Al Mahdi third Caliph of Abbasid Dynasty/Caliphate/Third Caliph of Abbasids

Abu Abdullah, Muhammad, Ibn Abdullah, Al-Mansur, better known by his regnal name Al-Mahdi Bila, was the third Abbasid caliph who reigned from 775 to his death in 785. He succeeded his father, Al-Mansur. Al-Mahdi was born in 744 or 745 in the village of Helmiyama. His mother was called Arwi, and his father was Al-Mansur. When Al-Mahdi was 10 years old, his father became the second Abbasid caliph. When Al-Mahdi was young, his father, the caliph Al-Mansur, needed to establish Al-Mahdi as a powerful figure in his own right. So, on the east bank of the Tigris, Al-Mansur oversaw the construction of east Baghdad, with a mosque and royal palace at its heart. Construction in the area was also heavily financed by the Barmakids, and the area became known as Rusayfah. When was 15 years old, Al-Mahdi was sent to defeat the uprising of Abdur Rahman bin Abdul Jabbar, as the in greater Khorasan. He also defeated the uprisings of Ispahbud, the governor of Tabaristan, and Astazis, massacring more than 70,000 of his followers in Khorasan. These campaigns put Tabaristan, which was only nominally within the caliphate, firmly under Abbasid control. In 762 Al-Mahdi was the governor of the Abbasid caliphate's eastern region, based in Raye. It was here that he fell in love with Al-Khaziran and had several children, including the fourth and fifth future caliphs, Al-Hadi and Harun al-Rashid. Around 770, Al-Mahdi was appointed as emir al-hai. Al-Mahdi's father, Al-Mansur, died on the height to Mecca in 775. The throne then passed to Al-Mansur's chosen successor, his son Al-Mahdi. According to Marazi, it was by the standards of the future, blood-soaked successions of the Abbasid caliphate, a model of order and decorum. Please subscribe and press the bell icon. Al-Mahdi, whose nickname means rightly guided or redeemer, was proclaimed caliph when his father was on his deathbed. His peaceful reign continued the policies of his predecessors. Rapprochement with the Alids in the caliphate occurred under Al-Mahdi's reign. The powerful Barmakid family, which had advised the caliphs since the days of Abu Al-Abbas as viziers, gained even greater powers under Al-Mahdi's rule, and worked closely with the caliph to ensure the prosperity of the Abbasid state. Al-Mahdi reigned for ten years. He imprisoned his most trusted vizier Yaqub bin, Dawud. In the year 783, Al-Mahdi instituted an official inquisition which led to the execution of alleged Zindik. He was fond of music and poetry and during his caliphate many musicians and poets received his patronage and he supported musical expression and poetry across his dominion, accordingly his son Ibrahim, bin Al-Mahdi and his daughter Ulaya bint, Al-Mahdi were both noted poets and musicians. In 775 a Byzantine envoy, Tarith, travelled to Baghdad to convey the congratulations of the Byzantine emperor to Al-Mahdi on his accession to the throne. Tarith was so pleased with the hospitality he received that he offered to put his engineering knowledge to use and build a mill that would generate annual profits of 500,000 dirhams, equal to the cost of its construction. On completion, the envoy's forecast proved to be correct, and so, delighted, Al-Mahdi ordered that all profits should be given to the envoy, even after he left Baghdad. It is believed this continued to his death, in 780. Al-Mahdi was poisoned by one of his concubines in 785. That resulted his death. Thanks for watching and do subscribe to our channel.