The embassies of Harun al-Rashid and Charlemagne

Taqqush says that the relations between al-Rashid and Charlemagne are known only from Latin sources, that they are confused and obscure, and that this lessens historians' confidence in them. The relations begin in 181 AH (797 CE) and extend to 192 AH. ¹

The sources are Einhard, who wrote the biography of Charlemagne, the monk of Saint-Gall, and the royal annals. ¹

In 181 AH (797 CE) Charlemagne sent two embassies to the East: the first to al-Rashid and the second to the patriarch of Jerusalem. The mission had three members: two Franks and a Jew called Isaac, who acted as interpreter. They asked for facilities for Catholic pilgrims in the holy places and for their protection. Einhard says that the aim was to obtain an elephant from the caliph. ¹

The journey lasted three years, during which the two Franks died, and Isaac returned alone with an elephant as a gift from al-Rashid. ¹

In 183 AH an embassy from al-Rashid reached Aachen with two members: a Persian on behalf of the caliph and a Maghribi on behalf of Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab. Then there was a second Carolingian embassy in 186 AH and a second Rashidi embassy in 192 AH. ¹

The source says that the patriarch of Jerusalem sent to Charlemagne, in this rapprochement, the keys of the Church of the Resurrection, the keys of the city and a banner. ¹

This report comes from a single source and needs an additional source.