John Shaqi

Islam · Caliphs · 8th century · Baghdad

Al-Hadi

The fourth Abbasid caliph, whose brief and turbulent reign was cut short after little more than a year, opening the way for his brother Harun al-Rashid.

Life

Al-Hadi (reigned 785–786), eldest son of al-Mahdi, reigned barely a year, marked by tension with his mother Khayzuran and his brother Harun, and by the suppression of an Alid revolt at Fakhkh. He died suddenly in 786 in disputed circumstances, and Harun al-Rashid succeeded to the throne.