Al-Muwaffaq
Abu Ahmad Ṭalḥa ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Muwaffaq bi'Llah, better known by his as Al-Muwaffaq Billah, was an Abbasid prince and military leader, who acted as the de facto regent of the Abbasid Caliphate for most of the reign of his brother, Caliph al-Mu'tamid. His stabilization of the internal political scene after the decade-long "Anarchy at Samarra", his successful defence of Iraq against the Saffarids and the suppression of the Zanj Rebellion restored a measure of the Caliphate's former power and began a period of recovery, which culminated in the reign of al-Muwaffaq's own son, the Caliph al-Mu'tadid.
Early life
Talha, commonly known by the teknonym Abu Ahmad, was born on 29 November 843, as the son of the Caliph Ja'far al-Mutawakkil and a Greek slave concubine, Ashar, known as Umm Ishaq. In 861, he was present in his father's murder at Samarra by the Turkish military slaves : the historian al-Tabari reports that he had been drinking with his father that night, and came upon the assassins while going to the toilet, but after a brief attempt to protect the caliph, he retired to his own rooms when he realized that his efforts were futile. The murder was almost certainly instigated by al-Mutawakkil's son and heir, al-Muntasir, who immediately ascended the throne; nevertheless Abu Ahmad's own role in the affair is suspect as well, given his close ties later on with the Turkish military leaders. According to historian Hugh Kennedy, "it is possible, therefore, that Abu Ahmad had already had close links with the young Turks before the murder, or that they were forged on that night". This murder opened a period of internal upheaval known as the "Anarchy at Samarra", where the Turkish military chiefs vied with other powerful groups, and with each other, over control of the government and its financial resources.It was during this period of turmoil, in February 865, that Caliph al-Musta'in and two of the senior Turkish officers, Wasif and Bugha the Younger, fled from Samarra to the old Abbasid capital, Baghdad, where they could count on the support of the city's Tahirid governor, Muhammad ibn Abdallah. The Turkish army in Samarra then selected Abu Ahmad's brother al-Mu'tazz as Caliph, and Abu Ahmad was entrusted with the conduct of operations against al-Musta'in and his supporters. The ensuing siege of Baghdad lasted from February to December 865. In the end, Abu Ahmad and Muhammad ibn Abdallah reached a negotiated settlement, which would see al-Musta'in abdicate. As a result, on 25 January 866, al-Mu'tazz was acclaimed as caliph in the Friday prayer in Baghdad. Contrary to the agreed terms, however, al-Musta'in was murdered. It was most likely during this time that Abu Ahmad consolidated his relationship with the Turkish military, especially with Musa ibn Bugha, who played a crucial role during the siege. Abu Ahmad further solidified these ties when he secured a pardon for Bugha the Younger.
On his return to Samarra, Abu Ahmad was initially received with honour by the Caliph, but six months later he was thrown into prison as a potential rival, along with another of his brothers, al-Mu'ayyad. The latter was soon executed, but Abu Ahmad survived thanks to the protection of the Turkish military. Eventually, he was released and exiled to Basra before being allowed to return to Baghdad, where he was forced to reside at the Qasr al-Dinar palace in East Baghdad. He was so popular there that at the time of al-Mu'tazz's death in July 869, the army and the people clamoured in favour of his elevation to the caliphate, rather than al-Muhtadi. Al-Muwaffaq refused, however, and took the oath of allegiance to al-Muhtadi.
Regent of the Caliphate
At the time al-Muhtadi was killed by the Turks in June 870, Abu Ahmad was at Mecca. Immediately he hastened north to Samarra, where he and Musa ibn Bugha effectively sidelined the new Caliph, al-Mu'tamid, and assumed control of the government.In his close relations with the Turkish military, and his active participation in military affairs, al-Muwaffaq differed from most Abbasid princes of his time, and resembles rather his grandfather, Caliph al-Mu'tasim. Like al-Mu'tasim, this relationship was to be the foundation of al-Muwaffaq's power: when the Turkish rank and file demanded that one of the Caliph's brothers to be appointed as their commander—bypassing their own leaders, who were accused of misappropriating salaries—al-Muwaffaq was appointed the main intermediary between the caliphal government and the Turkish military. In return for the Turks' loyalty, he apparently abolished the other competing corps of the caliphal army such as the Maghariba or the Faraghina, which are no longer mentioned after. Hugh Kennedy sums up the arrangement thus: "al-Muwaffaq assured their status and their position as the army of the caliphate and al-Muwaffaq's role in the civil administration meant that they received their pay". Al-Muwaffaq's close personal relationship with the Turkish military leadership—initially Musa ibn Bugha, as well as Kayghalagh and Ishaq ibn Kundaj after Musa's death in 877—his own prestige as a prince of the dynasty, and the exhaustion after a decade of civil strife, allowed him to establish unchallenged control over the Turks, as indicated by their willingness to participate in costly campaigns under his leadership.
Following the sack of Basra by the Zanj in 871, Abu Ahmad was also conferred an extensive governorship, covering most of the lands still under direct caliphal control: the Hejaz, Yemen, Iraq with Baghdad and Wasit, Basra, Ahwaz and Fars. To denote his authority, he assumed an honorific name in the style of the caliphs, . His power was further expanded on 20 July 875, when the Caliph included him in the line of succession after his own underage son, Ja'far al-Mufawwad, and divided the empire in two large spheres of government. The western provinces were given to al-Mufawwad, while al-Muwaffaq was given charge of the eastern ones; in practice, al-Muwaffaq continued to exercise control over the western provinces as well.
With al-Mu'tamid largely confined to Samarra, al-Muwaffaq and his personal secretaries effectively ruled the Caliphate from Baghdad. What little autonomy al-Mu'tamid enjoyed was further curtailed after the death of the long-serving vizier Ubayd Allah ibn Yahya ibn Khaqan in 877, when al-Muwaffaq assumed the right to appoint the Caliph's viziers himself. However, it was not the viziers, but al-Muwaffaq's personal secretary Sa'id ibn Makhlad, who was the outstanding figure in the Caliphate's bureaucracy, at least until his own disgrace in 885. He was followed by Isma'il ibn Bulbul, who served concurrently as vizier to both brothers.
Campaigns
As the main military leader of the Caliphate, it fell upon al-Muwaffaq to meet the numerous challenges to caliphal authority that sprung up during these years. Indeed, as Michael Bonner writes, "al-Muwaffaq's decisive leadership was to save the Abbasid caliphate from destruction on more than one occasion". The main military threats to the Abbasid Caliphate were the Zanj Rebellion in southern Iraq and the ambitions of Ya'qub ibn al-Layth, the founder of the Saffarid dynasty, in the east. Al-Muwaffaq's drive and energy played a crucial role in their suppression.Confronting the Saffarids
A humble soldier, Ya'qub, surnamed al-Saffar, had exploited the decade-long Samarra strife to first gain control over his native Sistan, and then to expand his control. By 873 he ruled over almost all of the eastern lands of the Caliphate, ousting the hitherto dominant Tahirids from power, a move denounced by al-Muwaffaq. Finally, in 875 he seized control of the province of Fars, which not only provided much of the scarce revenue for the Caliphate's coffers, but was also dangerously close to Iraq. The Abbasids tried to prevent an attack by Ya'qub by formally recognizing him as governor over all the eastern provinces and by granting him special honours, including adding his name to the Friday sermon and appointment to the influential position of in Baghdad. Nevertheless, in the next year Ya'qub began his advance on Baghdad, until he was confronted and decisively beaten by the Abbasids under al-Muwaffaq and Musa ibn Bugha at the Battle of Dayr al-Aqul near Baghdad. The Abbasid victory, a complete surprise to many, saved the capital.Nevertheless, the Saffarids remained firmly ensconced in their possession of most of the Iranian provinces, and in 879, even the Abbasid court had to recognize Ya'qub as governor of Fars. After Ya'qub died from illness in the same year, his brother and successor, Amr ibn al-Layth, hacknowledged the Caliph's suzerainty and had been rewarded with the governorship over the eastern provinces and the position of of Baghdad—essentially the same posts the Tahirids had held—in exchange for an annual tribute of one million dirhams. Soon Amr was having trouble asserting his authority, especially in Khurasan, where already under Ya'qub pro-Tahirid opposition had emerged, first under Ahmad ibn Abdallah al-Khujistani, and then under Rafi ibn Harthama, who challenged Saffarid rule over the province.
With the Zanj subdued, after 883 al-Muwaffaq turned his attention again to the east. In 884/5, al-Muwaffaq ordered the public cursing of Amr, and appointed the Dulafid Ahmad ibn Abd al-Aziz as governor of Kirman and Fars, and the reinstated the ousted Tahirid governor, Muhammad ibn Tahir, as governor over Khurasan, with Rafi ibn Harthama as his deputy. The army under the vizier Sa'id ibn Makhlad conquered most of the province of Fars, forcing Amr himself to come west. After initial success against the caliphal general Tark ibn al-Abbas, Amr was routed by Ahmad ibn Abd al-Aziz in 886, and again in 887 by al-Muwaffaq in person. Amr's ally, Abu Talha Mansur ibn Sharkab, defected to the Abbasids, but Amr was able to retreat to Sijistan, protected from pursuit by the desert.
The threat by the Tulunids and the Byzantines in the west forced al-Muwaffaq to negotiate a settlement in 888/9 that largely restored the previous status quo, with Amr recognized as governor of Khurasan, Fars, and Kirman, paying 10 million dirhams as tribute in exchange, and his agent, the Tahirid Ubaydallah ibn Abdallah ibn Tahir, sent to become of Baghdad. In 890, al-Muwaffaq again attempted to take back Fars, but this time the invading Abbasid army under Ahmad ibn Abd al-Aziz was defeated, and another agreement restored peaceful relations and Amr's titles and possessions.