I think probably most of you folks weren't around in the days when I was particularly obsessed with the 1001 Nights but that one IS a forever fandom for me and - did I used to know this? did I know it and forget? did I somehow never know this???? Harun al-Rashid and his vizier Ja'far are such common recurring characters in the stories, always paired together in a way that makes them seem inseparable! and irl al-Rashid had Ja'far and his whole clan murdered!!
@soph_sol yeah it is a bit of a flip! i guess unchecked power and paranoia can get make even the best of rules do terrible shit
@Satsuma SO true! and also, tbh, sometimes history will prop up particular people as amazing rulers even if they weren't necessarily all that great, for a variety of reasons, so it's quite possible Harun al-Rashid was always kind of violent and reactionary
@soph_sol yeah looots of reasons for propaganda about rulers, both during and after their reigns
@Satsuma true! I just wasn't expecting that ending at ALL from everything I knew about them previously!! especially since Harun al-Rashid is always portrayed as like, the most admirable of rulers!