al-Mu'tasim
al-Mu'tasim المعتصم | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate | |||||
Reign | 9 August 833 – 5 January 842 | ||||
Predecessor | al-Ma'mun | ||||
Successor | al-Wathiq | ||||
Born | October 796 Khuld Palace, Baghdad | ||||
Died | 5 January 842 (aged 45) Jawsaq Palace, Samarra | ||||
Burial | Jawsaq Palace, Samarra | ||||
Spouse | see below | ||||
Issue | |||||
| |||||
Marida bint Shabib | |||||
Religion | Islam[a] |
Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd (
Al-Mu'tasim continued many of his brother's policies, such as the partnership with the
Al-Mu'tasim's reign was marked by continuous warfare. The two major internal campaigns of the reign were against the long-running
Early life
Muhammad, the future al-Mu'tasim, was born in the
The young prince's early life coincided with what, in the judgment of posterity, was the
Career under al-Ma'mun
As an adult, Muhammad was commonly called by his kunya, Abu Ishaq.[9] Al-Tabari describes the adult Abu Ishaq as "fair-complexioned, with a black beard the hair tips of which were red and the end of which was square and streaked with red, and with handsome eyes".[10] Other authors stress his physical strength and his love for physical activity—an anecdote recalls how during the Amorium campaign he went ahead of the army riding on a mule and searched in person for a ford across a river—in stark contrast to his more sedentary predecessors and successors. Later authors write that he was almost illiterate, but as the historian Hugh Kennedy comments, this "would have been most improbable for an Abbasid prince", and most likely reflects his lack of interest in intellectual pursuits.[11]
Activity during the civil war
As one of Harun's younger sons, Abu Ishaq was initially of little consequence, and did not figure in the line of succession.
Throughout the conflict and its aftermath, Abu Ishaq remained in Baghdad.
Formation of the Turkish guard
From c. 814/5, Abu Ishaq began forming his corps of Turkish troops. The first members of the corps were domestic slaves he bought in Baghdad (the distinguished general
The long civil war shattered the social and political order of the early Abbasid state; the abnāʾ al-dawla, the main political and military pillar of the early Abbasid state, had been much reduced by the civil war.
The nature and identity of the "Turkish slave soldiers", as they are commonly described, is a controversial subject; both the ethnic label and the slave status of its members are disputed. Although the bulk of the corps were clearly of servile origin, being either captured in war or purchased as slaves, in the Arabic historical sources they are never referred to as slaves (
Service under al-Ma'mun
In 819 Abu Ishaq, accompanied by his Turkish guard and other commanders, was sent to suppress a
In 828, al-Ma'mun appointed Abu Ishaq as governor of
In July–September 830, al-Ma'mun, encouraged by perceived Byzantine weakness and suspicious of collusion between Emperor
Soon after Abu Ishaq's departure from Egypt, the revolt flared up again, this time encompassing both the Arab settlers and the native Christian
Later in the same year, al-Ma'mun repeated his invasion of the Byzantine borderlands, capturing the strategically important fortress of Loulon, a success that consolidated Abbasid control of both exits of the Cilician Gates.[52] So encouraged was al-Ma'mun by this victory that he repeatedly rejected Theophilos' ever more generous offers for peace, and publicly announced that he intended to capture Constantinople itself. Consequently, al-Abbas was dispatched in May to convert the deserted town of Tyana into a military colony and prepare the ground for the westward advance. Al-Ma'mun followed in July, but he suddenly fell ill and died[f] on 7 August 833.[54][55]
Caliphate
Al-Ma'mun had made no official provisions for his succession. His son, al-Abbas, was old enough to rule and had acquired experience of command in the border wars with the Byzantines, but had not been named heir.[12] According to the account of al-Tabari, on his deathbed al-Ma'mun dictated a letter nominating his brother, rather than al-Abbas, as his successor,[56] and Abu Ishaq was acclaimed as caliph on 9 August, with the regnal name of al-Mu'tasim (in full al-Muʿtaṣim bi’llāh, "he who seeks refuge in God").[57] It is impossible to know whether this reflects actual events, or whether the letter was an invention and Abu Ishaq merely took advantage of his proximity to his dying brother, and al-Abbas's absence, to propel himself to the throne. As Abu Ishaq was the forefather of all subsequent Abbasid caliphs, later historians had little desire to question the legitimacy of his accession, but it is clear that his position was far from secure: a large part of the army favoured al-Abbas, and a delegation of soldiers even went to him and tried to proclaim him as the new Caliph. Only when al-Abbas refused them, whether out of weakness or out of a desire to avoid a civil war, and himself took the oath of allegiance to his uncle, did the soldiers acquiesce in al-Mu'tasim's succession.[58][59] The precariousness of his position is further evidenced by the fact that al-Mu'tasim immediately called off the expedition, abandoned the Tyana project and returned with his army to Baghdad, which he reached on 20 September.[60][61][62]
New elites and administration
Whatever the true background of his accession, al-Mu'tasim owed his rise to the throne not only to his strong personality and leadership skills, but principally to the fact that he was the only Abbasid prince to control independent military power, in the form of his Turkish corps.[26] Unlike his brother, who tried to use the tribal Arabs and the Turks to balance out the Iranian troops, al-Mu'tasim relied almost exclusively on his Turks; the historian Tayeb El-Hibri describes al-Mu'tasim's regime as "militaristic and centred on the Turkish corps".[38] The rise of al-Mu'tasim to the caliphate thus heralded a radical change in the nature of Abbasid administration, and the most profound shift the Islamic world had experienced since the dynasty had come to power in the Abbasid Revolution. While the latter had been backed by a mass popular movement seeking to enact social reforms, al-Mu'tasim's revolution was essentially the project of a small ruling elite aiming to secure its own power.[63]
Already under al-Ma'mun, old-established Arab families such as the Muhallabids disappeared from the court, and minor members of the Abbasid family ceased to be appointed to governorships or senior military positions.[31] The reforms of al-Mu'tasim completed this process, resulting in the eclipse of the previous Arab and Iranian elites, both in Baghdad and the provinces, in favour of the Turkish military, and an increasing centralization of administration around the caliphal court. A characteristic example is Egypt, where the Arab settler families still nominally formed the country's garrison (jund) and thus continued to receive a salary from the local revenues. Al-Mu'tasim discontinued the practice, removing the Arab families from the army registers (diwān) and ordering that the revenues of Egypt be sent to the central government, which would then pay a cash salary (ʿaṭāʾ) only to the Turkish troops stationed in the province.[64] Another departure from previous practice was al-Mu'tasim's appointment of his senior lieutenants, such as Ashinas and Itakh, as nominal super-governors over several provinces. This measure was probably intended to allow his chief followers immediate access to funds with which to pay their troops, but also, according to Kennedy, "represented a further centralizing of power, for the under-governors of the provinces seldom appeared at court and played little part in the making of political decisions".[65] Indeed, al-Mu'tasim's caliphate marks the apogee of the central government's authority, in particular as expressed in its right and power to extract taxes from the provinces, an issue that had been controversial and had faced much local opposition since the early days of the Islamic state.[65]
The one major exception to this process were the Tahirids, who remained in place as autonomous governors of their Khurasani super-province, encompassing most of the eastern Caliphate. The Tahirids provided the governor of Baghdad, and helped to keep the city, a focus of opposition under al-Ma'mun, quiescent. The post was held throughout al-Mu'tasim's reign by Abdallah ibn Tahir's cousin
On his accession, al-Mu'tasim appointed as his chief minister or vizier his old personal secretary, al-Fadl ibn Marwan. A man trained in the traditions of the Abbasid bureaucracy, he was distinguished for his caution and frugality, and tried to shore up the finances of the state. These traits eventually caused his downfall, when he refused to authorize the Caliph's gifts to his courtiers on the grounds that the treasury could not afford it. He was dismissed in 836, and was lucky not to suffer any punishment more severe than being sent into exile to the village of al-Sinn.[68][69] His replacement, Muhammad ibn al-Zayyat, was of a completely different character: a rich merchant, he is described by Kennedy as "a competent financial expert but a callous and brutal man who made many enemies", even among his fellow members of the administration. Nevertheless, and even though his political authority never extended beyond the fiscal domain, he managed to maintain his office to the end of the reign, and under al-Mu'tasim's successor, al-Wathiq (r. 842–847), as well.[1][70]
Rise of the Turks
Al-Mu'tasim's reliance on his Turkish ghilmān grew over time, especially in the aftermath of an abortive plot against him discovered in 838, during the Amorium campaign. Headed by
As the historian Matthew Gordon points out, these events are probably connected to the disappearance of the abnāʾ from the historical record. Correspondingly they must have increased the standing of the Turks and their chief commanders, particularly Ashinas: in 839, his daughter, Utranja, married the son of al-Afshin, and in 840, al-Mu'tasim appointed him as his deputy during his absence from Samarra. When he returned, al-Mu'tasim publicly placed him on a throne and awarded him a ceremonial crown.
Nevertheless, it seems that al-Mu'tasim was not entirely satisfied with the men he had raised to power. An anecdote dating from his last years, relayed by Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Mus'ab, recalls how the Caliph, in an intimate exchange with Ishaq, lamented that he had made poor choices in this regard: while his brother al-Ma'mun had nurtured four excellent servants from the Tahirids, he had raised al-Afshin, who was dead; Ashinas, "a feeble heart and a coward"; Itakh, "who is totally insignificant"; and Wasif, "an unprofitable servant". Ishaq himself then suggested that this was because, while al-Ma'mun had used men with local connections and influence, al-Mu'tasim had used men with no roots in the Muslim community, to which the Caliph sadly assented.[85][86]
Foundation of Samarra
The Turkish army was at first quartered in Baghdad, but quickly came into conflict with the remnants of the old Abbasid establishment in the city and the city's populace. The latter resented their loss of influence and career opportunities to the foreign troops, who were furthermore often undisciplined and violent, spoke no Arabic, and were either recent converts to Islam or still pagans. Violent episodes between the populace and the Turks thus became common.[87]
This was a major factor in al-Mu'tasim's decision in 836 to found a new capital at Samarra, some 80 miles (130 km) north of Baghdad, but there were other considerations in play. Founding a new capital was a public statement of the establishment of a new regime. According to Tayeb El-Hibri it allowed the court to exist "at a distance from the populace of Baghdad and protected by a new guard of foreign troops, and amid a new royal culture revolving around sprawling palatial grounds, public spectacle and a seemingly ceaseless quest for leisurely indulgence", an arrangement compared by Oleg Grabar to the relationship between Paris and Versailles after Louis XIV.[88][89] By creating a new city in a previously uninhabited area, al-Mu'tasim could reward his followers with land and commercial opportunities without cost to himself and free from any constraints, unlike Baghdad with its established interest groups and high property prices. In fact, the sale of land seems to have produced considerable profit for the treasury—in the words of Kennedy, "a sort of gigantic property speculation in which both government and its followers could expect to benefit".[88]
Space and life in the new capital were strictly regimented: residential areas were separated from the markets, and the military was given its own cantonments, separated from the ordinary populace and each the home of a specific ethnic contingent of the army (such as the Turks or the Maghariba regiment). The city was dominated by its mosques (most famous among which is the Great Mosque of Samarra built by Caliph al-Mutawakkil in 848–852) and palaces, built in grand style by both the caliphs and their senior commanders, who were given extensive properties to develop.[88][90] Unlike Baghdad, the new capital was an entirely artificial creation. Poorly sited in terms of water supply and river communications, its existence was determined solely by the presence of the caliphal court, and when the capital returned to Baghdad, sixty years later, Samarra was rapidly abandoned.[91] Due to this, the ruins of the Abbasid capital are still extant, and the city can be mapped with great accuracy by modern archaeologists.[92]
Science and learning
As a military man, al-Mu'tasim's outlook was utilitarian, and his intellectual pursuits could not be compared with those of al-Ma'mun or his successor al-Wathiq, but he continued his brother's policy of promoting writers and scholars.
Mu'tazilism and the miḥna
Ideologically, al-Mu'tasim followed the footsteps of al-Ma'mun, continuing his predecessor's support for
Thus Mu'tazilism became closely identified with the new regime of al-Mu'tasim. Adherence to Mu'tazilism was transformed into an intensely political issue, since to question it was to oppose the authority of the Caliph as the God-sanctioned imām. While Mu'tazilism found broad support, it was also passionately opposed by traditionalists, who held that the Quran's authority was absolute and unalterable as the literal
Domestic campaigns
Although al-Mu'tasim's reign was a time of peace in the Caliphate's heartland territories, al-Mu'tasim himself was an energetic campaigner, and according to Kennedy "acquired the reputation of being one of the warrior-caliphs of Islam".[108] With the exception of the Amorium campaign, most of the military expeditions of al-Mu'tasim's reign were domestic, directed against rebels in areas that, although nominally part of the Caliphate, had remained outside effective Muslim rule and where native peoples and princes retained de facto autonomy.[108] The three great campaigns of the reign—Amorium, the expedition against the Khurramite rebellion, and that against Mazyar, ruler of Tabaristan—were in part also conscious propaganda exercises, in which al-Mu'tasim could solidify his regime's legitimacy in the eyes of the populace by leading wars against infidels.[109]
An Alid revolt led by
The first major campaign of the new reign was directed against the
Shortly after, Minkajur al-Ushrusani, whom al-Afshin had appointed as governor of Adharbayjan after the defeat of the Khurramites, rose in revolt, either because he had been involved in financial irregularities, or because he had been a co-conspirator of al-Afshin's. Bugha the Elder marched against him, forcing him to capitulate and receive a safe-passage to Samarra in 840.[118][119]
The second major domestic campaign of the reign began in 838, against Mazyar, the autonomous
Tension mounted as the Tahirids encouraged the local Muslims to resist Mazyar, forcing the latter to adopt an increasingly confrontational stance against the Muslim settlers and turn for support on the native Iranian, and mostly
Near the end of al-Mu'tasim's life there were a series of uprisings in the Syrian provinces, including the revolt by Abu Harb, known as
Confrontation with Byzantium
Taking advantage of the Abbasids' preoccupation with the suppression of the Khurramite rebellion, the Byzantine emperor Theophilos had launched attacks on the Muslim frontier zone in the early 830s, and scored several successes. His forces were bolstered by some 14,000 Khurramites who fled into the Empire, became baptized and enrolled in the Byzantine army under the command of their leader Nasr, better known by his Christian name Theophobos.[130] In 837, Theophilos, urged by the increasingly hard-pressed Babak, launched a major campaign into the Muslim frontier lands. He led a large army, reportedly numbering over 70,000 men, in an almost unopposed invasion of the region around the upper Euphrates. The Byzantines took the towns of Zibatra (Sozopetra) and Arsamosata, ravaged and plundered the countryside, extracted ransom from Malatya and other cities in exchange for not attacking them, and defeated several smaller Arab forces.[131][132] As refugees began arriving at Samarra, the caliphal court was outraged by the brutality and brazenness of the raids; not only had the Byzantines acted in open collusion with the Khurramites, but during the sack of Zibatra all male prisoners were executed and the rest of the population sold into slavery, and some captive women were raped by Theophilos' Khurramites.[133][134]
The Caliph took personal charge of preparations for a retaliatory expedition, as the campaigns against Byzantium were customarily the only ones in which caliphs participated in person.
From Ancyra, the Abbasid army turned to Amorium, to which they laid siege on 1 August. Al-Afshin, Itakh, and Ashinas all took turns assaulting the city with their troops, but the siege was fiercely contested, even after the Abbasids, informed by a defector, effected a breach in a weak spot of the wall. After two weeks, taking advantage of a short truce for negotiations requested by one of the Byzantine commanders of the breach, the Abbasid army successfully stormed the city. It was thoroughly plundered and its walls razed, while the populace, numbering into the tens of thousands, was carried off to be sold into slavery.
The sack of Amorium brought al-Mu'tasim much acclaim as a warrior-caliph and
Death and legacy
Al-Tabari states that al-Mu'tasim fell ill on 21 October 841. His regular physician, Salmawayh ibn Bunan, whom the Caliph had trusted implicitly, had died the previous year. His new physician, Yahya ibn Masawayh, did not follow the normal treatment of cupping and purging. According to Hunayn ibn Ishaq this worsened the caliph's illness and brought about his death on 5 January 842, after a reign of eight years, eight months and two days according to the Islamic calendar.[145] He was buried in the Jawsaq al-Khaqani palace in Samarra.[146][147] The succession of his son, al-Wathiq, was unopposed. Al-Wathiq's reign, through unremarkable, was essentially a continuation of al-Mu'tasim's own, as the government continued to be led by the men al-Mu'tasim had raised to power: the Turks Itakh, Wasif, and Ashinas; the vizier Ibn al-Zayyat; and the chief qādī Ahmad ibn Abi Duwad.[148]
Al-Tabari describes al-Mu'tasim as having a relatively easygoing nature, being kind, agreeable and charitable.[149] According to C. E. Bosworth the sources reveal little about al-Mu'tasim's character, other than his lack of sophistication compared with his half-brother. Nevertheless, Bosworth concludes, he was a proficient military commander who secured the caliphate both politically and militarily.[1]
Al-Mu'tasim's reign represents a watershed moment in the history of the Abbasid state, and had long-lasting repercussions in Islamic history.
More immediately, although al-Mu'tasim's new professional army proved militarily highly effective, it also posed a potential danger to the stability of the Abbasid regime, as the army's separation from mainstream society meant that the soldiers were entirely reliant on the ʿaṭāʾ for survival. Consequently, any failure to provide their pay, or policies that threatened their position, were likely to cause a violent reaction. This became evident less than a generation later, during the "
Family
One of al-Mu'tasim's wives was Badhal. She had been formerly a concubine of his cousin Ja'far bin al-Hadi, his brothers al-Amin and al-Ma'mun and Ali bin Hisham. She hailed from Medina and was raised in Basra. Described as charming with fair skin, she was praised for her musical talent, particularly her skill in playing instruments, and was known for her exceptional ability as a songwriter and singer.[154] One of his concubines was Qaratis, a Greek, and the mother of his eldest son, the future caliph al-Wathiq. She died on 16 August 842 in Kufa, and was buried in the palace of Abbasid prince, Dawud ibn Isa.[155] Another concubine was Shuja. She was from Khwarazm,[156] and was related to Musa ibn Bugha the Elder.[157] She was the mother of the future caliph al-Mutawakkil. She died on 19 June 861 in al-Ja'fariyyah. Her grandson, caliph al-Muntasir offered the funeral prayer and she was buried in the Friday Mosque.[156][158] Another concubine was Qurrat al-Ayn. A cultured and refined lady, she was a favourite of al-Mu'tasim.[159]
- Children
- Abu Jaʿfar Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mu'tasim, better known by his laqab al-Wathiq. He was the eldest son of al-Mu'tasim.
- Abu al-Fadl Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Mu'tasim, better known by his laqab al-Mutawakkil.
- Muhammad ibn al-Mu'tasim.[160]
- Aisha bint Muhammad al-Mu'tasim, a poetess.[161]
al-Mu'tasim in literature
Al-Mu'tasim is featured in the medieval Arabic and Turkish epic Delhemma, which features heavily fictionalized versions of events from the Arab–Byzantine wars. In it, al-Mu'tasim helps the heroes pursue the traitor and apostate Uqba across several countries "from Spain to Yemen", before having him crucified before Constantinople. On its return, the Muslim army is ambushed in a defile by the Byzantines, and only 400 men, including the Caliph and most of the heroes, manage to escape. In retaliation, al-Mu'tasim's successor al-Wathiq launches a campaign against Constantinople, where he installs a Muslim governor.[162]
The name al-Mu'tasim is used for a fictional character in the story
While not strictly accurate, Borges' quote paraphrases al-Tabari, who notes that he was "born in the eighth month, was the eighth caliph, in the eighth generation from
Notes
- Muʿtazila creed
- al-Mas'udi, he was 38 years and two months old (according to the Islamic calendar) on his accession, and 46 years and ten months old when he died.[3]
- ^ The collection today known as the Thousand and One Nights was built over time from a foundation of 8th-century translations and adaptations of Persian and Indian material. Many of the stories added during the Abbasid period take place in Baghdad; among them is a cycle of stories around Harun al-Rashid, where he is presented as an exemplary ruler.[6]
- Zaydi and Hasanid branches of the Alids, continued to reject the Abbasids as usurpers. Thereafter, periods of conciliatory efforts alternated with periods of suppression by the caliphs, provoking Alid uprisings which were followed in turn by large-scale persecutions of the Alids and their supporters.[21][22]
- Shash, and Herat) as a reward for their support of al-Ma'mun. These positions became hereditary in the family, marking the start of the rise of the autonomous Samanid dynasty, which by the end of the century controlled all of Khurasan and large swathes of Transoxiana.[25]
- ^ The Arabic sources report anecdotal and widely diverging stories about al-Ma'mun's final illness, including a few that claim that he was poisoned by Abu Ishaq, or that his illness was the result of an "unnecessary surgery performed by a physician acting on [Abu Ishaq's] orders".[53]
- ^ The sullen and rebellious mood of the abnāʾ and the Iranian elements of the Abbasid elite is conveyed by al-Tabari, who reports two of the leading conspirators, Amr al-Farghani and Ahmad ibn al-Khalil ibn Hisham, grumbling during the siege of Amorium about being humbled by Ashinas, "this slave, the son of a whore", and that they would rather defect to the Byzantines than continue to serve under him.[71]
- ^ Only six sons are listed by Ya'qubi: Harun al-Wathiq, Ja'far al-Mutawakkil, Muhammad, Ahmad, Ali, and Abdallah.[164]
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- ^ Masudi 2010, pp. 222, 231.
- ^ Masudi 2010, p. 222.
- ^ Kennedy 2006, pp. 173, 213.
- ^ Marzolph 2007.
- ^ Kennedy 2004a, pp. 145–146.
- ^ El-Hibri 2010, pp. 280–284.
- ^ Kennedy 2004a, p. xiii.
- ^ Bosworth 1991, p. 209.
- ^ Kennedy 2006, p. 215.
- ^ a b c Kennedy 2006, p. 213.
- ^ Kennedy 2004a, pp. 147–151.
- ^ Gordon 2001, pp. 27–28.
- ^ Kennedy 2004a, pp. 151–153.
- ^ Gordon 2001, pp. 28–29.
- ^ a b c Kennedy 2004a, p. 156.
- ^ a b Gordon 2001, p. 25.
- ^ Kennedy 2004a, pp. 123–127.
- ^ El-Hibri 2010, pp. 269–271.
- ^ Kennedy 2004a, pp. 130–131, 136, 139, 141.
- ^ El-Hibri 2010, p. 272.
- ^ Bosworth 1987, pp. 37–39.
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- ^ Frye 1975, pp. 136ff..
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- ^ a b c Kennedy 2004a, p. 164.
- ^ Kennedy 2006, p. 220.
- ^ Bosworth 1991, pp. 5–7.
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- ^ Kennedy 2004a, pp. 164–165.
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- ^ Mottahedeh 1975, p. 75.
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- ^ Kennedy 2001, pp. 131–133.
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- ^ a b Kennedy 2004a, p. 165.
- ^ Madelung 1975, pp. 198–202.
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- ^ Vasiliev 1935, pp. 137–141.
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