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Capture and killing of al-Mustarshid at Maragha

أسر المسترشد وقتله بمراغة

c. 26 August 1135 CE · 16 Dhu al-Qa'da 529 AH

Maragha

Al-Mustarshid marched on sultan Mas'ud; most of his army betrayed him and he was taken to a fortress near Hamadan. Baghdad put dust on its heads, the women went out unveiled keening, prayers and the khutba were suspended — and Sanjar wrote his nephew Mas'ud of the heavenly and earthly signs, ordering the caliph restored; Mas'ud kissed the ground before him. Then seventeen Batiniyya in Sanjar's escort — sent, it was said, without Mas'ud's knowledge, though some say he planted them — fell on the caliph in his camp and slaughtered him with his companions at Maragha, Thursday 16 Dhu'l-Qa'da 529; Baghdad came out barefoot with torn clothes 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
Abbasid Fragmentation
Region
Persia & Central Asia
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

In time

1120113011401150 c.
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era · The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks

Overview

A rift arose between the caliph al-Mustarshid and the sultan Mas'ud ibn Muhammad, and the caliph went out to fight him. Al-Suyuti says that most of his army betrayed him, and Mas'ud captured him and imprisoned him in a fortress near Hamadhan. 2

Baghdad mourns

The people of Baghdad threw dust on their heads, women came out lamenting the caliph, and prayers and the sermon were suspended. 2

The killing

The sultan Sanjar sent to his nephew Mas'ud ordering him to restore the caliph, and Mas'ud kissed the ground before him. Then seventeen of the Batiniyya came in Sanjar's army, attacked the caliph in his camp and killed him with a number of his companions. It is reported that Mas'ud did not know of them; it is also said that he was the one who sent them. 2

This happened at Maragha on Thursday, the sixteenth of Dhu al-Qa'da 529 AH. 2

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
al-Mustarshid bi'llah al-Fadl ibn al-Mustazhir· السلطان مسعود بن محمد بن ملكشاه· السلطان سنجر بن ملكشاه
Occurred at
Maragha

People and things also explored

The battle of Dinawar between Sanjar and his nephews in 526· Abu Bakr ibn al-Bahlawan takes Maragha· The deposition of the caliph al-Rashid and the bay'a to al-Muqtafi, 530· The Mongols take Maragha· Mas'ud's seizure of the caliphal property and al-Muqtafi's reply· The deposition of al-Rashid billah by a jurists' attestation· The Ghuzz capture Sultan Sanjar· Sultan Sanjar's defeat by the Turks beyond the river in 536

Sources

  1. Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p. 664-665
  2. Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p.664-665
  • Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Capture and killing of al-Mustarshid at Maragha”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/mustarshid-murder-529/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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The battle of Dinawar between Sanjar and his nephews in 526

In 526 the battle near Dinawar pitted Sultan Sanjar against his nephews Saljuq-shah and Mas'ud; Ibn al-Jawzi puts Sanjar's host at 170,000 against Mas'ud's 30,000, with 40,000 slain 'a jahiliyya killing over kingship, not religion'; Mas'ud fled into Sanjar's presence and was pardoned and restored, while the Baghdad sultanate was settled on Tughril Beg and Sanjar returned to Khurasan.