The Alavid Uprisings:
About five years after Haroon’s death, Ma’mun was finally able to oust Amin from power and take control over the entire Abbasid territory. However, his government remained unstable, and various uprisings and riots kept threatening his power. The main threat to his government was led by the Alavids, who had viewed the Abbasids as an illegitimate government since their establishment. The term ‘Alavids’ refers to the children of Imam Ali (AS), which also includes the Prophet’s descendants from his daughter, Lady Fatimah (SA). The Shia Imams were also from the Alavids.
The Alavid uprisings were initiated in Kufa by one of the descendants of Imam Hasan, known as Ibn Tabataba. Ibn Tabataba initially met Abul-Saraya, one of Ma’mun’s former military leaders who had separated from Ma’mun’s army due to a financial conflict. Ibn Tabataba, as the spiritual leader, and Abul-Saraya, as the army leader, led a joint uprising in Kufa, the center of the Shias. They were able to quickly gather many supporters for their cause, including the Zaidi Shias. They seized Kufa and took it under their control. Shortly after the victory, Ibn Tabataba died suspiciously . Some believe that he was eliminated by Abul-Saraya, who then became the sole powerful leader of the uprising. After seizing Kufa, Abul-Saraya sent delegates to the other cities to encourage them to join his uprising. Soon, his uprising expanded to the other cities including Mecca, Medina, Yemen, Basrah, Madain, and Ahvaz, and became a serious threat for Mamun’s newly established government. The governors of the seized cities were selected from among the Prophet’s descendants. Imam Reza’s brothers, Ibrahim, Zaid, and Isma’il became the governors of Yemen, Ahvaz, and Fars, respectively. After nearly ten challenging months, Ma’mun was able to defeat these widespread uprisings.
Imam Reza did not approve nor comment on the Alavid uprisings, though his close family members, including his own brothers, participated in them. Obviously, the Imam could not support these uprisings led by someone like Abul-Saraya, who was seeking his own power.
Ma’mun’s Plot for the Imam:
Although Ma’mun was finally able to defeat the widespread Alavid uprisings, he could not put an end to the long-standing conflict between the Alavids and the Abbasids, which had existed since the establishment of the Abbasid government for more than 60 years. During this time, the Alavids rose up against the Abbasid’s oppression in various uprisings, including those of Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya and his brother, Ibrahim, the uprising of Hossein ibn Ali, the martyr of Fakh, the establishment of the Idrisid government in North-Western Africa, and the most recent uprising by Ibn Tabataba, which quickly expanded to various cities in Iraq and Hijaz. The potential for future uprisings by the Alavids was a serious threat to Ma’mun’s government and the future of the Abbasids.
The Shia Imams, who were also Alavids, were against the Abb
