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Abū'l-Qasim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muhammad ibn al-Qa'im (
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: أبو القاسم عبد الله بن محمد بن القائم) better known by his
regnal name A regnal name, or regnant name or reign name, is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and, subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they ac ...
Al-Muqtadi ''(1056 – February 1094)'' (
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: المقتدي 'the follower') was the
Abbasid caliph The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came t ...
in
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
from 1075 to 1094. He succeeded his grandfather caliph al-Qa'im in 1075 as the twenty-seventh Abbasid caliph.


Biography

He was born to Muhammad Dhakirat, the son of caliph Al-Qa'im, and an
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
slave girl. His full name was ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muhammad ibn al-Qa'im and his Kunya was Abū'l-Qasim. He was born in 1056 CE 447–448 AH. When al-Qa'im was on his deathbed in 1075, Fakhr ad-Dawla took charge of his personal care - al-Qa'im did not want
bloodletting Bloodletting (or blood-letting) is the withdrawal of blood from a patient to prevent or cure illness and disease. Bloodletting, whether by a physician or by leeches, was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and other bodily flu ...
but Fakhr ad-Dawla had it done anyway. Before he died, al-Qa'im advised his grandson and successor al-Muqtadi to keep the Banu Jahir in their position: ''"I have not seen better persons for the ''dawla'' than Ibn Jahir and his son; do not turn away from them."'' Al-Muqtadi ascended to the throne on 2 April 1075. In 1077, deadly riots broke out in
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
between the city's
Hanbali The Hanbali school ( ar, ٱلْمَذْهَب ٱلْحَنۢبَلِي, al-maḏhab al-ḥanbalī) is one of the four major traditional Sunni schools (''madhahib'') of Islamic jurisprudence. It is named after the Arab scholar Ahmad ibn Hanbal ...
and
Ash'ari Ashʿarī theology or Ashʿarism (; ar, الأشعرية: ) is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Muslim scholar, Shāfiʿī jurist, reformer, and scholastic theologian Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī in the ...
factions when
Abu Nasr ibn al-Ustadh Abi al-Qasim al-Qushayri Abu or ABU may refer to: Places * Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan * Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan * Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria * Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian university ...
arrived in town to become lecturer at the city's nizamiyya. During the riots, Nizam al-Mulk's son
Mu'ayyad al-Mulk Mu'ayyid al-Mulk ( fa, مؤيد الملک) was a Persian bureaucrat, who served as the vizier of the Seljuk sultan Berkyaruq () from 1094 to 1095, and later vizier of the Seljuk prince and contender Muhammad I Tapar from 1099 to 1101. He was th ...
's life was endangered. Nizam al-Mulk blamed Fakhr ad-Dawla for the whole affair and in 1078 sent his representative
Gohar-A'in Sa'd ad-Dawla Gohar-Ā'īn (died 1100) was an 11th-century Turkic eunuch mamluk who served as a government official, diplomat, and military commander for the Seljuk Empire. The name "Gohar-Ā'īn" means "jewel-mirror". Medieval authors had differing ...
to the caliph to demand Fakhr ad-Dawla's removal and to have the Banu Jahir's followers arrested. Gohar-A'in arrived on 23 July and was granted an audience on Tuesday, 14 August, during which he handed over a letter requesting Fakhr ad-Dawla's removal. Al-Muqtadi initially balked at the demand, but by 27 August Gohar-A'in was threatening to attack the palace unless he complied. At that point, al-Muqtadi had no choice – the Abbasids lacked a military of their own and were powerless to resist Seljuk interference. Fakhr ad-Dawla apparently resigned (instead of being fired) and al-Muqtadi had him placed under house arrest. Meanwhile, Amid ad-Dawla had left for
Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
once he heard of Nizam al-Mulk's plans. He took a circuitous route through the mountains to avoid running into Gohar-A'in on the way, and he reached Isfahan on 23 July – the same day that Gohar A'in reached Baghdad. Amid ad-Dawla met with Nizam al-Mulk and the two parties eventually reconciled, which they sealed with a marriage contract between Nizam al-Mulk's granddaughter and Amid ad-Dawla. Al-Muqtadi did not initially rehire the Banu Jahir and instead kept them under house arrest, but Nizam al-Mulk later intervened and got them rehired. Also during
Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
of 1078 (March-April), Fakhr ad-Dawla had had a
minbar A minbar (; sometimes romanized as ''mimber'') is a pulpit in a mosque where the imam (leader of prayers) stands to deliver sermons (, ''khutbah''). It is also used in other similar contexts, such as in a Hussainiya where the speaker sits and le ...
(pulpit) made at his expense and bearing the titles of al-Muqtadi. It later ended up broken up and burned down. In 1081, the caliph sent Fakhr ad-Dawla to Isfahan, laden with gifts and over 20,000
dinar The dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread. The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin of ...
s, to negotiate marriage with Malik-Shah's daughter. Malik-Shah was grieving the death of his son Da'ud and did not take part i; the negotiations; rather, Fakhr ad-Dawla went to Nizam al-Mulk. The two worked together this time; they went to the princess's foster mother,
Turkan Khatun Terken Khatun (; 1053 – September–October 1094) was the second/third wife and chief consort of Malik Shah I, Sultan of the Seljuk Empire from 1072, until his death in 1092. She was born as a Karakhanid princess, the daughter of Tamghach Kha ...
, to make their request. She was disinterested at first because the
Ghaznavid The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...
ruler had made a better offer: 100,000 dinars. Arslan Khatun, who had been married to al-Qa'im, told her that a marriage with the caliph would be more prestigious, and that she should not be asking the caliph for more money. Eventually, Turkan Khatun agreed to the marriage, but with heavy conditions imposed on al-Muqtadi: in return for marrying the Seljuk princess, al-Muqtadi would pay 50,000 dinars plus an additional 100,000 dinars as ''
mahr In Islam, a mahr (in ar, مهر; fa, مهريه; tr, mehir; sw, mahari; also transliterated ''mehr'', ''meher'', ''mehrieh'', or ''mahriyeh'') is the obligation, in the form of money or possessions paid by the groom, to the bride at the time ...
'' (bridal gift), give up his current wives and concubines, and agree to not have sexual relations with any other woman. This was an especially heavy significant burden on the Abbasid caliph, since the Abbasids had been tightly controlling their "reproductive politics", with all their heirs being born to ''
umm walad An ''umm walad'' ( ar, أم ولد, , lit=mother of the child) was the title given to a slave-concubine in the Muslim world after she had born her master a child. She could not be sold, and became automatically free on her master's death. The off ...
s'' and therefore unrelated to any rival dynasties. By agreeing to Turkan Khatun's terms, Fakhr ad-Dawla was putting al-Muqtadi at a severe disadvantage while also benefitting the Seljuks considerably. In 1083, al-Muqtadi removed the Banu Jahir from office by decree. The circumstances of their removal from office are somewhat unclear - historians gave varying accounts. In
Sibt ibn al-Jawzi Shams al-Din Abu al-Muzaffar Yusuf ibn Kizoghlu (c. 581AH/1185–654AH/1256), famously known as Sibṭ ibn al-Jawzī ( ar, سبط ابن الجوزي ) was a notable preacher and historian. Title He is the grandson of the great Hanbali scholar A ...
's version, al-Muqtadi had become suspicious of the Banu Jahir, prompting them to leave for
Khorasan Khorasan may refer to: * Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan * Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...
without requesting official permission; this further aroused al-Muqtadi's suspicions and he retroactively fired them after they had left. He then wrote to the Seljuks, telling them not to employ the Banu Jahir in their administration. In
Ibn al-Athir Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ash-Shaybānī, better known as ʿAlī ʿIzz ad-Dīn Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī ( ar, علي عز الدین بن الاثیر الجزري) lived 1160–1233) was an Arab or Kurdish historian a ...
's version, the Seljuks at some point approached al-Muqtadi and asked to employ the Banu Jahir themselves, and al-Muqtadi agreed.
Al-Bundari Qiwam al-Din al-Fath ibn Ali ibn Muhammad al-Bundari al-Isfahani, commonly known as Bundari (or al-Bundari; died after 1241/2) was an Iranian writer, who is notable for translating the Persian epic poem ''Shahnameh'' into Arabic. The only informa ...
offers no details about the firing itself but wrote instead that the Seljuks sent representatives to meet the Banu Jahir in Baghdad (rather than in Khorasan). According to Ibn al-Athir's account, the Banu Jahir left Baghdad on Saturday, 22 July 1083. They were succeeded as viziers by Abu'l-Fath al-Muzaffar, son of the ''ra'is al-ru'asa, who had previously been "in charge of the palace buildings". Al-Muqtadi was honored by the Seljuk sultan
Malik-Shah I Jalāl al-Dawla Mu'izz al-Dunyā Wa'l-Din Abu'l-Fatḥ ibn Alp Arslān (8 August 1055 – 19 November 1092, full name: fa, ), better known by his regnal name of Malik-Shah I ( fa, ), was the third sultan of the Great Seljuk Empire from 1072 to ...
, during whose reign the Caliphate was recognized throughout the extending range of
Seljuk Seljuk or Saljuq (سلجوق) may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * Seljuk (warlord) (di ...
conquest. Arabia, with the Holy Cities, now recovered from the
Fatimid The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dy ...
s, acknowledged again the spiritual jurisdiction of the Abbasids. Malik-Shah I arranged a marriage between his daughter and al-Muqtadi, possibly planning on the birth of a son who could serve as both caliph and sultan. Though the couple had a son, the mother left with her infant to the court of
Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
. Following the failure of the marriage, the Sultan grew critical of the Caliph's interference in affairs of state, and sent an order for him to retire to
Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...
. The death of Malik-Shah I shortly after, however, made the command inoperative. In 1092, when Malik Shah I was assassinated shortly after Nizam al-Mulk, Taj al-Mulk nominated
Mahmud Mahmud is a transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad''. Siam Mahmud *Mahmood (singer) (born 199 ...
as Sultan and set out for
Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
. Mahmud was a child, and his mother Terken Khatun wished to seize power in his stead. To accomplish this, she entered negotiations with the Caliph al-Muqtadi to secure her rule. The Caliph opposed both a child and a woman as ruler, and could not be persuaded to allow the ''
khutba ''Khutbah'' ( ar, خطبة ''khuṭbah'', tr, hutbe) serves as the primary formal occasion for public preaching in the Islamic tradition. Such sermons occur regularly, as prescribed by the teachings of all legal schools. The Islamic traditi ...
'', the sign of the sovereign, to be proclaimed in the name of a woman. Eventually, however, the Caliph agreed to let her govern if the khutba was said in the name of her son, and if she did so assisted by a vizier he appointed for her, a condition she saw herself forced to accept.


Family

Al-Muqtadi's first wife was
Sifri Khatun Sifri Khatun ( fa, سیفری خاتون) ( ar, سفري خاتون) was a Seljuk princess, daughter of sultan Alp Arslan (r. 1063–1072), sister of Malik Shah (r. 1072–1092) and the first wife of Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadi (r. 1075–1094). ...
. She was the daughter of Sultan
Alp Arslan Alp Arslan was the second Sultan of the Seljuk Empire and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty. He greatly expanded the Seljuk territory and consolidated his power, defeating rivals to the south and northwest, and his v ...
. In 1071–72, his father Al-Qa'im sent his wazir Ibn Al-Jahir to ask her hand in marriage, to which demand the Sultan agreed. His second wife was
Mah-i Mulk Khatun Mah-i Mulk Khatun ( fa, ماه ملک خاتون) ( ar, ماحي ملك خاتون) was a Seljuk princess, daughter of sultan Malik Shah, sister of sultan Mahmud I and the second wife of Abbasid caliph Al-Muqtadi. Biography Mah-i Mulk Khatun was ...
, daughter of Sultan
Malik-Shah I Jalāl al-Dawla Mu'izz al-Dunyā Wa'l-Din Abu'l-Fatḥ ibn Alp Arslān (8 August 1055 – 19 November 1092, full name: fa, ), better known by his regnal name of Malik-Shah I ( fa, ), was the third sultan of the Great Seljuk Empire from 1072 to ...
. In March 1082, Al-Muqtadi sent Abu Nasr ibn Jahir to Malik Shah in Isfahan to ask for her hand in marriage. Her father gave his consent and the marriage contract was concluded. She arrived Baghdad in March 1087. The marriage was consummated in May, 1087. She gave birth to Prince Ja'far on 31 January 1088. But then Al-Muqtadi began to avoid her and she asked permission to return home. She left Baghdad for Khurasan on 29 May 1089, accompanied by her son. Subsequently, news of her death reached Baghdad. Her ailing father, brought her son back to Baghdad in October 1092. Prince Ja'far was taken back to the Caliphal Palace, where he remained until his death on 21 June 1093. He was buried near the caliphal tombs in the Rusafah Cemetery. Al-Muqtadi had one concubine, Taif Al-Afwah. She was an Egyptian, and was the mother of his son, the future Caliph
Al-Mustazhir Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Abdallah al-Muqtadi ( ar, أبو العباس أحمد بن عبد الله المقتدي) usually known simply by his regnal name Al-Mustazhir billah ( ar, المستظهر بالله) (b. April/May 1078 – 6 August 1118 d ...
.


Succession

Al-Muqtadi died in 1094 at the age of 37–38. He was succeeded by his 16-year-old son Ahmad
al-Mustazhir Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Abdallah al-Muqtadi ( ar, أبو العباس أحمد بن عبد الله المقتدي) usually known simply by his regnal name Al-Mustazhir billah ( ar, المستظهر بالله) (b. April/May 1078 – 6 August 1118 d ...
as Caliph.


See also

* Banu Jahir: family of viziers that were prominent under al-Muqtadi's reign


References

*''This text is adapted from
William Muir Sir William Muir (27 April 1819 – 11 July 1905) was a Scottish Orientalist, and colonial administrator, Principal of the University of Edinburgh and Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Provinces of British India. Life He was born at Gl ...
's
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
, The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline, and Fall.'' * 1056 births 1094 deaths 11th-century Abbasid caliphs 11th century in Iraq Arab people of Armenian descent 11th-century Arabs {{Islam-bio-stub