Al Mansur (the victorious) was the title taken by the second Abbasid caliph, Abu Jaf’ar. He succeeded his brother Al-Saffah. After a long struggle, the Abbasid came to power after throwing the Umayyad Dynasty. They had claimed that the rightful leader should come from the family of the Prophet (S.A.S). By this time, the Shiites, Mawali, and Khariji were discontented with the Umayyad rule. They supported the Abbasid revolution and joined their armies. Abu Muslim, the commander of Abbasid, led the revolution. 

After assuming the office of the caliphate, Al Mansur faced several threats. One was posed by his uncle Abdallah, who claimed he had the right to a caliphate. With the help of Abu Muslim, Al Mansur exiled him, and he was later executed. Abu Muslim himself became popular among his people and became a threat to his caliphate. Al Mansur had him executed too. The Alids were another to Al Mansur’s dynasty. He persecuted them and removed any danger to his seat of the caliphate.

Al Mansur founded the round city of Madinat-al-Salam (the city of peace), later called Baghdad. The city was built from scratch, recruiting architects and laborers worldwide. Soon the city became famous for its unique design and features. The caliph continued the tradition of court and patronage. He was always surrounded by poets, scholars, scientists, and other learned men. He supported their skills which led to the Golden Age of Islam. He initiated the translation movement, which focused on translating Greek works into Arabic.