al-Amin 1 | Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire |
| Sex | M |
| Floruit | E IX |
| Dates | 809 (taq) / 812 (tpq) |
| PmbZ No. | 214 |
| Variant Names | Mouamed;
Mhmd |
| Religion | Muslim |
| Ethnicity | Arab |
| Locations | Baghdad (deathplace);
Baghdad (officeplace);
Baghdad;
Baghdad (residence) |
| Titles | Caliph (office) |
| Textual Sources | Chronicon Anonymi ad annum 1234 pertinens, ed. and tr. J.-B. Chabot, I = CSCO 81-82 (Paris, 1916-20), II = CSCO 109 (Louvain, 1937) (chronicle);
Constantine Porphyrogenitus, De Administrando Imperio, ed. G. Moravcsik, trans. R. J. H. Jenkins (Washington, D.C., 1967) (history);
Theophanes Confessor, Chronographia, ed. C. de Boor, 2 vols. (Leipzig, 1883-85, repr. Hildesheim/NewYork, 1980); tr. and comm. C. Mango and R. Scott, The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor, Oxford 1997 (chronicle) |
Al-Amin 1 was known as Muhammad: Theophanes (Μουάμεδ), Chron. 1234 (Mhmd). He was the eldest son of the caliph Harun al-Rashid (Harun 1) and brother of Abdelas (al-Ma'mun 1): Theoph. AM 6301 (Μουάμεδ, ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ), Theoph. AM 6304 (Μουάμεδ δέ, ὁ πρῶτος υἱὸς Ἀαρών, κρατῶν τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ ἔθνους, συμβαλὼν τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ Ἀβδελᾷ). Son of Harun 1 by Zubayda 1, he was the brother of al-Qasim 1 and al-Ma'mun 1: Chron. 1234, §§192, 194, 195, 198 (II, pp. 7-10). He succeeded his father on Harun 1's death in March 809; according to Theophanes he was not suitable for the position (ἀφυὴς κατὰ πάντα); his brother rebelled against him and there was civil war for five years: Theoph. AM 6301. Harun 1 had arranged that the three brothers should succeed him as caliphs in order of seniority, al-Amin 1 first, then al-Ma'mun 1, then al-Qasim 1; Muhammad (al-Amin 1) assumed power in Baghdad but then allegedly seized treasures belonging to his brothers and tried to secure the succession for his own son; this led to three years of civil war with al-Ma'mun 1 (who was in Khorasan) and to rebellious outbreaks in the West: Chron. 1234, §192 (II, p. 7), §194 (II, p. 8), §195 (II, pp. 8-9). He was finally defeated and was killed in Baghdad in AH 197 (AD 812/813) and succeeded by his brother al-Ma'mun 1: Chron. 1234, §198 (II, p. 10). Ruler of the Arabs (κρατῶν τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ ἔθνους), in 812 he was defeated by his brother Abdelas (al-Ma'mun 1) in the East (τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ Ἀβδελᾷ κατὰ τὴν ἐνδοτέραν Περσικὴν) and fled to Baghdad, which he occupied; at this point, according to Theophanes, Damascus fell into other hands, Egypt and Africa came under separate rulers and Palestine was virtually under a brigand: Theoph. AM 6304. He was ruler of the Western half of the empire and his brother was ruler of the Eastern; see [Shaban, Islamic History, II, pp. 39ff]. Muhammad (Al-Amin 1) was the son of Aaron (Harun al-Rashid; Harun 1); he succeeded his father as ruler of the Arabs, but civil war broke out between him and his brother Abdullah (al-Ma'mun 1): Const. Porph., DAI 22, 64ff.
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