Episode 63: Al Watheq

Despite the general unpopularity of al Mu’tasim’s Turkish inner-circle, the paradigm he established proved so stable that it endured throughout the reign of his son and successor, Haoon al Watheq. The new caliph wasn’t very keen on administration: he left his father’s loyalists in their positions and expected the bureaucratic machinery to keep ticking away without his input. His light touch meant that he barely left a trace in our histories.

Glossary

• Mohammad ibn Abd al Malik il Zayyat: the caliph’s treasurer and wazir not only kept his job, but he became more powerful during al Watheq’s reign. He took it upon himself to catch and punish commanders who were plundering the state’s revenues, something he never had to worry about back when al Mu’tasim was in charge. Some accounts make it sound like he clashed with the Turkish military commanders, but honestly he clashed with everyone so it’s hard to see it as a personal vendetta on his part.
• Ahmad ibn abi Dawud: the chief justice really got to push his inquisition during al Watheq’s reign, to disastrous effect. It’s really frustrating that al Ma’mun gets the bad press for the mihna when it all really unfolded because of this qadi al qudat under al Watheq’s watch, but oh well. Our sources aren’t exactly hostile towards him, but it’s clear that they find his quest sinful.
• Ahmad ibn Nasr al Khuza’i: the heroic preacher who dared to defend orthodoxy when questioned by the caliph, and paid for his boldness with his life. He was a close associate of Ahmad ibn Hanbal at some point, but was eclipsed by the scholar after the latter grew more popular.
• Ashinas: al Mu’tasim’s closest freedman faithfully governed Egypt and Syria for the Abbasids. Despite some resistance at the outset of his governorship over Egypt, Ashinas eventually came to be loved by the umma, or at least so our sources say. What makes me doubt them is their tendency to lionize anything that smacks of piety in retrospect, so events like Ashinas’ pilgrimage a couple years before he died. He left big shoes to fill, and instead of breaking up his domain into smaller chunks and appointing a governor to each, al Watheq simply allowed whoever thought he was a good fit to take the job. Crazy.
• Tahir ibn Abdallah ibn Tahir: the son of Abdallah ibn Tahir replaced his father as governor of Khurasan after his death in 845.
• Itakh al Khazari: after al Afshin’s death, Itakh first took over many of the armies and some of the provinces governed by the disgraced prince. He took over for Ashinas as governor of Egypt after his death, was also responsible for Yemen, and some say even Sindh.
• Waseef al Khazari: Waseef was a kind of hajib for al Mu’tasim. He them became the new Itakh after Itakh had to fill in for al Afshin. That meant he had armies to command, and his main campaigns were against some Kurdish rebellions. 
• Big Bugha: this Khazar general first came to prominence when he helped al Afshin in his fight against Babak. Like everyone else, he then played a part in the massive campaign for Amorium. Finally, al Watheq tasked him with pacifying the Arabian peninsula during his reign.
• Little Bugha: another Turkish commander, sometimes called Bugha al Sharabi, which translates as “Bugha, my drink/cup” as he used to be a royal cupbearer. He comes to play a big role later.
• Mohammad ibn al Watheq: al Watheq’s son was probably around 10 years old when his father died, so it makes sense that he was rejected as caliph. Of course it’s more than a simple honor to have been considered, it meant that he was now a possible threat to any sitting caliph.