ack church") on
the frontier, where he took many prisoners, who were, however, recovered
by the garrison of Mopsuestia. Thus Harun was obliged to take the field
again. He entered Asia Minor with an army of 135,000 regulars, beside
volunteers and camp followers. Heraclea was taken, together with many
other places, and Tyana was made a military station. At the same time
his admiral, Homaid b. Ma'yuf, conquered Cyprus, which had broken the
treaty, and took 16,000 of its people captive. Nicephorus was now so
completely beaten that he was compelled to submit to very harsh
conditions. In the year 808 the second ransoming between the Moslems and
the Greeks took place near the river Lamus.

The disturbances in Khorasan were caused by the malversations of the
governor of that province, Ali b. 'Isa b. Mahan. The caliph went in
person to Merv, in order to judge of the reality of the complaints which
had reached him. Ali b. 'Isa hastened to meet the caliph on his arrival
at Rai (Rhagae), near the modern Teheran, with a great quantity of
costly presents, which he distributed with such profusion among the
princes and courtiers that no one was anxious to accuse him. Harun
confirmed him in his post, and, after having received the chiefs of
Tabaristan who came to tender their submission, returned through Bagdad
to Rakka on the Euphrates, which city was his habitual residence. In the
following year Rafi' b. Laith, a grandson of Nasr b. Sayyar, raised the
standard of revolt in Samarkand, and, at the head of a numerous army,
defeated the son of Ali b. 'Isa. Thereupon Ali fled from Balkh, leaving
the treasury, which was plundered by the populace after his departure.
The caliph on learning that the revolt was due to Ali's tyranny, sent
Harthama b. A'yan with stringent orders to seize Ali and confiscate his
possessions. This order was carried out, and it is recorded that 1500
camels were required to transport the confiscated treasures. The
caliph's hope that Rafi' would submit on condition of receiving a free
pardon was not fulfilled, and he resolved to set out himself to
Khorasan, taking with him his second son Mamun. On the journey he was
attacked by an internal malady, which carried him off, ten months after
his departure from Bagdad, A.H. 193 (March 809), just on his arrival at
the city of Tus. Harun was only forty-five years of age. He was far from
having the high qualifications of his grandfather Mansur; indeed he did
not even possess t