The History of the House of Ali

When Hossein died, so did the prospect that the House of Ali might hold political rule. The next few centuries would see two lines of caliphs or caliphs, neither of which was descended from him. Abbasid caliphs made explicit claims to religious as well as political authority. Al-Mamun is important for the story I want to tell in this episode about Islamic theology and the philosophical positions that underlay it.