al-Muqtafi

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Al-Muqtafi li-amr Allah Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn al-Mustazhir ( Arabic المقتفي لأمر الله أبو عبد الله محمد بن المستظهر, DMG al-Muqtafī li-ʾamri 'llāh Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad b. al-Mustaẓhir ; * April 9, 1096 ; † March 12, 1160 ) was the thirty-first caliph of the Abbasid dynasty from 1136 until his death .

Life

Al-Muqtafi was determined in 1136 as the son of al-Mustazhir by the Seljuk Sultan Masud as the successor to ar-Rashid (1135–1136). Like al-Mustarschid (1118–1135), he used the increasing power struggles of his Seljuk overlords to expand his influence. After Masud's death (1152) and the withdrawal of the Seljuk garrison from Baghdad , al-Muqtafi was able to build up an army with the help of the vizier Aun ad-Din Ibn Hubaira, excluding Turkish mercenaries (ie from Arabs and Kurds); Baghdad was re-fortified. Al-Muqtafi was also able to expand the financial basis of his rule through the collection of Seljuk military fiefs ( iqta ). Soon he was the first caliph in over 200 years to exercise real power again in Iraq between Tikrit and Basra .

After 1154 - Sultan in Hamadan was now Muhammad II. - a Seljuk campaign against Baghdad in Bazimza had failed and Al-Muqtafi 1155 the Seldschukenprinzen Sulaiman Shah recognized as counter-Sultan and his futile attempt jibal had supported conquer tried Sultan Muhammad 1157 again to force the submission of the Abbasids. Fierce fighting broke out, in which the Zengids and Mazyadids became involved, but thanks to al-Muqtafi and Ibn Hubaira's skillful propaganda and diplomacy, the siege of Baghdad ultimately failed. Thus the caliph managed to get Eldigüz, the Atabeg of Azerbaijan, to march into Persia , which forced Muhammad to withdraw and secured the independence of the Abbasids. After Muhammad's death (1159), al-Muqtafi's candidate Sulayman-Shah briefly became sultan (1160); the caliph himself was followed a little later by his son al-Mustanjid (r. 1160–1170).

predecessor	Office	successor
ar-Rashid	Abbasid Caliph 1136–1160	al-Mustanjid