Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Jaʿfar al-Muqtadir ( ar, أبو إسحاق إبراهيم بن جعفر المقتدر) better known by his
regnal title
A regnal title is the title held by a monarch while in office. Monarchs can have various titles, including king or queen, prince or princess (Sovereign Prince of Monaco), emperor or empress (Emperor of Japan, Emperor of India), or even duke or gran ...
Al-Muttaqi (908 – July 968, ar, المتقي) was the
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
Caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
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. I ...
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
Kunya Abu Ishaq.
Of such little importance the Caliphate had become by now that when the previous Caliph
ar-Radi
Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad (Muhammad) ibn Ja'far al-Muqtadir ( ar, أبو العباس أحمد (محمد) بن جعفر المقتدر, Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad (Muḥammad) ibn al-Muqtadir; December 909 – 23 December 940), usually simply known by his ...
died,
Bajkam
Abū al-Husayn Bajkam al-Mākānī ( ar, أبو الحسين بجكم المكاني), referred to as Bajkam, Badjkam or Bachkam (from ''Bäčkäm'', a Persian and Turkish word meaning a horse- or yak-tailCanard (1960), pp. 866–867), was a Tur ...
, ''
amir al-umara'' (Amir of Amirs), contented himself with despatching to
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. I ...
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
Wasit ( ar, وَاسِط, Wāsiṭ, syr, ܘܐܣܛ) is an ancient city in Wasit Governorate, south east of Kut in eastern Iraq.
History
The city was built by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf in c. 702 CE on the west bank of the Tigris across from the hi ...
, 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.
Muhammad ibn Ra'iq
Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ra'iq (died 13 February 942), usually simply known as Ibn Ra'iq, was a senior official of the Abbasid Caliphate, who exploited the caliphal government's weakness to become the first '' amir al-umara'' ("commander of commander ...
, Caliph's ''
amīr al-umarāʾ'', persuaded the Caliph to flee with him to
Mosul
Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second larg ...
.
Al-Muttaqi was welcomed there by the
Hamdanid dynasty
The Hamdanid dynasty ( ar, الحمدانيون, al-Ḥamdāniyyūn) was a Twelver Shia Arab dynasty of Northern Mesopotamia and Syria (890–1004). They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib Christian tribe of Mesopotamia and Eastern A ...
, 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
Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Abu'l-Hayja Abdallah ibn Hamdan al-Taghlibi ( ar, أبو محمد الحسن ابن أبو الهيجاء عبدالله ابن حمدان ناصر الدولة التغلبي; died 968 or 969), more commonly known simpl ...
, 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''. However, fresh proceedings against his enemy obliged Tuzun to quit the capital; and during his absence a conspiracy broke out which placed the Caliph in danger, and obliged him again to appeal to the Hamdanid prince for help. Troops sent in response enabled him to escape; he fled to
Mosul
Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second larg ...
and after that to
Nusaybin
Nusaybin (; '; ar, نُصَيْبِيْن, translit=Nuṣaybīn; syr, ܢܨܝܒܝܢ, translit=Nṣībīn), historically known as Nisibis () or Nesbin, is a city in Mardin Province, Turkey. The population of the city is 83,832 as of 2009 and is ...
.
Shortly after, peace being restored between Tuzun and the Hamdanid chiefs, al-Muttaqi took up his residence at
Raqqa
Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, ...
— a fugitive in the city which had so often been the proud court of his illustrious ancestors.
Rivalry between officials
With vizier
Abu Abdallah al-Baridi
Abu Abdallah al-Hasan al-Baridi (; ) was the most prominent of the Baridi family, Iraqi tax officials who used the enormous wealth gained from tax farming to vie for control of the rump Abbasid Caliphate in the 930s and 940s.
In this contest A ...
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
A katib ( ar, كَاتِب, ''kātib'') is a writer, scribe, or secretary in the Arabic-speaking world, Persian World, and other Islamic areas as far as India. In North Africa, the local pronunciation of the term also causes it to be written keti ...
''), and called on
Ali ibn Isa ibn al-Jarrah
ʿAlī ibn ʿĪsā ibn Dā'ūd ibn al-Jarrāḥ (Dayr Qunna, 859 – Baghdad, 1 August 946), was a Persian official of the Abbasid Caliphate.
Descended from a family with long history of service in the Abbasid government, he rose to power in the ...
and his brother Abd al-Rahman to become heads of the administration, but without the title of
vizier
A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called '' katib'' (secretary), who was ...
. 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
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 han ...
to
Wasit
Wasit ( ar, وَاسِط, Wāsiṭ, syr, ܘܐܣܛ) is an ancient city in Wasit Governorate, south east of Kut in eastern Iraq.
History
The city was built by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf in c. 702 CE on the west bank of the Tigris across from the hi ...
, 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
Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ra'iq (died 13 February 942), usually simply known as Ibn Ra'iq, was a senior official of the Abbasid Caliphate, who exploited the caliphal government's weakness to become the first '' amir al-umara'' ("commander of commander ...
, 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.
Downfall and Succession
Later, al-Muttaqi threw himself into the hands of Tuzun, who swore with the most sacred oaths that he would render true and faithful service. But he soon after deposed him from the Caliphate, and had his sight destroyed.
The same day, Tuzun installed the blinded Caliph's cousin as his successor, with the title of
al-Mustakfi
Abu’l-Qāsim ʿAbdallāh ibn Ali ( ar, أبو القاسم عبد الله بن علي; 908 – September/October 949), better known by his regnal name al-Mustakfī bi’llāh ( ar, المستكفي بالله, , Desirous of Being Satisfied wit ...
, "For whom the Lord suffices".
References
Sources
*
*
*''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 to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...
, The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline, and Fall.''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muttaqi
908 births
968 deaths
10th-century Abbasid caliphs
10th-century Arabs
Sons of Abbasid caliphs