Al-Mustarshid
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Abu Mansur al-Faḍl ibn Ahmad al-Mustazhir ( ar, أبو منصور الفضل بن أحمد المستظهر; 1092 – 29 August 1135) 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 ...
Al-Mustarshid Billah ( ar, المسترشد بالله) was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 1118 to 1135. He was son of his predecessor, 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 ...
. He succeeded his father in the year 1118 as the Abbasid caliph. He was also an Arabic poet.


Biography

Al-Mustarshid was born in 1092. He was son of 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 ...
. His mother was a concubines was named Lubanah. She was from Baghdad. His was named Al-Fadl by his father. His full name was Al-Fadl ibn Ahmad al-Mustazhir and his Kunya was ''Abu Mansur''. After the death of his father in 1135, he succeeded him as Caliph. Al-Mustarshid achieved more independence as a ruler while the Seljuk sultan
Mahmud II Mahmud II ( ota, محمود ثانى, Maḥmûd-u s̠ânî, tr, II. Mahmud; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. His reign is recognized for the extensive administrative, ...
was engaged in war in the East. In 1122, al-Mustarshid deposed and imprisoned his vizier Amid al-dawla Jalal al-Din Hasan ibn Ali. Mahmud II then imposed Ahmad ibn Nizam al-Mulk as his vizier. In 1123,
Banu Mazyad The Banū Mazyad () or Mazyadids were an Arab Shia dynasty of central Iraq. They belonged to the clan of Nāshira of the tribe of Banū Asad. They ruled an autonomous emirate in the area around Kūfa and Hīt between c. 961 and c. 1160. Older so ...
general Dubais ibn Sadaqah tried to take advantage of the momentary lack of power and, after plundering
Bosra Bosra ( ar, بُصْرَىٰ, Buṣrā), also spelled Bostra, Busrana, Bozrah, Bozra and officially called Busra al-Sham ( ar, بُصْرَىٰ ٱلشَّام, Buṣrā al-Shām), is a town in southern Syria, administratively belonging to the Dara ...
, attacked Baghdad together with a young brother of the sultan, Ghiyath ad-Din Mas’ud (known as Mas'ud) He was however crushed by an army under Zengi and Ahmad ibn Nizam al-Mulk. During the same year, al-Mustarshid removed Ahmad ibn Nizam al-Mulk as his vizier. In 1125, it was the time of al-Mustarshid to rebel. He sent an army to take
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 ...
but was defeated near
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 ...
and imprisoned in his palace the next year. After the death of Mahmud II, a civil war broke out in the Seljuk western territories. Zengi was recalled to the east by certain rebel members, stimulated by the caliph and Dubais. Zengi was beaten and fled. The caliph pursued him to Mosul, and besieged him there but without success for three months. It was nonetheless a milestone in the revival of the military power of the caliphate. Zengi now resumed operations in Syria and, in 1134, laid siege to Damascus, but was induced, partly by the bravery of the enemy, partly at the instance of the caliph, to whom Zengi had made some concession in the public prayers, to relinquish the attempt. Recalled again by troubles in the east, he was unable to do much against the Crusaders till after al-Mustarshid's death. Not long after the siege of Damascus, al-Mustarshid launched a military campaign against Seljuk sultan Mas'ud, who had obtained the title in Baghdad in January 1133 by the caliph himself. The rival armies met near
Hamadan Hamadan () or Hamedan ( fa, همدان, ''Hamedān'') ( Old Persian: Haŋgmetana, Ecbatana) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. At the 2019 census, its population was 783,300 in 230,775 families. The majority of people living in Ha ...
. The caliph, deserted by his troops, was taken prisoner, and pardoned on the promising not to quit his palace. Left in the caliphal tent, however, in the sultan's absence, he was found murdered while reading the Quran, as is supposed, by an emissary of the
Assassins An assassin is a person who commits targeted murder. Assassin may also refer to: Origin of term * Someone belonging to the medieval Persian Ismaili order of Assassins Animals and insects * Assassin bugs, a genus in the family ''Reduviida ...
, who had no love for the caliph. Modern historians have suspected that Mas'ud instigated the murder although the two most important historians of the period
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 ...
and
Ibn al-Jawzi ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿAlī b. Muḥammad Abu 'l-Faras̲h̲ b. al-Jawzī, often referred to as Ibn al-Jawzī (Arabic: ابن الجوزي, ''Ibn al-Jawzī''; ca. 1116 – 16 June 1201) for short, or reverentially as ''Imam Ibn al-Jawzī'' by ...
did not speculate on this matter. Physically, al-Mustarshid was a red-haired man with blue eyes and freckles. He was succeeded by his son al-Rashid.


Family

Al-Mustarshid's only wife was the daughter of Seljuk Sultan
Ahmad Sanjar Senjer ( fa, ; full name: ''Muizz ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Adud ad-Dawlah Abul-Harith Ahmad Sanjar ibn Malik-Shah'') (''b''. 1085 – ''d''. 8 May 1157) was the Seljuq ruler of Khorasan from 1097 until in 1118, One of his concubines was Khushf. She was from Iraq, and was the mother of his son, the future Caliph
Al-Rashid Billah Abu Ja'far al-Mansur ibn al-Faḍl al-Mustarshid bi'llah ( ar, أبو جعفر المنصور بن الفضل المسترشد بالله; 1109 – 6 June 1138) usually known by his regnal name Al-Rashid bi'llah ( ar, الراشد بالله) wa ...
.


Succession

He was succeeded by his son
al-Rashid Billah Abu Ja'far al-Mansur ibn al-Faḍl al-Mustarshid bi'llah ( ar, أبو جعفر المنصور بن الفضل المسترشد بالله; 1109 – 6 June 1138) usually known by his regnal name Al-Rashid bi'llah ( ar, الراشد بالله) wa ...
in the year 1135. He ruled for just one year from 1135 up to his deposition on 17 August 1136. When the populace of Baghdad rose in revolt against him. His son was succeeded by his half-brother
al-Muqtafi Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Mustazhir ( ar, أبو عبد الله محمد بن أحمد المستظهر; 9 April 1096 – 12 March 1160), better known by his laqab, regnal name al-Muqtafi li-Amr Allah (), was the List of Abbasid calip ...
on 17 September 1136. Al-Muqtafi was the son of
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 ...
was a concubine named Ashin. She was from Syria, and was the mother of the future Caliph
Al-Muqtafi Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Mustazhir ( ar, أبو عبد الله محمد بن أحمد المستظهر; 9 April 1096 – 12 March 1160), better known by his laqab, regnal name al-Muqtafi li-Amr Allah (), was the List of Abbasid calip ...
.


See also

*
Al-Hakim I Al-Hakim I (), (c. 1247 – 19 January 1302) (full name: ''Abu al-'Abbas Ahmad ibn Abi 'Ali al-Hasan ibn Abu Bakr'') was the second Abbasid dynasty, Abbasid caliph whose seat was in Cairo and who was subservient to the Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo), M ...
, an alleged great-great-great grandson of the Caliph al-Mustarshid, descendant of his son Ali ibn al-Mustarshid. * Anushirvan ibn Khalid, a Persian vizier of the Caliph Al-Mustarshid served from 1132 to 1134. *
Ahmad Sanjar Senjer ( fa, ; full name: ''Muizz ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Adud ad-Dawlah Abul-Harith Ahmad Sanjar ibn Malik-Shah'') (''b''. 1085 – ''d''. 8 May 1157) was the Seljuq ruler of Khorasan from 1097 until in 1118,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.'' *Hanne, Eric. ''Putting the Caliph in his Place''.
اغتيال الخليفة المسترشد بالله
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mustarshid 1092 births 1135 deaths 12th-century Abbasid caliphs Assassinated caliphs 12th-century murdered monarchs 12th-century Arabic poets Nizari Ismaili–Seljuk relations People of the Nizari–Seljuk wars Victims of the Order of Assassins Sons of Abbasid caliphs