It was the year 201 Hijri and 17 years had passed since the martyrdom of Imam al-Kāẓim (a). The Abbasid caliph Ma’mūn the son of Hārūn al-Rashīd had grown tired of the popularity of the 8th Imam, Imam al-Riḍā (a), in the city of Medina, and had finally forced him to abandon the city of the Prophet (p) to join the caliph in the city of Merv in modern day Turkmenistan.
The Imam (a) had to make this lengthy 6-month journey but was strictly prevented from travelling through cities like Kufa where there was a strong presence of Shī‘a. During his journey he passed by numerous cities such as Basrah, Khorramshahr, Ahwaz, Rey, and Neyshabur; and in every city the Imam (a) stopped, he would interact cordially with its residents.