In the previous article, we resumed talking about al-Mutawakil’s relationship with the Alawites, the end of Itakh, the Turkish commander, after which we tackled the riots and seditions which spread in Sistan, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Armenia, Syria, and Yemen, as well as the incessant war between the Abbasid and Roman States.
A Repeated Mistake
Al-Mutawakil followed suit of his grandfather al-Rashid insofar as he declared his sons, al-Muntasir, al-Mu’taz, and al-Mu’ayyad heirs apparent in 235 Hijri (850 A.D.), diving the state among them. He assigned al-Muntasir the western provinces, namely, Africa and the entirety of Morocco: from al-Arish to Morocco, the capitals, Syrian harbors, Egypt, Rabia (Mosul), Tigris, the two holy Mosques, Yemen, Hadhramaut, al-Yamamah, Bahrain and others. Al-Mu’taz was assigned the Eastern Abbasid State, namely, Khorasan, Tapuria, Rey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Persia and their affiliates, after which he granted him the safes of treasuries and ordered the minting of al-Mu’taz’s name on dirhams, while assigning al-Mu’ayyad the Jund Damascus (a large sub-province), Jund Jordan, and Jund Palestine.
Al-Mutawakil wrote his sons a letter of four copies, one of which he put in his safe, and each son took a copy. Historians maintain that this letter documents that each son rules his assigned provinces independently: “Al-Mutawakil gave al-Mu’taz and al-Mu’ayyad complete independence in their assignments, for the caliphate was passed to al-Muntasir. Also, he gave al-Mu’taz more provinces than al-Mu’ayyad, for the caliphate was passed to the former.”
In like manner the division of the State caused a conflict between al-Amin and al-Ma’mun, riots and seditions shook the state due to this division. Each brother conspired against the other, and each one’s associates started instigating him against the other two.
Al-Mutawakil’s Murder
Due to the Turks’ hegemony, al-Mutawakil started dealing with his commanders in a different way, attempting to get rid of them. No sooner had they felt it, than they conspired to kill him. The easiest way was implanting jealousy amidst brethren, especially al-Muntasir and al-Mu’taz.
They instigated al-Muntasir to kill his father for prioritizing him in many of the State’s affairs, as well as leading prayers. At the same time, al-Mutawakil’s chief minister did not want the caliphate to pass to al-Muntasir. So, he started telling al-Mutawakil to prioritize al-Mu’taz over his brother. Taghribirdi maintains that al-Mutawakil wanted to depose al-Muntasir and make al-Mu’taz heir apparent, which al-Muntasir refused. In effect, al-Mutawakil started rebuking his son in public, which aroused al-Muntasir’s wrath, thus, allowing the Turks to get rid of al-Mutawakil.
In 247 Hijri (861 A.D.) Turkish soldiers broke into the caliph’s court and killed him, together with his chief minister. One historian asserts that this incident is, “the first fruit of al-Mu’tasim’s deeds: for he appointed insensible, ill-mannered people who would do whatever they wanted. There was nothing that made them confidantes, which resulted in making the heir apparent accomplice in killing his father.”
Buhturi wrote an elegy to al-Mutawakil in which he alludes to this shameful act:
Was the crown prince so mean?
How strange it is he’s that malicious!
Heritage was never passed to the children
Nor was prayer called on minarets
Thus, al-Mutawakil was killed after about a fifteen-year tenure.
As for Egypt’s proconsuls during that era, al-Mutawakil started ruling when Eissa bin Mansur was proconsul of Egypt. He remained in his post for four years, three months and a half (228-233 Hijri) (843-847 A.D.) Al-Mutawakil asked him to make Egyptians pledge allegiance to him. No sooner had this happened, than he was deposed and Hartamah bin Nasr took over.
Hartamah bin Nasr (233-234 Hijri) (847-849 A.D.)
He is also known as Hartamah bin Nasr, the mountainous, for he used to inhabit the mountain. He is not Hartamah bin A’yan who was Egypt’s proconsul during al-Rashid’s tenure. He was assigned Egypt’s affairs by Itakh as deputy, having already deposed Eissa bin Mansur and appointed a deputy until he arrived and dwelt at al-Askar. During his tenure, the caliph ordered him to put an end to creed debates, follow the Prophet’s sayings (Sunnah), and alleviate the plight. Hartamah loved the Sunnah, so he abided by it. Yet, he got sick and died in 234 Hijri (849 A.D.) Thus, he ruled Egypt for a year, three months, and a few days.
During his tenure, a horrible earthquake alighted upon Damascus and killed many people. So much so that judge Ahmed bin Kamel wrote, “Some people near St. Marun’s Monastery (on a hill near Damascus) the earth rise and fall several times. So, many inhabitants died under debris. The stones of the walls split from one another, though seven cubits wide. Then the earthquake extended to Antioch and demolished it, then the peninsula and ruined it, then Mosul.”
Many people perished because of that earthquake. Some fifty thousand of Mosul’s population were killed, and twenty thousand from Antioch. Hatem bin Hartamah took over Egypt’s affairs, according to his father’s will, and al-Mutawakil consented.
Hatem bin Hartamah (234 Hijri) (849 A.D.)
Hatem bin Hartamah bin Nasr, of the mountain, took over Egypt’s affairs after his father’s death, as per Itakh’s order. He dwelt in al-Askar in like manner princes did. Yet, he remained in his post for three months and thirteen days only: for Itakh deposed him, appointing Yahya bin Ali, the Armenian, for a second term. Historians assert that, “Hatem was a noble, wise man. Yet, he could not deal with Itakh…”
In 234 Hijri (848-849 A.D.) three princes ruled Egypt, namely, Hartama, his son Hatem, and Ali bin Yahya. Many incidents occurred, like the wind which blew for fifty days. It was unprecedented and terribly poisoned that it killed travelers. It also burnt plantations in Kufa, Basra, and Baghdad, then reached Hamadan, Mosul, Sinjar to kill plantations, cattle, and many people. Likewise, this was the year of the outset of Mohammed bin al-Ba’ith’s rebellion in Azerbaijan, and al-Mutawakil’s assigning Itakh the affairs of Kufa, Hejaz, Tihamah, Medina, as well as Egypt, after which the latter conspired to kill him, which makes a strange story. Stories never end in Beautiful Egypt.
General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
