Episode 82: The rise of al Muqtadir

After all our recent foreshadowing, we’ve finally arrived at the period of Abbasid collapse. It’s a relatively long period, stretching from the start of al Muqtadir’s reign in 908 until around the middle of that century, when the Abbasids were reduced to figureheads by a more commanding dynasty. In an effort to better understand how the ruling clan lost control we’ll take things a bit at a time. A good place to start is with introducing the new caliph and some of the personalities who will play a leading part during his reign.

Glossary

• Al Muqtadir: the young Ja’far succeeded his brother as the umma’s latest caliph. It’s abundantly clear that his elevation was sudden and unexpected because he was totally unprepared to even give off an impression of a leader. For example, when Husayn ibn Hamdan came chasing after him during the coup, the caliph was outside playing, which makes sense because he was a kid. We don’t get any serious reports about him for several more years.
• Shaghab: the queen mother was nothing but trouble. By manipulating her son she took control of many parts of the administration. She didn’t start out with political ambition, just greed. At first she sold positions of influence to the highest bidders, but after realizing how helpful it is to have loyalists in power she started appointing her own people instead. One of her qahramanat even sat as an adjudicator in the people’s courts. No Abbasid woman had ever wielded such power, and the only one who comes close is Zubayda, Haroon al Rashid’s wife. 
• Al Abbas ibn il Hasan al Jarjara’i: a minority of accounts depict the caliph’s wazir as someone who sought to empower himself by picking a child monarch. I don’t find such allegations to be credible, and like most I believe Abbas just dutifully followed al Muktafi’s instructions and took pledges for his brother Ja’far. His death at the outset of the coup is more puzzling. He does seem to have had some involvement, and everyone agrees it was Husayn who killed him, answers that seem to just make things more confusing. Perhaps he threatened to expose his co-conspirators; that’s the best I can come up with. 
• Husayn ibn Hamdan: the leader of the Hamdanid tribe had become one of the caliphate’s most important commanders thanks to his success against the Qaramita in Iraq and Syria. He played a big role in the coup against al Muqtadir, but somehow was forgiven and restored to service. He was eventually put to death, but that was on an unrelated matter.
• Ibn il Furat: Ali ibn il Furat was Abbas’ secretary when the wazir was killed. He backed the winning horse during the coup, and as we heard there are some versions of history that blame him for al Muqtadir’s rise to power to begin with. History has not been kind to ibn Furat. His first tenure as wazir was alright, his second was not, and his third was simply disastrous. The memory of his third time at the wheel tainted everything ever did, and is why we find so many one star reviews of the guy.
• Ibn il Jarrah: possibly due to his contest with ibn il Furat, Ali ibn Isa ibn il Jarrah is remembered as a good wazir. While ibn il Furat is shamed for his corruption, ibn il Jarrah is praised for his economy and crusades against waste and graft. His competence and trustworthiness earned him the friendship of serious people, so his dismissal was quite damaging to the state.
• Mu’nis: the caliph’s main general is a critical figure during al Muqtadir’s reign. Mu’nis was one of Badr’s many loyalists, and he had been banished to Mecca by Qasem back during his time. He’d found his way back to the capital in the years since Qasim’s passing and that put him in just the right place at just the right time. He was one of al Muqtadir’s defenders the day of the coup, and thus shared a special bond with the caliph. This was precisely the sort of relationship the Abbasid caliphate required to function: an unbreakable covenant between its caliph and a Turk who could lead the armies.