Editing Al-Wathiq (section)

==Early life==
Al-Wathiq was born on 18 April 812 (various sources give slightly earlier or later dates in 811–813), on the road to [[Mecca]]. His father was the [[Abbasid dynasty|Abbasid]] prince, and later caliph, [[al-Mu'tasim]] ({{reign|833|842}}), and his mother a [[Byzantine Greeks|Byzantine Greek]] slave ({{transliteration|ar|[[umm walad]]}}), [[Qaratis]].{{sfn|Turner|2013|p=219}}{{sfn|Kraemer|1989|pp=52–53}} He was named Harun after his grandfather, Caliph [[Harun al-Rashid]] ({{reign|786|809}}),{{sfn|Zetterstéen|Bosworth|van Donzel|2002|p=178}} and had the [[teknonym]] Abu Ja'far.{{sfn|Kraemer|1989|p=53}}

The early life of al-Wathiq is obscure, all the more since his father was initially a junior prince without prospects of succession,{{sfn|Turner|2013|p=219}} who owed his rise to prominence, and eventually to the caliphate, to his control of an elite private army of [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] slave troops ({{transliteration|ar|[[ghilman]]}}).{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=156–157}} [[Harun ibn Ziyad]] is mentioned as his first teacher, and he learned calligraphy, recitation and literature from his uncle, Caliph [[al-Ma'mun]] ({{reign|813|833}}).{{sfn|Kan|2012|p=548}} Later sources nickname him the "Little Ma'mun" on account of his erudition and moral character.{{sfn|Kan|2012|p=548}}

When al-Mu'tasim became caliph, he took care for al-Wathiq, as his son and heir-apparent, to acquire experience in governance. Thus al-Wathiq was left in charge of the capital [[Baghdad]] in 835, when al-Mu'tasim moved north to found a new capital at [[Abbasid Samarra|Samarra]].{{sfn|Turner|2013|p=219}}{{sfn|Kan|2012|p=548}} He is then mentioned in the account of [[al-Tabari]] as being sent to ceremonially welcome the general [[al-Afshin]] during his victorious return from the suppression of the revolt of [[Babak Khorramdin]] in 838 (in present-day Iran),{{sfn|Turner|2013|p=219}} and being left behind as his father's deputy during the [[Sack of Amorion|Amorion campaign]] of the same year.{{sfn|Kan|2012|p=548}}

Al-Wathiq is then mentioned in 841 as bringing a bowl of fruit to al-Afshin, now disgraced and imprisoned. Fearing that the fruit was poisoned, al-Afshin refused to accept it, and asked for someone else to convey a message to the Caliph.{{sfn|Turner|2013|p=219}} In Samarra, al-Wathiq's residence was immediately adjacent to his father's palace, and he was a fixed presence at court.{{sfn|Turner|2013|p=219}} As historian John Turner remarks, these reports show al-Wathiq in the "role of a trusted agent of his father, which positioned him well to take over the reins of power".{{sfn|Turner|2013|p=219}} On the other hand, al-Wathiq was never given a military command and did not even participate in the Amorion campaign, in a departure from previous Abbasid practice.{{sfn|Turner|2013|p=219}}