"The late Queen was too humble; she submitted to pay tribute to you, though she should have exacted twice as much from you. A man speaks to you now; therefore send back the tribute you have received, otherwise the sword shall be umpire between me and thee."
The Caliph replied in unmistakable terms—
"In the name of Allah, most merciful!"
"Haroun-al-Raschid, Commander of the Faithful, to Nicephorus, the Roman dog.
"I have read thy letter, O thou son of an unbelieving mother! Thou shalt not hear, but thou shalt see my reply."
Pilgrims of the XIth Century journeying to the Holy City
Forthwith a huge force crossed over into the domains of Nicephorus, and only the promise to pay the tribute twice, instead of once a year, induced the Caliph to withdraw his forces.
To us, however, the most interesting incident of his reign is the link that was forged between East and West when the great Haroun courteously received the ambassadors of Charlemagne at his court in Bagdad. He may have been prompted only by a desire to obtain the Great Emperor of the West as his ally against the Emperor of the Eastern Empire, but there seems little doubt that Haroun actually sent to Charlemagne the keys of the Holy Places at Jerusalem, declaring that the city belonged first and foremost to the Champion of Christendom.