Al-Muktafi

Al-Muktafi ( ) (died 908) was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 902 to 908. He was the son of the previous Caliph, al-Mu'tadid , by a Turkish slave-girl . In command of ar Raqqah at the time of his father's death, he at once returned to the Capital, where he became a favorite of the people for his generosity, and for abolishing his father's secret prisons, the terror of Baghdad. During his reign of nearly seven years, the Empire was threatened by various dangers which he bravely met and overcame. Chief was that from the Carmathians , a race of fanatics which had sprung up during the late reign. Hostilities prevailed more or less with the Greeks, who were not slow to take advantage of the difficulties of the Caliphate. In 285 AH (898 AD) a Byzantine fleet was set on fire, and 3000 sailors decapitated. But there were reverses also. Tarsus was closely besieged by the Greeks, and the governor taken prisoner. Still worse, Egyptian rebels, to spite the Caliph, induced the Tulunid governor of Tarsus to burn the Muslim fleet of fifty vessels at anchor in their port. In consequence the Greeks were able to ravage the coasts at pleasure, both by land and sea, carrying vast numbers away captive. War was kept up with various fortune. Ten golden crosses, each followed by 10,000 men, swept devastation and captivity along the Muslim shores; while, on the other hand, a Muslim fleet under a renegade Greek, and manned by Africans, ravaged the coast opposite Byzantium. Thus, after a stormy reign of between six and seven years, al-Muktafi could look around and find the Caliphate more secure than it had been since the days of al-Mu'tasim . One of his last acts was, on the death of the Samanid prince, to recognise the succession of his son in Khorasan , and forward to him a banner mounted by his own hand. In 295 AH (908 AD), he died at the early age of thirty-three, and left the throne to a minor brother, Abdullah ibn al-Mu'tazz .

Abû Ahmad ʿAlî ibn Ahmad al-Muʿtamid ( ) (877/878 – 13 August 908), better known by his regnal name al-Muktafi bi-Allah ( , "Content with God Alone" ), was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 902 to 908. He was the son of the previous Caliph, al-Mu'tadid , by a Turkish slave-girl . In command of ar-Raqqah at the time of his father's death, he at once returned to the Capital, where he became a favorite of the people for his generosity, and for abolishing his father's secret prisons, the terror of Baghdad. During his reign of nearly seven years, the Empire was threatened by various dangers which he bravely met and overcame. Chief was that from the Carmathians , a race of fanatics which had sprung up during the late reign. Hostilities prevailed more or less with the Byzantine Greeks , who were not slow to take advantage of the difficulties of the Caliphate. In 285 AH (898 AD) a Byzantine fleet was set on fire, and 3000 sailors decapitated. But there were reverses also. Tarsus was closely besieged by the Greeks, and the governor taken prisoner. Still worse, Egyptian rebels, to spite the Caliph, induced the Tulunid governor of Tarsus to burn the Muslim fleet of fifty vessels at anchor in their port. In consequence the Greeks were able to ravage the coasts at pleasure, both by land and sea, carrying vast numbers away captive. War was kept up with various fortune. Ten golden crosses, each followed by 10,000 men, swept devastation and captivity along the Muslim shores; while, on the other hand, a Muslim fleet under a renegade Greek, and manned by Africans, ravaged the coast opposite Byzantium. Thus, after a stormy reign of between six and seven years, al-Muktafi could look around and find the Caliphate more secure than it had been since the days of al-Mu'tasim . One of his last acts was, on the death of the Samanid prince, to recognise the succession of his son in Khorasan , and forward to him a banner mounted by his own hand. In 295 AH (908 AD), he died at the early age of thirty-three, and left the throne to a minor brother, Abdullah ibn al-Mu'tazz . The Life and Times of ʿAlí Ibn ʿÍsà: The Good Vizier .

More liberal and sedentary than his militaristic father al-Mu'tadid , al-Muktafi essentially continued his policies, although most of the actual conduct of government was left to his viziers and officials. His reign saw the defeat of the Qarmatians of the Syrian Desert , and the reincorporation of Egypt and the parts of Syria ruled by the Tulunid dynasty . The war with the Byzantine Empire continued with alternating success, although the Arabs scored a major victory in the Sack of Thessalonica in 904. His death in 908 opened the way for the installation of a weak ruler, al-Muqtadir , by the palace bureaucracy, and began the terminal decline of the Abbasid Caliphate.

More liberal and sedentary than his militaristic father al-Mu'tadid , al-Muktafi essentially continued his policies, although most of the actual conduct of government was left to his viziers and officials. His reign saw the defeat of the Qarmatians of the Syrian Desert , and the reincorporation of Egypt and the parts of Syria ruled by the Tulunid dynasty . The war with the Byzantine Empire continued with alternating success, although the Arabs scored a major victory in the Sack of Thessalonica in 904. His death in 908 opened the way for the installation of a weak ruler, al-Muqtadir , by the palace bureaucracy, and began the terminal decline of the Abbasid Caliphate that ended in 946 with the caliphs becoming puppet rulers under the Buyid dynasty .

17th Abbasid Caliph (r. 902–908) For the 12th-century caliph with a similar name, see al-Muqtafi . Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Ṭalḥa ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Muktafī bi'Llāh ( Arabic : أبو محمد علي بن أحمد ; 877/78 – 13 August 908), better known by his regnal name al-Muktafī bi-Llāh (Arabic: المكتفي بالله , lit. ' Content with God Alone ' ), was the caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate from 902 to 908. More liberal and sedentary than his militaristic father al-Mu'tadid , al-Muktafi essentially continued his policies, although most of the actual conduct of government was left to his viziers and officials. His reign saw the defeat of the Qarmatians of the Syrian Desert , and the reincorporation of Egypt and the parts of Syria ruled by the Tulunid dynasty . The war with the Byzantine Empire continued with alternating success, although the Arabs scored a major victory in the Sack of Thessalonica in 904. His death in 908 opened the way for the installation of a weak ruler, al-Muqtadir , by the palace bureaucracy, and began the terminal decline of the Abbasid Caliphate that ended in 946 with the caliphs becoming puppet rulers under the Buyid dynasty .