wasteful, reckless, and given to amusement, though his Islam and personal piety were sound.

It is said that he once killed a lion with his bare hands.

It is also reported that he wrote, in his own hand, a note to Tahir ibn al-Husayn (1)—the commander who fought against him—stating: “O Tahir! Since we first assumed power, no one has risen against us claiming our right without receiving from us anything but the sword. So look to your own safety, or stand aside.” In saying this he was hinting at Abu Muslim and others like him (2).

Al-Masʿudi said: “No Hashimite born of a Hashimite ever attained the caliphate except ʿAli and Muhammad al-Amin.” (3)

His father appointed him heir to the throne when he was five years old, and after his father’s death he took control in Baghdad, while his other brother—al-Maʾmun—was in Marw. Al-Amin granted the people a two-year stipend, and the mantle, the staff, and the signet ring reached him from Khurasan in twelve days, arriving mid-month. Al-Maʾmun swore allegiance to his brother and remained in Khurasan, sending him gifts and precious rarities, while warfare continued at Samarqand between Rafiʿ and Harthama, the Turks supporting Rafiʿ (4).

In that same year, Nikephoros, the tyrant of the Byzantines, was killed in the battle of Burjan (5).

In 194 AH al-Amin ordered that public prayers include mention of his son Musa as heir apparent after the designated heirs al-Maʾmun and al-Qasim. Al-Fadl ibn al-Rabiʿ then stirred al-Amin against al-Maʾmun and urged him to depose him because of the enmity between them; this advice was seconded by al-Sindi and ʿAli ibn ʿIsa ibn Mahan.