Killing of al-Mutawakkil

مقتل المتوكل

247 AH

In 247 al-Mutawakkil was killed in his own assembly after a group of Turks entered upon him ^{1 2}; Tabari also records some of his affairs and conduct ³. In al-Suyuti he had named his son al-Muntasir heir, then al-Mu'tazz, then al-Mu'ayyad; later, out of love for their mother, he wished to advance al-Mu'tazz and asked al-Muntasir to step down. When al-Muntasir refused, al-Mutawakkil diminished his standing, threatened him and insulted him. The Turks turned from al-Mutawakkil and agreed with al-Muntasir to kill his father; five of them entered upon him in the dead of night while he was in his assembly of revelry, and they killed him and his vizier al-Fath ibn Khaqan on the fifth of Shawwal 247. He was seen in a dream and asked what God had done with him; he said, 'He forgave me for a little of the Sunna that I revived' ⁴. In al-Mas'udi, citing al-Buhturi, al-Mutawakkil bought a sword from Yemen for ten thousand dirhams and gave it to Bagir to stand at his head; Bagir drew it only on the night he killed him. He prostrated to God, rubbed his face in dust and scattered it on his beard, then sat down to drink. Qabiha sent him a red robe; he tore its edge and said, 'Keep it, so that it may be my shroud.' Then Bagir came with ten masked men; he struck him on the right side, cutting down to the flank, then on the left, while al-Fath held them off until they overpowered him. This was on the night of Wednesday, three nights into Shawwal 247. He was born at Fam al-Sulh ⁵. The place where he was killed was known as al-Makhura, where Shiruyah had killed his father Khusraw Parviz. On the carpet was an image of a Persian king inscribed 'king for six months', and an image of Yazid ibn al-Walid inscribed 'king for six months' ⁶.