Motaz
Billah
Motaz Billah bin Motawakkil Alallāh
bin Motasim Billah bin Haroon Rasheed was born of a Roman salve girl named
Fatahyah at Samarra in 232 A.H. He was made Caliph in Samarra in Muharram 251
A.H. After being at war with Mustayeen Billah for one year, he succeeded in
forcing him to abdicate. He was very handsome. Ashnas the Turk died the same
year he was enthroned. He had left 50,000 dinars, which were seized by Motaz Billah
to run his administration. When Motaz Billah took the throne, he was 19. He
made Ahmad bin Israil his minister and allowed Mohammad bin Abdullah bin Tahir
to continue as the chief of the Baghdad Police. Mohammad bin Abdullah bin Tahir
was the governor of Khorasan and his deputy lived in Khorasan and he himself
lived in Baghdad. It was the Turks who had enthroned Motaz and so he was under
their influence. The Khorasanis and Iraqis were in the army, which was stationed
in Baghdad and Mohammad bin Abdullah used to pay their salaries.
Motaz Billah stopped their salaries
and allowances. In Rajab 252 A.H., he deposed his brother Moayyad from the
succession, sent him to jail and had him killed. In Ramadan 252 A.H., the army
revolted because of not receiving their salaries and started to fight with
Mohammad bin Abdullah bin Tahir. Mohammad bin Abdullah quelled the rebellion
with great difficulty. The same year a riot break out between the Turks and the
Arabs starting a civil war. The inhabitants of Baghdad sided with the Arabs but
the Turks succeeded fraudulently in killing and exiling the Arabs and their
leaders.
The same year Caliph Motaz Billah
appointed Husain bin Abi Shorab to the post of Chief Justice. The respect for
the institution of the Caliphate had disappeared, the governors of different
provinces began to consider themselves independent and the Khawarij and
Alawiites began to revolt. Musawir bin Abdullah bin Musawir Bijli Khwarji
captured Mousil and declared his independence and all the forces sent to fight
him by the Caliph were defeated and chased away.
In 253 A.H., the Turks demanded
their generals Waseef, Bagha and Simataweel, to pay four months salaries in
advance. They told them that the treasury was empty and payment was not
possible. The Turks grew restless and the generals informed Motaz Billah. Motaz
Billah himself was helpless. The Turks caught Waseef and killed him. At that
time, there was a rivalry between Babakyal and Bagha Sagheer. The Caliph showed
greater favor for Babakyal. Bagha made up his mind to put the Caliph to death
but Motaz Billah somehow found out and Babakyal's men did away with Bagha
Sagheer.
Death
of Mohammad bin Abdullah bin Tahir
Mohammad bin Abdullah bin Tahir, the
governor of Khorasan died in Baghdad in 253 A.H. Before his death, his will
made his son Obaidullah his deputy and the governor of Khorasan. Obaidullah's
brother Tahir bin Mohammad bin Abdullah bin Tahir opposed him. They fell out
regarding who should lead the funeral prayer. In light of the will, Obaidullah was
declared to be his father's deputy. Later Caliph Motaz Billah made another
brother Sulaiman bin Abdullah bin Tahir the deputy of Mohammad bin Abdullah bin
Tahir and he made Baghdad his headquarters and began to discharge his duties
and manage the expeditions.
Ahmad
bin Tuloon
Among the Turkish generals, Babakyal
like Bagha, Waseef and Simataweel was a famous and popular leader. The same
year Motaz Billah deputed Babakyal as the governor of Egypt. Babakyal deputed
on his own behalf Ahmad bin Tuloon as the governor of Egypt.
Tuloon was a Turk who was captured
in the battle of Farghana. He was brought up in the family of the Caliph and
was counted as one of the royal slaves. His son Ahmad was brought up in the
capital and was well versed in administrative affairs. When Babakyal became the
governor of Egypt, he was considering that who he should assign as the governor
of Egypt on his behalf. His advisors named Tuloon. He agreed and sent Tuloon to
Egypt where he took over and managed the affairs there. Later, Caliph Mohtadi
made the Turk Yarkooj the governor of Egypt who retained Ahmad bin Tuloon as
his deputy in Egypt.
In this way Ahmad bin Tuloon gained
a firm hold on Egypt as a ruler and his descendants ruled it by succession and
minted their own coins there. In short, Egypt should be considered excluded
from the Abbasid Caliphate from 253 A.H. or at least that the Tuloon government
was founded in Egypt in 253 A.H.
Yaqub
bin Laith Saffar
Both Yaqub bin Laith and his brother
Amr bin Laith owned shops making copper and brass utensils in Sajistan. There
were revolts in several places following the weakening of the Caliphate and the
Khwarij also revolted. The Alawiites supporters also came out against the
Abbasids. One of them named Saleh bin Nasr Kanani took up arms. A group of the
wealthy, noblemen and common masses collected around him. Yaqub bin Laith also
joined them. Saleh fought and somehow captured Sajistan and forced the members
of the Tahir dynasty out of Sajistan. Saleh died after this victory. Dirham bin
Hasan followed as his successor. However, the governor of Khorasan captured and
sent him to Baghdad. Saleh's group chose Yaqub bin Laith as its Amir. Yaqub, by
virtue of his prudence and valor, completed the capture of Sajistan and
expelled Mohammad bin Abdullah bin Tahir's governor of Herat, Mohammad bin Aus
Ambari and took over Herat. He then began to conquer the territories of
Khorasan.
Meanwhile the governor of Iran, Ali
bin Husain bin Shibil, wanted to conquer Kerman. Yaqub bin Laith also wanted
control over Kerman. Yaqub bin Laith defeated and chased away Ali bin Husain's
commanders and finally invaded and conquered Shiraz, the capital of Iran in 255
A.H. At once he went back to Sajistan and sent an application to the Caliph's
court that read, "Great unrest was prevalent in this region. The people
here have made me their Amir. I am obedient and loyal to Amir Al-Muminin."
Gradually he removed the families of Tahir from Khorasan, occupied it and
established his own permanent government. Tahir bin Husain's descendants had
ruled over Khorasan continuously but they were always connected with the
Caliph's court and one member of this family was always appointed to the
administration of the Baghdad Police department.
None of the Abbasids wanted to take
Khorasan from the Tahir family because they had always regarded themselves as
the servants and subordinates of the Abbasid Caliphs so they continued to
receive title to the governorship from them and in return, the Tahir family
would pay the fixed taxes to the Caliph. However, the government which Yaqub
bin Laith setup was different. It would become known as the Saffariah State and
its details follow later on in the narrative.
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