Al-Mustansir's departure for Iraq and his disappearance

خروج المستنصر إلى العراق وفقدانه

c. 28 November 1261 CE · 3 Muharram 660 AH

Al-Mustansir marched for Iraq, the sultan seeing him off to Damascus with a million dinars' outfit and the lords of Mosul, Sinjar and the Jazira in his train; Aleppo's rival caliph al-Hakim — set up by its amir Aqush with his own coin — joined and submitted. He took al-Haditha and Hit, met a Tatar host, and vanished at the battle of 3 Muharram 660: most say killed, some say fled and hidden — a caliphate under six months ¹.

Depth

At a glance

Era: The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era
Region: Levant & Iraq
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In time

The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks · The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era

Overview

The caliph al-Mustansir resolved to go to Iraq. Sultan Baybars went out with him to escort him as far as Damascus, and equipped him and the sons of the lord of Mosul with about a million dinars and sixty thousand dirhams. ²

The route

The caliph set out with the kings of the East: the lord of Mosul, the lord of Sinjar and al-Jazira. The Aleppo caliph al-Hakim, whom the amir of Aleppo, Aqush, had set up, met him and submitted to him. The army took al-Hadītha and then Hit. ²

Clash with the Tatars

A Tatar force met them, and some Muslims were killed, and al-Mustansir disappeared on the third of Muharram 660 AH. It is said he was killed, and it is said he escaped and fled. His caliphate lasted less than six months. ²

The "Shadharat al-Dhahab" says that he set out to take Baghdad, and that he disappeared in the battle and al-Hakim was routed. ³

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant: al-Mustansir bi'llah II Ahmad ibn al-Zahir· al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah Ahmad al-Qabi· al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars

People and things also explored

Establishment of the Abbasid caliphate in Cairo· The battle of Ayn Jalut and the defeat of the Tatars· Baybars takes Jaffa, Beaufort and Antioch, 666· Baybars takes Caesarea and Arsuf, 663· Baybars raids Cilicia, 673· Death of al-Zahir Baybars, 676· Baybars takes Hisn al-Akrad and Akkar, 669· Baybars takes Safed, 664

Sources

Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p. 724
Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p.724
Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p.296

Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Al-Mustansir's departure for Iraq and his disappearance”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/mustansir-iraq-expedition-660/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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Establishment of the Abbasid caliphate in Cairo

Ahmad ibn al-Zahir — freed from Baghdad's prison when the Tatars took it — came to Baybars in Rajab 659 with ten of Banu Maharish; the sultan rode out to meet him, his line was proven before chief qadi Taj al-Din ibn Bint al-A'azz, and the bay'a ran: the sultan first, then the qadi, then Shaykh Izz al-Din ibn Abd al-Salam, then the great by rank, on 13 Rajab. His name went on the coinage, he preached in black at the citadel mosque, robed the sultan with his own hands before the Cairo tent, and was granted an atabeg, ustadar, sharabi, khazindar, hajib and katib with a hundred horses. The caliphate's gap had lasted three and a half years; al-Dhahabi notes none after his uncle's son took it save him and al-Muqtafi.