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[[File:Iraq in 812.svg|upright=1.2|thumb|right|Map of Iraq and surrounding regions in the early ninth century]]
In spring 812, Tahir, reinforced with more troops under [[Harthama ibn A'yan]], resumed his offensive. He invaded [[Khuzistan]], where he defeated and killed the [[Muhallabids (clan)|Muhallabid]] governor [[Muhammad ibn Yazid al-Muhallabi|Muhammad ibn Yazid]], whereupon the Muhallabids of [[Basra]] surrendered to him. Tahir also took [[Kufa]] and [[al-Mada'in]], advancing on Baghdad from the west while Harthama closed in from the east.{{sfn|Rekaya|1991|p=333}} At the same time, al-Amin's authority crumbled as supporters of al-Ma'mun took control of [[Mosul]], [[Egypt in the Middle Ages|Egypt]] and the [[Hejaz]], while most of Syria, [[Arminiya|Armenia]] and [[Adharbayjan]] fell under the control of local Arab tribal leaders.{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=149}}{{sfn|Rekaya|1991|p=334}} As Tahir's army closed on Baghdad, the rift between al-Amin and the ''abnaʾ'' was solidified when the desperate Caliph turned to the common people of the city for help and gave them arms. The ''abnaʾ'' began
The historian [[Hugh N. Kennedy]] characterized the subsequent [[Siege of Baghdad (812–813)|siege of the city]] as "an episode almost without parallel in the history of early Islamic society" and "the nearest early Islamic history saw to an attempt at social revolution", as Baghdad's urban proletariat defended their city for over a year in a vicious urban [[guerrilla]] war.{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=149–150}}{{sfn|Rekaya|1991|pp=333–334}} Indeed, it was this "revolutionary" situation in the city as much as famine and the besiegers' professional expertise, that brought about its fall: in September 813, Tahir convinced some of the richer citizens to cut the [[pontoon bridge]]s over the [[Tigris]] that connected the city to the outside world, allowing al-Ma'mun's men to occupy the city's eastern suburbs. Al-Ma'mun's troops then launched a final assault, in which al-Amin was captured and executed at Tahir's orders while trying to seek refuge with his old family friend Harthama.{{sfn|Rekaya|1991|p=334}}{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=150}} While al-Ma'mun was probably not implicated in the act, it was politically convenient, as it left him both ''de jure'' and ''de facto'' the legitimate caliph.{{sfn|Gabrieli|1960|pp=437–438}}
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