al-Ma'mun

Abu al-Abbas Abdallah ibn Harun al-Rashid (786 – 833), better known by his regnal name al-Ma'mun, was the seventh Abbasid caliph who reigned from 813 until his death in 833.

Biography

One of Harun al-Rashid's sons, al-Ma'mun fought a bitter civil war against his half-brother al-Amin over the caliphate's throne. Al-Ma'mun won the conflict and ascended to the throne, while his brother was executed following the siege of Baghdad. The caliph then had al-Amin's head publicly displayed in a gibbet that hanged from Baghdad's Iron Gate, and exiled al-Amin's mother Zubaydah bint Ja'far from the city, though she was eventually allowed to return after a few years.

During his reign, al-Ma'mun, recognizing the need for a military force loyal only to the caliph in the event of another civil war, created the ghilman. These were enslaved boys and men from Turkic-speaking tribes in Central Asia that received special training to become elite soldiers, and often acted as the caliph's personal guard.

In 832, al-Ma'mun led a large army into Egypt to put down the last great Bashmurian revolt. While there, he ordered the breaching of the Great Pyramid of Giza, looking for knowledge and treasure. He entered the pyramid by tunneling into it, enlarging what was once an entrance for tomb raiders in antiquity. The resulting passage, which was later named the "Robber's Tunnel", is the path along which tourists enter the pyramid today.

Appearances

• Discovery Tour: Ancient Egypt (first mentioned)
• Echoes of History (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Mirage (mentioned in Database entry only)
• Assassin's Creed: Mirage – Daughter of No One (mentioned only)