The Abbasid caliphate did not escape.. like the Umayyad caliphate, from schism, civil strife and assassination.. even though they are all supposed to be of the noble "Prophet's household".. let us be prepared, for today we will run with accelerating events that will leave you gasping for breath.

So in al-Andalus, among the Umayyad lot.. a plot arises to assassinate "Hisham al-Mu'ayyad Billah", who took the caliphate there after his father "al-Mustansir Billah".. in the year 366 AH.. and "Hisham" was 11 years old.. but his mother and his vizier save him.

His opponents cooperate with the Spaniards in order to kill him, but the truth is that he was effectively of no use because of his young age.. and the real ruler was the chief of police "al-Mansur ibn Abi Amir" and the chamberlain "Ja'far al-Mushafi".. and the first of them was bound by a love story with the mother of "Hisham al-Mu'ayyad".. this is something you will always notice in the Umayyad and the Abbasid state in this period.. they bring a "caliph" who is a kid still in middle school.. as a nominal ruler.. and a vizier or a family rules behind him.

And one day, one of the princes of Banu Umayya.. named "Muhammad ibn Hisham" seizes the opportunity of the commanders' departure on a military campaign against the people of the north.. and he gets "Hisham al-Mu'ayyad" alone, and forces him to step down from the caliphate and to name him caliph in his place.. and indeed he becomes caliph and names himself "al-Mahdi Billah".

And matters grow tense and a violent schism occurs that almost ends in a civil war between Banu Umayya and one another.. and then "al-Mahdi" exploits the death of a Jewish man from the people of Castile.. who strongly resembled "Hisham al-Mu'ayyad".. and he brings his corpse to the viziers and the jurists.. and they testify to the death of "Hisham".. and that he has become the actual caliph in his place.

But one of the princes of Banu Umayya.. named "Sulayman ibn al-Hakam".. seeks the help of the Count of Castile, and forces of Berbers.. and revolts against "al-Mahdi Billah".. and wrests the seat of the caliphate from him.. so "al-Mahdi Billah" seeks the help of the Count of Barcelona and his forces.. and recovers the caliphate from "Sulayman ibn al-Hakam".. this does not last long.. because on 8 Dhu al-Hijja of the year 400 AH.. the supporters of the caliph "Hisham al-Mu'ayyad" from Banu Amir revolt against him.. and storm his palace and cut off his neck.. and bring "Hisham" out of prison.. and install him as caliph once again.

But the Berber lot together with the Count of Castile decide to fight him.. and they try to install in his place a man named "Sulayman al-Musta'in Billah".. and indeed they succeed in that.. and "Hisham al-Mu'ayyad" is killed at the hands of "Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Musta'in Billah".. and this story contains a great deal of confusion.. because no one has been able to find the corpse of "al-Mu'ayyad" to this very day.. to the point that it was said that he fled.. and that the incident of his killing was fake and fabricated.

And in Baghdad, in the palace of the Abbasid caliphate.. over the course of these years the matter was no gentler nor much different.. because the mother of the Abbasid caliph "Abu Muhammad Musa al-Hadi" was a woman of strong personality.. and she effectively ruled instead of her son.. who began to be exasperated by the matter.. so he tried to assassinate her.. but he failed.. and she succeeded in assassinating him in the year 786 AD.. corresponding to 170 AH.

And a famous man reaches the seat of the Abbasid caliphate, named "Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ibn Abi Ja'far al-Mansur".. and this is the fifth Abbasid caliph.. whom we know by the name "Harun al-Rashid".. and he begets two sons, "al-Amin" and "al-Ma'mun".. and he soon is subjected to several attempts on his life at the hands of the Kharijites.. led by "al-Walid ibn Tarif al-Taghlibi".. who forms an army and storms Azerbaijan and Armenia and encamps west of the Tigris.. so "Harun al-Rashid" sends against him an army led by "Yazid ibn Mazyad ibn Za'ida al-Shaybani".. who defeats the Kharijites.. and kills al-Walid.

But not much time passes. And a new man comes out named "Hamza ibn Atrak al-Sijistani" raising the most famous slogan, "Judgement belongs to God alone".. in "Khurasan".. and he tries to make it independent and declare the caliphate.. and al-Rashid confronts him, and defeats his army and "Hamza" flees to Kabul.

And in the era of "Harun al-Rashid".. a vizier of his is appointed named "Yahya al-Barmaki".. he trusted him greatly.. and this opens the door for brother "al-Barmaki" to call on the Barmakids to administer the affairs of the state.. and these Barmakid folk are originally from the land of Persia.. "al-Rashid" grants them broad powers and authorities, and opens up room for them to oversee all the facilities of public life.. and gives them a free hand in administration, the sciences, the arts and literature.

And this was the first nail driven into the coffin of the Abbasid caliphate.. calling on the foreigner to administer the affairs of the state.. so the influence of the Barmakids soon grows.. and they tyrannise the people and grow strong through one another.. so "al-Rashid" turns against them.. so they try to assassinate him, and there begins an era called "the Disaster of the Barmakids".. in which al-Rashid slaughters them and confiscates their wealth and pursues them.. and then he dies.. and he leaves his two sons "al-Amin" and "al-Ma'mun" in the midst of this terrible conflict.

And "Zubayda", the wife of "al-Rashid", was working for "al-Amin" to become caliph after his father.. and her argument and the argument of her supporters in this was that "al-Amin" was of purely "Hashimi Qurashi" descent.. while the truth is that the matter was not about his lineage or his descent.. the truth is that he was the son of "Zubayda".. unlike "al-Ma'mun".. who was the son of "al-Rashid" by a Persian lady named "Marajil".

And the conflict between the two brothers escalates.. until in the year 195 AH.. they stand against each other as equals.. and army against army.. but "al-Ma'mun" was stronger in soldiers and cleverer.. so he besieges "al-Amin".. to the point that he is forced to melt down his jewels and his vessels and turn them into coins in order to pay the salaries of his soldiers.. until the friend and commander of "al-Ma'mun", "Tahir ibn al-Husayn", storms the den of "al-Amin" and cuts off his neck.. and sends it to al-Ma'mun, who becomes "Caliph al-Ma'mun" officially.

And with the killing of "al-Amin" and the assumption of "al-Ma'mun".. he begins to yearn for his mother's people.. so he brings Persian elements to the forefront to lead the scene and run the state.

And the Abbasid caliphate takes its path towards collapse.

And in the year 788 AD.. one of the men of the Abbasid court, named "Idris ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Hasan", flees from a massacre the Abbasids plotted for him.. because his father had claimed his right to the caliphate.. and he heads with his supporters to the Maghreb.. and there.. he made himself independent in the Maghreb and declared himself its caliph.. and made a fourth caliphate called "the Idrisid State".

And in the year 861 AD, the caliph "al-Mutawakkil" enters a terrible conflict with his son "al-Muntasir".. who goes and seeks the help of the Turkish forces.. and forms from them a terrifying army.. with which he storms his father's palace and kills him.. and sits in his place on the throne.. as the new caliph of the Muslims.

But the Turks were a real scourge on the Abbasid state and far worse than the Persians, and as happens with any mercenary, they demanded something in return.. and they began to interfere in the affairs of the Abbasid state.. so "al-Muntasir" decided to get rid of them.. and because he was strong and hard to fight directly.. they pay a bribe to his private physician "Ibn Tayfur".. so he pours a deadly poisonous liquid into his ears.. after which he is struck by fever and his head swells.. and he dies.. six months after assuming power.

And with the growing influence of the Turks after that.. "Ahmad ibn Tulun" reaches power in Cairo.. and finds himself in the midst of an Arab, Persian, Turkish, Umayyad and Abbasid conflict.. add to them the Kharijites and the Shiites and the revolts recurring the whole time.. so he decides to keep away from all of that.. and he keeps this matter hidden in his chest.

And one day the Abbasid caliph "al-Muhtadi Billah" asks him to head to Syria and suppress a limited coup.. carried out by the governor of Palestine.. so "Ahmad ibn Tulun" seizes the opportunity and forms a huge army at the expense of this matter.. and he heads to Syria and brings it under his control.. and the army he formed pledges allegiance to him personally, to hear and obey.. they do not pledge allegiance to the Abbasid caliph.. and accordingly.. as soon as he finishes the war of Syria.. he begins to feel the pulse of the people in Cairo.. "What do you think, folks, if I become a caliph too?"

And "Ahmad ibn Tulun" — the people did indeed love him.. but the loyalty of the people of Egypt was to the Abbasid state.. as being of the lineage of the Prophet's household.. so they reject this absolutely.. and "Ibn Tulun" feels that his popularity will be lost if he does it.. so he decides to make himself independent in Egypt and Syria.. and he declares it "an Islamic emirate subject to the Abbasid state".. and Egypt becomes subject to the Abbasid state religiously.. but independent politically.. and in this way he satisfies all parties.. and he lays the foundation stone of the "Tulunid" state.

But before the return of "Ahmad ibn Tulun" from Syria.. his son "al-Abbas ibn Ahmad ibn Tulun" decides.. that he too could become caliph.. so he announces the deposition of his father.. and his own assumption of the rule of Egypt and Syria.

And "Ahmad ibn Tulun" returns to Egypt and fights his son "al-Abbas".. and defeats him and seizes him and imprisons him.. and he remains in prison for the rest of his life.. until he dies in the era of his brother "Khumawayh ibn Ahmad ibn Tulun".

And in the Umayyad court in al-Andalus.. "al-Musta'in Billah" comes.. and his chamberlain slaughters him.. and in the Abbasid state comes "Abu Abd Allah al-Mu'tazz ibn al-Mutawakkil ibn al-Mu'tasim ibn al-Rashid" or "al-Mu'tazz Billah".. and he kills his brother "al-Mu'ayyad ibn al-Mutawakkil" because the Turks were supporting him for the caliphate.. so the Turks rebel against him and torture him and crucify him and in the end.. they slaughter him.

And when the caliph "Abu Ishaq Muhammad al-Muhtadi Billah" comes.. he decides to confront the Turks.. so he fights them and is defeated.. and they seize him and torture him to death.

We remain in seas of blood.. until we reach the caliph "Abu al-Fadl Ja'far ibn al-Mu'tadid" or "al-Muqtadir Billah".. whom they pledged allegiance to as caliph when he was 13 years old - in the third year of middle school by today's standards - and whose era was named the era of disasters.

And it seems that the talk has carried us away today and the conversation has grown long.. so we will continue our talk later.

And there remains more to be said.

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The previous posts are in the first comment.

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