41. Abu! Qasim Fad! bin Muqtadir Billah also made a claim to the

caliphate. He went underground Mustakfi searched for him but he could not be found. He remained in hiding during his regime. When Mustakfi failed to locate him, he had his house demolished. Soon after caliph Mustakfi's enthronement Tuzoon died. Mustakfi conferred the title of Amirul Omara on Abu Jafar Ibn Sherzad.

Having taken power into his hands, he began to squander money until the treasury became empty and the entire administration was thrown into disarray. Theft and robbery were committed with such impunity that the civilians began to desert the city and migrate. A Note The area and size of the Islamic government continued to grow during the regime of Banu Umayyah. The Islamic government had a single capital and whatever instruction were issued from the caliph's court i The History of Islam in Damascus, were carried out in all territories from Andalus and Morocco to China and Turkistan. When the Islamic caliphate came to Banu Abbas, within a very short time, a separate and independent government of Banu Umayyah was established in Andalus and instead of one capital, there were two centers of the Islamic government. Then Morocco became independent.

After that, the governments of Mawaraunnahr, Khorasan, and Persia went out of the control of the caliph of Baghdad. At this point in the narrative, the government of the caliph of Baghdad did not exist even in Baghdad itself. For a long time the state of the Tigris and Euphrates was under the caliph's rule. However, when the post of the Amirul Omara (chief of the chiefs) was created, its government was run by the Amirul Omara he called himself the subordinate of the caliph but in name only. The caliph's orders were honored in the city of Baghdad proper. However, anybody who could subdue others by virtue of their power could become the Amirul Omara and the caliph would be forced to confer on him this title.

Though the caliph had no power left in his hands, he enjoyed a bit of liberty and still commanded a sort of admiration and respect. Muizzuddaulah Ahmad bin Buwayh, the fisherman's son came from Ahwaz and dominated over Baghdad and the caliph. He was given the title Malik (king) and others after him continue to enjoy this privilege. Muizzuddaulah put the caliph under strict surveillance and kept him as a respectable captive and seized the little respect he enjoyed in Baghdad. The caliph's duty was to greet ambassadors from abroad, the ambassador would be presented before the Caliph and shown a magnificent exhibition at the artificial court the Caliph would be used and exploited to serve their purpose. Conferring of titles and granting of documents were generally done by the caliph but without option.

The actual decisions were made by the Malik alone. The caliph was a figurehead only. The Malik used to fix the caliph's salary. When he received his salary late or did not receive it, he had to sell his personal belongings to meet his daily needs. The condition of the Abbasid caliphs had deteriorated to such an extent that it has become redundant for a historian to mention them, except for the word Caliph nothing else remained of their power. In order to The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) complete the history of the Islamic governments it is essential to record the lives and conquests of the rulers who not only ruled in Baghdad but also the area of the Euphrates and Tigris and other provinces as those controlled by the Malik.

In order to deal with the conditions of these territories we will continue with the Abbasid caliphs though they are no more than figureheads, they are still called caliphs. The important point is that now we are not studying the Abbasid caliphs but those who were in control of Baghdad. We should not overlook the fact that though separate and independent governments were formed and established in provinces all over the Islamic territories, all still honored the institution of the caliph. His name was mentioned in the Friday sermons even where he had no power. In Andalus, the Umayyah caliphate was in power. The Fatimids in North Africa claimed the caliphate and leadership and the name of the caliph of Baghdad was never mentioned in Andalus or North Africa.

Besides these exceptions in all other Islamic territories, they recognized the Abbasid caliph of Baghdad as caliph and their religions leader. Sometimes a particular Malik would expunge the name of the caliph from the Friday sermon and have his own name mentioned in it but the caliph's name did exist in the sermons of the other territories. The Buhaywid (Buyid) Dynasty in Baghdad The Buwayh dynasty has been dealt with above Buwayh's three sons Ali, Hasan and Ahmad had become rulers. Ali (Imaduddaulah) controlled Persia, Hasan (Ruknuddaulah) ruled over Isfahan and Tabristan while Ahmad (Muizzuddaulah) had captured Ahwaz. During Sherzad' s term as Amirul Omara, riots erupted in Baghdad and Muizzuddaulah invaded it. Sherzad escaped and went to Banu Hamdan in Mousil and Muizzuddaulah captured Baghdad easily.

Caliph Mustakfi gave him the title of Malik. Muizzuddaulah then had coins minted in his name and began to rule over Baghdad with a heavy hand. After some time he was informed that caliph Mustakfi was conspiring against him. On that occasion, the ambassador, of the governor of Khorasan arrived and an open court was held. Muizzuddaulah beckoned to two The History of Islam Delamis and they moved forwai;:d. The caliph thought that they were going to kiss his hand so he extended it.

They caught hold of his hand and pulled him down from the throne and arrested him. No one dared to utter a word. Muizzuddaulah went home. The Delamis brought the caliph by dragging and humiliating him to Muizzuddaulah. He blinded him and put him under house arrest. This occurred in Jumad Awwal 334 A.H.

Caliph Mustakfi remained caliph for one year as four months in name only. He died in this state of captivity in 338 A.H. Muti lillah Muizzuddaulah bin Buwayh was the youngest son of Buwayh. Because they had embraced Islam through Atroosh, all Delamis were Shiites. The Buwayh dynasty surpassed all other Shiites in excesses and prejudice. Having humiliated, deposed, imprisoned and blinded Mustakfi, Muizzuddaulah wanted to enthrone an Alawi.

However, one of his advisers prevented him from doing so and convinced him saying, "If you make an Alawi caliph, all the people would believe that he deserved to be caliph and they would prefer to obey that Alawi caliph instead of you. Whatever influence you have on the Delamis, it would not last nor would your government and glory survive. It is better to put an Abbasid on the throne so that all the Shiites will consider him to be undeserving and will be loyal an obedient to you in this way Shiite power will continue in Baghdad." Therefore, Muizzuddaulah called in Abu! Qasim Fadal bin Muqtadi and entitled him Moti lillah, put him on the throne, performed th custom of the oath and fixed one hundred dinars per day as his salary Moti lillah was born of a slave girl Mashghalah. He acceded to th throne in Jumad Thani 334 A.H. Muizzuddaulah appointed Abu Muhammad Hasan bin Muhamma Muhallabi minister to the caliph.

The minister was in fact the rea minister of the country but the caliph was only a figurehead. It ha been stated above that Nasiruddaulah and Saifuddaulah bin Hamda had captured Mousil and Syria respectively while Egypt was rule over by Akhsheed Muhammad bin Tafaj Farghani. The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) When Nasiruddaulah came to know that Muizzuddaulah controlled Baghdad, he left Mousil with an army and arrived at Samrah in 334 A.H. Hearing this news Muizzuddaulah along with Moti lillah went out of Baghdad to face him. Muizzuddaulah suffered defeat and returned to Baghdad. Muizzuddaulah along with Moti lillah reached the western part of Baghdad while Nasiruddaulah camped in the eastern part.

Fighting began but ended in reconciliation between them. Muizzuddaulah had his grand daughter married to Na~iruddaulah's son Abu Qasim Buraidi. He revolted against Muizzuddaulah in Basra and in 336 A.H., Muizzuddaulah along with caliph Moti lillah invaded Basra. Abu Qasim was defeated and he fled to Qaramata in Bahrain and Muizzuddaulah captured Basra. Leaving Abu Jafar Sahiri in Basra, Muizzuddaulah along with caliph Moti lillah returned to Baghdad. In 337 A.H., Muizzuddaulah invaded the governor of Mousil, Nasiruddaulah bin Hamdan.

Nasiruddaulah could not stand the pressure and he went to Nasiban. In the meantime, Muizzuddaulah's brother Ruknuddaulah sent news that the Khorasani army had attacked Jurjan and Rayy and he should send an army quickly. Muizzuddaulah reconciled with Nasiruddaulah again, left Mousil for Baghdad and Nasiruddaulah returned to Mousil. This peace with Nasiruddaulah was made, on the condition that he would continue to pay the tax regularly and mention the names of the three brothers in the Friday sermon. In 338 A.H., Muizzuddaulah had this order written by caliph Moti lillah, "Ali bin Buwayh popularly known as Imaduddaulah should work with his brother Muizzuddaulah as his deputy and fulfill the royal commitment. However, Imaduddaulah died that year and Ruknuddaulah succeeded his brother as Muizzuddaulah's deputy.

In 339 A.H., The black stone was restored to its original place in the Ka'bah with a gold frame around it. In 341 A.H., a new group appeared which believed in transmigration. A man claimed that Ali's(~ ) soul had entered his body while his wife claimed that Fatima's ('-P .11 t,,"J) soul had entered her body. Another said that Jibrail's (Gabriel) soul resided in his body. Hearing their claims the people beat them up. However, Muizzuddaulah being a The History of Islam Shia ordered them to stop.

He ordered them to respect them because he said they were from the Prophet's family. In 346 A.H., a great earthquake took place in Rayy and its neighborhood killing everyone except thirty people. 150 villages around Rayy sank into the earth and major parts of Halwan sunk into the water. In 347 A.H., another quake of the same intensity occurred. The same year Muizzuddaulah launched an offensive against Mousil because Nasiruddaulah delayed in paying the taxes. He conquered Mousil in Jumad Awwal 347 A.H. Nasiruddaulah went to Nasiban.

Leaving his assistant Subuktageen, in Mousil Muizzuddaulah went to Nasiban. Nasiruddaulah left Nasiban and went to his brother Saifuddaulah in Aleppo. Saifuddaulah entered into correspondence with Muizzuddaulah and made peace with him and a treaty was drawn up in Muharram 348 A.H. and Muizzuddaulah returned to Iraq. In 350 A.H., he had a very large palace constructed for himself in Baghdad the foundation of which was laid 36 yards deep. The same year the Romans captured Crete from the Muslims, which had been under their control since 230 A.H. In the beginning of 352 A.H., Muizzuddaulah ordered that on 10 Muharram all shops must be closed to mourn the martyrdom of Imam Husain (~), buying and selling should be suspended, the rural and urban people should wear mourning attire and lament in public.

Women came out into the streets and markets with their hair undone, faces blackened, clothes torn, reciting eulogies and, beating their breasts. The Shiites obeyed this order willingly but the Sunni Muslims were stunned into silence. The next year the same order was issued and the Sunnis were also ordered to carry it out. They could not tolerate this and a riot between the Shiites and the Sunnis erupted. This public mourning has become a tradition among the Shiites until today. Capture of Oman and Death of Muizzuddaulah Oman was under Qaramata's control.

In 355 A.H. Muizzuddaulah invaded Oman and captured it on 9 Dhul Hijjah 355 A.H. and expelled Qaramata from there. Thousands of Qaramata's followers .-------------=-ama=== --= -------~- The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) were killed and 89 of their boats were burned and sunk. Freeing himself from the campaign in Oman, he went to Wasit. He became ill and went to Baghdad. He was treated in the best possible way but he did not recover.

After ruling for 22 years, he died in Rabia Thani 356 A.H. lzzuddaulah' s Rule At the time of his death, Muizzuddaulah had made his son Bakhtiyar his heir. He was given the title Izzuddaulah from the caliph and began to rule after Muizzuddaulah. The Delamis had become so powerful that they were regarded as the real rulers reducing the caliph to a nonentity. They started selecting their heirs to the throne on their own accord. The caliph chose his successor and the real rulers chose their successors. Muizzuddaulah was the first king of the Buwayhs and Izzuddaulah became the second king.

Izzuddaulah appointed Abu! Fadal Abbas bin Husain Shirazi as his minister. The same year Jati bin Muizzuddaulah revolted against his brother Izzuddaulah in Basra. Abul Fadal Abbas went to confront him and brought him to Izzuddaulah as a captive who imprisoned him. In 362 A.H., Izzuddaulah removed Abu) Fadal Abbas from the post of minister and replaced him with Muhammad bin Baqiah. Muhammad bin Baqiah was an ordinary man.

He was the superintendent of Izzuddaulah's household. In the same year, Abu Taghlab bin Nasiruddaulah bin Hamdan imprisoned his father and took his place as the ruler. Abu Taghlab was married to Izzuddaulah's daughter as mentioned above. His two brothers Ibrahim and Hamdan fled from Mosul and went to Izzuddaulah in Baghdad. They complained to him about Abu Taghlab and begged for help. Taking his minister Muhammad bin Baqiah and the commander Subuktageen with him Izzudaulah invaded Mosul.

Abu Taghlab closed down his office and went to Minjar. Izzuddaulah entered Mosul while Abu Taghlab left Minjar and went to Baghdad. Izzuddaulah then sent Ibn Baqiah and Subuktageen to Baghdad to save it while he stayed in Mosul. Ibn Baqiah arrived in Baghdad before Abu Taghlab and Subuktageen they wanted to engage him in a battle outside of Baghdad. . ) The History of Islam The confrontation between Abu Taghlab and Subuktageen commenced while in Baghdad a riot broke out between the Shias and Sunnis. Hearing this Subuktageen and Abu Taghlab reconciled and decided to unseat all the Shias and enthrone a new caliph but then decide to suspend the idea. They ·called lbn Baqiah from Baghdad and made terms for a peace settlement with Abu Taghlab.

According to the terms of the peace pact Ibn Baqiah wrote to Izzuddaulah to leave Mosul and go to Baghdad and hand over the rule of Mosul to Abu Taghlab. Abu Taghlab reached Mosul and embraced his father-in-law, Izzuddaulah. Izzuddaulah then went to Baghdad and on the way he went to Ahwaz to collect money. A riot erupted between the Turks and the Dailanis who were with Izzuddaulah and he punished the Tmks. Hearing this Subuktageen, who was in Baghdad, rebelled, looted his house, arrested his relatives and sent them to Wasit. This occurred in Thul Qadah 363 A.H.

Subuktageen controlled Baghdad and he established a Sunni government. He expelled all the Shias from Baghdad and then forced the caliph to abdicate because his paralyses had rendered him unfit for the job. In Thul Qadah 363 A.H., caliph Moti lillah renounced the throne and his son Abdul Kareem with the title Taai lillah succeeded him. Caliph Moti lillah ruled for 26 years and a half as a figured head only. Nasiruddaulah bin Hamdan had been defending against the Romans and invading them since he captured Mosul. When Nasiruddaulah's brother Saifuddaulah bin Hamdan captured Halab and Homs, offence and defense against the Romans were his responsibilities.

He very actively and successfully retaliated ~nd defended these territories against Roman invasions. In 363 A.H., Izzuddaualh expunged the caliph's name from the Friday sermon. The caliph expressed his sense of grief and disappointment then lzzuddaulah stopped his salary. The caliph then had to sell his belongings to make both ends meet. After his deposition, Moti fillah title became Sheikh Al-Fadil. He died in Muharram 362 A.H. in Wasit.

Abu Bakr Shibli and Abu Nasr Farabi, Mutanabbi the poet, died during this administration . The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) Taai lillahh Abu Bakr Abdul Kareem Taai lillahh bin Moti lillah was born of a slave girl named Hazar. He acceded to the throne of the caliphate at the age of 45 on 23 Thul Qadah 363 A.H. following Moti's abdication. He conferred on Subuktageen the title of Nasiruddaulah and gave him a flag and appointed him Deputy of the Ruler replacing lzzuddaulah. The same year the Friday sermon in Madinah was read in the name of the ruler Muizz Obeidi. It has been stated above that when caliph Moti abdicated the caliphate Baghdad was ruled over by Subuktageen and Izzuddaulah bin Muizzuddaulah was in Ahwaz.

Subuktageen sent lzzuddaulah's mother and brothers to Wasit. Hearing this news, Izzuddaullah went to Wasit to see his mother and wrote to his uncle Hasan bin Buwayh known as Ruknuddaulah the ruler of Iran, to send him reinforcements against Subuktageen and the Turks. Ruknuddaulah gave an army to his minister Abul Fatah bin Hameed and sent him to his son Azduddaulah in Ahwaz. He wrote to his son to come with his army, join Abul Fatah and help his cousin Izzuddaulah. Subuktegeen took caliph Taai lillahh and his father Moti with him and marched to Wasit with an army of Turks. The ruler of Mosul, Abu Taghlab, heard about this and left Mosul and captured Baghdad.

When Subuktageen and Moti reached near Wasit, coincidently they both died. The Turks chose Uftageen as their leader and besieged Wasit. Uftageen was Muizzuddaulah's liberated Turk slave. Uftageen continued the siege for 50 days. Azduddaulah with his father's minister Abul Fatah arrived in Wasit. Hearing of their arrival, Uftageen lifted the siege and went to Baghdad.

Abu Taghlab left Baghdad upon receiving this news and went to Mosul. Izzuddaulah and Azduddaulah both stayed in Wasit for a· few days. Then both cousins laid siege to Baghdad and stopped the food supply to the city, which caused great hardships to the civilians. The Turks looted Uftageen's house and then began to fight among themselves. At last, taking caliph Taai li!lahh with him Uftageen broke the siege and escaped taking refuge in Takret. History of Islam Azduddaulah and Izzuddaulah entered Baghdad in Jumad Awwal 364 A.H.

Azduddaulah corresponded with the Turks and had caliph Taai lillahh returned to Baghdad. He lodged him at the caliph's palace, took the oath as a formality for him, arrested Izzuddaulah and began to govern. Azduddaulah sent Muhammad bin Baqiah to Wasit as the ruler. Izzuddaulah' s son Zaban, ruled over Basra. He wrote to Ruknuddaullah complaining against Azduddaulah citing lzzuddaulah' s arrest and imprisonment. Ruknuddaulah was extremely aggrieved to hear this.

He wrote a threatening letter to Azduddaulah. ln reply, Azduddaulah wrote to his father Ruknuddaulah: Izzuddaulah had no capability to govern. Had I not intervened, Bani Buwayh would have lost control over Baghdad. I promise to pay 30,000,000 dirhams annually to the province of Iraq. If you are interested in takiri.g control over Iraq, you are welcome. I shall go to Iran. It is quite evident from the letter that the Provinces of Iraq and Baghdad were under the jurisdiction of the Dailamis rulers and the strongest ruler at the time was Ruknuddaulah who lived in Khorasan.

The caliph of Baghdad lived under the chief governor of Baghdad like a captive. Finally, at Ruknuddaulah's insistence Azduddaulah released · Izzuddaulah from captivity and handed over to him the government of Iraq and took a promise that the Friday sermon in Iraq would be read in the name of Azduddaulah and Izzuddaulah would regard himself as the deputy of Azduddaulah. He left Abu! Fatah with Izzddaulah and went to Iran. After these events, Uftageen went to Damascus, expelled Muizz Obeidi's governor and captured it. The civilians of Damascus were pleased with his governance because Muizz Obeidi's ruler used to impose their beliefs on others by force and would harass them.

With the coi;ning of Uftageen, their ordeal ended. He introduced the Friday sermon in the name of caliph Taai instead of the Obeidi sultan. This happened in Shaban 364 A.H. Azduddaulah' s Government Ruknuddaulah died in 366 A.H. His son Azduddaulah succeeded him. Izzuddaulah planned to raise an army against Azduddaulah.

Azduddaulah found this out and launched an offensive against Iraq. He captured Baghdad and Basra in 366 A.H. In the beginning of 367 The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) A.H., Azduddaulah caught his father's numster Abul Fatah bin Ameed who had became a supporter of Izzuddaulah blinded him and put him into prison. Izzuddaulah then blinded his minister Amad who had joined Azduddaulah secretly then he went towards Mosul and Syria. There he won Abu Taghlab's sympathy and invaded Baghdad. Azduddaulah arrested and killed Izzuddaulah in the fight, pursued Abu Taghlab and captured Mosul and Jazirah.

Abu Taghlab had no more allies and went to the Roman emperor who had his daughter married to Abu Taghlab. The government of Banu Hamdan was interrupted for a short time. Azduddaulah ruled for five and a half years and died in 372 A.H. The noblemen of the government put his son Kakijar on the throne and gave him the title Samsamuddaulah. Caliph Taai lillahh paid a visit to Samsamuddaulah to console and congratulate him. Samsamuddaulah' s Government Samsamuddaulah had several brothers.

One of them was Sharfuddaulah who rebelled against him and captured Iran. In 375 A.H., he invaded Baghdad. In Ramadan 376 A.H., he arrested Samsamuddaulah and gained control over Baghdad. Caliph Taai lillahh congratulated Sharfuddaulah. Samsamuddaulah was sent to Iran where he was set free. Sharfuddaulah's Government When Sharfuddaulah took control over Baghdad and Iraq, there were riots and killings in Mosul After Sharfuddaulah his son Saduddaulah from Banu Hamdan ruled over Halab.

Sharfuddaulah bin Azduddaulah ruled for 2 years and 8 months and died of dropsy in 379 A.H. His brother Bahauddaulah succeeded him as the ruler. Bahauddaulah's Government Caliph Taai lillahh personally called on Bahauddaulah and gave him royal robes and congratu~ated him in keeping with tradition. Bahauddaulah deputed Nasiruddaulah bin Hamdan's sons Ibrahim i History of Islam and Husain to govern Mosul and sent them to the governor there with his authorization. Later on, he regretted this and wrote to Mosul to the former governor that the authority should not be handed over to them. However, Ibrahim and Husain had already captured Mosul by force.

In 380 A.H., Bahauddaulah called his nephew Abu Ali bin Sharfuddaulah who ruled over Iran, and had him assassinated. Then he left for Iran and seized the treasury capturing Iran. In the meantime, Samsamuddaulah, who had been in exile there, won the people to his side and began to conquer the territory. Finally, Bahauddaulah had to compromise with Samsamuddaulah on the condition that Iran be left under Samsamuddaulah's control. After this arrangement Bahauddaulah went to Baghdad were he found the Shias and the Sunnis at war. Bahauddaulah made peace between them.

In Ramadan, Caliph Taai lillahh held an open court. Bahauddaulah was sitting on a chair near the throne. The noblemen and the members of the government arrived at the court and took their seats after kissing the Caliph's hands. Meanwhile, a Dailamis chief entered and moved toward the Caliph to kiss his hand. The caliph stretched out his hand and the Dailamis caught hold of it, dragged and pulled him down and tied him up. The Dailamis began to loot the caliph's court and palace.

Bahauddaulah left and went home. The Dailamis followed him dragging and humiliating the caliph on the way. Bahauddaulah then forced him to announce his abdication and Abul Abbas Ahmad bin Ishag bin Moqtadir was enthroned with the title Qadir Billah. Taai lillahh was imprisoned and placed under house arrest in a part of the caliph's palace. Taai lillahh lived in this state until his death in 392 A.H. Qadir Billah Abu!

Abbas Ahmad Qadir Billah Ishaq bin Moqtadir was born of a slave girl named Tamanna. He became Caliph on 12 Ramadan 381 A.H. He was an honest politician. He never missed getting up in the middle of the night to pray. He was a legal scholar. A few days after his accession to the throne, both Bahauddaula};:t and Qadir Billah swore to remain loyal to each other.

Qadir Billah tried to reduce the humiliation, which the caliph of Baghdad had to endure during Taai lillahh's administration. He tried to raise the status of the caliphate but The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) the Dailamis had gained too much power and the status of the caliphate had gone down so much that Qadir Billah could not bring about any major change. However, he improved his status in comparison to Taai lillahh. As mentioned above, Samsamuddaulah and Bahauddaulah agreed to make peace with each other in 380 A.H. on the condition that both of them should continue to rule over Iran and Iraq respectively. Bahauddaulah violated the agreement and sent his army to invade Iran in 383 A.H. in order to expel Samsamuddaulah's governors_and bring it under his control. Samsamddaulah put his army to rout.

In 384 A.H., Bahauddaulah sent a powerful army to Iran under Taghan Turki. The battles between them continued until 380 A.H. with varied success. Finally, at the end of Thul Hijjah 388 A.H. Samsamuddaulah, after reigning for 9 years in Iran, was caught and killed and Iran came under the control of Bahauddaulah. In 389 A.H., Bahauddaulah went to Iran in person and left Iraq under the control of Abu Jafar Hajjaj bin Hurmuz in Baghdad. Caliph Qadir Billah bestowed on Abu Jafar the title Ameeduddaulah.

In 389 A.H., the terrifory of Mawaraunnahr went out of the control of Samania dynasty and that dynasty came to an end. In 384 A.H., Khorasan had gone out Samani control. Half of its government was seized and captured by Subuktageen and the other half went under the domination of the Turks. This will be dealt with in detail later in the narrative. After some time a riot broke out between the Sunnis and Shias in Baghdad. At this news, Bahauddaulah sacked Ameeduddaulah as the ruler of Iraq and handed over the rule to Abu Ali Hasan bin Hurmuz in 390 A.H. and gave him the title Ameedul Juyush.

Ameedul Juyush quelled the riot between the Sunnis and the Shias and administered the country well. In 391 A.H., Bahauddaulah dismissed Ameedul Juyush and handed over the responsibility of Iraq and Baghdad to Abu Nasr bin Sabur. There erupted a riot between the two communities again but they were reconciled. In 370 A.H., Bahauddaulah died and his son began to rule. Caliph Qadir Billah conferred on him the title Sultanuddaulah. History of Islam The Government of Sultanuddaulah Sultanuddaulah who succeeded his father Bahauddaulah deputed his brother Abul Fawaris as the governor of Kerman.

Many of the Dailamis advised Abul Fawaris to seize and capture his brother's territory. Upon their advice, he formed an army and invaded Shiraz. After a fierce battle, Abul Fawaris was defeated. Sultanuddaulah followed him. Abu! Fawaris returned to Kerman but he could not find refuge there as Sultanuddaulah pursued him.

Abu! Fawaris left Kerman and went to Sultan Mahmood Ghaznawi bin Subuktageen's court. Mahmood Ghaznawi consoled him. He gave him an army under the command of one of his commanders, Abu Sayeed Tai. Abul Fawaris with these reinforcements invaded Iran again. He was put' to rout again.

Having lost, he did not approach Sultan Mahmood Ghaznawi again because he had not treated Abu Sayeed Tai well. He went to the ruler of Batiha, Mohazzabuddaulah. He entered into correspondence with Sultanuddaulah and begged forgiveness and received a pardon and was assigned to Kerman again. The Revolt of The Turks The tribes of Turks who lived in Kha ta staged a revolt, they took over a mountain pass between China and Mawaraunnahr and began looting, plundering and killings in the territory ruled over by Tagha Khan, the ruler of Turkistan. Tagha Khan raised an army of 120,000 from the Islamic territories. They fought and the Turks escaped he began to pursue them.

He left the jurisdiction of his territory, the chase lasted 3 months and in the ensuing battle Tagha Khan killed two hundred thousand Turks before returning to Turkistan. The Turks, more commonly known as Mongols, were severely punished. This occurred in 408 A.H. Sultanuddaulah appointed his brother Musharrafuddaulah as the governor of Iraq. Musharrafuddaulah stopped mentioning Sultanuddaulah's name being in the Friday sermon in Iraq and introduced his own name. He deposed Sultanuddaulah in 411 A.H. ,,_ ____________ .,,,,,,,,=== -· ·-- -·-······ · The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) The Government of Sharafuddaulah When all the Dailami chiefs in Iraq accorded recognition to Sharafuddaulah's government and leadership, Sultanuddaulah gave an army to his son Abu Kalijar.

Abu Kalijar captured Ahwaz. After a few clashes it was decided in 412 A.H., that Sharafuddaulah should rule over Iraq while Iran should remain under Sultanuddaulah. In 414 A.H., Kufa had a riot between the Sunnis and the Shias. The news of the riot reached Baghdad and incited a riot the·re also. The Dailamis who were in power were all Shias. The caliph who was powerless was a Sunni.

The population of Turks who lived in Baghdad and Samrah were all Sunnis and so they thought it obligatory to comply with the caliph's orders. Caliph Qadir Billah thought over the situation deeply and took bold steps in order to help the Sunnis and restrain the Shias. A good number of the Turks and other Sunnis of Baghdad supported caliph Qadir Billah and that was why he commanded some status and respect. Sharafuddaulah died in the fifth year of his rule in 416 A.H. His brother Abu Tahir Jalaluddaulah, the ruler of Basra, succeeded him. The Government of Jalaluddaulah After Sharafuddaulah' s death, the Friday sermon was read in the name of Jalaluddaulah in Baghdad.

Jalaluddaulah left Basra but instead of going to Baghdad, he went to Wasit. When this occurred, the people of Baghdad expunged his name from the Friday sermon and inserted his nephew's name Abu Kalijar bin Sultanuddaulah's instead. Abu Kalijar was at war with his uncle Abul Fawaris in Kerman. The people of Baghdad requested Abu Kalijar to come to Baghdad but he could not get there then Jalaluddaulah left Wasit and went to Baghdad. The Baghdad army stopped his entry into the city and chased him away. He went to Basra again.

When this occurred, the people of Baghdad became worried that Abu Kalijar would not be able to come to the city. The Khorasanis, the Turks and the Dailamis held a council. They feared that after Jalaluddaulah's retreat there was a good possibility of some Kurd or Arab leader coming to power. If an Arab came to power, the Turks and the Dailamis would not be able to conquer Baghdad and the Arab's control over Basra, Syria, Hijaz, Yamamh, Bahrain and Mosul would be strengthened by more Arab support. I1 .1 History of Islam In view of this, letters were sent to Jalaluddaulah inviting him to come to Baghdad without delay. He therefore came to Baghdad and began to rule and his name was incorporated into the Friday sermon.

In 418 A.H., Jalaluddaulah passed orders for a drum to be beaten five times a day at the time of prayer. Caliph Qaidr Billah disapproved of it, as there was no precedent for it and insisted to withdraw the order. He did withdraw the order but was displeased with the Caliph. After sometime, the Caliph rescinded his objection and Jalaluddaulah reissued the order to beat the drum at the time of prayer. In 419 A.H., the Turks revolted against Jalaluddaulah but Qadir Billah intervened and arranged a compromise between them. Then Abu Kalijar attacked Iraq and Jalaluddaulah dispatched the army to face him and a chain of battles began.

The two sides continued fighting until Qadir Billah died in 432 A.H. After his death his son Abu }afar Abdullah with the title Qayem bi Amrillah was enthroned. Sheikh Taqiuddin Salah has included Qadir Billah among the legal scholars of the Shafi school of thought. Qayem Bi Amrillah Abu Jafar Abdullah Qayem Bi Amrillah bin Qadir Billah was born of an Armenian slave girl named Badrudduja on 15 Thul Qadah 391 A.H. He was a handsome, religions, pious and humble man. He was a literary figure, a calligrapher, generous, a giver of charity and helpful.

Jalaluddaulah's administrative ability had suffered setbacks and that gave rise to the outbreak of rebellions in his army time after time. In 425 A.H., he settled in Mahalia Karkh and deputed Arsalan' Turki known as Basasiri to the western part of Baghdad. Basasiri subjected the people of Baghdad to great harassment. He did not spare even the caliph. He treated him roughly and rendered him powerless and reduced him to the position of a prisoner. Riots erupted between the Shias and the Sunnis.

Since Basasiri was a supporter of the Shias, the Sunnis suffered great losses. The army revolted in 427 A.H. and encircled Jalauddaulah's house and looted it. Jalaluddaulah went to Takrait. Caliph Bi Amrillah intervened and succeeded in bringing the Turks of the army and ... -----------~----=·····-· --- -· - The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) Jalaluddaulah back together. In 428 A.H., Jalaluddaulah and his nephew Abu Kalijar reconciled and pledged to live in peace and amity with each other. In 429 A.H., Jalaluddaulah requested caliph Bi Amrillah to bestow on him the title Malikul Mulook (King of Kings).

The caliph consulted the scholars. and legal experts about its justification. Some justified it but others declared it unlawful (Editor's note: This title is mentioned in Hadith as the worst of names). Finally, after being pressured by Jalaluddaulah he gave him the requested title. In 431 A.H., Abu Kalijar invaded Basra, expelled its ruler and captured it. He handed it over to his son Izzul Molook and he went to Ahwaz. The same year Tughral Baig Saljuk defeated Sultan Masood bin Mahmood bin Subuktageen's commander and captured Nishapur.

He imposed himself on Khorasan and came to be known as Sultan Al-Azam. The same year witnessed the signing of a peace treaty between Tughral Baig and Jalaluddaulah and the caliph sent his special messenger Qadi Abul Hasan to Tughral Baig. In Shaban 435 A.H., Jalaluddaulah died and the people chose his son Abu! Mansoor Malikul Aziz as his successor. But Malikul Aziz could not pay the troops according to their expectations and that disheartened them. Taking advantage of this Abu Kalijar sent money to the army chiefs in Baghdad and his name began to be read in the Friday sermon.

In Safar 436 A.H., he entered Baghdad and the caliph conferred on him the title Mohiuddin. In 439 A.H., Abu Kalijar entitled Mohiuddin bin Sultanuddaulah bin Bahauddaulah bin Azduddaulah bin Ruknuddaulah bin Buwayh Dailamis was reconciled with Sultan Tugharl Baig by marrying his daughter to him. Abu Kali jar's Government After assuming the post of second in command Abu Kalijar, by virtue of his planning, expediency, cleverness and military offensives conquered Isfahan and Kerman. He ruled for 4 years and three months and died in 440 A.H. His son Abu Nasr Firoz who chose Malikur Rahim as his title succeeded him. History of Islam Malikur Rahim' s Government Malikur Rahim began his government in Baghdad and Iraq.

Another brother of his Mansoor Khusroo captured Shiraz. The same year a great riot took place in Baghdad. The cause of the riot was the same old rivalry between the Shias and the Sunnis. Malikur Rahim invaded his brother Abu Mansoor Khusroo who had captured Shiraz. Several battles took place after which Malikur Rahim's other brother and some relatives revolted in Iraq. In 442 A.H., the Shias and the Sunnis clashed again in Baghdad leaving hundreds dead on both sides.

The same year Tughral Baig captured Isfahan and sent his brother Arsalan bin Daw,ood to Iran. He conquered Iran in 442 A.H. Caliph Qaim Bi-Amrillah sent the certificates of governorship of all those provinces, which he had brought under his control to Tughral Baig. On the eve of Eid in 443 A.H., Sultan Tughral Baig went to Baghdad to pay his respects to the caliph. He was honored with royal robes and returned. In 445 A.H., Baghdad again witnessed a great riot between the Sh.ias and the Sunnis.

Several areas of Baghdad were burned alive. Caliph Bi-Amrillah controlled the riot with great difficulty. Malikur Rahim remained engaged in war with his brothers and nephews in Shiraz and Basra until 447 A.H. During this period, Sultan Tughral Baig conquered Azerbaijan and Jazirah and declared holy war against the Romans. After capturing huge amounts of wealth from these expeditions, he completed the conquest of Khorasan and Iran and brought under his control Mosul and Syria. Then he went to Makkah to perform Hajj afterwards he concentrated on making the administration of Rayy and Khorasan more efficient.

The worst kind of rulers had been having their sway in and around Baghdad. In 447 A.H., Tughral Baig sent a letter of obedience and homage to caliph Q\lim Bi-Amrillah. The same period saw the return of Malikur Rahim from Basra to Baghdad. He advised the caliph to continue to live on good terms with Tughral Baig. The caliph ordered in Ramadan 447 A.H. that Sultan Tughral Baig's r{ame be read in the Friday sermon. That pleased Sultan Tughral Baig and he sought the caliph's permission to appear before him.

The caliph granted his request and the leaders of the Baghdad army sent letters The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) of their loyalty to the Sultan. On 25 Ramadan 447 A.H., a large reception was arranged for the Sultan in Baghdad. Basasiri, who was a Shia and had conspired with the Obeidi governor of Egypt, planned a riot in Baghdad. Tughral Baig arrived in Baghdad and made careful administrative arrangements and broke the power of the Dailamis. In 448 A.H., Sultan Tughral Baig married his niece Khadijah known as Arsalan Khatoon bint Dawood to caliph Qaim BiAmrillah and in this way established a relationship with the caliph's family. In Shawwal 448 A.H., Sultan Tughral Baig's cousin Qatlimas clashed with Basasiri at Sanjar and defeated him.

Basasiri then captured the province of Mosul and had the name of the Egyptian ruler Mustansir Obeidi read in the Friday sermon. The ruler of the province of Jazirah also rebelled. Sultan Tughral invaded Mosul, conquered it and punished the rebels and returned to Baghdad in the begi1ming of 449 A.H. The caliph honored him very much. He held court and conferred on him the title of 'Malikul Mashriq-walMaghrib' and handed over to him the governments and administrations of all the territories and provinces. During the intervening period, Basasiri and the ruler of Egypt Obeidi misguided Sultan Tughral Baig's brother Ibrahim and caused a rebellion in Hamadan.

Sultan Tughral Baig left Baghdad to stamp out the rebellion there. Basasiri took advantage of his absence and captured Baghdad. He had Mustansir Obeidi's name read in the Friday sermon in the grand mosque of Baghdad on 8 Thul Qadah 450 A.H. The Shias of the city helped Basasiri in all possible ways. He used the altered Shia call to prayer in Baghdad according to their tradition. Tired of the oppression of loasasiri, the Sunnis revolted but lost and many were killed by the military.

Basasiri caught the caliph's Prime Minister and executed him in Thul Hijjah 450 A.H. He sent the news to Mustansir Obeidi in Egypt and asked for reinforcements however, he did not get any help from Egypt. Meanwhile Basasiri received news that Sultan Tughral Baig had been victorious over his brother Ibrahim. He arrested caliph Qaim BiAmrillah and his wife Arsalan Khatoon and put them under house arrest somewhere out side Baghdad and had the caliph's palace looted. Upon receiving this news, Tughral Baig returned to Baghdad. History of Islam Basasiri heard the news and after a year of ruling, left Baghdad on 6 Thul Qadah 451 A.H.

Tughral entered Baghdad. He called the caliph, enthroned him and asked his forgiveness saying that it was due to his absence that he had suffered such tortures. Meanwhile Tughral Baig's brother Dawood died in Khorasan. Caliph Qaim Bi-Amrillah entered Baghdad on 25 Thul Qadah 451 A.H. Summary of the Buwayhid Dynasty An account of the descendents of Buwayh Dailami, the fishermen, has already been given in previous pages. It was they, who dominated over the caliphate and completely ruined it.

They dominated and ruled over the administration of Baghdad and Iraq as a whole and Iran for over a century. They were Shias and so the suffering the Sunnis had to under go during this period were too horrible to describe. Surprisingly, the Alawis did not get any benefit during this regime. Though the Buyid's claimed to be loved from the Prophet's family, they never tried to strengthen any Alawi nor did they bring any Alawis into power. Some of them were scholars and a few madrasas started during their regime but they were alt affected by the Zoroastrian culture. They ended the Abbasid government and tried to establish a government of their own community and family.

During their regime all traces of Arab leadership were erased, their most notorious achievement was that they kept the Shias and the Sunnis at war with each other and introduced some irreligious rites to the Muslim community, which still exist until today. The jurisdiction of their government did not extend beyond Iran and Iraq. They never were able to rule over Mawaraunnahr and Khorasan. Syria and Hijaz also remained free from their abominations. Their 100-125 year long rule is replete with anarchy, looting, feuds and riots. The Buyid dy11asty was not auspicious for the Muslims.

They worked hard to put an end to the respect, dignity and grandeur of the Islamic government and did not leave behind anything the Muslims can be proud of today. This dynasty saw its end in 447 A.H. and it was replaced by the Seljuq dynasty during the caliphate of Qaim Bi-Amrillah. The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) Beginning of the Seljuq Dynasty The Seljuq dynasty will not be recorded in connection with the Abbasid caliphs as the Buyid dynasty has been recorded above. It will find space in a separate chapter. However, it is necessary at this point to show how the Seljuq dynasty began. The Sasanid and Ghaznavid dynasties will be covered later in the narrative.

The territory of the Turks extended from the Chinese border to Khwarzam, Shash, Farghana, Bukhara, Samarkand and Tirmiz. The Muslims defeated them and made them pay taxes. Some of their tribes remained in the hard to reach mountain passes near the Chinese border they lived free from paying loyalty to the Muslims and were unconnected to China and Turkistan. In 400 A.H., they began to come out of those passes and raid the territories of Mawaraunnahr, which had been under the occupation of Turk chiefs after the fall of the Samani dynasty. Islam had spread in those areas. Their greatest chief Elak Khan ruled there.

Their greed for looting and killing goaded these Turks, who were unconcerned with and strangers to Islam to invade Turkistan and Mawaraunnahr. By 418 A.H., these Turks left their mountain passes and there forces reached to Azerbaijan. The general chaos and weakness of the Islamic caliphate enabled them to reach these distant places and loot the populated areas. In 418 A.H., a noble and respectable Turkish tribe, which had remained aloof of these events, concentrated in Turkistan. These tribesmen camped on a main route in a pasture at a distance of 20 miles from Bukhara. The chief of that tribe was known as Seljuq.

This tribe was more cultured and noble hearted than the other Turk predecessors. They were nomadic and their herds were with them. Their numbers were staggering. They were physically very strong and brave. Mahmood Ghaznawi's governor of Tus informed him of the arrival of the new tribe and told him that their presence near Bukhara was a danger. Sultan Mahmood Ghaznawi went to Bukhara and sent a message to these Turks to send their representative to his court.

Arsalan bin Seljuq or Israil bin Seljuq came to the court of Mahmood representing his tribe. History of Islam Mahmood Ghaznawi took him hostage in breach of his promise and sent him as prisoner to the Indian fort of Kalinjer. Mahmood Ghaznawi died after two or three years and Arsalan's tribe found it easier to capture the plains of Khorasan than Turkistan and they settled throughout Khorasan. The rebel tribes that had been engaged in killing and plundering joined them. Mahmood Ghaznawi's son Mas'ud Ghaznawi tried to intercept and stop them and waged several wars with them. But ultimately they expelled the Ghaznawis from Khorasan and captured it.

Mahmood Ghaznawi's descendents began to grow weaker and weaker. They made peace with the Seljuqs and left Khorasan to them. Buwayh's, descendents were engaged in civil wars and had no power to face the Seljuqs and the Seljuqs made major advances. As the Abbasid caliph was in Baghdad so the Seljuqs held him in no special esteem. The Seljuq tribe had embraced Islam on the plains of Bukhara prior to their series of conquests. They were unconnected to the Shias because the Muslims in Mawaraunnahr and Bukhara were Sunnis, which the Seljuqs had adopted.

Those who were sick of the Buyid's oppression regarded the Seljuqs as saviors. The chief of the Seljuqs, Tughral Baig, first conquered Khorasan, Azerbaijan and Jazirah. His power increased and then, as mentioned earlier, went to Baghdad. He dislodged the Dailamis from power and was given the title Deputy of the Ruler. His descendents ruled for a long period and his successor Alp Arsalan Seljuqi founded a powerful government that extended from the Danube River to the Sindh River in present day Pakistan. We will now relate the remaining events of caliph Qaim Bi-Amrillah's life.

In 415 A.H., Sultan Tughral Baig's brother Chughri Baig Dawood the ruler of Khorasan, made a treaty with the Ghaznawi Sultan. The same year Abul Fadl Behaqi, Sultan Masood Ghaznawi's religious advisor, wrote his book of history during sultan Ibrahim Ghaznawi's regime. After Chughri Baig Dawood's death sultan Tughral Baig married his brother wife, Sulaiman's mother. The same year he attacked, captured and killed Basasiri while he was in the process of killing and plundering in Kufa. He cut off his head and sent it to Baghdad where it was hung on the gate of caliph's castle. In Muharram 452 A.H., Sultan Tughral Baig became free from the The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) administration of Baghdad and went to Wasit from there he then went to the province of Jabal and Azerbaijan.

On 15 Rabia Awwal 453 A.H., Abu! Fatah bin Ahmad left Ahwaz and went to Baghdad and the caliph made him his minister. Shortly after that, Abu Nasr bin Jahir bin Marwan was given the title "Fakhruddaulah" and made minister. Abu! Fatah was dismissed and returned to Ahwaz. After his wife's death in 453 A.H., Sultan Tughral Baig sent a message to the caliph through Abu Sad, the Judge of Rayy that he would like to marry his daughter SaY'rdah.

The caliph refused them. Tughral Baig sent his minister Ameectul Malik Kundri. Ameedul Malik stayed in Baghdad until Jumad Thani 454 A.H. and tried to convince the caliph to agree to the proposal but in vain and he returned to Tughral Baig. Tughral Baig then sent threatening letters to the Chief Justice of Baghdad and Sheikh, Abu Mansoor bin Yusuf. They went to the caliph's court and pleaded with him to give his daughter in marriage to him. When the caliph saw that the affair ~ight become prolonged, he decided it was better to agree to the wedding.

Besides, his wife Arsalan Khatoon who was Tughral Baig's niece also pleaded the case with him. He appointed Tughral Baig's minister Ameedul Malik to assume the legal responsibility for Princess Sayydah's marriage and to sign the marriage contract on his behalf. In Shaban 454 A.H., the marriage contract of the caliph's daughter to Tughral Baig was signed at the camp of Tabrez. After the marriage contract was signed, Tughral Baig sent valuables, gold and jewels as gifts to the caliph and his daughter and transferred all the property of his deceased wife to Sayydah, the daughter of the caliph Qaim Bi-Amrillah. Then in Muharram 455 A.H., he left Armenia for Baghdad and the Princess's wedding feast was held. He remained in Baghdad until Rabia Awwal and then left along with his wife Sayydah Khatoon for the province of Jabal.

When he reached Rayy, he fell ill and died on 8 Ramadan 455 A.H. Tughral Baig had no children. Sulaiman bin Dawood Chughri Baig was Tughral's nephew and stepson. Ameedul Malik enthroned him but the people opposed him and read the name of Sulaiman' s brother Alp Arsalan bin Dawood Chughri Baig in the Friday sermon. He was the ruler of Khorasan and lived in Merv. Hearing of the enthronement History of Islam of his brother, Alp Arsalan left Merv and invaded Rayy.

Ameedul Malik presented himself to him as his loyal subject and took the oath for him. But Alp Arsalan remained doubtful about him and in 456 A.H. he imprisoned Ameedul Malik and made his own minister, Nizamul Mulk Toosi, the Prime Minister. Having entered Rayy, Alp Arsalan returned the caliph's daughter Sayydah to Baghdad with great honor. The Friday sermon in Baghdad was read in the name of Sultan Alp Arsalan. Nizamul Mulk Toosi, on behalf of Sultan Alp Arsalan, visited Baghdad on 7 Jumad Awwal 456 A.H. to take the oath of allegiance for the caliph. The caliph held an open court and conferred on Sultan Alp Arsalan the title of' Al-waladul Mu'ayyad'.

In 460 A.H., the caliph dismissed Fakhruddaulah bin Jahir from the ministry but restored it to him in Safar 461 A.H. In 462 A.H., the ruler of Makkah, Muhammad bin Abi Hashim expunged the Obeidi ruler's name from the Friday sermon and put caliph Qaim bi-Amrillah and Sultan Alp Arsalan's names in it and deleted the Shiite addition to the call to prayer, and sent his son with a delegation to Sultan Arsalan. The Sultan was highly pleased and gave him royal robes, 30 thousand dinars as a reward and fixed 10 thousand dinars per annum as his salary. In 462 A.H, the Roman emperor Armanoos invaded the Province of Khalat with an army of 200,000. The emperor was accompanied and joined by the Kings of France and Russia. Sultan Alp Arsalan defeated them with only 15 thousand men.

He caught the Russian King and chopped off his· ears and nose. He arrested Armanoos and released him after taking a commitment of allegiance and loyalty from him. After dealing this crushing defeat to the large Roman army, the Sultan went to Mawaraunnahr in 465 A.H. A bridge over the Jejune River was built and within 20 days, the royal army was able to cross the river. The commander in charge of an opposing fort named Yusuf Khwarzmi was ushered into the caliph's court for sentencing. The sultan said: "Release him.

I shall shoot him with my arrow." By chance, the arrow missed the target. Yusuf ran to the Sultan and wounded him with his dagger. Those present at the court killed Yusuf but the Sultan succumbed to the injury on 10 Rabia Awwal 465 A.H. His dead body was brought to Merv and buried there. His son Malik The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) Shah succeeded him. Caliph Qaim Bi-Amrillah sent all the official agreements and treaties and other official documents to Malik Shah.

On 15 Shaban 467 A.H., the caliph had his doctor let blood and then he went to sleep. Unfortunately, the punctured vein opened and bled profusely. The members of the government were called in and they took the oath for the dying caliph's grandson Abu! Qasim Abdullah bin Zakhiratuddin Muhammad bin Qaim Bi-Arnrillah. The caliph died the next day. He had only one son whose name was Zakhiratuddin Muhammad.

He had died during this father's lifetime. Six months after his death his son Abu! Qasim Abdullah was born. Abul Qasim came to the throne and adopted the title of 'Muqtadi Bi-Amrillah'. Caliph Qaim Bi-Amrillah had sat on the throne for 45 years. Muqtadi Bi Amrillah Abu!

Qasim Abdullah Muqtadi Bi Amrillah bin Muhammad bin Qaim Bi Amrillah was born to a slave-girl named Arghawan. He was enthroned at the age of 19 years and 3 months. As soon as he assumed the throne, he issued orders for playing, singing and using musical instruments to be immediately banned. During his regime the respect and power of the caliphate was elevated. He was very pious, religious minded and courageous. He came into power in Shaban 467 A.H.

A chief of Sultan Malik Shah, Atsaz bin Auf Khwarzmi conquered Damascus in Thul Qadah 468 A.H. and had the names of caliph Muqtadi and Sultan Malik Shah read in the Friday sermon. The words the Shiites had added to the call to the prayer were removed. By degrees, he occupied the whole of Syria. In 469 A.H., a riot erupted between religious sects leaving many dead and injured on both sides. ln 470 A.H., Malik Shah gave Syria to his brother Tajuddaulah Tatash as a feudal estate and permitted him to capture as much territory from the Egyptian ruler as possible. In 471 A.H., Tajuddaulah Tatash besieged Aleppo (Halab) meanwhile the Egyptian army encircled Damascus. Atsaz was besieged and asked Tatash for help.

He lifted the siege of Aleppo and went to Damascus. The Egyptians escaped at the approach of Tatash. Tajuddaulah Tatash killed Atsaz for his negligence. In 476 A.H., caliph Moqtadi dismissed Amiduddaulah bin Fakhruddaulah bin Jahir from .1 ! ! i i ,! : , I I History of Islam the ministry and appointed Abu Shuja Muhammad bin Hasan to this post. Malik Shah called Amiduddaulah .to him and gave him the governorship of the Provinces of Bakr. In Shaban 477 A.H., Sulaiman bin Qatalmash Saljuqi, the ruler of Konya, snatched Antakiah from the Romans.

Antakiah had been under the possession of the Roman since 358 A.H. In 479 A.H., Yusuf bin Tashfeen, the ruler of Morocco, requested caliph Muqtadi to give him the certificate of the governorship of all the territories under him and to confer on him the title of Sultan. The caliph obliged him and sent him royal robes and the flag and gave him the title of Amirul Muslimeen. This was the same Yusuf bin Tashfeen who founded the city of Marrakech. In Thul Hijjah 479 AH., Sultan Malik Shah entered Baghdad for the first time. He went to the caliph and received a royal robe and the next day he played polo with the caliph.

Minister Nizamul Mulk inspected the schools he established. Having lived in Baghdad for a number of months Sultan Malik Shah left for Isfahan. In 481 A.H., Ibrahim bin Masood bin Mahmood bin Subuktageen died and was succeeded by Jalaluddin Masood. In 484 A.H., the Normans captured the island of Sicily. The island was first conquered by the Muslims in 200 A.H. and ruled over by Banu Aghlab followed by the Obeidis. Sicily was taken from the Obeidis (Fatimids) by the Normans.

The same year in Ramadan 484 A.H. Sultan Malik Shah arrived in Baghdad again. In 485 A.H., a QaraMoti killed minister Nizamul Mulk Toosi at the age of 73 in Nihawand. On 15 Shawwal, of the same year, Malik Shah died and a battle between his wife Turkan Khatoon and his son Barkiaraq began. In 486 A.H., Barkiaraq became free from the battles and visited Baghdad. Caliph Muqtadi gave him the title of 'Ruknuddaulah' and honored him with royal robes of honor and authority.

It is said that Malik Shah's death was caused by Caliph Muqtadi's curse. Malik Shah had told the caliph to leave Baghdad and go to any place of his choice so that he could turn Baghdad into his own capital exclusively. The caliph was given 8 days time and began cursing Malik Shah. By the 8th day, Malik Shah died and the caliph escaped the ordeal. The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) Suddenly caliph Muqtadi died on 5 Muharram 487 A.H. It is said that an adviser of his named Shamsunnahar poisoned him.

After his death, his son Abu! Abbas Ahmad came to the throne and took the title of 'Mustazhir Billah'. Mustazhar Billah Abul Abbas Ahmed Mustazhir Billah bin Muqtadi Billah was born in Shawwal 470 A.H. and succeeded to the throne following his father's death. Barkiaraq was present in Baghdad at the time. He willingly took the oath for him. On the third day after caliph Muqtadi's death a meeting was held to mourn his death and Sultan Barkiaraq along with his minister Izzul Mulk bin Nizamul Mulk and his brother Bahaul Mulk paid a visit to the caliph's court.

Other members of the government also visited for the same purpose. In 487 A.H., Mustansir Obeidi, the ruler of Egypt, died and his son Mustali came to the throne. ln 488 A.H., the rule.r of Samarqand, Ahmad Khan, was arrested and killed for his irreligious activities. His cousin succeeded him. The same year both Tatash and Barkiaraq clashed and Barkiaraq killed Tatash. This stabilized Barkiaraq's government. His brother Muhammad grew more powerful.

Barkiaraq fought with him at Rayy in 492 A.H. but lost and went to Khuzistan. Muhammad bin Malik Shah entered Baghdad and received the title of 'Gheyathuddunayawaddin' from caliph Mustazhir Billah on 15 Thul Hijjah 492 A.H. Then he left for Khorasan. Barkiaraq left Khuzistan and went to Wasit and collected an army and entered Baghdad on 15 Safar 493 A.H. The caliph congratulated him, gave him a royal robe and his name began to be read in the Friday sermon. He then attacked Muhammad bin Malik Shah.

They fought at Hamadan near the White River, which resulted in the defeat of Barkiaraq. Then Sultan Muhammad's name was read again in the Friday sermon in Baghdad on 15 Rajab 493 A.H. Following his defeat Barkiaraq stayed at Rayy. He left for Isfahan and then moved to Khuzistan. He collected an army from there and again clashed with Muhammad on 1 Jumad Thani 494 A.H. After defeating him, he went to Rayy.

Muhammad went to his brother Sanjar at Jurjan. Barkiaraq arrived in Baghdad on 15 Thul Qadah 494 A.H. His History of Islam name was read in the Friday sermon. In short, Sultan Barkiaraq and his brother Sultan Muhammad fought a series of battles. Sometimes one ruled over Baghdad and sometim:.s the other. Sometimes they reconciled and then they would clash again.

The incessant battles resulted in the loss of peace in Iraq, Iran, and Jazirah. People found it difficult to protect their lives and honor. In Jumadi Awwal 497 A.H., a treaty of peace was drafted by the joint efforts of the chiefs of the armies and the territories were divided between them. Besides, both of them agreed that the names of both should be read in the Friday sermons of their respective countries. According to that agreement, the government r; of Baghdad remained under Sultan Barkiaraq. After that, he stayed in Isfahan for a few days.

He fell ill and died in Rabia Thani 494 A.H. at Yazdjurd while on the way to Baghdad. At the time of his death, he declared hi~ son Malik Shah bin Barkiaraq to be his heirapparent and Amir Ayaz his tutor. Malik Shah was only 5 at the time. Barkiaraq was buried in Isfahan. Amir Ayaz along with Malik Shah entered Baghdad on 15 Rabia Thani 498 A.H. The caliph conferred on Malik Shah all the titles, which belonged to his grandfather Malik Shah bin Alp Arsalan and his name was read in the Friday sermon there.

After that, Sultan Muhammad captured Mosul and marched to Baghdad. He entered the city in 501 A.H., killed Amir Ayaz and had his own name read in the Friday sermon. In 502 A.H., he had a palace constructed in Baghdad for himself. His government was fully established and stabilized in his ancestral territories and uprisings and riots became things of the past. In Shaban, he fell ill. The illness prolonged and ultimately he died in 511 A.H.

His son Sultan Mahmood succeeded him to the throne. The caliph accorded approval to his succession and gave him a royal robe and his name was read in the Friday sermon in all the mosques, this took place on 15 Muharram 512 A.H. Caliph Mustazhir Billah died on 15 Rabia Thani 512 A.H. after 24 years and 3 months of his caliphate. After his death, his son Abu Mansoor Fadal came to the throne and chose the title 'Mustarshid Billah' for himself. The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) Mustarshid Billah Mustarshid Billah bin Mustazhir Billah was born in Rabia Awwal 485 A.H. and came to the throne in 512 A.H. at the age of 27. Caliph Mustarshid's brother Amir Abu!

Hasan bin Mustazhir did not take the oath for him and left Baghdad to Wasit. He was captured after a year and the caliph excused him and allowed him to stay at the palace. In the second month after the succession Masood bin Sultan Muhammad Seljugi, Sultan Mahmood's brother living in Mosul, revolted and also called Qasimuddaulah Zangi bin Agsanfar, the ruler of Sanjar and Abul Hija, the ruler of Ardbil to his aid and set up in Iraq. Sultan Tughral bin Sultan Muhammad was the ruler of Zanjan since his father's regime. Sultan Mahm;od attacked Tughral. Tughral fled from Zanjan and Sultan Mahmood looted it.

When Sultan Muhammad died and Sultan Mahmood came to the throne, Mahmood's uncle Sanjar was the ruler of Mawaraunnahr. Previously Sultan Sanjar's title was Nasiruddin. After Sultan Muhammad's death, Sultan Sanjar attacked Sultan Mahmood and the uncle and the nephew faced off at Sadah in Jumad Awwal 513 A.H. Sultan Sanjar was also accompanied by Amir Abu! Fadal, the ruler of Sajistan, Khwarzim Shah Muhammad, the Amir of Anzdar, and Alauddaulah, the ruler of Yazd. The clash resulted in the defeat of Sultan Mahmood and the victory of Sultan Sanjar, who captured Hamadan.

When the news reached Baghdad, the Friday sermon was read in the name of Sultan Sanjar. Following his defeat Sultan Mahmood took refuge in Isfahan. finally, Sultan Sanjar's mother who was Sultan Mahmood's grandmother intervened and compelled them to compromise on the condition that Sultan Sanjar should consider Sultan Mahmood to be his heirapparent and that Mahmood's name should follow Sanjar's in the Friday sermon. In keeping with the agreement, Sultan Sanjar sent declarations that Sultan Mahmood was heir to Mawaraunnahr, Ghaznah, and Khorasan. Sultan Sanjar took only Rayy from the control of Sultan Mahmood and he recognized him as the ruler of the other territories mentioned. On the other hand, Sultan Mahmood compromised with his brother Sultan Masood and gave him the History of Islam governorship of Mosul and Azerbaijan provinces. He made Mosul his capital.

In 514 A.H. Sultan Masood revolted against Sultan Mahmood and they clashed on 15 Rabia Awwal 514 A.H. Masood lost and took refuge in the mountains near Mosul. The noblemen of the area mediated and both the brothers compromised. Sultan Mahmood n;turned to Baghdad in Rajab 514 A.H. and Sultan Masood began to rule over Mosul again. In 515 A.H.

Sultan Mahmood gave the rule of Mosul to Aqsanfar Barsaqi and left the province of Azerbaijan with Masood. Sultan Tughral has already been mentioned. He had gone to Ganjah after losing to Sµltan Mahmood. In 516 A.H., a treaty of peace was drafted and agreed to by both Sultan Mahmood and Sultan Tughral. After that, Sultan Mahmood gave the territory of Wasit and Mosul as a feudal estate to Aqsanfar Barsaqi. Aqsanfar Barsaqi deputed Qasimuddaulah Emaduddin Zanqi bin Aqsanfar to govern Wasit on his behalf.

In 517 A.H., Sultan Mahmood killed his minister Shamsul Malik while caliph Mustarshid sacked Shamsul Malik's brother Nizamddaulah from his ministry. In Thul Hijjah 517 A.H., caliph Mutarshid formed an army and left for Baghdad to punish Oibas bin Sadqah. The armies of Mosul and Wasit also joined the caliph. The fight took place at Mubarkah. Emaduddin Zanqi bin Aqsanfar, the ruler of Wasit, showed exemplar bravery leading to victory for the caliph. The caliph entered Baghdad victoriously on 10 Muh~rram 518 A.H.

That was the first battle after many years that was waged under the command of an {\bbasid caliph. Then the news came that Oibas bin Sadqah wanted to loot Basra. Emaduddin Zangi left to defend it and Dibas returned without success to Tughral bin Sultan Muhammad. The same year Aqsanbar was appointed defender of Iraq and had to defend Mosul from Roman attacks. He called Emaduddin Zangi from Basra to Mosul. He left Basra but did not go to Mosul.

He went to Sultan Mahmood who was in Isfahan. Sultan Mahmood gave him the certificate of governorship of Basra and he returned there. When Dibas bin Sadqah went to Sultan Tughral, he included him among his companions. Dibas instigated Tughral to invade Iraq. In 519 A.H., Tughral with Oibas camped at Waquqa. Upon receiving the news caliph Mustarshid left for Baghdad on 5 Safar 519 A.H. in order to face him.

They fought The Caliphate of the Abbas ids (Third Phase) at Nahrwan. Both Dibas and Tughral went to Sultan Sanjar in Khorasan. In Rajah 520 A.H., Yartaqash Zakwi, the city Magistrate of Baghdad went to Sultan Mahmood in Isfahan and said, "Caliph Mustarshid has collected an army and a huge amount of arms and equipment. His financial condition is very sound and there is a danger that he might get out of our control." Sultan Mahmood prepared his army and marched to Baghdad. When caliph Mustarshid heard that Sultan Mahmood was coming to Baghdad he wrote to him. 'You need not come here.

You should return to punish and ·discipline the headstrong like Dibas". This convinced Sultan Mahmood that the caliph really wanted to be free of his subjugation and he began to move towards Baghdad faster. On 17 Thul Hijjah, he entered it and the caliph went to western part of Baghdad. On 1 Muharram 521 A.H., Sultan Mahmood's men looted the caliph's palace. 30 thousand inhabitants of Baghdad gathered round caliph Mustarshid to support him. A chain of battles began along the bank of the river Tigris. After many battles and trials of strength both compromised. ln Rabia Thani 521 A.H.

Sultan Mahmood left Baghdad for Hamadan. He called Emadudin Zangi from Basra to protect Baghdad. It has been mentioned above that both Dibas and Tughral had reached Sanjar in Khorasan. They convinced Sanjar to be against Caliph Mustarshid and Sultan Mahmood and Sanjar with his army marched to Rayy. After arriving there, he called Sultan Mahmood to him from Hamadan. The plan was that if Sultan Mahmood was not an opponent he would come, otherwise he would refuse.

He went to his uncle Sanjar without any hesitation. Sanjar treated him honorably and recommended Dibas to accompany Mahmood. Mahmood went to Hamadan with Dibas and entered Baghdad on 9 Muharram 522 A.H. He took Dibas to the caliph's court and recommended him to the Caliph. The caliph excused him. Sultan Mahmood deputed Bahroz to ensure the safety of Baghdad and sent Ernaduddin Zangi to govern Mosul. ln Jumad Thani 523 A.H., Sultan Mahmood left Baghdad and went to Hamadan.

Dibas left Baghdad, captured Hilla and rebelled against the caliph. The caliph sent an army to attack him. The fight was in progress when Sultan Mahmood heard of Dibas' revolt and reached Baghdad in Thul Qadah 523 A.H. Dibas left Hilla for Basra. He looted :1 , L ! f ! I h i . j History of Islam Basra and hid in the mountains.

Sultan Mahmood went back to Hamadan. In Shawwal 525 A.H., Sultan Mahmood passed away. His son Dawood succeeded him. His name was read in the Friday sermon in the provinces of Jabal and Azerbaijan. In Thul Qadah 525 A.H., Dawood marched from Hamadan to Zanjan. Meanwhile he heard that Sultan Masood came from Jurjan and captured Tabrez.

Dawood at once rushed to Tabrez and besieged it in Muharram 526 A.H. A series of battles started between the uncle and the nephew. Finally, they were reconciled. Dawood left Tabrez and went to Hamadan. Masood came out of Tabrez and began to collect an army and when a great army was raised, he sent word to caliph Mustarshid in Baghdad that his name should be read in the Friday sermon. The caliph replied that at the time Sultan Sanjar's name was being read in the Friday sermon and that his and Dawood's names would not be read for the time being.

In the meantime, Seljuq Shah bin Sultan Muhammad raised an army and camped near Baghdad. The caliph treated him respectfully. On the other side, Sultan Masood won the sympathy of Emaduddin Zangi the ruler of Mosul, and requested him to help him. Emaduddin Zangi called on Sultan Masood. Then both went to Baghdad and camped at Abbasia. Seljuq Shah made preparations for the battle and sent Qarajasaqi to face them and after a fierce battle, Zangi's army lost.

Emaduddin went to Takrait where Najmuddin Ayyub (Sultan Salahuddin's father) was the ruler. He provided boats for Emaduddin and had bridges constructed across the river. Zangi crossed the river and went to Mosul. Sultan Masood persuaded 'Seljuq Shah and the caliph through correspondence to agree to the proposal r that Iraq should remain under the control of Sultan Masood and Seljuq Shah's name should be read in the sermons of all countries other than Iraq. In keeping with the agreement, Sultan Masood entered Baghdad in Jumad Thani 526 A.H. and drafted and signed the 'peace treaty. Mention has been made above that Sultan Tughral was with his uncle and Dibas who had hid in the mountains and then went to Sanjar.

Being acquainted with the situation, Sultan Sanjar along with Tughral and Dibas went to Rayy and then to Hamadan. On the other side, Masood Shah and Seljuq Shah along with Qarajasaqi left Baghdad to stop Sanjar. Sanjar advanced beyond untrabad and faced Masood and Seljuq Shah while Dibas marched on The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) to invade Baghdad. Sanjar defeated Masood and Seljuq and the caliph left Baghdad and faced Dibas and forced him to retr~at. Sultan Sanjar forgave Masood and Saljuq and treated them with honor. He made his nephew Tughral the ruler of Iraq and ordered his name to be read in the Friday sermon.

In the meantime, in Thul Hijjah 527 A.H., news came that the ruler of Mawaraunnahr had made preparations to revolt. Sanjar left for Khorasan at once. At that time Sultan Dawood bin Mahmood was in Azerbaijan. He raised an army and moved towards Hamadan. Opposing him on the other side was Tughral. Dawood lost and went to Baghdad.

Sultan Masood parted company with Sultan Sanjar and went to Baghdad. Both Dawood and Masood jointly requested the caliph to allow them to capture Azerbaijan. It was duly granted and both expelled Tughral's men from there and captured it. Tughral fought but lost and fled. Sultan Masood occupied Hamadan and Sultan Dawood took control of Azerbaijan. Sultan Masood was informed in Hamadan that Sultan Dawood had announced his independence in Azerbaijan so he marched on him.

Tughral found an opportunity and collected an army and began to conquer the province of Jabal. Sultan Masood came to confront him but he was defeated in Ramadan 528 A.H. and went t?)3aghdad while Tughral went to settle in Hamadan. In detail, the stories of the civil wars among the Seljuqs in very lengthy and characterless. Sultan Tughral died and Sultan Masood conquered Iraq. Then there arose differences between caliph Mustarshid and Sultan Masood. The caliph came out to fight and both the armies indulged in fighting and killing.

The caliph's army betrayed him and deserted. He was defeated and imprisoned in a fort in Hamadan. When the news reached Baghdad, there was sadness everywhere. During the same period, Iraq and Iran underwent a series of earth tremors for several days. Sultan Sanjar wrote to his nephew Sultan Masood to go to the caliph in person and ask for his forgiveness. The earthquakes and the desertion of the mosque by the people are not ordinary events.

Take the Amir alMurninin to the capital Baghdad with honor. Sultan Masood obeyed and personally went to the caliph. The army that accompanied Sultan Masood included 17 persons belonging to Qaramata or Batini sect. Sultan Masood was unaware of their presence. These Batinis went to the caliph's tent and attacked and killed him. When the people found History of Islam out about his death, they arrested the Batinis and ultimately killed them, Sultan Masood was completely shocked.

This happened on Wednesday 16 Thul Qadah 529 A.H. ·When the news reached Baghdad, there was a furor and the people burst out into spontaneous lamentations. Caliph Mustarshid's son Abu Jafar Mansoor took the throne and chose the title 'Rashid Billah' for himself. Rashid Billah Rashid Billah bin Mustarshid Billah was born to a slave girl in 500 A.H. When he was born, he had no anus. Surgeons operated upon him using a silver scalpel and he recovered. When Rashid Billah came to the throne in Baghdad, Sultan Masood was not present.

Rashid Billah's name was read in the Friday sermon in all the mosques. After his accession, Rashid Billah used tyrannical methods in collecting money from the people. They complained to Sultan Masood against him. Sultan Masood left for Baghdad. Having heard about his departure to Baghdad Rashid Billah went to Mosul. Sultan Masood entered the city and prepared a book of evidence in which the complaints of the people were recorded, that Rashid oppressed such and such persons, took money by force, shed blood, drank wine, etc.

That document was presented to the Chief Justice of the legal scholars for his opinion, whether it was compelling enough to depose the caliph who committed such acts. The Judge gave the decision that the crimes were serious enough to warrant the caliph being deposed. Therefore Sultan Masood enthroned Rashid Billah's uncle Muhammad bin Mustazhir and took the oath for his caliphate and announced Rashid's deposition. This took place on 16 Thul Qadah. He had ruled for one year. Muhammad bin Mustazhir came to the throne and chose the title Muqtafi LiAmrillah for himself.

When Rashid was informed of his deposition, he left Mosul and went to Azerbaijan and distributed money among his soldiers. He ruined Azerbaijan by looting it. Then he went to Hamdan where he created havoc and violence on an unprecedented scale. He hanged the people, killed them, had the scholar's beards shaved. Then he went to Isfahan The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) and besieged it. In the meantime, he fell ill and on 16 Ramadan 532 A.H. a few non-Arabs came and stabbed him to death.

When the news reached !3aghdad, the official offices were closed for the day to mourn his death. The royal staff and other items SLgnifying the caliph's authority were with him at the time of his death they were then sent to Muqtafi in Baghdad. Muqtafi Li Amrillah Abu Abdullah Muhammad Muqtafi Li Amrillah bin Mustazhir Billah was born to a black slave-girl on 12 Rabia Awwal 479 A.H. and came to the throne of the caliphate on 12 Thul Hijjah 530 A.H. After that, Sultan Masood sent an army to punish Sultan Dawood. Dawood was defeated at Moraghah. He reached Khozistan, raised an army and encircled Tashtar.

Saljuq Shah the ruler of Wasit, left to defend Tashtar at the insistence of Sultan Masood but returned after being defeated by Dawood. Sultan Masood did not leave Baghdad because he felt Rashid might invade Baghdad. Masood wrote to Emaduddin Zangi the ruler of Mosul, that Muqtafi's name should be read in the Friday sermon. When Emaduddin did so and expunged Rashid's name from it, the latter grew angry and left Mosul in Rajab 531 A.H. as has already been recorded. A few leaders of Iran decided to go to Rashid to help him and Masood left Baghdad to face them, he defeated them in Shaban 532 A.H. Then he went to Azerbaijan.

On the other side Dawood, Khwarzam Shah and Rashid jointly went to Iraq. Sultan Masood defeated them. Khwarzam Shah and Dawood separated from Rashid. Rashid besieged Isfahan and at this time some Khorasani slaves assassinated him. Rashid was buried at Shahristan in Isfahan. Seljuq Shah left Wasit and captured Baghdad, which caused total anarchy.

The people of Baghdad defeated Seljuq Shah and expelled him from Baghdad. There was lawlessness and disorder in the whole country so much that the cover of the Ka'bah could not be sent in 532 A.H. because the roads were unsafe. Sultan. Masood arrived in Baghdad in 533 A.H. and exempted the citizens from paying many kinds of taxes, which they had been paying for a long time. A few years passed in these History of Islam pitiful conditions. Besides members of his Seljuqi dynasty, other leaders began to assert their independence.

Sultan Masood overpowered and killed the chiefs whom he suspected. Many leaders were killed or assassinated deceitfully and consequently his forces became very weak. He went and settled in the province of Jabal and left Baghdad and Iraq in a state of restless disorder. Caliph Muqtafi did not hesitate in taking advantage of the situation, he began to enhance his power and influence,. The caliph's power was increasing and Sultan Masood '0.nd Sultan Sanjar were losing their power gradually. Sultan Sanjar wrote a letter of condemnation to Masood pointing out the harm of killing the leaders and leaving Baghdad.

Ultimately, Sultan Sanjar himself visited Rayy in 544 A.H. Sultan Masood also called on him there. In Ra.jab 544 A.H., Malik Shah bin Sultan Mahmood along with a few leaders invaded Baghdad. Caliph Muqtafi remained inside the fort and fought defensively he called Sultan Masood who was in Rayy for help but he did not come. Though Malik Shah was not able to enter Baghdad, he looted Nahrwan and destroyed it. Masood visited Baghdad on 15 Shawwal 544 A.H. and then went to Hamadan in 545 A.H.

Sultan Masood died on 1 Rajah 547 A.H. Masood's minister Khas Baig enthroned Malik Shah bin Sultan Mahmood. However, following Sultan Masood's death the government of the Seljuq dynasty ended in Baghdad and none from it survived to retain the status of ruler of the realm. Sultan Masood is known as the last ruler of the Seljuq dynasty. Immediately after assuming power, Sultan Malik Shah sent a commander to occupy Hillah who captured it. The city magistrate of Baghdad named Masood Jalal went to Hillah, killed Malik Shah's chief and began to rule independently.

Caliph Muqtafi himself led the army and invaded Hillah and after capturif\g it took the oath of allegiance from the inhabitants. Then he invaded Wasit and captured it and returned to Baghdad on 10 Thul Qadah 547 A.H. In 549 A.H., the caliph sent his minister's son and the Amir of Tarshak to conquer Takrait. The Amir of Tarshak and the minister's son had a falling out and the Amir had the minister's son arrested by the inhabitants of Takrait and he returned to Tarshak via Khorasan. In 549 A.H., the caliph himself invaded Takrait and captured the city but failed to capture the fort. He returned to Baghdad, gave his The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) minister catapults with the capability of breaking up the fort and sent him to conquer Takrait.

He went and besieged it meanwhile Arsalan bin Tughral bin Sultan Muhammad took an army and attacked the minister. Hearing this news, caliph Muqtafi left Baghdad to do battle with him. The armies clashed at Aqr Babu! and after 18 days of fighting most of the caliph's soldiers had deserted. Howeve[, the caliph kept fighting on with his remaining men and was victorious. Arasalan bin Tughral and his chiefs fled from the battlefield. The caliph returned to Baghdad on 1 Sahban 549 A.H.

In 550 A.H., he invaded Waquqa but after few days of siege, he returned to Baghdad. It has been stated above that in 490 A.H., Sultan Barkiaraq had handed over the government of Khuzistan to Sultan Sanjar. When Sultan Muhammad and Sultan Barkiaraq fell out and fought, Sultan Muhammad made his own brother Sanjar the ruler of Khorasan. Since then Khorasan had been under his control and Sultan Muhammad's son regarded him as Sultan Al-Araq. In 536 A.H., a group of Kyrgyz Turks snatched the territory of Mawaraunnahr from the Khans of Turkistan. Sultan Sanjar tried to expel the group from Mawaraunnahr but unsuccessfully and many veteran soldiers 'lost their lives.

Due to Sultan Sanjar's growing weakness, his subordinate rulers became ambitious. Khwarizm Shah declared his independence. The Turks who lived in Mawaraunnahr, known as Oguz Turks, came to Khorasan, looted it and spread anarchy. These Turks and Sultan Sanjar clashed in 548 A.H. resulting in Sanjar' s defeat and capture. The new victors kept him with them and began to loot the cities of Khorasan and also defefited the Kyrgyz Turks who had taken Mawaraunnahr. The Oguz Turks kept Sultan Sanjar as their captive and fixed his salary equivalent to that of a groom.

However, interestingly they still read his name in the Friday sermon all over Khorasan. In 551 A.H., Sultan Sanjar escaped from the prison but died shortly after in 552 A.H. After his death, Khawarizm Shah and his descendents captured all of Khorasan and also brought under their control the provinces of Isfahan and Rayy and the territory that the descendents of Subuktageen held and continued to rule until the arrival of Ghengis Khan. During caliph Muqtafi Li-Amrillah's regime, the kingdom of Khwarizm Shah was founded. In 549 A.H., caliph Muqtafi History of Islam ordered the ruler of Halab, Nuruddin Mahmood bin Emaduddin Zangi to go to Egypt and intervene in the affairs of the Obeidi ruler. The same year Nuruddin Mahmood was given the title of 'Malikul Adil'.

Sulaiman Shah bin Sultan Muhammad lived with his uncle Sanjar who had made him his heir-apparent. When the Turks arrested Sultan Sanjar, Sulaiman Shah began to lead the remaining members of Sanjar's army. Finding no safe place in Khorasan, he went to Baghdad. He visited the caliph's court in Muharram 551 A.H., took the oath for him and was given the position of Deputy of the Ruler. His name was read in the Friday sermon in Baghdad. In Rabia Awwal 551 A.H., Sulaiman Shah left Baghdad for the province of Jabal.

In Thul Hijjah 551 A.H., Sultan Muhammad brought the ruler of Mosul and other chiefs into his army and they invaded and encircled Baghdad. Nuruddin Zangi wrote a condemnatory letter to his younger brother, the ruler of Mosul, Qutubuddin that he should not have taken part in the siege of Baghdad and so Qutubuddin evaded fighting against the caliph. Consequently, Sultan Muhammad lifted the siege in Rabia Awwal 552 A.H. and went to Hamadan. Qutubuddin returned to Mosul. Sultan Muhammad bin Mahmood bin Malik Shah contracted a lung disease after the siege of Baghdad and remained in Hamadan until he died there in Thul Hijjah 534 A.H. Differences cropped up among the Seljuqi princes about the accession.

Finally, Sultan Muhammad's uncle Sulaiman Shah who had been under the custody of Qutubuddin Zangi in Mosul was enthroned. Sulaiman Shah still had to face resistance from the princes finally his government was established. Soon after that, one of his commanders Sharfuddin arrested him and his minister and killed.them. Following this Sharfuddin proposed the name of Arsalan Shah bin Tughral for the throne and wrote to his Atabek Alidkaz (Editors note: Atabek or Atabeg a slave tutor who~e influence could rise to the highest levels even becoming the ruler of certain territories) to bring Arsalan Shah. Alidkaz arrived in Hamadan with his army and had Arsalan Shah's name read in the Friday sermon. Alidkaz was one of Sultan Masood's slaves and an atabek of a high position.

Following Sultan Tughral' s death he married his wife who was Arsalan Shah's mother. After the succession ceremony of Arsalan Shah Alidkaz was appointed as the suprel!le Atabek. He sent an application to the caliph in Baghdad that Arsalan Shah's name be read in the Friday The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) sermon there. The caliph humiliated and expelled the messenger. The caliph's minister made a move to have Mahmood bin Malik Shah bin Mahmood's name read in the Friday sermon. At the time Mahmood, a minor, had been taken to Iran by his .father's men.

The Iranian ruler Zangi bin Wakla Salghari snatched Mahmood from them and imprisoned him in the fort of Astkhar. The caliph's minister, Aunuddin Abul Azfar Yahya bin Hubairah, wrote to the Iranian ruler to release Mahmood, take the oath for his caliphate and have his name read in the Friday sermon in his occupied territories. Zangi complied with the minister's order. Alidkaz wrote to Zangi to take the oath for Arsalan Shah. Zangi sent the refusal and collected an army. Alidkaz sent armies to Iran and battles were fought without any tangible results.

On 2 Rabia Awwal 555 A.H., caliph Muqtafi Li-Amrillah died. He ruled for 24 years and 4 months as caliph. His son Abul Muzaffar Yusuf succeeded to the throne with the title of Mustanjid Billah. Muqtafi Li-Amrillah liberated himself from the influence and power of the Seljuq kings and ruled over Iraq and Baghdad independently and that is why he is regarded as the most famous and powerful caliph among the last weak caliphs. Dailmia and Seljuqia After having gained power the Dailmia or the Buyid dynasty disgraced the Abbasid caliphs and did considerable damaged to the Islamic caliphate during their regime. There were continuous riots between the Shia and Sunni in their time and the power of the Muslims gradually declined.

When the Seljuq's took their place and came to power, the honor of the caliphs and the status of the caliphate increased. The Seljuqs treated the Abbasid dynasty reverently and the Seljuqs were far more powerful than the Buyids. The Seljuq Sultans in general did not betray the caliphs. During their dynasty, the Muslims regained their lost power and glory. The Seljuqs were more capable of conquering and governing than the Buyids and they were more religious minded. During the last days of their rule, their internal strife and civil wars put an end to their power and this is a malady from which no dynasty in the world is free.

During caliph Muqtafi's regime, the Seljuqs met their end although the Seljuq chiefs continued .r to rule over small tracts, they lost their existence as major rulers. History of Islam Mustanjid Billah Mustanjid Billah bin Mugtafi Li-Amrillah was born to a Garjistani slave-girl named Taoos. He was made the heir-apparent in 547 A.H. and took the throne in Rabia Awwal 555 A.H. after his father's death. In 556 A.H., the Turkamans, the Kurds and the Arabs rebelled one after another and caliph Mustanjid stamped out these rebellions. The members of Bani Asad tribe at Hillah outnumbered others and they appeared to be inclined to rebel. The caliph sent the army against them and drove them out of Iraq in 558 A.H.

In 559 A.H., there was a revolt in Wasit. That revolt was also crushed by military force. In 563 A.H., a man called Ibn Sawar got the better of the last Obeidi ruler of Egypt Azid li-dinillah's minister Shadar and turned him out of Egypt. Shadar left Egypt and went toAIMalikul Adil Nuruddin Zangi who was one of the chiefs of the Seljuq kings. His father Emaduddin has been mentioned above, Nuruddin Mahmood Zangi ruled the territories of Halab and other parts of Syria and was loyal to the caliph in Baghdad. Among Nuruddin Mahmood's chiefs Najmuddin Ayyub his son Salahuddin Yusuf bin Najmuddin Ayyub and Najmuddin Ayyub' s brother Asaduddin Sherkoh were holding high and honorable posts.

Al-Malikul Adil Nuruddin Mahmood sent Asaduddin Sherkoh to Egypt with two thousands cavalry soldiers. Sherkoh killed Ibn Sawar but Shadar did not keep the promises he had made in Nuruddin's court. It was at that time the Christian crusaders were attacking the courts of Syria and Egypt and they had captured some coastal areas. Sherkoh was asked to clear these Christians out of the country. Sherkoh and his nephew Salahuddin, after a few months of fighting drove them out of Egypt and then Sherkoh went to Syria. In 564 A.H., the Christians invaded Egypt again.

Azid li-dinillah again requested Al-Malikul Adil Nuruddin Mahmood Zangi to help him. Nuruddin again sent Sherkoh with Salahuddin to Egypt. As soon as the Christians heard about his arrival, they escaped and Azid li-dinillah made Sherkoh his minister and kept him in Egypt. Shadar revolted and Sherkoh exterminated him at once and became busy with his ministerial tasks. When Sherkoh died in 565 A.H. in Egypt, the ruler of Egypt, Azid li-dinillah History of Islam lamps lit. The caliph sent his chief servant Sandal to Nuruddin with royal robes and black flags for Nuruddin and Salahuddin.

Nuruddin expressed a deep sense of joy at Sandal's arrival and sent the caliph's royal gifts to Salahuddin. The rule of the Obeidis ended in Egypt and in its place was established the rule of the Ayyubia dynasty. Nuruddin had the titles to rule Syria, Jazirah and Mosul and then the caliph sent to him the documents to rule over Egypt, Syria, Mosul, Bakr, Khalat, Rome, and Iraq and gave him total power in these territories by appointing him Deputy to the Ruler. Salahuddin ruled as governor and king in Egypt on behalf of Nuruddin. Salahuddin was loyal to Nuruddin, who was loyal to the caliph of Baghdad. Now all the rulers began to fear caliph Mustazi and his name was read in the Friday sermons everywhere.

No one dared to oppose him. He appointed Qutubuddin Qaimaz as the chief of the armies. In 570 A.H., Qaimaz showed signs of rebellion against the caliph. When the caliph was besieged in his palace, he climbed on the roof of the palace and shouted "O people! Qutubuddin Qaimaz's wealth and goods are lawfµl for you." As soon as the people heard this, they stormed Qaimaz' s house and looted it. He fled Baghdad and went to Hillah while he was on the way to Mosul death overtook him.

In 573 A.H., caliph Mustazi's minister Azduddin Abu! Farah Muhammad bin Abdullah set out for Hajj with a big caravan. A Qaramati assassinated him on the way. The caliph then appointed Abu Mansoor Zahiruddin bin Nasr also known as Ibn Ata as his minister. The.caliph died in Thul Qadah 575 A.H. after ruling for nine and a half years. Minister Zahiruddin bin Ata enthroned the caliph's son Abu!

Abbas Ahmad who chose Nasir Li Dinillah as his title. Nasir Li Dinillah Nasir Li Dinillah bin Mustazi Bi Amrillah was born to a Turk slave girl named Zamurrad on 10 Rajab 553 A.H. and he took the throne in Thul Qadah 575 A.H. after his father's death. He was a very wise, farsighted and alert Caliph. Immediately after becoming caliph, he sent messengers to all the Islamic territories asking all the nobles to take the oath for his caliphate. At that time, Bahalwan bin Alidkaz ruled over Hamadan, Isfahan and Rayy, The chief scholar Sadruddin was sent to him to administer the oath. Bahalwan at first refused to oblige The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) but when his chiefs threatened him that if he did not take the oath they would turn against him, he took it.

Alidkaz Atabak died in Hamadan in 568 A.H. Alidkaz as has already been mentioned had been Arsalan Shah bin Sultan Tughral's tutor and guardian. Alidkaz had married Arsalan Shah's mother so Arsalan Shah was his stepson. After Alidkaz's death, his son Bahalwan became Arsalan Shah's tutor. In 573 A.H., Arsalan Shah also passed away. Bahalwan enthroned Arsalan' s son Tughral bin Arsalan bin Tughral and he himself continued to administrate over the above-mentioned territories.

When Bahalwan bin Alidkaz died in 582 A.H., Hamadan, Rayy, Isfahan Azerbaijan and Armenia were under his jurisdiction and Tughral bin Arsalan was under his guardianship. After Bahalwan's death, his brother U thman known as Qazal Arsalan bin Alidkaz took over the position. Tughral bin Arsalan remained under his guardianship for a short time and then he decided to part company with him. Along with some noblemen, Qazal captured a few cities. There were several battles between Qazal Arsalan and Tughral and gradually Tughral become more powerful while Qazal Arsalan grew weaker. Qazal Arsalan sent a message to the caliph's court, declared his allegiance to him and expressed the apprehensions for the safety of caliph's court in view of the growing power of Tughral.

Caliph Nasir Li Dinillah had the palaces of the Seljuqi Kings in Baghdad pulled down and sent Abul Muzaffar Obeidullah bin Yunus with an army to help Qazal Arsalan. Obeidullah had just reached Qazal Arsalan when he had to confront Tughral at Hamadan on 18 Rabia Awwal 584 A.H. In a pitched battle, Tughral became victorious and Obeidullah was captured. The rest of the army fled and retreated all the way to Baghdad. However, there was another battle between them and Qazal Arsalan defeated Tughral' s army and arrested him and imprisoned him in a fort. Qazal Arsalan began to rule over Hamadan, Rayy, Isfahan and the other territories.

He introduced his name in Friday sermon and minted coins in his name. In 587 A.H., Tughral was killed in prison and this brought the rule of the Seljuqs to an end. Thus, the sultanate founded by Tughral Baig met its end with a Sultan of the same name, Tughral Baig .. When Amir Isa, the ruler of Takrait died in 585 A.H., his brothers i Ii !, I /i ll Ji History of Islam captured it. Caliph Nasir sent his army and occupied it and granted feudal estates to Amir Isa's brothers. Similarly, he won Sharana in 586 A.H. and gave away feudal estates to the nobles there.

Then he sent armies to Khozistan and captured it and deputed Tashtageen bin Bahiruddin as the ruler on his behalf. At that time, Rayy was ruled over by Qatlagh bin Bahalwan bin Alidkaz. Khawarizm Shah forced him to evacuate and captured it. Muayeduddin Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Ali after conquering Khozistan at the caliph's instance and had given it to Tashtageen, was about to march with his army. Qatlagh bin Bahalwan called on him and persuaded him to invade Rayy. Muayeduddin went to Hamadan with Qatlagh where Khawarizm Shah's son was camped with his army.

When he heard about his arrival, he left and went to Rayy and Muayeduddin easily occupied Hamadan. Then Muayeduddin went to Rayy. Ibn Khawarizm left Rayy and Muayeduddin occupied it too and gradually conquered the whole region, which was under Qatlagh's possession. Khawarizm Shah sent a messenger to Muayeduddin and asked him to vacate the territory but he replied that the territory was conquered by caliph Nasir Li Dinillah's army and it would never be returned. Khawarizm invaded Hamadan with a large army. Meanwhile Muayeduddin died in Shaban 592 A.H. but his army gave a tough fight to Khawarizm Shah's army.

Finally, due to the absence of its commander, the Baghdad army suffered defeat and Khawarizm Shah captured Hamadan. After that Khawarizm Shah went to Isfahan, conquered it and put it under his son's care and left a large army for its defense. Then caliph Nasir Li Dinillah gave an army to commander Saifuddin who drove away Khawarizm Shah's son and captured Isfahan. Then Hamadan, Zanjan and Qazween also came under the caliph's occupation. In 602 A.H., Tashtageen, the ruler of Khozistan passed away and the caliph deputed the deceased's son-in-law Sanjar to rule. In 606 A.H., the caliph became angry with him.

During that period, as has been stated above, Iran was governed by Atabak Sad Zangi bin Wakla. The caliph sent his deputy minister with an army to punish Sanjar. When the minister reached Khozistan, Sanjar left and went to Sad Zangi in Iran. Sad received him warmly. In 606 A.H., the caliph's army occupied Khozistan and s~nt for Sanjar but he refused to come to the Caliph. The Baghdad army marched tow~rds Shiraz the The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) capital of Iran.

Atabak Sad Zangi wrote letters recommending Sanjar to the deputy minister. Finally, Sanjar went to the deputy minister in 608 A.H. who took him to Baghdad and brought him to the caliph's court in chains. The caliph sent his servant Yaqoot as the ruler of Khozistan and he set Sanjar free and honored him with a royal robe. In Muharram 613 A.H., the caliph sent his grandson Muayed bin Ali bin Nasir Li Dinillah as the ruler of Tashtar, which was part of Khozistan whose father had died in Thul Qadah 612 A.H. Aghlamash who was one of Bahalwan's chiefs, he conquered Jabal province by virtue of his bravery and wisdom and ruled it with stability. He was killed by a Qaramati in 614 A.H.

After his assassination the Iranian ruler Atabak Sad bin Wakla wanted to capture his territories while Khawarizm Shah, the ruler of Khorasan and Mawaraunnahr wanted to capture them from the other side. Atabak Sad Zangi took an army and conquered Isfahan. Khawarizm Shah was also marching on Isfahan. They clashed at Rayy and after a bloody battle Atabak Sad was defeated and captured. Khawarizm Shah brought under his control all of Aghlamash's territories and sent an application to the caliph in Baghdad for his own name to be read in the Friday sermon as his Deputy Ruler. He was refused.

Khawarizm then sent his army to Baghdad but it was caught in a heavy snowstorm and most of his soldiers perished. The Turks and the Kurds looted the remainder of the army. Those who somehow survived these disasters returned to Khawarizm in a very miserable condition. He considered this an ill omen and returned to Khorasan. He deputed his son Ruknuddin and appointed Emadul Malik Sadi the Prime Minister and deleted the caliph's name from the Friday sermon in the territories he occupied, this occurred in 615 A.H. In 616 A.H., a Mongol tribe, which lived in Tamghach in the Chinese mountains, revolted.

Their native country was a six-month journey from Turkistan. The chief of the tribe was Genghis Khan who belonged to the Turk tribe Tamarji. Genghis Khan invaded Turkistan and Mawaraunnahr, snatched these countries from the Turkanul Khata tribe and brought them under his control. Then he attacked Khawarizm Shah and captured Khorasan and Jabal from him. Then he conquered Araniah and Sherwan. Qne group of History of Islam these Tatars went to Ghazni, Sajistan and Kerman and conquered them.

After having suffered defeat at the hands of the Mongols, Khawarizm Shah went to a place in Tabristan and died after ruling for · 21 years. After defeating Khawarizm Shah they defeated his son Jalaluddin bin Khawarizm Shah at Ghazni and Genghis Khan pursued him up to the Sindh River. Jalaluddin crossed the river and entered India. After living in India for a short time, he went to Khozistan and Iraq in 622 A.H. and captured Armenia and Azerbaijan. Genghis Khan and his conquests will be dealt with in detail in a later chapter. After ruling for 47 years caliph Nasir Li Dinillah died in Ramadan 622 A.H.

It is said that as Khawarizm Shah had quarreled with the caliph an:d put a stop to the reading of the latter's name in the Friday sermon in his own countries, it was the caliph who instigated Genghis Khan to attack him because it was too difficult for him to punish Khawarizm Shah. Nasir Li Dinillah had spread his spies in all the cities of his territories. He wanted to keep himself abreast of all the affairs of his subjects. Most of them believed that he had under him some Jinn who supplied information to him. He was astute in political strategies and this helped establish a certain type of awe concerning him in his territories but the people were not happy. They were sick of his highhandedness and severe punishment~ During his regime, Sultan Salahuddin conquered many Roman cities and in 583 A.H., he recaptured Jerusalem after 91 years of occupation by the Christians.

In 589 A.H., Sultan Salahuddin Yusuf the conqueror of Jerusalem died. During the reign of caliph Nasir Li Dinillah, Abu! Faraj Ibn Jozi, Imam Fakhruddin Razi, Najmuddin Kubra, Qazi Khan passed away. After Caliph Nasir Li Dinillah, his son Abu Nasr Muhammad came to the throne and chose the title Zahir Bi Amrillah for himself. Zahir Bi Amrillah Zahir Bi Amrillah bin Nasir Li Dinillah was born in 571 A.H. He qi.me to the throne after his father's death on 1 Shawwal 622 at the age of 52.

Immediately after assuming power, he turned his attention chiefly to ruling justly. He provided relief to the people and exempted them from paying all taxes. He restored to them all their property, which the earlier caliphs had confiscated. He used to repay the debts of the The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) people personally. His motto was: "I have opened the shop in the evening. Let me do some good deeds." One day he was going to the treasury and a slave said to him, "The treasury remained full during your father's times." The caliph said, "I see no practicable way to fill my treasury.

I know only how to make it empty. Filling it is the job of the merchants." He funded many scholars. His regime resembled that of Omar bin Abdul Aziz. The whole country enjoyed absolute peace and prosperity and justice but he did not live long. He died after being caliph for only 9 and a half months on 15 Rajab 623 A.H. After him, his son with the title Mustansir Billah came to the throne.

Abu Jaf ar Mustansir Billah Mustansir Billah bin Zahir Bi-Amrillah was born to a Turk slave girl and came to the throne after his father's death in Ra jab 623 A.H. He resembled his father in moral virtues. He tried to impart and promote justice as his father had done. He was very fond of observing religious rites. He founded a school named Mustansaria in Baghdad and appointed renowned scholars as teachers there. The construction work started in 625 A.H. and ended in 631 A.H.

He started a library in which rare and invaluable books equal to 160 camel loads were kept. The teachers for 'Hadith' 'Grammer' Medicine and 'Heredity' were separately appointed. The school was responsible for the provision of their food, sweets, dry fruits and other things. It received much popular support. In 628 A.H., Malik Ashraf laid the foundation of Darul Hadith Ashrafia. It was completed in 630 A.H.

In 629 A.H., Muhammad bin Yusuf bin Hud revived the Abbasid dynasty in Andulas. In 634 A.H., Alauddin Kaiqabad bin Qalj Arsalan bin Sulaiman bin Qatlamash bin Israil bin Seljuqi who had been ruling over the greater part of Asia Minor died and his son Gheyathuddin Kaikhusru came to the throne. In 641 A.H., the Mongols attacked and defeated him. He surrendered to them and agreed to pay tribute. The two centuries of Seljuq rule ended in Asia Minor. Gheyathuddin Kaikhusru · ruled by paying tribute to the Mongols until 656 A.H. when he died.

During th'e same period, the great ancestor of the Ottoman dynasty began his rise to power. This will be narrated in detail later. History of Islam Caliph Mustansir tried his level best to create an efficient administration and promote justice in the country. However, as the Turks and the Mongols started conquering states and provinces one after another, his income diminished. Salahuddin Yusuf's sultanate, which consisted of Syria and Egypt, was ruined due to disunity. The flood of Mongols looted and desolated all the territory extending from Mawaraunnahr to the Roman (Mediterranean) Sea and the Black Sea.

At this time, the caliph had Iraq under his control and the Mongols were still wary of him and they did not approach his territories. Just as the Kings of Khorasan, Azerbaijan, Mosul, and Syria feared the Caliph's displeasure similarly the Mongols recognized the leadership of the caliph of Baghdad and dared not behave impertinently. The Mongols were sun-worshippers and did not come as Muslims like the Seljuqs so they did not care whose name was read in the Friday sermon at the mosques. Therefore, the name of the Baghdad caliph was being read in the Friday sermon as usual and that made him feel relieved. Having seen the surge of the Mongols Caliph Mustansir's brother, Khafaji, who was valiant and courageous, used to declare. "If I become caliph I would rub off the name of these Mongols beyond the river Jejoon." In 641 A.H., Caliph Mustansir died.

The people did not enthrone his brother Khafaji who was qualified in all respects and fully deserved it. They preferred Mustansir's son Abu Ahmad Abdullah because he was soft hearted and simple. The members of the court liked a caliph in whose regime they could make progress and grow more powerful. So, Abu Ahmad Abdullah came to the throne of caliphate with the title Mustasim Billah. Mustasim Billah Mustasim Billah bin Mustansir Billah was born to a slave girl named Hajir in 690 A.H. and ca~e to the throne after his father's death. He lacked courage and intelligence.

Though he was religious minded and observed all 'Sunnahs', he appointed Muayeduddin Ibn Alqami as his minister who was a fanatic Shia. As soon as he became minister, he turned the caliph into a puppet and became the ruling power in the government. Ibn Alqami began to push the Shias forward and allowed The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) them many concessions. The unorthodox additions to the religion which were current during the regime of Dailam were revived, which resulted in the outbreak of riots between the Shias and the Sunnis similar to those found during the Dailamis regime. He became busy trying to obliterate all signs of the Abbasids and establish the Caliphate of the Alawiites. In Baghdad, some sensible people knew about his evil plans.

They informed the Caliph of Ibn Alqami's treacherous plot but the caliph was such a great fool and coward that he narrated all these complaints to Ibn Alqami himself. Ibn Alqami convinced him of his loyalty and declared them to be treacherous and traitors. The Caliph was fully convinced of his allegiance. That increased his influence all the more and the tongues of his supporters were silenced. Then Ibn Alqami led the Caliph to drown himself in sports and drinking and thus he became safe from any harm. After a few days, the caliph's son Abu Bakr attacked Karkh near Baghdad, to stop their heavy handedness and passed uncomplimentary words against Ibn Alqami.

It made Ibn Alqami sad and he complained to the caliph but the caliph, regardful of his son, did not punish Abu Bakr in accordance with his wishes. That made Alqami all the more treacherous. He entered into correspondence with Genghis Khan's grandson Hulegu Khan who was the greatest chief of the Mongols and the King of Khorasan. When Hulegu Khan got the first letter, he did not pay much attention to it. Ibn Alqami had written that he would help him capture Baghdad and Iraq easily without any bloodshed and so he should invade them. Hulegu said to his emissary only this: 'What Ibn Alqami promises has no guarantee.

How could we believe him?' In fact, the Caliph's huge army, the Arab valor and the courage of the people of Baghdad had impressed the Mongols and their armies had suffered defeat at the hands of the Arab tribes in Syria. Ibn Alqami went to the caliph and after complaining about the shortage of revenue and increase in the salaries of the army, he proposed a reduction in the number of soldiers. The Caliph agreed. The major part of the Baghdad army was.sent to other cities and states. Those who remained were allowed to collect the revenue from the market for the payment of their salaries. This caused great agonies to the citizens and looting became rampant.

He disbanded many divisions of the army and turned them out. He told the Caliph that they were sent to the History of Islam border to check and stop the infiltration of the Mongols. In Hillah, the Shias outnumbered the Sunnis, he goaded them to write letters to Hulegu saying, 11 Our ancestors had predicted that such and such a Mongol chief would capture Baghdad and Iraq in such and such year. According to that prediction, you are the victorious chief and we are sure that you are going to occupy these territories very soon. We are loyal to you and ask you for security and protection." Hulegu wrote the letter of protection for them and handed it over to the messenger Nasiruddin Toosi who enjoyed a great reputation at Hulegu's court and discharged the duties of minister. He was also a fanatic Shia like lbn Alqami and he was an accomplice in his intrigue of ruining the Abbasids and establishing the caliphate of the Shiites.

Ibn Alqami wrote to Nasiruddin to goad Hulegu Khan to attack Baghdad at any cost and that it was a golden chance to deliver the la.,t mortal blow to the Abbasids. He also wrote a letter to Hulegu Khan that said. 111 have evacuated the armies from Baghdad and sent away all the weapons of war. What greater guarantee do you want?" Along with this, he had an application sent him by the ruler of Ardbil, which contained an inducement to launch an offensive against Baghdad. Hulegu received the letters after he had already conquered the Maut Fort of the Qaramata (Ismailites) and the last King of the lsmailites had already come in chains before him. Hulegu sought counsel from Nasirruddin Toosi. He said II Astrology says that Baghdad will come under your control and you will suffer no losses if you invade it." Hulegu sent a huge army as a vanguard to Baghdad.

When Mustasim heard about it, he sent Fathuddin Dawood and Mujahideen Ebak with 10 thousand horsemen. The commander of the army was Fathuddin who was a veteran and experienced general and a brave man. The Mongol army was defeated and it retreateci. Fathuddin thought it proper to stay there but Mujahideen, due to inexperience, insisted on pursuing them. Being compelled Fathuddin went after the Mongols. Consequently, the Mongols turned back and fought.

Those Mongols who had gone into hiding attacked from the rear. The Baghdad army was sandwiched in and was totally at a loss. Fathuddin was killed in action and Mujahideen fled and took refuge in Baghdad. It was because of the bad planning of Mujahideen that the victory of the Baghdad army turned into defeat. But caliph Mustasim, due to his The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) innate foolishness expressed joy at the sight of the run-away commander. Though the Baghdad army suffered defeat, Hulegu Khan's vanguard was also in disarray with many wounded.

So, caliph Mustasim was satisfied that the storm had passed off peacefully. But as Ibn Alqami who had kept the caliph completely in the dark was laughing at the latter's stupidity, news suddenly spread that Hulegu Khan had laid siege to Baghdad with a huge army. The citizens tried to defend and for 50 days they did not let the Mongols enter the city. The Shias of the city approached Hulegu Khan's army one after another and received a pledge of safety and apprised him of the situation in the city. Minister lbn Alqami remained in the city and kept sending information minute by minute. As the minister had no sympathy with the people of the city, they gradually grew weaker.

At last minister lbn Alqami came out of the city, met Hulegu Khan, sought security and safety only for himself and returned. He said to the caliph, "I have a pledge of safety for you too. Come let us go to Hulegu. He will let you continue to rule over Iraq as the Mongols allowed Gheyathuddin Kaikhusru to rule over their territories." The caliph came out of the city with his sons and went to Hulegu's army. Hulegu saw him and said, call all the members of your government and the religious and legal scholars of your city too." Hulegu Khan detained the caliph. Hearing the caliph's command the scholars and government leaders came out of the city and went to the Mongol army.

All of them were slain one by one. Then Hulegu said to the caliph, "Send the message to all the citizens to lay down their arms and come out of the city empty handed." Mustasim sent the message to them. They came out and the Mongols began to put them to the sword. All of them numbering several hundred thousand soldiers, cavaliers and nobles of the city were cut to pieces. All the moats and ditches of the city were filled with the corpses. The water of the river Tigris turned red due to the excess of blood of the slain.

The Mongols entered the city. Women and children with the Quran on their heads came out but none was spared. Hulegu Khan ordered his army to undertake a general massacre. The Mongols killed everyone they laid their hands on. Only a few persons who hid themselves in wells and similar places survived. The next day, Friday in Safar 656 A.H.

Hulegu Khan entered Baghdad taking Caliph Mustasim with him, he History of Islam held court in the Caliph's palace, called the caliph before him and said to him, "We are your guests present us something". The Caliph was so terror stricken that he couldn't find the right keys. At last, the locks of the treasury were broken. Two thousand fine clothes, one thousand dinars and gold ornaments were presented to Hulegu Khan. He said "Had you not given these things to us, they would have still been ours." Having said so, he distributed them among his courtiers. Then he ordered the treasures, which no one knew about, to be located.

The Caliph at once told him of their whereabouts. The ground was dug up bringing into view tanks full of gems and bags of coins. Ten million and six hundred thousand Muslims were butchered in and around Baghdad and the Caliph had to watch all these tragic scenes. Hulegu kept the Caliph without food and water. He felt hungry and asked for food. Hulegu ordered a tray full of gems to be put before him to eat.

The Caliph said, "How can I eat it?" Hulegu sent word, "Why did you not spend these inedible things to save the hundreds of thousands of lives of the Muslims and give it to your soldiers to fight on your behalf and save your ancestral country and protect you from us?" Then he held a counsel with his men regarding killing Mustasim. All favored his death. However, Nasiruddin Toosi and Ibn Alqami seeing the irony of luck said to Hulegu Khan, "Mostasim is the caliph of the Muslims. Swords should not be stained with his blood. He should be covered with and rolled in a blanket and kicked." The task was handed over to lbn Alqami. He rolled his master into a blanket and tied him to a pillar and had him kicked so much that he died.

Then his dead body was again kicked and run over by the Mongol soldiers until it was torn to bits. lbn Alqami stood by laughing and thinking that he was avenging the Aliwiites. In short, the dead body of the caliph did not find either a shroud or a grave and none of the Abbasid dynasty who was captured by the Mongols survived. Then Hulegu turned to the royal library, which contained countless books. All the books were thrown into the Tigris River, they formed a sort of dam in the river and gradually the water swept them away. The water of the Tigris, which had turned red with the blood of the slain, now turned black with the ink of the books and it continued to be so for a long time. All the royal palaces were looted and then leveled to the ground.

It was such a horrible carnage and catastrophe The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) that it is unprecedented in the history of the world. It was such a calamity for Islam that they have called it a small dooms day. lbn Alqami who engineered the annihilation and blood shed now tried and wanted Hulegu Khan to appoint some Alawi ruler in Baghdad and confer on him the title of caliph. In the beginning when Hulegu Khan invaded Baghdad, many promises were made to him and he was sure that Hulegu Khan would make some Hashmite Alawi caliph and he (Alqami) would be made his Deputy Ruler but Hulegu Khan deputed his own men to rule Iraq. Ibn Alqami was at his wit's end seeing these developments. He planned and planned, entreated and begged Hulegu Khan to achieve his end but Hulegu Khan chided and drove away him away like a dog and for a short time, he continued to serve the Mongols like an ordinary slave but ultimately the frustration killed him. Caliph Mustasim Billah was the last caliph of the Abbasids who ruled in Baghdad.

After 656 A.H., Baghdad ceased to be the capital. There was no caliph for three and a half years in the world after caliph Mustasim. After him, they took the oath for his uncle Abu! Qasim Ahmad in Rajah 659 A.H. The Abbasid Caliphs in Egypt Sultan Salahuddin bin Ayyub had founded the sultanate of Ayyubia after the Obeidia (Fa timid) dynasty, which has been recorded in detail ,.~ above. The power of ruling over Egypt, Syria and Hijaz remained in the dynasty of Sultan Salahuddin until 648 A.H.

As Sultan Salahuddin was a Kurd, the sultanate of Ayyubia is also called the sultanate of Kurdia. The seventh King of the sultanate of Ayyubia was Malik Saleh who was the great grandson of Salahuddin's brother. In order to save himself from family rivals he purchased twelve thousand slaves from Mount Qaf, that is, the province of Sarkesia and raised a modern army. During his rule, the Christian King of France brought soldiers on board ships and invaded Egypt. The Egyptian army fought with the invaders humbled and defeated them and captured the French King on the battlefield. It raised the status of the Egyptian army's reputation.

After Malik Saleh his son, Malik Moazzam Tooran Shah came to the throne. But after two months, Malik Saleh's slave girl Shajratuddur usurped the throne. Her regime gave rise to discontent History of Islam and rebellion. After ruling for three months she went into retirement and a man of the Ayyubia dynasty, Malik Ashraf Musa bin Yusuf, was formally enthroned. His regime strengthened the slave's power. Finally, in 653 A.H. they enthroned Azizuddin Ebak Salehi with the title Malik Moizz marking the end of the Ayyubia dynasty and the beginning of the slave dynasty (Mamluk dynasty) that lasted for many years.

In 655 A.H., Malik Moizz' s young son Ali succeeded to the throne. He was given the title Malik Mansoor and Amir Saifuddin Mamlook was assigned as his tutor and mentor. In 657 A.H., they deposed Malik Mansoor based on a religious judgment that he was a minor and therefore not eligible to be the leader, he was replaced by Amir Saifuddin with the title Malik Muzaffar. The slaves selected 2025 persons from among themselves and gave them the authority to rule as a council. They were regarded as the council of ministers and they chose one from among themselves as the amir or king. After assuming power, the Amir was enthroned as a King and was called Sultan or Malik.

The Sultan used to distribute important portfolios and posts among the members of the council. The Prime Minister was chosen from among the 20-25 council members also. Head of the Police and Head of Finance were considered to be major _portfolios. The rest were awarded lesser posts and powers. Sarkasian slaves were purchased at government expense if there became a shortage of soldiers. A slave dynasty also was in power in India too with the exception of two or three kings all the kings were descendents of King Shamsuddin Altamash and they carried the title of slave but had become very sophisticated as the dynasty evolved but the slaves holding the throne in Egypt were often slaves who had been purchased on the auction block and then by virtue of their personal merits gained access to the throne.

Historians have not pay heed to this fact and failed to state in unequivocal terms this quality of the slave dynasty of Egypt. In fact, the slave dynasty of Egypt needed reforms on some points but it is most admirable that the subjects had full liberty in choosing their ruler. The reign of this dynasty will be recorded in a separate chapter. At this stage in the narrative it is necessary to mention that Malik Muzaffar after hearing about the annihilation and plunder of Baghdad, the rest of Iraq, Khorasan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Jazirah and Mosul and the Mongols destruction of the The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) territories of Iraq with all their power, was galvanized into action. He along with his slave armies and armies of freemen left Egypt for Syria. On Friday 15 Ramadan 655 A.H., the general of the slave army Ruknuddin Baybars gave them a crushing and humiliating defeat the like of which they had never suffered before.

Thousands of the Mongols perished on the battlefield and the rest fled in terror. The slaves captured huge quantities of spoils and inspired fear in the Mongol's hearts. The Mongols turned upside down many kingdoms but they never looked towards Egypt out of fear of them. The slaves pursued them up to Halab and then returned to Egypt. On 16 Thul Qadah 658 A.H., Ruknuddin Baybars ascended the throne after Malik Muzaffar's death and chose Malik Zahir as his title. He came to know that the last and 37th caliph of the Abbasid dynasty Mustasim Billah's uncle Abu) Qasim Ahmad who had been in prison in Baghdad for a long time escaped at the time of the desolation of Baghdad and Mustasim's ;;urder.

He found out that he was alive and in hiding somewhere in Iraq. Malik Zahir sent a 10 member Arab delegation from Egypt to search for him. They succeeded and returned to Egypt with him. Hearing the news of his arrival Malik Zahir along with all the scholars and the members of the Egyptian government came out of Cairo to receive Abu) Qasim and escorted him respectfully into the city. They took the oath for his caliphate on 13 Rajab 659 A.H. and proposed the title Almustansir Billah for him. The king had his name read in the Friday sermon and imprinted on the coins.

He came to the grand mosque with the caliph in procession on Friday. The king spoke about the virtues of Abbas in the Friday sermon and made a prayer for the caliph. After the Friday prayer, the caliph presented him with a royal robe. On Monday 4 Shaban 659 A.H., tents outside Cairo were pitched. The caliph held court and declared Malik Zahir as the Deputy Ruler. Malik Zahir assigned servants for him and reserved a part of the Egyptian treasury for him with authority to use it as he liked.

After three years, he went to Syria with Malik Zahir' s army to fight against the Mongols and he was lost or killed in the battle. Following his disappearance one year passed when Malik Zahir received information about a lost Abbasid Prince. He found him and enthroned him as the caliph. His name was Abul Abbas Ahmad bin Hasan bin Ali bin Abu Bakr bin Khalifa Mustarshid Billah bin Mustazhir Billah. History of Islam Up to his great grandfather, none had been a caliph and thus the Abbasid caliphate started again with a descendent of caliph Mustarshid. His title was suggested as Hakim Bi-Amrillah.

He was enthroned on 8 Muharram 661 A.H. In 674 A.H., Malik Zahir conquered Sudan. It was considered to be a grand victory. Malik Zahir died in Muharram 676 A.H. then Malik Sayeed came to the throne. In 678 A.H., Malik Mansoor took the throne. He gave a crushing defeat to the Mongols in Syria in 680 A.H.

In 689 A.H., he died and Malik Ashraf succeeded him. On 18 Jumad Awwal 701 A.H., caliph Hakim Bi-Amrillah died after reigning for 40 years 5 months and 10 days and was buried in Cairo, he was succeeded by his son Abu Rabi Mustakfi as caliph. The slave government remained in power until 923 A.H. Sarkeshi slaves, called Bahriya slaves, reign was followed by another community of slaves in 784 A.H. called Charkasi slaves who began to rule as kings. The last Sultan of the Bahriya slaves, Sultan Malik Saleh was deposed in Ramadan 784 A.H. and was replaced by Barqooq Charkas with his title Malik Zahir. Until 922 A.H., Charkasi (Gurji) slaves ruled as kings in Egypt.

The last King of Gurji or Charkasi slaves Sultan Tooman Beg suffered defeat at the hands of Sultan Saleem Uthmani and Egypt was annexed to the Ottoman Empire. As mentioned above, the second chain of the Abbasid caliphs began with the slave rule in Egypt and it ended with the rule of the slaves in 922 A.H. The condition of the Abbasid caliphs in Egypt was that of figureheads only. They were caliphs in name only and they named their heir apparent. The Muslim Kings of India and other countries received the documents authorizing their Kingship and received titles from them. The slave Kings of Egypt also considered themselves to be the Deputy Rulers of those caliphs, treated them with respect and read their names in the Friday sermons.

However, in reality they enjoyed no power or glory. Their salaries were fixed. The Egyptian Sultan did not let them go anywhere freely. These caliphs with the members of their families used to live imprisoned within their palaces. They were called caliphs but they were as ignorant and as far from understanding the meaning of the Islamic caliphate as the sky is far from the earth. After capturing Egypt, Sultan Saleem Uthmani subjugated the Abbasid caliph Muhammad of Egypt who was the 18th and the last caliph in the The Caliphate of the Abbasids (Third Phase) chain of the Egyptian Abbasid caliphs.

The flag and robe that the Caliph had as symbols of the Caliphate with him were given to Sultan Saleem with his consent. Sultan Saleem took the last Abbasid caliph with him when he left Egypt. That Abbasid Caliph made Sultan Amir his heir-apparent and thus in 922 A.H. the Abbasid caliphate that began with Saffah and had been reduced to name only after 800 years met its end and the Ottoman dynasty which deserved the Caliphate most at that time began. There were 37 Caliphs in the Abbasid dynasty that ruled in Baghdad and Iraq plus 18 in Egypt a total of 55 Caliphs. While following the chain of the Abbasid dynasty, we have moved away from studying important branches of rulers and other developments, which we will now address. Normally at the end of a dynasty, we make some summary comments and review. However, we have said what we wanted to say about the Abbasid Caliphate and do not want to lose the natural impression, which is produced on the heart after reflecting on the consequences or end of this grand dynasty of Caliphs.