عبد الله بن المعتز

Overview

Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz was given the oath of allegiance to the caliphate in 296 AH after the deposition of al-Muqtadir, and took the regnal title al-Muntasir billah. Al-Tabari relates that he chose this title for himself. ¹

A short caliphate

Al-Suyuti says that he answered the deposers on condition that there would be no bloodshed in the matter. The commanders, judges and notables then swore allegiance to him and gave him the title al-Ghalib billah, and he appointed Muhammad ibn Dawud ibn al-Jarrah as his vizier. They then withdrew from him, defeated and without fighting. He fled, was imprisoned, and was brought out dead. ²

Literature

Al-Mas'udi describes him as an eloquent man of letters and a natural poet, of easy style and smooth diction, with a fine gift for inventing meanings. ³

al-Muqtadir bi'llah

Abbasid caliph, hailed in 295 and deposed in 296, restored to the caliphate in 317 and killed in 320. According to al-Suyuti he was born in Ramadan 282 to a Byzantine mother named Shaghab, and no caliph before him had been younger, since he took office at thirteen. He was deposed twice: for a single day in 296, in favour of Ibn al-Mu'tazz, and in 317, when Mu'nis moved to put al-Qahir in his place until the troops restored him; command and prohibition then passed to his womenfolk because of his frailty. Al-Dhahabi says order was greatly disrupted in his days because of his youth. According to al-Mas'udi he was Ja'far ibn Ahmad al-Muktafi, known as Abu'l-Fadl, whose mother was an umm walad called Shaghab. He was hailed on the day his brother died, on the thirteenth night of Dhu'l-Qa'da 295, at thirteen years old, and was killed in Baghdad after the afternoon prayer on Wednesday, three nights before the end of Shawwal 320. His caliphate lasted twenty-four years, eleven months and sixteen days, and he was thirty-eight years old. Also according to al-Mas'udi, after al-Abbas ibn al-Hasan was killed he appointed Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Furat as vizier three times: first in 299, then in 304, and the third time when his son Muhsin was the dominant force in affairs. He also appointed as vizier Muhammad ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Yahya ibn Khaqan; Ali ibn Isa ibn Dawud ibn al-Jarrah, twice; Hamid ibn al-Abbas; Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Ubayd Allah al-Khaqani; Ahmad ibn Ubayd Allah al-Khusaybi; Abu Ali Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Muqla; Sulayman ibn al-Hasan ibn Makhlad; Ubayd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Kalwadhani; al-Husayn ibn al-Qasim, who was killed at Raqqa; and last of them al-Fadl ibn Ja'far ibn al-Furat. According to Ibn al-Athir, in 317 they removed him from the palace, with his mother, his maternal aunt, his favourite concubines and his sons, to the house of Mu'nis. Ibn Hamdan came to rebuke him while he was weeping, and so did al-Muqtadir. They deposited the document of his deposition with Judge Abu Amr, who concealed it; this was approved of him after he returned, and he appointed him to the judgeship. According to Ibn al-Jawzi, in 302 he ordered that Jews and Christians not be employed; they were confined to their houses, obliged to wear caps and patches, and their stirrups were made of wood. According to Ibn al-Jawzi, the death of Ibn al-Mu'tazz became known in the sultan's house two nights into Rabi' II 296; Mu'nis took him out to his home wrapped up and handed him to his family, who buried him in a ruin facing their house. Al-Muqtadir ordered the ledgers thrown into the Tigris, and many gave thanks to him for it. No caliph is known to have been deposed and then restored except two: al-Amin and al-Muqtadir bi'llah.

عبد الله بن المعتز

At a glance

Overview

A short caliphate

Literature

Connections

People and things also explored

Sources

al-Muqtadir bi'llah