Musa ibn Bugha's army sent to remove Ibn Tulun dissolves, 263/877

جيش موسى بن بغا لعزل ابن طولون يتفرق، ٢٦٣هـ/٨٧٧م

c. 877 CE · 263 AH

When al-Muwaffaq, absorbed in the Zanj war, judged Ibn Tulun's remittance insufficient, he dispatched in 263/877 a force under Musa ibn Bugha to remove him; the expedition collapsed under the soldiers' demands and the fear Ibn Tulun's forces inspired. Ibn Tulun had written to al-Muwaffaq pointing out that he had no formal jurisdiction over Egypt at all 1 2.

Depth

At a glance

Era
Abbasid Fragmentation
Region
Levant & Iraq · Egypt & Nile

In time

860870880890 c.
The Early Abbasid Caliphate · Abbasid Fragmentation

Summary

When al-Muwaffaq, absorbed in the Zanj war, judged Ibn Tulun's remittance insufficient, he dispatched in 263/877 a force under Musa ibn Bugha to remove him; the expedition collapsed under the soldiers' demands and the fear Ibn Tulun's forces inspired. Ibn Tulun had written to al-Muwaffaq pointing out that he had no formal jurisdiction over Egypt at all 1 2.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
Ahmad ibn Tulun· Abu Ahmad al-Muwaffaq· Musa ibn Bugha

People and things also explored

Ibn Kundaj intercepts al-Mu'tamid and confines him, 269· The Damascus assembly drops al-Muwaffaq from the succession; mutual cursing, 269/882-883· The division of the realm between al-Mufawwid and al-Muwaffaq· al-Muwaffaqiyya· Mosque of Ibn Tulun· Al-Abbas ibn Ahmad ibn Tulun's revolt and flight to Barqa, 265/879· Abu Ahmad Imprisons His Son Abu al-Abbas al-Mu'tadid· Al-Muwaffaq's three wishes: Abu Dawud settles at Basra, c. 272/885

Sources

  1. Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edition (Leiden: Brill, 1954–2008), 13 volumes , vol. 1 p. 300-301
  2. Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edition (Leiden: Brill, 1954–2008), 13 volumes , vol. 10 p. 668
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Musa ibn Bugha's army sent to remove Ibn Tulun dissolves, 263/877”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/musa-bugha-expedition-263/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-02.

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Ibn Kundaj intercepts al-Mu'tamid and confines him, 269

In 269, al-Mu'tamid's fear of his brother al-Muwaffaq peaked — he corresponded with his Egypt deputy Ahmad ibn Tulun and slipped out of Samarra for Damascus. Al-Muwaffaq sent Ishaq ibn Kundaj, who caught him between Mosul and Haditha, escorted him back and confined him to Ibn al-Khasib's house under five hundred guards. Ibn Kundaj received khil'as, money and the title Dhu'l-Sayfayn, Sa'id ibn Makhlad Dhu'l-Wizaratayn — and al-Mu'tamid lost all binding and loosing, the first caliph ever cowed, sequestered and warded.