and Judge Ibn al-Karkhī (1) issued the formal ruling deposing him, and they gave the oath of allegiance to his uncle (2).

Al-Sadīd ibn al-Anbārī relates: The sultan sent word to his uncle Sanjar, asking, “Whom shall we appoint?” Sanjar wrote back: “Appoint no one unless the vizier, the keeper of the treasury, and Ibn al-Anbārī stand surety for him.”

Masʿūd then gathered us together, whereupon the vizier proposed, “Let us invest the pious ascetic Muḥammad, son of al-Mustazhir.” Masʿūd asked, “Will you guarantee him?” The vizier replied, “Yes—besides, we are already connected by marriage, for he married my daughter during his father’s reign.”

Masʿūd seized all the contents of the Caliphal palace, leaving in the royal stables only four horses and eight mules. Thus, when they swore allegiance to Muḥammad, it was stipulated that he possess neither horses nor equipment for campaigning.

In the second year of his reign Masʿūd levied a heavy confiscation upon the people of Baghdad. The ascetic Ibn al-Kawwāz went out to admonish him; Masʿūd relented, yet he left the Caliph nothing except some real estate. Later the Caliph married Masʿūd’s sister.

In that same year (3) Masʿūd, the armies of Azerbaijan, and the deposed al-Rāshid fought a dreadful battle. The Caliph wrote to Zengī, granting him ten towns and asking him not to aid al-Rāshid; as a result, the Friday sermon in Mosul was delivered in al-Muqtafi’s name. Al-Rāshid sent word to Zengī: “You have betrayed me.” Zengī replied, “We have no power to stand up to Masʿūd.”

Al-Rāshid’s vizier Ibn Ṣadaqa abandoned him; his troops dwindled, and he withdrew to Marāgha. There he wept at his father’s grave, throwing dust upon his head. The townspeople rallied to him, offered him money, and he was strengthened by Prince Dāwud. He formed battle lines against Masʿūd, and Dāwud gained the upper hand.

In that same year (4) the Egyptian vizier Tāj al-Dawlah Bahrām, an Armenian Christian, fled—he had