In previous articles, we talked about the Caliph Muhammad Al Muhtadi
billah who was succeeded by Al Mu’tamid.
Caliph Al Mu’tamid Allallah (256 – 279 AH) (780 – 892 AD)
Ahmed Al Mu’tamid Allallah – the son of Caliph Al Mutawakil – took over the Abbasid Caliphate after Al Muhtadi had been arrested and toppled, as Al Mu’tamid was imprisoned at that time.
Senior statemen gathered and released him, and assigned him to Caliphate,
When the news of Al Mu’tamid’s ruling came to leader Musa ibn Baja, he returned to Samarra and gave allegiance and obedience to the Caliph, so he loved him and made him the guardian of his son, the Crown Prince. Historians say that Al Mu’tamid was of a weak personality which tended to the life of entertainment, which made his brother Al Muwaffaq take control of the country’s actual rule: thus, formal ruler was Al Mu’tamid, while the actual one was Al Muwaffaq, who managed the country firmly; restoring some of the Abbasid state strength: “During his reign, the caliphate restored some of its former splendor, the Turks and their leaders stopped at their limits … The Turks did not dare to offend the caliph as they did in the past.” However, the conditions of the ministers were not settled because the raised anger of both Al Mu’tamid and Al Muwaffaq against them, which resulted in their dismissal from their offices, confiscating all their possessions.
The Alawites
In the era of Caliph Al Mu’tamid, Imam Hassan al-Askari died, and was succeeded by his son, Mohammed al-Askari, who was said to have gone out to search for his father, entered the basement near his house and was never out. The Alawites badly grieved on him and called him “The Awaited” as they were waiting for him to come back. Holidays and seasons had been turned into gatherings in which people gathered at that basement, appealing to their Imam to come back to them; it is noteworthy that these gatherings lasted until the fourteenth century AD.
Rebellions
Zanj Rebellion was one of the rebellions sparked off against the Abbasids, a Persian man claimed that he was one of the descendents of Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, and began to spread his call, he acquired glory and his supporters in Basrah increased that its ruler resisted him. He fled and hid in Baghdad, then returned to it after the governor was deposed. Over the course of time, the number of his supporters increased, particularly the slaves whom he promised to set free, thus he declared disobedience to the Abbasid state.
The Caliph sent the forces to deter him, but he was defeated, the Negroes then walked about in the country plundering its wealth until they managed to take over Basra. They worked to kill their people and to burn their buildings and caused great panic.
The Caliph sought the help of his brother Al Muwaffaq to suppress the rebels, especially after they took over Ahwaz, Wasit and many provinces. Thus, a war began between the Abbasid state and the Negroes, which lasted for about ten years, until the Al Muwaffaq managed to win after a great effort ended with the assassination of their leader who had refused to submit to the Caliph. Since its spark off, this rebellion lasted for a period of more than fourteen years till it ended.
While the East had witnessed the rising of the Yazidi State in Taburstan and Jurgan, while the Safarite State was launched in Khorasan: this state is attributed to Yaqoub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar and his brother Amr, Yaqoub took over Khorasan and the East, then he wrote to the Caliph informing him of that, but Al Muwaffaq was displeased, so he issued an order to Yaqoub to leave Khorasan, yet he refused. But Al Mu’tamid saw that peaceful means would be better, especially after his victory over the Yezidis. Yaqoub’s ambitions of controlling the state increased, that a war broke out between him and the army of the Caliph, who won under the leadership of Al Muwaffaq. Yaqoub returned to Persia where he died, refusing to give loyalty to the Abbasids.
His brother was his successor, as he sent to the Caliph declaring obedience to him, so he was assigned to rule over Khorasan, Isfahan, Sistan, Sindh and Kerman.
As for Egypt at that era, it was under the rule of Ahmed ibn Tulun, who kept good relations with Al Mu’tamid, but bad ones with Al Muwaffaq. Al Mu’tamid tried to transfer the capital of the caliphate to be in Cairo, but was hindered by Al Muwaffaq. Disputes between Ibn Tulun and Al Muwaffaq intensified until Ibn Tulun died.
And… stories never end in beautiful Egypt!
General Bishop
Head of Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
