- Al-Mu'tamid
"This article is about the Abbasid Caliph al-Mu'tamid of Baghdad. For the Andalusi Arabic poet who was also the Abbadid king of Seville, see
Muhammad Ibn Abbad Al Mutamid "Al-Mu'tamid (المعتمد unicode|al-Muʿtamid, d. October 892) was the
Abbasid Caliph inBaghdad from 870 to 892 and eldest surviving son ofal-Mutawakkil . He held the title of caliph for 23 years, though he was a largely a ruler in name only.His reign as caliph
During the reign of his predecessor,
al-Muhtadi , al-Mu'tamid was imprisoned inSamarra . He was released after al-Muhtadi was deposed.Al-Mu'tamid's brother, Al-Muwaffaq, had a claim to the throne and when the
Zanj Rebellion started near Baghdad, al-Mu'tamid summoned al-Muwaffak to help him. From that point forward, Al-Muwaffaq essentially ruled as Caliph in all but name. After Al-Muwaffaq fell ill, he transferred substantial authority to his son,al-Mu'tadid .Al-Mu'tadid was popular in the capital,Baghdad , and al-Mu'tamid never regained any real power. In the year following his brother's death, al-Mu'tamid was obliged to publicly remove his own son from the succession and recognize al-Mu'tadid as his successor. He did not survive long thereafter;he drunk himself to death during a night festival inOctober 892 , at the age of 50.Al-Mu'tamid highest achievement may be the continuation of the era of prosperity that began with
al-Muhtadi and lasted until the end of the century. However, the main cause of this prosperity was the return of the court in892 toBaghdad , which curbed the power ofTurkish soldiers. During al-Mu'tamid's reign and the two successive reigns, there were no assassination attempts upon the Caliph.References
*"This text is adapted from
William Muir 'spublic domain , The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline, and Fall."
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