#i don't get why people romanticise it or even ship it bc jfc

[aikainkauna]

Ja’far ibn Yahya’s palace

"Abū l-Qāsim ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān informed me—citing Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Khashshāb the grammarian, with his permission, who cites Abū l-Qāsim al-Rabaʿī, citing the supreme judge Abū l-Ḥasan al-Māwardī, who cites Abū ʿAlī al-Azdī, who cites al-Jammāz—that Abū l-ʿAynāʾ related the following:

Jaʿfar ibn Yaḥyā the Barmakid was very attached to his friends and enamored of his singing-girls. He gave free rein to his pleasures and regularly scheduled days of revelry and dalliance. This became so excessive that he became notorious and tongues began to wag.

His father took him aside and reprimanded him in private for his conduct. “If you can’t enjoy your revelry and drink discreetly and keep your antics hidden,” he said, “then build yourself a palace on the East Bank where you can get together with your drinking companions and singing-girls. Over there, out of the public eye, your time can be your own and your affairs can remain largely hidden from the court. This will stop people talking, put an end to the rumors, and raise your standing with your sovereign.”

So Jaʿfar built a palace of vast proportions on the East Bank, with a large open court and a garden full of fruit trees of every kind. He poured great sums of money into it and employed an army of laborers and craftsmen to work on it.

When it was almost finished, he took his friends out to see it, among them the shrewd and clever Muʾnis ibn ʿImrān. Jaʿfar walked around the palace and found it to be superb. All his companions raved about how wonderful it was, except for Muʾnis, who was silent.

“What’s wrong?” Jaʿfar asked him, “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“About what?” replied Muʾnis.

“About what everyone else is talking about!”

“They’ve said it all; I’ve nothing to add,” said Muʾnis.

Jaʿfar was astute enough to realize that there was something behind Muʾnis’s words, and asked him pointedly, “But what do you have to say?”

“No, really,” replied Muʾnis, “it’s as they’ve said.”

“I demand that you speak!” Jaʿfar ordered.

“Since you insist I say something,” said Muʾnis, “can you handle the truth?”

“Of course I can,” replied Jaʿfar.

“It needs to be in private.”

When they were alone, Muʾnis asked, “Do you want the long version or the short?”

“Give me the short version,” Jaʿfar said.

“Imagine going out right now and finding that one of your own entourage had built a palace more or less like this one. What do you think you’d say? And how do you think you’d react?”

“Point taken,” said Jaʿfar. “What should I do?”

“What I’m going to suggest, you must do immediately or else it’ll be too late.”

“Which is?” asked Jaʿfar.

“I have no doubt that the caliph has been asking for you and been told that you’ve gone out to your palace. He’s probably annoyed with you for staying away so long. Stay a while longer, then rush to his palace and appear before him with your clothes still dusty. When he asks what you’ve been up to, say, ‘I’ve been out at the palace I’m building for al-Maʾmūn,’ then use your own discretion.”

Here our source, Abū l-ʿAynāʾ, notes that Jaʿfar’s palace had three hundred and sixty rooms, including formal sitting rooms, balconies, bedrooms, rooms furnished with dampened canvas sheets to cool the air, and storerooms. Jaʿfar had sent away for sets of rugs and cushions to be procured from every corner of the empire, all custom-made to fit each separate chamber. There was no end of talk and speculation about the building and the furnishings that had been ordered for it.

Cutting short his stay, Jaʿfar hurried off to see al-Rashīd, who asked him where he had been and what he had been doing.

“I’ve been at the palace I’ve built on the East Bank for my master, al-Maʾmūn,” he replied.

“Oh, you built it for al-Maʾmūn, did you?” Hārūn asked.

“Absolutely, Sire,” he replied, “because on the night he was born, you honored me by placing him in my lap before placing him in your own, and honored me by making me his servant. Knowing full well how dear he is to you, I was inspired to build a palace for him on the East Bank, where the climate is moderate and the soil very good. It has flowering gardens and flowing streams and is far from noisy crowds, noxious vapors, and nasty smells. His nursemaids, wet nurses, housemaids and housekeepers can all live with him. There, his humors will be balanced and he will grow up healthy, clear-minded, pure-hearted, and intelligent, and he will develop superior understanding, a good complexion, and strong limbs. What’s more, I’ve sent away to all the provinces for custom-made furnishings, though there are still a few items I haven’t been able to obtain. I’m hoping I can rely on the caliphal treasury for a loan, or a gift. . . . ”

“A gift, of course!” said al-Rashīd. He then parted the curtain and faced Jaʿfar directly. “God forbid that anyone falsely accuse or slander you! May people only praise and honor you! You alone shall occupy that palace, by God! And we alone shall provide the remaining furnishings.”

Al-Rashīd’s suspicions were allayed by this ploy. Jaʿfar got to keep the palace and rumors about him ceased. He went there whenever he wanted to revel or relax, and continued to do so until the caliph al-Rashīd deposed the Barmakids and they fell from grace. Until that time, it was known as the Jaʿfarī Palace.”

From Consorts of the Caliphs: Women and the Court of Baghdad by Ibn al-Sa’i, translated by Shawkat M. Toorawa

#ja'far ibn yahya #barmakids #bullshitting it like a pro as usual #because as usual he has to fear his batshit caliph cutting his head off #i don't get why people romanticise it or even ship it bc jfc #persia #the golden age of islam #reference #but at least this is good data on his palace #harun moved into it eventually #bc his own palace was crap in comparison #i love how it became a legit 1001 nights trope #that yahya constantly had to tell ja'far and fadl to stop partying so hard #or at least do it in secret #and this is a medieval story but it already has a classic 1001 nights format #ah the classic genre of 'ja'far fearing for his life bc harun is a nutjob' #if you read enough of these you'll know why i made fic!jaffar the way he is #turned nuts/evil simply by harun's crazy and later chilled somewhat with yass's help #you too would deliver the 'menn are eevill' speech after surviving an abusive boss like this