Harun al-Rashid
Harun al-Rashid, Aaron the Upright (764?–809), the fifth Abbasid caliph of Baghdad (786–809). He figures prominently in the Arabian Nightstales, most of which supposedly tell of events that occurred during his reign. Some tales tell of the caliph going out at night in disguise to learn what his people were doing and thinking.
During Harun's reign Baghdad became a world-famous seat of learning and culture, visited by scholars from western Europe and other places. Harun himself was a poet. At one time his empire embraced all southwestern Asia and northern Africa.