Mu'nis al-Muzaffar

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Mu'nis al-Muzaffar
مؤنس المظفر
Native name
Abu'l-Hasan Mu'nis al-Qushuri
ابوالحسن مؤنس ابوالحسن
Bornc. 845/6
Abbasid Empire
Diedc. 933
Baghdad, Abbasid Empire (present-day Iraq)
AllegianceAbbasid Empire
Service/branchAbbasid army
Years of servicec. 880/1 – 933
Battles/wars

Abū'l-Ḥasan Mu'nis al-Qushuri (

Abbasid army from 908 to his death in 933 CE, and virtual dictator and king-maker
of the Caliphate from 928 on.

A

Egypt
, in 915 and 920.

In 924 he helped secure the dismissal and execution of his long-time rival, the

Buyids
in 946.

Life

Career under al-Mu'tadid and exile

Map showing the result of al-Mu'tadid's campaigns of consolidation, c. 900: areas under direct Abbasid control in dark green, areas under loose Abbasid suzerainty, but under autonomous governors, in light green

According to the 14th-century account of

sahib al-shurta al-askar) by 900, and thus deputy to the commander-in-chief, Badr al-Mu'tadidi.[1][2]

Al-Dhahabi, however, records that in 901 the caliph banished him to Mecca, possibly as its governor, whence he was recalled only after the accession of al-Muqtadir (r. 908–932) in 908.[1][2] This is apparently corroborated by his complete absence from the sources during the intervening reign of al-Muktafi.[1] The reason for the banishment is unclear, but was likely related to the power struggles between Badr and al-Mu'tadid's last vizier, al-Qasim ibn Ubayd Allah. Al-Muktafi was apparently also hostile to him, possibly because Mu'nis had been involved in harem intrigues in favour of al-Muqtadir.[2] While at Mecca, he took into his entourage the son of the executed Badr, Hilal.[2]

Campaigns under al-Muqtadir

Mu'nis rose to prominence early during the reign of al-Muqtadir: in December 908, shortly after the caliph's accession, a faction of the bureaucracy and the army launched a coup to depose him and replace him with his brother Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz. Mu'nis led the defence of the Hasani Palace and the coup collapsed. This earned him the gratitude and support of the young caliph and his influential and powerful mother, Shaghab, and solidified his position among the grandees of the Abbasid court.[1][4] Shaghab intended to give him Badr's old role as commander-in-chief, and as a first step, gave him command of the caliphal guard, the Hujariyya.[5] Mu'nis' rise provoked the hostility of the vizier, Ibn al-Furat, who sought to remove him from Baghdad and sent him on campaigns in the frontiers.[5]

In 909 Mu'nis led the customary summer raid (sa'ifa) against the

thughur) and of the Hejaz.[5]

In 914, the

In 918–919, Mu'nis campaigned against the rebellious ruler of

Fayyum Oasis, but their fleet was sunk and Alexandria retaken, trapping Abu'l-Qasim in the Fayyum, from which he was able to escape only with heavy losses.[9][12] In July 922, he was recalled to Baghdad, where he was showered with honours, including the designation as nadim ('imperial guest') and a confirmation of his over-governorship over Egypt and Syria.[5] In 923, he launched another raid into Byzantine territory, capturing a few forts and returning with much booty.[6]

Court rivalries and coups

Gold dinar of al-Muqtadir, struck during the last year of his reign

At court, Mu'nis was an early and staunch opponent of Ibn al-Furat,

Qarmatian threat with the sack of Basra and the destruction of the Hajj caravan returning from Mecca. All this culminated in a military coup, the deposition of Ibn al-Furat, the recall of Mu'nis, and the subsequent execution of the aged vizier and his son.[1][14][15]

This marked the apogee of Mu'nis's career: he was now in virtual control of the government and a decisive voice in the appointment of Ibn al-Furat's successors as viziers. At the same time, however, his power created a widening rift between him and the Caliph, with al-Muqtadir even plotting to assassinate his leading general in 927.

Hamdanid help, successfully defended Baghdad itself against a determined Qarmatian invasion.[16] The Qarmatian raids were particularly troublesome: not only did they devastate the fertile districts of the Sawad—the government's chief source of revenue—but also diminished the prestige of the Caliph and the dynasty, especially after the Qarmatians sacked Mecca in 930 and carried off the Black Stone, precipitating the power struggle in Baghdad between Mu'nis and the court faction.[16]

In 928, following the dismissal of his favourite, Ali ibn Isa, from the vizierate,[16] Mu'nis launched a coup and deposed al-Muqtadir and installed his half-brother al-Qahir in his place, but reneged after a few days. Mu'nis now possessed virtually dictatorial authority over the Abbasid government.[1][15] In 931, al-Muqtadir rallied enough support to force him to leave Baghdad, but in 932, after gathering troops, Mu'nis marched onto Baghdad and defeated the caliphal army before the city walls, with al-Muqtadir falling in the field.[1][15] Triumphant, Mu'nis now installed al-Qahir as caliph, but the two quickly became estranged. The new caliph resumed contacts with the defeated court faction, and found himself soon under confinement in his palace. Nevertheless, in August 933 al-Qahir managed to lure Mu'nis and his main lieutenants to the palace, where they were executed.[1][17]

Assessment

The role of Mu'nis in the history of the Abbasid Caliphate is ambiguous. Historian

Buyids in 946.[1][19]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Bowen 1993, p. 575.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Massignon 1982, p. 196.
  3. ^ a b Canard 1971, p. 126.
  4. ^ Kennedy 2004, p. 191.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Massignon 1982, p. 197.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h PmbZ, Mu’nis al-Muẓaffar (#25449).
  7. ^ Bosworth 1975, p. 123.
  8. ^ a b Bianquis 1998, pp. 110, 111.
  9. ^ a b c Bonner 2010, pp. 339, 340.
  10. ^ Kennedy 2004, p. 267.
  11. ^ a b c Madelung 1975, p. 231.
  12. ^ Bianquis 1998, pp. 111–112.
  13. ^ Bonner 2010, p. 350.
  14. ^ Kennedy 2004, pp. 191–192.
  15. ^ a b c Bonner 2010, p. 351.
  16. ^ a b c Kennedy 2004, p. 192.
  17. ^ Kennedy 2004, pp. 192–193.
  18. ^ Bonner 2010, p. 349.
  19. ^ Kennedy 2004, pp. 193–197.

Sources

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  • Bowen, Harold (1928). The Life and Times of ʿAlí Ibn ʿÍsà, ‘The Good Vizier’. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    OCLC 386849
    .
  • Bowen, H. (1993). "Muʾnis al-Muẓaffar". In .
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  • Lilie, Ralph-Johannes; Ludwig, Claudia; Pratsch, Thomas; Zielke, Beate (2013). Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit Online. Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Nach Vorarbeiten F. Winkelmanns erstellt (in German). Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter.
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