24 – al-Muqtadir bi-Llāh, Abū al-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn al-Muʿtaḍid bi-Llāh Aḥmad *

The caliph al-Muqtadir bi-Llāh—Abū al-Faḍl Jaʿfar, son of al-Muʿtaḍid bi-Llāh Aḥmad ibn Abī Aḥmad Ṭalḥah ibn al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh, the Hāshimite, ʿAbbāsid, Baghdadi—received the oath of allegiance after his brother al-Muktafī in 295 AH, when he was only thirteen years old. No one before him had ever assumed the office at a younger age (1). During his reign the structure of the Imamate unraveled and the prestige of the caliphate waned. He was deposed at the very beginning of his rule, and allegiance was transferred to Ibn al-Muʿtazz, but that bid failed. Ibn al-Muʿtazz and a number of others were then killed. Later, in 317 AH, he was deposed a second time. He even issued a written statement abdicating the throne, and they swore allegiance to his brother al-Qāhir; three days later al-Muqtadir was restored, yet on the third occasion he was killed.

He was of medium height, handsome of face, fair-skinned with a reddish complexion. Grey had begun to appear in his sideburns, and he lived thirty-eight years.

Abū ʿAlī al-Tanūkhī said: “He had a fine mind and sound judgment, but he was devoted to his passions. I heard the vizier ʿAlī ibn ʿĪsā say: ‘If this man—meaning al-Muqtadir—would only give up wine for five days, he might at times match al-Maʾmūn and al-Muʿtaḍid in the firmness of his judgment.’” (2)

I say: He was insatiable for games and concubines, paying no heed to the burdens of state