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al-Muttaqi المتقي
Caliph Commander of the Faithful
Silver dirham of al-Muttaqi, including the names of both the Caliph and amir al-umara Bajkam
21st Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad
Reign	15 December 940 – 26 August 944
Predecessor	al-Radi
Successor	al-Mustakfi
Born	c. 908 Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate
Died	July 968 (aged 60) Abbasid Caliphate
Consort	Umm Ishaq
Issue	Ishaq
Names Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Jaʿfar al-Muqtadir al-Muttaqi
Dynasty	Abbasid
Father	al-Muqtadir
Mother	Khalub Zahrah
Religion	Sunni Islam

Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Jaʿfar al-Muqtadir (Arabic: أبو إسحاق إبراهيم بن جعفر المقتدر) better known by his regnal title al-Muttaqi (908 – July 968, المتقي) was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad 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 al-Radi died, Bajkam, amir al-umara (Amir of Amirs), contented himself with despatching to Baghdad 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, 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.

Rivalry between officials

With vizier Abu Abdallah al-Baridi 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), and called on Ali ibn Isa ibn al-Jarrah and his brother Abd al-Rahman to become heads of the administration, but without the title of vizier. 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 to Wasit, 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, 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.

Muhammad ibn Ra'iq, Caliph's amīr al-umarāʾ, persuaded the Caliph to flee with him to Mosul.

Al-Muttaqi was welcomed there by the Hamdanid dynasty, 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, 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 and after that to Nusaybin.

Shortly after, peace being restored between Tuzun and the Hamdanid chiefs, al-Muttaqi took up his residence at Raqqa — a fugitive in the city which had so often been the proud court of his illustrious ancestors.

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 and had him blinded. The same day, Tuzun installed the ex-caliph's cousin as his successor, with the title of al-Mustakfi, "For whom the Lord suffices".

References

1. ^ Massignon, L.; Mason, H. (1994). The Passion of Al-Hallaj: Mystic and Martyr of Islam. Bollingen Series. Princeton University Press. p. 182. ISBN 978-0-691-01919-2.
2. ^ Massignon, L.; Mason, H. (2019). The Passion of Al-Hallaj, Mystic and Martyr of Islam, Volume 1: The Life of Al-Hallaj. Online access with JISC subscription agreement: ACLS Humanities E-Books. Princeton University Press. p. 394.
3. Rizvi, Sayyid Saeed Akhtar; Shou, Salman (2005). Utumwa: Mtazamo wa Kiislamu na wa Nchi za Magharibi. Al-Itrah Foundation. p. 63. ISBN 978-9987-9022-4-8.
4. الدكتور, عبد القادر بوباية ،الأستاذ (2009). الاكتفاء في اخبار الخلفاء 1-2 ج2. الاكتفاء في اخبار الخلفاء 1-2. Dar Al Kotob Al Ilmiyah دار الكتب العلمية. p. 453.
5. Amedroz & Margoliouth 1921, pp. 18–19.
6. Amedroz & Margoliouth 1921, pp. 18–20.
7. Amedroz & Margoliouth 1921, p. 20.
8. Amedroz & Margoliouth 1921, pp. 20–21.
9. Amedroz & Margoliouth 1921, p. 21.
10. Amedroz & Margoliouth 1921, pp. 21–23.
11. ^ Bowen 1928, p. 373.
12. Amedroz & Margoliouth 1921, pp. 23–24.

Sources

• Amedroz, Henry F.; Margoliouth, David S., eds. (1921). The Eclipse of the 'Abbasid Caliphate. Original Chronicles of the Fourth Islamic Century, Vol. V: The concluding portion of The Experiences of Nations by Miskawaihi, Vol. II: Reigns of Muttaqi, Mustakfi, Muzi and Ta'i. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
• Bowen, Harold (1928). The Life and Times of ʿAlí Ibn ʿÍsà, ‘The Good Vizier’. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. OCLC 386849.
• This text is adapted from William Muir's public domain, The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline, and Fall.

• Biography
• Iraq
• Islam

• 908 births
• 968 deaths
• 10th-century Abbasid caliphs
• 10th-century Arab people
• Sons of Abbasid caliphs