The death of al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah and the accession of al-Muqtadi

In Safar 467 AH al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah fell seriously ill and his throat swelled. As he lay dying, he wrote the designation of succession in favour of his son's son, Abd Allah ibn Dhakhirat al-Din Abu al-Abbas. When he died, al-Muqtadi was installed on Friday, the thirteenth of Sha'ban, and took the title al-Muqtadi bi-Amr Allah. ¹

Al-Muqtadi sat in the House of the Tree, wearing a white shirt, a light white turban and a headcloth of fine Dari reed fabric. Nahr al-Dawla the vizier, Amid al-Dawla, Mu'ayyad al-Mulk ibn al-Nizam, the two naqibs, the chief judge al-Damghani, Dubays, the leading notables and the witnesses entered, and they pledged allegiance to him. The first to pledge allegiance was al-Sharif Abu Ja'far, who did so at the washing of al-Qa'im, before the others, and recited a line of verse to him: "When one of our lords passes, another lord rises." The coffin was then carried on the boat, the people weeping without crying out. The funeral prayer was performed over him with four takbirs, and he was buried in his chamber that had been reserved for his retreat. The caliphate of al-Qa'im had lasted forty-five years and some months. It is related that when Malikshah's intention toward al-Muqtadi changed and he wanted him to leave Baghdad, he said to him: "Give me ten days." The sultan died on the tenth day. ¹