al-Muʿtazz

al-Muʿtazz brings gifts to Abdulla ibn Abdulla - in the Tarich-i Alfi manuscript

Abū ʿAbdallāh Muhammad ibn Jaʿfar ( Arabic أبو عبد الله محمد بن جعفر, DMG Abū ʿAbdallāh Muḥammad ibn Ǧaʿfar * 847 ; † 869 ), with the throne name al-Muʿtazz bi-Llāh ( Arabic المعتز بالله , By God Tightened '), the thirteenth was Calif the Abbasiden (866-869).

Al-Muʿtazz bi-Llāh was used as caliph by the Turkish troops in Samarra in 865 when caliph al-Musta'in (862–866) fled to Baghdad to escape Turkish influence. After the Turkish forces forced al-Musta'in to surrender and abdicate, al-Muʿtazz was widely recognized as the new caliph. He later had his predecessor murdered despite security promises.

However, al-Muʿtazz could only rely on the Turkish troops in his rule, as the Tahirids in Khorasan and the Arabs had supported al-Musta'in during the civil war. In order to reduce this heavy dependence on the Turks, he tried to play the Turkish commanders off against each other. However, he lost prestige and authority.

Since the governors in the provinces gained autonomy or even independence due to the power struggles in Samarra (see: Tulunids ), the financial situation for al-Muʿtazz worsened. When the pay demands of the Turkish troops could no longer be satisfied, al-Muʿtazz was overthrown and killed in July 869. The Turkish military installed al-Muhtadi (869-870) as his successor .

literature

• CE Bosworth : al-Muʿtazz bi 'Llāh. In: The Encyclopaedia of Islam . New Edition. Volume VII, pp. 793b-794a.

predecessor	Office	successor
al-Musta'in bi-llah	Caliph of the Abbasid 866-869	al-Muhtadi