Anarchy at Samarra was the period 861–870 in the history of the
Abbasid Caliphate. It was marked by extreme internal instability and the violent succession of four caliphs, who became puppets in the hands of powerful rival military groups chief among them being
Turks. It inflicted great and lasting damage on the structures and prestige of the Abbasid central government, encouraging and facilitating secessionist and rebellious tendencies in the
Caliphate's provinces.
 |
Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Cairo, 884 CE |
By the 870s
Egypt became autonomous under
Ahmad ibn Tulun. In the East as well, governors decreased their ties to the center. The
Saffarids of Herat and the
Samanids of Bukhara had broken away from the 870s, cultivating a much more
Persianate culture and statecraft. By this time only the central lands of
Mesopotamia were under direct
Abbasid control, with
Palestine and the
Hijaz often managed by the
Tulunids. Byzantium, for its part, had begun to push
Arab Muslims farther east in
Anatolia.
 |
The Great Mosque of Herat, Afghanistan |
At the end of the "Anarchy at Samarra", al-Muʿtamid ʿAlā ’llāh (15th Abbasid Caliph) ruled from 870 to 892. He was a largely a ruler in name only, power was held by his brother al-Muwaffaq, who held the loyalty of the military. Al-Mu'tamid's authority was circumscribed further after a failed attempt to flee to the domains controlled by Ahmad ibn Tulun in late 882. In 881, when al-Muwaffaq died, loyalists attempted to restore power to the Caliph, but were quickly overcome by al-Muwaffaq's son al-Mu'tadid, who assumed his father's powers.
 |
Spiral minaret at Abu Dulaf, 15 km north of Samarra |
al-Mu'tadid bi-llah sucseeded al-Muʿtamid as the 16th Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 892 until his death in 902. Despite his successes, al-Mu'tadid's reign was ultimately too short to effect a lasting reversal of the Caliphate's fortunes. The brief reign of his less able son and heir, al-Muktafi(17th Abbasid Caliph), saw the annexation of the Tulunid domains, but his later successors lacked his energy, and new enemies appeared in the form of the Qarmatians.
 |
Minaret of Ibn-Tulun Mosque, the largest remaining building from the Tulunid period today. |
al-Muqtadir bi-llāh became the 18th
Abbasid Caliph in
Baghdad and reigned from 908 to 932 at 13 being the youngest caliph. By the 920s, the situation had changed further, as
North Africa was lost to the
Abbasids. Outside
Iraq, all the autonomous provinces slowly took on the characteristic of de facto states with hereditary rulers, armies, and revenues such as the
Soomro Emirs that had gained control of
Sindh and ruled the entire province from their capital of
Mansura. Mahmud of Ghazni took the title of sultan, as opposed to the "amir" that had been in more common usage.
 |
Mahmud of Ghazni |
On the death of the former Caliph,
al-Muqtadir, courtiers chose the late Caliph's brother
al-Qahir to be 19th Caliph of the
Abbasid Caliphate who ruled from 932 to 934 CE. Being tyrannical, his eyes were blinded, and he was cast into prison in 934 CE. He was succeeded by
al-Radi bi-llah (20th Abbasid Caliph), reigning from 934 to his death in 940. The authority of the Caliph at this time extended hardly beyond the region of the capital city.
Al-Radi is commonly spoken of as the last of the real Caliphs.
 |
Gold dinar of Al-Radi |
After death of Al-Radi, al-Muttaqi became the 21st Abbasid caliph ruling from 940 to 944. Of such little importance the Caliphate had become by now that when the previous Caliph died, Bajkam, amir al-umara (Amir of Amirs), contented himself with dispatching to Baghdad his secretary, who assembled the chief men to elect a successor. After the death of Bajkam, Muhammad ibn Ra'iq, Caliph's amīr al-umarāʾ, persuaded the Caliph to flee with him to Mosul.
 |
Grand Mosque in Mosul |
Al-Muttaqi was welcomed in
Mosul by the
Hamdanid dynasty, who organized a campaign to restore him to the capital. But, they assassinated
Ibn Ra'iq, and having added his
Syrian government to their own, turned their ambition towards
Baghdad. The
Hamdanid chief, with the title of
Nasir al-Dawla, advanced on
Baghdad with the Caliph. Being foreign mercenaries they were not able to hold
Baghdad and had to return to
Mosul after one year.
al-Muttaqi took up his residence at
Raqqa while a
Turkish general called
Tuzun, entered
Baghdad in triumph, and was saluted as amir al-umara.
 |
Baghdad province |
Tuzun(amir al-umara) installed the previous Caliph's cousin as his successor, with the title of
al-Mustakfi as 22nd caliph of
Abbasid Caliphate. He ruled from 944 to 946 CE. He was succeeded by
al-Mutīʿ li-ʾllāh (23rd Abbasid Caliph) and ruled from 946 to 974. The
Buwayhids under
Mu'izz al-Dawla entered
Baghdad in 945 and maintained their hold over one hundred years. The material position of the Caliphs throughout the
Buwayhid reign was at its lowest ebb.
 |
Manuscript from the Abbasid Era |
At-Ta'i became the 24th Caliph of Abbasid Dynasty in 974 CE and remained till 991 CE. During his Caliphate, Syria was torn by contending factions — Fatimid, Turkish, and Carmathian; while the Buwayhid dynasty was split up into parties that were fighting among themselves. Also, Byzantine Emperor John Tzimisces stormed the east in a victorious campaign in 975. After holding the office for seventeen years, At-Ta'i was deposed in 991 by the Buwayhid emir Baha' al-Dawla.
 |
Byzantine Eagle |
Al-Qadir became the 25th
Abbasid Caliph in
Baghdad and ruled from 991 to 1031. He held the
Caliphate for 40 years. It was during his Caliphate that
Mahmud of Ghazni arose, threatening the empire.
Al-Qadir died at eighty-seven years of age in
Baghdad, and was succeeded by his son
al-Qa'im who became the 26th
Abbasid Caliph. He ruled from 1031 to 1075.
 |
Mahmud of Ghazni receiving a richly decorated robe of honor from the caliph al-Qadir in 1000. |
No comments:
Post a Comment