al-Muttaqi

Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Jaʿfar al-Muqtadir (Template:Langx) better known by his regnal title al-Muttaqi (908 – July 968, ) was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 940 to 944. His reign marked the start of the 'later Abbasid period' (940–1258).

Biography

Al-Muttaqi was the son of al-Muqtadir and his concubine named Khalub also known as Zuhra. She was a Greek, and was the mother of Ibrahim (the future Caliph al-Muttaqi). His full name was Ibrahim ibn Jaʿfar al-Muqtadir and his Abu Ishaq. He had a striking appearance: blue eyes, red hair and a very pale clear complexion. A man of ascetic habits, he devoted himself to fasting and eschewed worldly pleasures like wine and love, famously asserting that his only desired companion was the Qur'an.

Of such little importance the Caliphate had become by now that when the previous Caliph al-Radi died, Bajkam, amir al-umara (Amir of Amirs), contented himself with despatching to Baghdad his secretary, who assembled the chief men to elect a successor. The choice fell on the deceased Caliph's brother al-Muttaqi, who assumed the office after it had been some days vacant; and whose first act was to send a banner and dress of honor to Bajkam, a needless confirmation of his rank.

Bajkam, before returning to Wasit, where he now held his court, went out on a hunting party, and met his death at the hands of a band of marauding Kurds. The Capital again became the scene of renewed anarchy.

Rivalry between officials

With vizier Abu Abdallah al-Baridi gone, on 3 July Kurankij was appointed as amir al-umara by the powerless caliph al-Muttaqi. On the same night, the Turk Takinak was arrested and drowned. Kurankij chose Abu'l-Faraj ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Isfahani as his secretary (katib), and called on Ali ibn Isa ibn al-Jarrah and his brother Abd al-Rahman to become heads of the administration, but without the title of vizier. This arrangement did not last long, however: within a few days, the Banu'l-Jarrah brothers were dismissed, and Abu Ishaq Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Qarariti appointed vizier. As al-Baridi had gathered new forces and come up from his base in Basra to Wasit, Kurankij sent his own troops under another Daylamite commander, Ispahan, to confront them. On the news of their approach, the Baridis abandoned Wasit and retreated to Basra.

In the meantime, a previous amir al-umara, Muhammad ibn Ra'iq, who had fled to Syria, was strengthened by an influx of Turkic commanders leaving Baghdad, and received a letter from al-Muttaqi inviting his return to the Abbasid capital. When Kurankij received news of Ibn Ra'iq's march on Baghdad, he recalled Ispahan from Wasit, which almost immediately was captured by the Baridis. On 22 August, he also dismissed the vizier al-Qarariti and replaced him with Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Qasim al-Karkhi.

As Ibn Ra'iq approached Baghdad, Kurankij exited the city and made for Ukbara. The two armies fought for several days, but Ibn Ra'iq was unable to secure victory. Nevertheless, on 23 August a detachment of Ibn Ra'iq's army under Ibn Muqatil entered Baghdad, followed two days later by the bulk of Ibn Ra'iq's army, with Kurankij following behind a day later. Kurankij and his men were reportedly contemptuous of their opponent, and Ibn Ra'iq himself is said to have contemplated returning to Syria. But in a fight that broke out in the city itself, some of Ibn Ra'iq's men managed to attack the Daylamites from behind. The Daylamites panicked and were routed, as they were also being attacked by the populace. Kurankij went into hiding, and Ibn Ra'iq's ascendancy was secured. On 22 September, Ibn Ra'iq had the surviving Daylamites executed, and on the next day, he was raised to amir al-umara. Kurankij was discovered and imprisoned in the palace.

Abu Abdallah alBaridi used this to take Wasit from Kurankij's forces and initiated peaceful relations with Ibn Ra'iq. This broke down two months later, and Ibn Ra'iq began to advance on alBaridi, until a mutiny by Tuzun forced him to reconcile with alBaridi, even elevating him to the Vizierate for the 4th time. However, alBaridi wanted to come in person to Baghdad, which resulted in Ibn Ra'iq dismissing him from the Vizierate. In response alBaridi sent an army to capture Baghdad.

Near the Diyala river on 7th March 942, Ibn Ra'iq was defeated, he and the Caliph fled for Hamdanid Mosul, while Abu Abdallah alBaridi's younger brother Abul Husayn took charge of Baghdad. For the next 4 months the city was devastated, much of it was in civil war between the various contingents of the army: Turks, Daylamites and Caramathian mercenaries, as well as the general populace. Famine and plague broke out by mid-year and many left the city.

Meanwhile in Mosul, al-Muttaqi was welcomed by the Hamdanid dynasty, who organized a campaign to restore him to the capital. However, their ends were purely selfish; they assassinated Ibn Ra'iq, and having added his Syrian government to their own, turned their ambition towards Baghdad. The Hamdanid chief, with the title of Nasir al-Dawla, advanced on Baghdad with the Caliph.

But, however powerful the Hamdanid chiefs were at home amongst their Arab brethren, and splendid their victories over the Greeks, they found it a different thing to rule at Baghdad, due to foreign mercenaries and the well-organised Turkish forces in the city.

And so in less than a year, the Hamdanid chieftains had to return to Mosul; for a Turkish general called Tuzun entered Baghdad in triumph, and was saluted as amir al-umara. Initially Tuzun waged war against the Baridis over Wasit. But peace was more preferable to him, so he made an alliance with the Baridis, marrying Abu Abdallah's daughter. The Caliph saw such an alliance as a threat to his rule, and once more fled his capital northwards to the Hamdanids. Troops sent in response enabled him to escape; he fled to Mosul and after that to Nusaybin.

Shortly after, peace being restored between Tuzun and the Hamdanid chiefs, al-Muttaqi took up his residence at Raqqa — a fugitive in the city which had so often been the proud court of his illustrious ancestors.

Downfall and succession

While in Raqqa, Muhammad Ibn Tughj, the Ikhshid of Egypt, offered the Caliph his protection, and even invitation to Egypt. But by this point the Baridis had destroyed themselves through infighting, and al-Muttaqi had now received new oaths from Tuzun and his supporters that they would respect his authority were he return. Thus, the advice of the Ikhshid to at least stay at the safety of Raqqa went unheeded.

At the beginning of the year 333, he made his way down the Euphrates, until he met personally with Tuzun at Anbar on 11th October 944. He kneeled and kissed the ground before him, then declared his oath fulfilled. The Caliph was dragged off and blinded. The same day, Tuzun installed the ex-caliph's cousin as his successor, with the title of al-Mustakfi, "For whom the Lord suffices".

Sources

• Template:The Life and Times of Ali ibn Isa
• This text is adapted from William Muir's public domain, The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline, and Fall.