Muttaqi
lillah
Muttaqilillah bin Motazid Billah bin
Mawaffiq bin Motawakkil was born of a slave girl named, Zahrah. He came to the
throne when he was 34. On 26 Rajab 329 A.H., Yahkum was killed by Kurds in the
neighborhood of Wasit. He kept the title Amirul Omara' for 2 years and 8
months. Following his death goods worth 1,100,000 dinars were seized and
deposited in the Caliph's treasury. In Shaban 329 A.H. Abu Obadiah Buraidi took
an army from Basra and went to Baghdad. The Caliph ordered him to go back and
when he did not obey, the Caliph sent an army. The army was put to rout and
Buraidi entered Baghdad and demanded 500,000 dinars from the Caliph with the
message that if he did not concede to his demand, he would be deposed and put
to death. The Caliph felt helpless and paid the ransom.
After 24 days in Ramadan 329 A.H. Buraidi's
army revolted because of non-receipt of their salaries. Buraidi fled and went
to Wasit. After his flight, a chief named Kortageen dominated the caliph and
his court. He received the title Amirul Omara. Baghdad at the time had a large
group of people from Delam in addition to the Turks. The Delamis had started
growing in power since Yahkum's rise to power. The Delamis created an uprising
against Kortageen but his power remained unaffected.
Hearing this, Muhammad bin Raiq who
ruled over Syria went to Baghdad to secure the post of Amirul Omara. Kortageen
came out of Baghdad to face him. Raiq entered Baghdad by force and Kortageen
was arrested and imprisoned. The Caliph made Ibn Raiq Amirul Omara. Muhammad
bin Raiq collected taxes from Abu Abdullah Buraidi by force.
In Rabia Thani 330 A.H., Ibn Buraidi
invaded Baghdad and defeated Ibn Raiq. Buraidi's army was made up of Turks and
the soldiers from Delam. They entered the city and started looting and killing.
The Caliph along with Ibn Raiq and his own son Abu Mansoor fled to Mousil. They
looted the caliph's palace and the houses of Baghdad. Some Qaramati also joined
in looting. The nobles of the city were subjected to great humiliation and
torture. On the arrival of the Caliph, the ruler of Mousil, Nasiruddaulah bin
Hamdan, left the city. The Caliph and Ibn Raiq consoled him and called him
back. Nasiruddaulah killed Muhammad bin Raiq. The Caliph gave Nasiruddaulah the
title of Amirul Omara while his brother Abul Hasan was given the title
Saifuddaulah.
Preparing the army Nasiruddaulah and
the Caliph moved to Baghdad. Ibn Buraidi who had captured Baghdad fought but
was defeated in Shawwal 330 A.H. and Nasiruddaulah entered Baghdad with the
caliph. Nasiruddaulah and Saifuddaulah lived with the caliph for 11 months.
Then they returned to Mousil. In Ramadan 331 A.H., a commander named Tuzoon
acquired power in Baghdad and the caliph gave him the title of Amirul Omara.
In Muharram 332 A.H., Abu Jafar
Sherzad entered Baghdad while Tuzoon was in Wasit. When Abu Jafar entered
Baghdad caliph Muttaqi left Baghdad and fled to Mousil out of fear of him.
Tuzoon and Abu Jafar jointly invaded Mousil and defeated both the brothers
Nasiruddaulah and Saifuddaulah and they along with the caliph went to Nasiban
and from there to Riqqah he wrote a letter to Tuzoon and reconciled with Banu
Hamdan and returned to Baghdad. The caliph along with Banu Hamdan stayed on in
Riqqah.
During the same period,
Muizzuddaulah Ahmad bin Buwayh who controlled Ahwaz invaded Wasit. Tuzoon
returned from Mousil and fought against him on 17 Thul Qada 332 A.H. Though
Muizzuddaulah suffered defeat in the fight, he re-invaded Wasit and conquered
it. In 332 A.H., The Russians invaded Barua an Azerbaijani town on the Russian
border. Marzaban Delam heard of this and sent his forces there. The Russians
plundered and killed the Muslims on a large scale. The Muslims rallied and
fought back. The fight continued for a long time and after many fierce battles
the Muslims forced the Russians to retreat.
Deposition
of Caliph Muttaqi
Caliph Muttaqi lived with Banu
Hamdan until the end of 332 A.H. Meanwhile resentment developed between them.
The caliph wrote letters for help to Baghdad and to Akhsheed bin Muhammad bin
Tafaj in Egypt. Akhsheed visited the caliph in Riqqah on 15 Muharram 333 A.H.
and requested him to accompany him to Egypt and live there.
The minister approved of the idea
and described to him the benefits of making Egypt his capital. But the caliph
did not agree to it. In the meantime, Tuzoon's letter from Baghdad came
granting amnesty and security to the caliph and his minister Ibn Sherzad. The
caliph expressed his sense of joy after going through the contents of the
letter and leaving Akhsheed, he set out to Baghdad at the end of Muharram 333
A.H. Tuzoon received him warmly at Sandyah and lodged him in his tent. The next
day he blinded the caliph with hot pokers. Then he sent for Abul Qasim Abdullah
bin Muktafi Billah. All the members of the government took the oath for him and
called him Mustakfi Billah.
The deposed caliph Muttaqi was also
presented in the court and he also took the oath for caliph Mustakfi. Muttaqi
was imprisoned in Jazirah. After remaining in that state of suffering for 25
years, he died in 357 A.H. When Qahir Billah was informed of Muttaqi's
blindness, he was overjoyed and began to say. "Now we two have become
blind and the third is waiting." Ironically after a few days, Mustakfi
also met the same fate.
Mustakfi
Billah
Abul Qasim Abdullah bin Mustakfi
Billah was born of a slave girl Amlaahunnas. He came to the throne in Safar 333
A.H. at the age of 41. Abul Qasim Fadl bin Muqtadir Billah also made a claim to
the caliphate. He went underground Mustakfi searched for him but he could not
be found. He remained in hiding during his regime. When Mustakfi failed to
locate him, he had his house demolished.
Soon after caliph Mustakfi's
enthronement Tuzoon died. Mustakfi conferred the title of Amirul Omara on Abu
Jafar Ibn Sherzad. Having taken power into his hands, he began to squander
money until the treasury became empty and the entire administration was thrown
into disarray. Theft and robbery were committed with such impunity that the
civilians began to desert the city and migrate in Damascus, were carried out in
all territories from Andalus and Morocco to China and Turkistan. When the
Islamic caliphate came to Banu Abbas, within a very short time, a separate and
independent government of Banu Umayyah was established in Andalus and instead
of one capital, there were two centers of the Islamic government. Then Morocco
became independent. After that, the governments of Mawaraunnahr, Khorasan, and
Persia went out of the control of the caliph of Baghdad. At this point in the
narrative, the government of the caliph of Baghdad did not exist even in Baghdad
itself. For a long time the state of the Tigris and Euphrates was under the
caliph's rule. However, when the post of the Amirul Omara (chief of the chiefs)
was created, its government was run by the Amirul Omara he called himself the
subordinate of the caliph but in name only.
The caliph's orders were honored in
the city of Baghdad proper. However, anybody who could subdue others by virtue
of their power could become the Amirul Omara and the caliph would be forced to
confer on him this title. Though the caliph had no power left in his hands, he
enjoyed a bit of liberty and still commanded a sort of admiration and respect.
Muizzuddaulah Ahmad bin Buwayh, the
fisherman's son came from Ahwaz and dominated over Baghdad and the caliph. He
was given the title Malik (king) and others after him continued to enjoy this
privilege. Muizzuddaulah put the caliph under strict surveillance and kept him
as a respectable captive and seized the little respect he enjoyed in Baghdad.
The caliph's duty was to greet ambassadors from abroad, the ambassador would be
presented before the Caliph and shown a magnificent exhibition at the
artificial court the Caliph would be used and exploited to serve their purpose.
Conferring of titles and granting of documents were generally done by the
caliph but without option. The actual decisions were made by the Malik alone.
The caliph was a figurehead only.
The Malik used to fix the caliph's salary. When he received his salary late or
did not receive it, he had to sell his personal belongings to meet his daily
needs. The condition of the Abbasid caliphs had deteriorated to such an extent
that it has become redundant for a historian to mention them, except for the
word Caliph nothing else remained of their power. In order to complete the
history of the Islamic governments it is essential to record the lives and
conquests of the rulers who not only ruled in Baghdad but also the area of the
Euphrates and Tigris and other provinces as those controlled by the Malik. In
order to deal with the conditions of these territories we will continue with
the Abbasid caliphs though they are no more than figureheads, they are still
called caliphs.
The important point is that now we
are not studying the Abbasid caliphs but those who were in control of Baghdad.
We should not overlook the fact that though separate and independent
governments were formed and established in provinces all over the Islamic
territories, all still honored the institution of the caliph. His name was
mentioned in the Friday sermons even where he had no power.
In Andalus, the Umayyah caliphate
was in power. The Fatimids in North Africa claimed the caliphate and leadership
and the name of the caliph of Baghdad was never mentioned in Andalus or North
Africa. Besides these exceptions in all other Islamic territories, they
recognized the Abbasid caliph of Baghdad as caliph and their religious leader.
Sometimes a particular Malik would expunge the name of the caliph from the
Friday sermon and have his own name mentioned in it but the caliph's name did
exist in the sermons of the other territories.
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