bi ’llāh, Abu ’l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad b. Muḥammad, an ʿAbbāsid caliph. His father was a son of the caliph al-Muʿtaṣim, his mother a slave-girl named Muk̲h̲āriḳ of Slav origin. After the death in Rabīʿ II 248 (June 862) of al-Muntaṣir the praetorians appointed his cousin Aḥmad caliph under the name al-Mustaʿīn. The choice aroused discontent in Sāmarrā and unrest broke out among those who supported al-Muʿtazz [q. v.] which was only put down after much bloodshed by the Turkish soldiers. When al-Mustaʿīn was reco…

, a Ṭāhirid, governor of Bag̲h̲dād. Born in 209 (824—825) Muḥammad in 237 (851) was summoned by the Caliph to Bag̲h̲dād and appointed military governor in order to restore order in the chaos then prevailing. In spite of the great power of the Ṭāhirids, who ruled Ḵh̲urāsān as independent sovereigns in practice, although they nominally recognised the suzerainty of the Caliph, his task was by no means a light one. After al-Mustaʿīn had ascended the throne (248 = 862), he confirmed Muḥammad in his o…

(also called Mustanṣir) bi ’llāh, Abū Ḏj̲aʿfar Muḥammad b. Ḏj̲aʿfar, ʿAbbāsid caliph, son of al-Mutawakkil by a Greek slave. After his father had been murdered in S̲h̲awwāl 247 (Dec. 861) by conspirators, among whom was al-Muntaṣir, the latter ascended the throne, aged 25 According to the usual statement. As a ruler he was only a tool in the hands of the vizier Aḥmad b. al-Ḵh̲aṣīb and the Turkish generals. His brothers al-Muʿtazz and al-Muʾaiyad were forced to renounce their claims to the throne and Waṣī…

bi ’llāh, Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad (or al-Zubair) b. Ḏj̲aʿfar, an ʿAbbāsid ¶ caliph, son of al-Mutawakkil and a slave-girl named Ḳabīḥa. After al-Mustaʿīn had been forced to abdicate, al-Muʿtazz was proclaimed caliph on 4th Muḥarram 252 (Jan. 25, 866). When he wanted to get rid of the two Turkish generals Waṣīf and Bog̲h̲a the younger, they got wind of his intentions and went back to Sāmarrā. On the other hand, he succeeded in putting his brother and successor designate al-Muʾaiyad to death and throwing the third brother Abū Aḥma…

bi ’llāh, Abu Isḥaḳ Muḥammad, an ʿAbbāsid caliph, born in 179(795—796) or 180 (796—7), the son of Hārūn al-Rag̲h̲īd and a slave-girl named Mārida. In the reign of his brother al-Maʾmūn [q. v.] he took part in the fighting against the Byzantines in Asia Minor and received the governorship of Egypt. After the death of al-Maʾmūn in Rad̲j̲ab 218 (Aug. 833) he ascended the throne and was soon afterwards acknowledged even by his nephew al-ʿAbbās b. al-Maʾmūn [q. v.] whom the troops had proclaimed caliph a…

ʿala ’llāh, Abu ’l-Faḍl Ḏj̲aʿfar b. Muḥammad, an ʿAbbāsid Caliph, born in S̲h̲awwāl 206 (Feb.-March 822), son of the caliph al-Muʾtaṣim and a slave-girl from Ḵh̲wārizm named S̲h̲ud̲j̲āʿ. He ascended the throne in Ḏh̲u ’l-Ḥid̲j̲d̲j̲a 232 (Aug. 847) on the death of his brother al-Wāt̲h̲iḳ. His old opponent, the vizier Ibn al-Zaiyāt, soon fell a victim to the cruelty of the new caliph and a similar fate befell the Turkish general Ītāk̲h̲, although the latter along with Waṣīf had helped him to the throne. The caliph dreaded…

the name of two viziers: 1. al-Ḥasan b. Mak̲h̲lad b. al-Ḏj̲arrāḥ of Dair Ḳunnā, administrator of the domains from 243 (857-8) onwards. After the death of ʿUbaid Allāh b. Yaḥyā in Ḏh̲u ’l-Ḳaʿda 263 (July 877) [see ibn k̲h̲āḳān, 1.] al-Ḥasan was appointed vizier by al-Muʿtamid. At the same time he was secretary to the latter’s brother al-Muwaffaḳ but after about a month he fled to Bag̲h̲dād on the arrival of Mūsā b. Bog̲h̲ā in Sāmarrā, the capital of that time. Sulaimān b. Wahb then took over the vizierate and his son ʿUbaid Allāh the…

ʿala ’llāh, Abu ’l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad b. Ḏj̲aʿfar, ʿAbbāsid caliph, son of al-Mutawakkil and a slave-girl named Fityān from Kūfa. He ascended the throne on the deposition of al-Muhtadī in Rad̲j̲ab 256 (June 870). He had no ability as a ruler, but relied on the vizier ʿUbaid Allāh b. Yaḥyā b. Ḵh̲āḳān and left most of the affairs of government in the hands of his brother Abū Aḥmad al-Muwaffaḳ. In S̲h̲awwāl 261 (July 875) he designated his son Ḏj̲aʿfar al-Mufawwiḍ as his successor and governor of the western p…

b. Ṭāhir Ḏh̲ī l-Yamīnayn, ¶ Abū l-ʿAbbās, Ṭāhiride qui fut gouverneur de Bag̲h̲dād. Né en 209/824-5, il fut appelé du Ḵh̲urāsān à Bag̲h̲dād, en 237/851, par le calife al-Mutawakkil et nommé gouverneur militaire pour mettre de l’ordre dans la situation chaotique qui y régnait. Malgré la grande puissance des Ṭāhirides qui gouvernaient le Ḵh̲urāsān avec une autonomie considérable, tout en reconnaissant nominalement la suzeraineté du calife, sa tâche n’était nullement aisée. Après son avènement (248/862…

(I) bi ’llāh , Abu ’l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad b. Muḥammad , ʿAbbāsid caliph, reigned 248-52/862-6, grandson of the caliph al-Muʿtaṣim [ q.v.] and the son of a slave concubine of Ṣaḳlabī origin named Muk̲h̲āriḳ. When his cousin al-Muntaṣir [ q.v.] died, the Turkish commanders in Sāmarrā plucked al-Mustaʿīn from a life of obscurity (he is said to have made a living as a copyist of manuscripts) to become caliph (6 Rabīʿ II 248/9 June 862). The choice aroused discontent in Sāmarrā and unrest broke out among those who supported al-Muʿtazz [ q.v.] which was only put down after much bloodshed and fina…

bi ’llāh , Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad b. Hārun al-Wāt̲h̲iḳ , ʿAbbāsid caliph, reigned 255-6/869-70. After al-Wāt̲h̲iḳ’s death, a number of officials wished to pay homage to the young Muḥammad, son of the deceased caliph and a Greek slave; instead, however, al-Wāt̲h̲iḳ’s brother al-Mutawakkil [ q.v.] was proclaimed his successor and only after the deposition and murder of the unfortunate al-Muʿtazz ¶ (1 S̲h̲aʿbān 255/15 July 869) did Muḥammad ascend the throne on 7-8 S̲h̲aʿbān/21-2 July with the name al-Muhtadī. His ideal was the Umayyad ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzī…

(Ier) bi-llāh, Abū l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad b. Muḥammad, calife ʿabbāside qui régna de 248 à 252/862-6. Il était le fils d’un fils du calife al-Muʿtaṣim [ q.v.] nommé Muḥammad et d’une concubine esclave d’origine ṣaḳlabī du nom de Muk̲h̲āriḳ. À la mort de son cousin al-Muntaṣir [ q.v.], les officiers turcs de Sāmarrā arrachèrent al-Mustaʿīn à une existence obscure (on dit qu’il gagnait sa vie en copiant des manuscrits), pour faire de lui un calife (6 rabīʿ II 248/9 juin 862). Ce choix provoqua un grand mécontentement à Sāmarrā, et un soulèvement se produisit parmi les partisans d’al-Muʿtazz [ q.v.] qu…

bi-llāh, Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad b. Hārūn al-Wāt̲h̲iḳ, Calife ʿabbāside qui régna en 255-6/869-70. Dès la mort d’al-Wāt̲h̲iḳ, quelques dignitaires voulurent proclamer le jeune Muḥammad, fils du calife défunt et d’une esclave grecque, mais en son lieu et place le frère d’al-Wāt̲h̲iḳ, al-Mutawakkil [ q.v.], fut proclamé comme son successeur et ce ne fut qu’après la déposition ¶ et le meurtre de l’infortuné al-Muʿtazz (Ier s̲h̲aʿbān 255/15 juillet 869) que Muḥammad monta sur le trône (7-8 s̲h̲aʿbān/21 -2 juillet) sous le nom d’al-Muhtadī. Son idéal était l’Umay…

b. Ṭāhir D̲h̲i ’l-Yamīnayn , Abu ’l-ʿAbbās , Ṭāhirid governor of Bag̲h̲dād. Born in 209/824-5, Muḥammad in 237/851 was summoned from K̲h̲urāsān by the Caliph to Bag̲h̲dād and appointed military governor ( ṣāḥib al-s̲h̲urṭa ) in order to restore order in the chaos then prevailing. In spite of the great power of the Ṭāhirids, who ruled K̲h̲urāsān with considerable autonomy, although they nominally recognised the suzerainty of the caliph, his task was by no means a light one. After al-Mustaʿīn had ascended the…