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The ghilman's seizure and humiliation of Jalal al-Dawla, 424

أسر الغلمان لجلال الدولة وإهانتهم ٤٢٤

c. August 1033 CE · Ramadan 424 AH

Baghdad → al-Karkh

In Ramadan 424 the ghilman gathered at the mosque of al-Qahramana to lodge a complaint. Some of them found the gate of the garden of the royal residence open and went in. The king came out saying, 'Come, let me hear what you have to say'; they seized him, dragged him to the Tigris and put him in a samiriyya boat that nearly capsized, mocking him as they did. Then they left him standing in the sun, confined him in a mosque, and moved him to the house of al-Mahalibiyya. Abu'l-Wafa' al-Qa'id came to his aid with about twenty ghilman and crossed to al-Karkh, to the house of Jamil belonging to al-Sharif al-Murtada. The ghilman wrote to him: 'We are your slaves and your mamluks; we made you king over our affairs from the start.' He dealt with them tactfully, and by night he won over the junior amirs, who came to al-Murtada's house kissing the ground and apologising; they mounted him and said, 'Jalal al-Dawla is our king and we are his troops.' He accepted Abu'l-Qasim as vizier 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era
Region
Levant & Iraq
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In time

1020103010401050 c.
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era

In space

Baghdad

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Civil wars and revolts

Sides

Overview

In Ramadan 424 the ghilman gathered at the Qahramana mosque to complain, found a garden gate of the palace open, and went in. Jalal al-Dawla came out saying "come, let me hear you" — they seized him, dragged him to the Tigris, put him on a samira skiff that nearly sank while they mocked him, stood him in the sun, jailed him in a mosque, then moved him to the Mahlabiyya house; the qa'id Abu'l-Wafa' spirited him with some twenty ghulams to Sharif al-Murtada's house in Karkh. The ghilman wrote him "we are your slaves and mamluks — we made you lord of our affairs," and he softened toward them; by night he won the junior amirs, who came kissing the ground in apology, mounted him, and declared "Jalal al-Dawla is our king and we his soldiers" 2.

Connections

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Had participant
جلال الدولة أبو طاهر بن بهاء الدولة· al-Sharif al-Murtada
Occurred at
Baghdad· al-Karkh

People and things also explored

The ghilman's expulsion of Jalal al-Dawla from Baghdad, 423· The death of al-Qadir and the accession of al-Qa'im bi-amr Allah, 422· The Baghdad Attestation on Fatimid Lineage· The Baratha Mosque Affair in 420· The restoration of the khutba to Jalal al-Dawla in Baghdad· The public declaration of al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah as heir, 421· The Shahanshah laqab controversy· The Nizamiyya Madrasa of Baghdad

Sources

  1. al-Muntazam fi Tarikh al-Muluk wa'l-Umam — Ibn al-Jawzi , j.8 p.414-417
  2. al-Muntazam fi Tarikh al-Muluk wa'l-Umam — Ibn al-Jawzi
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The ghilman's seizure and humiliation of Jalal al-Dawla, 424”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/jalal-abduction-424/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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The ghilman's expulsion of Jalal al-Dawla from Baghdad, 423

The ghilman swore to depose Jalal al-Dawla and cancelled the khutba in his name on Friday, 3 Rabi' I 423. They dismissed his concubines and demanded that he go down to Wasit; 100 ghilman went down with him, then only 20. He fled on the night of Monday, 6 Rabi' I, to Akbara, and the royal residence was plundered. He wrote to the isfahsalar Abu Kalijar, inviting him, but Abu Kalijar replied cautiously, asking for 500 ghilman. Jalal went to al-Hilla, prostrated himself before Kamal al-Dawla Abu Sinan, gave him his daughter in marriage and promised him treasures. Abu Sinan interceded for him, and his khutba was restored on 17 Rabi' I in the congregational mosques of the city and al-Rusafa, and then in the caliph's mosque on the third Friday. In Shawwal he drank wine in a garden of the caliph's residence; al-Qa'im reproached him, and he apologised.