Abbasid....] p. 68 oof The |Cambridge History of Iran, Professor Bosworth.

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[Al Rashid or Harun al-Rashid, the celebrated hero of the Arabian Nights, was the fifth khalif of the race of Abbas and son of Al-Mahdi; he succeeded his eldest brother Al-Hadi to the throne of Baghdad in A.D. 786, A.H. 170. This was one of the best and wisest princes that ever sat on the throne of Baghdad. He was also extremely fortunate in all his under takings, though he did not much extend his dominions by conquest.... He possessed however , the provinces of Syria, Palestine, Arabia, Persia, Armenia, Natolia, Media or Azarbejan, Babylonia, Assyria, Sindh, Sijistan, Khurasan, Tabristan, Juzjan, Zabulistan, Mawarunnahr or great Bukharia, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, etc, so that his empire was still by far the most powerful of any in the world, and indeed extended farther than the Roman empire ever had done.]
ref An Oriental Biographical Dictionary by Thomas William Beale.

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