al-Mu'tadid bi-'llah

Dinar with the name of al-Mutadids from his time

al-Mu'tadid bi-'llah , Arabic المعتضد بالله أحمد بن طلحة al-Mu'tadid bi-'llah Ahmad ibn Talha , DMG al-Muʿtaḍid bi-'llāh Aḥmad b. Talha (†  April 5 902 ), the sixteenth was Caliph of the Abbasid (892-902).

Abu l-Abbas Ahmad ibn al-Muwaffaq ibn al-Mutawakkil al-Mu'tadid succeeded his uncle al-Mu'tamid (870-892) in 892 . As the son of the regent al-Muwaffaq (875-891) he had in the fighting against the Zanj participated -Sklaven in southern Iraq and a campaign against the 885 Tulunids in Syria out.

After the death of his father, he took over his offices and forced al-Mutamid to appoint him heir to the throne. Under the reign of Abu l-Abbas Ahmad, shortly before the death of al-Mutamid, the residence of the caliph from Samarra was moved back to Baghdad (892).

Under his reign, the caliphs only controlled Iraq , northern Syria and western Iran . However, he succeeded in consolidating the Abbasid rule in these areas by combating insubordinate governors and also being able to restore the state finances. Although he recognized the rule of the Tulunids in Egypt and married a daughter of Chumarawaih , he received a very rich dowry and annual tributes in return. Through this settlement, al-Mutadid was able to bring northern Syria firmly back under control of the Abbasid administration and successfully fight the Hamdanids in northern Syria.

However, under his rule the movement of the Ismaili Qarmatians spread in Iraq. In 899 they founded a state in eastern Arabia ( al-Hasa and Bahrain ), which subsequently withdrew from the rule of the caliphs and fought the Abbasids. In Syria, too, the Ismaili Fatimids gained influence among the Bedouins of the Syrian desert. However, a rebellion by these Bedouins was suppressed outside Damascus (901).

Al-Mu'tadid also tried to reconnect with the heyday of the Abbasids under al-Ma'mun at the beginning of the 9th century. So he was a follower of the teachings of the Mutazilites and tried to bring them back to their best advantage. However, this led to the opposition of the Muslims , where the doctrine of the Hanbalites had prevailed. Al-Mutadid died on April 5, 902. He is said to have been poisoned. The successor to al-Mutadids took over his son al-Muktafi (902-908).

literature

• William Muir: Chapter LXXI Al-Mo'tadid and Al-Muktafi . In: The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline, and Fall . John Grant, Edinburgh 1924

predecessor	Office	successor
al-Mu'tamid	Abbasid Caliph 892–902	al-Muktafi