Episode 77: His brother’s keeper

Al Mu’tamid’s reign lasted from 870 to 892. The Abbasid Caliphate was reborn during these decades, midwifed by the caliph’s brother Talha, better known in history by his title al Muwaffaq. The new Abbasid state understood its limits and adopted a pragmatic but uncompromising approach towards rebuilding its power. It developed formidable armies to fight off the many existential threats that faced it, then used this military edge to force its neighbors into relative submission.

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Glossary

• Al Mu’tamid: Ahmad ibn il Mutawakkil doesn’t show up very much in our sources, and rarely ever as a commanding presence. Despite that I wouldn’t say he comes off as a bad caliph in them. Some material makes him look good by portraying him as being on the same page as his more powerful brother, but even the ones that take the opposite tack don’t insult al Mu’tamid with anything harsher than describing him as whiny and a little out of touch. There’s no wanton cruelty or megalomania, just some gluttony and self obsession. 
• Talha: this Abbasid general was the most powerful man in the caliphate throughout his brother’s reign. His authority was so beyond question that he once ordered the caliph’s arrest. Talha has come up a lot in our discussion and he managed to see the Abbasids through one of the most dangerous phases for their dynasty. The caliphate would have survived neither the slave rebellion nor the Saffarid invasion without his expert leadership. His unique history allowed him to serve as a bridge between the army and the ruling clan, extending the Abbasid grip on power for another two or three generations.
• Ahmad ibn Talha: Talha’s son was an accomplished commander of his own. The campaigns we hear about during al Mu’tamid’s reign are some of the earliest the young Ahmad ever participated in, and to be honest he didn’t do very well with them. He lost the support of his allies before the war against the Tulunids, then proceeded to lose that engagement despite achieving an unearned advantage at the start. His martial skills developed nicely over time however and he will prove to be in many ways his father’s equal.
• Ja’far ibn Ahmad il Mu’tamid: the caliph’s son is only mentioned twice before the whole succession drama, and barely comes up after getting passed over for the role. He had so little support that the handful of officials who sought someone other than his cousin to rule the caliphate looked not to him, but to another Abbasid, the son al Muhtadi, to champion as an alternative. Needless to say, it didn’t work out, and they were all punished quite severely.
• Baykabak: one of the leading Turks who we’re told selected al Mu’tamid as caliph back in 870 then passed away that same year.
• Yarjuj/Yarjukh: the other Turk who chose al Mu’tamid. He took on Baykabak’s responsibilities and died a few years later.
• Amajor: one of Musa ibn Bugha’s men, this Turkish commander was placed in charge of Syria and Egypt early in al Mu’tamid’s reign. Either he or Yarjuj (or maybe even both) was father-in-law to Ahmad ibn Tulun.
• Ahmad ibn Tulun: the governor of Egypt tried to use the caliph to rise above his station, and when he failed he declared a sort of independence from Abbasid overlordship. His ambitions put great strain on the relationship between Talha and al Mu’tamid, but the latter had too little power for the tension to be truly destructive.
• Khumarwayh ibn Ahmad ibn Tulun: Ahmad’s son succeeded him and had to immediately defend his realm from a Abbasid attempt to reintegrate it into the caliphate. His battle against Ahmad ibn Talha, fought a couple days’ march outside Gaza, is dubbed the war of the Mills because it took place near a bunch of mills. Khumarwayh didn’t really do much, he kind of got in the way actually, but his army was larger and despite a bad start it ultimately won the day. He did better as he matured into the role.
• ‘Amr ibn Layth al Saffar: the leader of the Saffarids made peace with the caliphate after his brother’s death in 879. This truce lasted only a few years because when Talha was done with the slave rebellion in Basra he turned his attention back to the East. Talha joined forces with the Dulafids and assaulted Faris, though it’s unclear whether or not they managed to take anything. When the dust settled, Faris was still firmly in Saffarid hands, and the Abbasids were wise to make their peace with that. The Saffarids helped the caliphate out in other ways; they sent revenue to Baghdad some years, and they fought alongside the Abbasids on a couple occasions as well.