Editing Al-Mu'tasim (section)

==Early life==
[[File:Arabische Eroberung 2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Multi-color map of the Mediterranean and the Middle East, showing the phases of Muslim expansion to the 10th century|Map of the [[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim expansion]] during the 7th and 8th centuries and of the Muslim world under the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] and early [[Abbasid]] caliphates, from the {{Interlanguage link|Allgemeiner historischer Handatlas|de|lt=''Allgemeiner historischer Handatlas''}} of [[Gustav Droysen]] (1886)]]

{{anchor|Marida bint Shabib}}Muhammad, the future al-Mu'tasim, was born in the [[Khuld Palace|Khuld ("Eternity") Palace]] in [[Baghdad]], but the exact date is unclear: according to the historian [[al-Tabari]] (839–923), his birth was placed by authorities either in [[Sha'ban]] [[Anno Hegirae|AH]] 180 (October 796), or in AH 179 (Spring 796 or earlier).{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|pp=208–209}}{{efn|According to the 10th-century Baghdadi historian [[al-Mas'udi]], he was 38 years and two months old (according to the [[Islamic calendar]]) on his accession, and 46 years and ten months old when he died.{{sfn|Masudi|2010|pp=222, 231}}}} His parents were the fifth [[Abbasid caliph]], [[Harun al-Rashid]] ({{reign|786|809}}), and [[Marida bint Shabib]] ({{langx|ar|ماريدا بنت شبيب}}), a [[Umm walad|slave concubine]].{{sfn|Bosworth|1993|p=776}}{{sfn|Masudi|2010|p=222}} Marida was born in [[Kufa]], but her family hailed from [[Soghdia]].{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|pp=173, 213}}

The young prince's early life coincided with what, in the judgment of posterity, was the [[golden age (metaphor)|golden age]] of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]]. The abrupt downfall of the powerful [[Barmakid]] family, which had dominated government during the previous decades, in 803 hinted at political instability at the highest levels of the court, while provincial rebellions that were suppressed with difficulty provided warning signals about the dynasty's hold over the empire. Nevertheless, compared to the strife and division that followed in the decades after Harun's death, the Abbasid empire was living through its [[wikt:halcyon days|halcyon days]]. Harun still ruled directly over the bulk of the Islamic world of his time, from [[Central Asia]] and [[Sind]] in the east to the [[Maghreb]] in the west. Lively trade networks linking [[Tang China]] and the [[Indian Ocean]] with Europe and Africa passed through the caliphate, with Baghdad at their nexus, bringing immense prosperity. The revenues of the provinces kept the treasury full, allowing Harun to launch [[Abbasid invasion of Asia Minor (806)|huge expeditions]] against the [[Byzantine Empire]] and engage in vigorous diplomacy, his envoys arriving even at the distant court of [[Charlemagne]]. This wealth also allowed considerable patronage: charitable endowments to the [[Holiest sites in Islam|Muslim holy cities]] of [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]] and the welcoming of [[faqih|religious scholars]] and ascetics at court secured the benevolence of the religious classes towards the dynasty, while the funds lavished on poets guaranteed its lasting fame; the splendour of the caliphal court provided the inspiration for some of the earliest stories of the ''[[One Thousand and One Nights]]''.{{efn|The collection today known as the ''Thousand and One Nights'' was built over time from a foundation of 8th-century translations and adaptations of Persian and Indian material. Many of the stories added during the Abbasid period take place in Baghdad; among them is a cycle of stories around Harun al-Rashid, where he is presented as an exemplary ruler.{{sfn|Marzolph|2007}}}}{{sfn|Kennedy|2004a|pp=145–146}}{{sfn|El-Hibri|2010|pp=280–284}}