—was infatuated with musical performances. Jaʿfar, meanwhile, would sit with al-Rashīd as a boon companion in his drinking sessions, and although his father kept telling him to cut back, he paid no heed.

Yahya once said, “Commander of the Faithful, I dislike the easy access Jaʿfar has to you; if only you would confine him to the governorship and dispense with the intimate companionship.”

He replied, “Father, that is not the issue; you simply wish to promote al-Faḍl ahead of him.” (1)

Ibn Jarīr related: Aḥmad ibn Zuhayr—apparently from his uncle Zāhir ibn Ḥarb—said that the cause of the Barmakids’ downfall was that al-Rashīd could not bear to be without Jaʿfar and his sister ʿAbbāsah. He used to invite them both to his drinking gatherings; when he rose to leave he declared, “I marry her to you on the condition that you do not touch her.”

Yet they would become drunk, al-Rashīd would depart, and Jaʿfar would lie with her. She bore him a son, whom she dispatched to Mecca, and the matter remained concealed. Later she beat a slave-girl, who then informed on her. When al-Rashīd went on pilgrimage he resolved to kill the child but recoiled from the sin. After reaching al-Ḥīrah he sent Masrūr the chamberlain, accompanied by Abū ʿIṣmah and a detachment of troops; they surrounded Jaʿfar by night. Masrūr entered while he was in the midst of amusement, dragged him out roughly, shackled him with a donkey’s fetter, and brought him before the Caliph, who ordered that he be executed. (2)

Masrūr recounted: “He clung to my leg, kissing it, and said, ‘Let me go inside so I may give my final instructions.’ I said, ‘That is impossible; make whatever bequests you wish here.’ He made his bequests and emancipated his slaves; then, after reconfirming the order with al-Rashīd, I slaughtered him and brought his head to the Caliph.”

Al-Rashīd then sent troops against his father, surrounding him, his sons, and their dependents; their wealth and estates were confiscated. Jaʿfar’s corpse was sent to Baghdad and crucified, and a proclamation rang out: “Know that there is no safe-conduct for anyone who shelters….”