Al-Mu’tadid

Al-Mu’tadid was the Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate from 892 until his death in 902. He was the son of al-Muwaffaq, who was the regent and effective ruler of the state during the reign of his brother, Caliph al- Mu’tamid. Like his father, his power depended on his close relations with the army. His reign saw the permanent move of the capital back to Baghdad, where he engaged in major building activities.

About Al-Mu’tadid in brief

Al-Mu’tadid was the Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate from 892 until his death in 902. He was the son of al-Muwaffaq, who was the regent and effective ruler of the state during the reign of his brother, Caliph al- Mu’tamid. Like his father, his power depended on his close relations with the army. In a series of campaigns he recovered the provinces of Jazira, Thughur, and Jibal, and effected a rapprochement with the Saffarids and Tulunids. His reign saw the permanent move of the capital back to Baghdad, where he engaged in major building activities. Despite his successes, his reign was ultimately too short to effect a lasting reversal of the Caliphate’s fortunes, and the revival that he spearheaded was too dependent on the presence of capable personalities at the helm of theState. He is best known for his cruelty when punishing criminals, and subsequent chroniclers recorded his extensive and ingenious use of torture. The exact date of his birth is unknown; as he is variously recorded as being thirty-eight or thirty-one years old at the time of his accession, he was born around either 854 or 861. In 861, al-Mutawakkil was murdered by his Turkish guards in collusion with his oldest son al-Muntasir. This began a period of internal turmoil, known as the \”Anarchy at Samarra\” from the site of the caliph’s capital, which ended in 870 with the rise to the throne of Ahmad’s uncle al- mu’mad.

Real power had come to his own father, who, as the main military commander, served as the chief intermediary between the main government and the Turks. Caliphal authority in the provinces collapsed during the 870s, with the most effective control of the central government lost over the metropolitan region outside the city of Samarra. Al-Mu’mad died in 882 after a failed attempt by al-mu’mad to flee to Egypt, which led to his confinement in house arrest in Egypt. After his death, Talha became the effective ruler, consolidating a position of power over the Caliphs. He assumed the honorific name in the style of Abu’l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Talha al-Malik, better known by his regnal name al-Musadid bi-llah. He died in September 902, and was succeeded by his son and heir-apparent, Al-Muktafi, who ruled for a few more years. His later successors lacked his energy, and new enemies appeared in the form of the Qarmatians. In addition, factionalism within the bureaucracy, which had become apparent during the later years of his reign, would debilitate the AbbasID government for decades to come, culminating in the conquest of Baghdad by the Buyids in 946.

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