Episode 64: Executive terminations

For the first time in Arab history, a council of administrators selected the man who would become the next caliph. The umma had come a long way since it was first united by the prophet and this development seemed to signal its capture by the state. One would expect the bunch of bureaucrats to pick someone supportive of their interests but al Mutawakkil turned out to be quite a maverick, the first of several surprises we’ll come across during this caliph’s long reign.

Glossary

• Mohammad Al Mu’tasim: father of the last two leaders of the umma, the 8th Abbasid caliph was the one who first centralized the state and pooled power in the hands of his advisors and freedmen. Many histories say this was the change that doomed the umma, but for what its worth, his arrangement worked perfectly well while he was in charge, which seems to be all he cared about.
• Haroon Al Watheq: the 9th Abbasid caliph didn’t leave much of a trace in history, except that he was a massive jerk to his younger brother apparently. His mistreatment of al Mutawakkil had some fatal consequences for the yes-men who outlived the caliph.
• Ja’far Al Mutawakkil: our latest caliph surprised the council who chose him, and will go on to surprise us in coming episodes.
• Ishaq ibn Khaqan: the son of one of al Mu’tasim’s freedmen, Ishaq was Ja’far’s closest friend growing up, and served him as a confidant after he became caliph.
• Muzahim ibn Khaqan: Ishaq’s brother was another close friend of al Mutawakkil’s.
• Ubaydallah ibn Yahya ibn Khaqan: this ibn Khaqan was not related to the other two, but was of similar extraction. He served as the caliph’s wazir and closest advisor for the majority of al Mutawakkil’s reign.
• Mohammad ibn il Zayyat: the first victim of al Mutawakkil was the powerful treasurer and wazir. He had first come to power in 836 when al Mu’tasim began construction of the new capital, and was eliminated 12 years later in 848. He is accused of haughtiness and a general meanness in quite a few narrations, but his end was as surprising to me as it was to his contemporaries. His position was divvied up between multiple officials.
• Omar ibn Faraj: the second victim was a secretary who had mistreated al Mutawakkil and even ripped him off by taxing his income. He yielded the most treasure under torture by far.
• Itakh al Khazari: following the deaths of Ashinas and al Afshin, Itakh had become one of the most powerful men in the caliphate. He was responsible for Egypt, Syria, Yemen, and Sindh. With ibn il Zayyat’s death he took control of the mail, intelligence, and access to the caliph as hajib. His removal was an impressive success for al Mutawakkil, who could now dole out his many responsibilities to others. The caliph didn’t try to take out more leaders after Itakh though, probably for fear of undermining the military.
• Ahmad ibn abi Dawud: the chief judge passed on his role to his son Mohammad one year into al Mutawakkil’s reign, but both father and son were arrested in the caliph’s fifth year in charge. They were tortured and expired in his dungeons before the year was out.
• Waseef al Turki: the sole member of the electing council who survived al Mutawakkil’s murderous purge. We’ll have more to say about him in other episodes.
• Ishaq ibn Ibrahim: the governor of Baghdad took Itakh out for al Mutawakkil, one final act of Tahirid service to the Abbasid caliphs. His impressive career spanned the golden age that began with al Ma’mun’s return and ended just before everything truly went bad. He did an excellent job liaising between the Abbasids, Khurasan, and the remnants of the abna’.