The 806 invasion of Asia Minor was the largest of a long series of military operations launched by the Abbasid Caliphate against the Byzantine Empire. The expedition took place in southeastern and cen
Gold nomisma of Emperor Nikephoros I (left) and his son and heir, Staurakios (right)
View of the remnants of Hiraqla, a victory monument erected by Harun after the campaign of 806
Harun al-Rashid
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Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn Muḥammad ar-Rashīd, or simply Hārūn ibn al-Mahdī, famously known as Hārūn al-Rashīd, was the fifth of the Abbasid caliphs, reigning from September 786 until his death in March 809
Abbasid invasion of Asia Minor (806)
…ceased paying the tribute agreed to by his predecessors with the Caliphate, and launched attacks on the Abbasid frontier regions. The Abbasid caliph, Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809), who sought to promote himself as a champion of jihad, decided to lead in person a retaliatory attack with the objective of punishing the…
Gold dinar of Harun al-Rashid, (184 AH) 800 CE
A silver dirham minted in Madinat al-Salam (Baghdad) in 170 AH (AD 786). At the reverse, the inner marginal inscription says: "By order of the slave of God, Harun, Commander of the Faithful"
Harun al-Rashid, at left, receiving a delegation sent by Charlemagne to his court in Baghdad. 1864 painting by Julius Köckert.
Dinar of Harun 171 AH (AD 787–88), the early years of his reign