At a glance
- Era
- The Early Abbasid Caliphate
- Region
- Levant & Iraq · Anatolia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
Development of law, theology and institutions
Overview
Al-Awasim ("the Capitals") was a border region established by Harun al-Rashid, stretching from Antioch to the Euphrates, with its own internal administrative and military autonomy. 2
Name and function
Al-Rashid separated it from the frontier districts of al-Jazira and Syria. It was called al-Awasim because it protects ("ta'sim") the borders from falling into the enemy's grip, and to distinguish it from the outer northern fortresses known as the thughur (frontier posts). 2
Manbij was its first capital, and then Antioch became it. Al-Rashid appointed his son al-Qasim as its governor. 2
Its task was to support the frontier posts with equipment, men, and provisions, and it was equipped with permanent garrisons and defensive supplies. 2
The Byzantine side
The Byzantines, in response, set up a defensive line made up of the two ranges of the Taurus mountains from the Euphrates to Cilicia. It had two sections: one from Melitene to Ayn Zarba, to face the Muslims coming from northern Iraq, and the other to face them from the direction of Syria. 3
People and things also explored
Biting and the liability for injury it causes (add)· Justice and uprightness (adl)· Contagion (adwa)· Pardon (afw) in purity, worship, contracts and penalties· Covenant (ahd) and the duty to keep it; oath by the covenant of God· Term, deadline (ajal)· Hired worker (ajir)· Stranger, outsider (ajnabi)
Sources
- Tarikh al-Dawla al-Abbasiyya — Muhammad Suhayl Taqqush (7th ed. 2009) , p. 101-102
- Tarikh al-Dawla al-Abbasiyya — Muhammad Suhayl Taqqush (7th ed. 2009) , p.101-102
- Tarikh al-Dawla al-Abbasiyya — Muhammad Suhayl Taqqush (7th ed. 2009) , p.102
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “al-Awasim”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/al-awasim/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.