Al-Manṣūr and the Critical Ambassador

The Arabic narrative sources record a host of tales related to the founding of Baghdad and to its founder, the caliph al-Manṣūr. In one account, reported in several versions by al-Ṭabarī and al-Ḫaṭīb al-Bagdādī, a Byzantine ambassador arrives at al-Manṣūr’s court and criticizes the caliph’s new capi...

Celý popis

Uloženo v:
Podrobná bibliografie
Vydáno v:URI:https://journals.openedition.org/beo,
Hlavní autor: Roberts, Alexandre M.
Médium: Article ou chapitre numérique
Jazyk:Anglais
Vydáno: Bulletin d’études orientales 2012
Témata:
On-line přístup:Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM
Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM
Popis
Shrnutí:The Arabic narrative sources record a host of tales related to the founding of Baghdad and to its founder, the caliph al-Manṣūr. In one account, reported in several versions by al-Ṭabarī and al-Ḫaṭīb al-Bagdādī, a Byzantine ambassador arrives at al-Manṣūr’s court and criticizes the caliph’s new capital. The present paper suggests that the tale might have been used in the centuries following Baghdad’s founding to explain why the Abbasids behaved like kings by blaming direct Byzantine influence.