Abul-Abbas

This article is about the historic elephant. For the Qur'anic figure of the same name, see Khidr. For the chessman known as Charlemagne's elephant, see Elephant of Yusuf al-Bahili.

Abul-Abbas
SpeciesAsian elephant
SexMale
Bornc. 770s or 780s
Abbasid Caliphate (possibly)
Died810 (aged around 30–40)
likely near Münster or Wesel, Germany

Abul-Abbas (c. 770s or 780s – 810) was an Asian elephant brought back to the Carolingian emperor Charlemagne by his diplomat Isaac the Jew. The gift was from the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid and symbolizes the beginning of Abbasid–Carolingian relations. The elephant's name and events from his life are recorded in the Carolingian Annales regni Francorum, and he is mentioned in Einhard's Vita Karoli Magni. However, no references to the gift or to interactions with Charlemagne have been found in Abbasid records.


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