and five days. His reign lasted twenty-four years, eleven months, and fourteen days, making it longer than that of any caliph before him.
Caliphate of al-Qāhir
When al-Muqtadir bi-Llāh was killed—as we have mentioned—Muʾnis al-Khādim resolved to install Abū al-ʿAbbās, the son of al-Muqtadir (1), as caliph after his father so as to soothe the heart of al-Muqtadir’s mother. The majority of the emirs present, however, opposed the plan. Abū Yaʿqūb Isḥāq ibn Ismāʿīl al-Nūbakhtī said, “After all this toil and hardship, shall we pledge allegiance to a caliph who has a mother and aunts whom he obeys and consults?” He then brought forward Muḥammad ibn al-Muʿtaḍid (2)—al-Muqtadir’s brother—and the judges, commanders, and ministers swore the oath of allegiance to him, bestowing upon him the honorific title al-Qāhir bi-Llāh. This took place at dawn on Thursday, with two nights remaining of Shawwāl in the year 320 AH. Abū ʿAlī ibn Muqlah was appointed as his vizier, followed by Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim ibn ʿUbayd Allāh (3), and then by Abū al-ʿAbbās ibn al-Khaṣīb (4).
Al-Qāhir immediately began confiscating the property of al-Muqtadir’s associates and pursuing his sons. He summoned al-Muqtadir’s mother, who was suffering from dropsy, her [pain] (5) worsened by the intense grief she felt on learning of her son’s murder and how he had been left naked and exposed. For several days she ate nothing, and only after the women admonished her did she take a small piece of bread with salt. Despite all this, al-Qāhir had her brought before him and demanded an accounting of her wealth. She listed only the jewelry, ornaments, and clothing that women customarily possess, and denied having any money or gemstones, saying, “Had I possessed any of that, I would never have surrendered my son.” He ordered that she be beaten; she was hung by one leg and subjected to severe torture. She was forced to acknowledge the sale of her properties, and the troops took the proceeds toward their stipends. He pressed her to sell her endowments as well, but she stubbornly refused.
Al-Qāhir then summoned several of al-Muqtadir’s sons—among them Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Rāḍī, Hārūn, al-ʿAbbās, ʿAlī, al-Faḍl, and Ibrāhīm—ordered their property seized, and had them imprisoned, placing them in the custody of his chamberlain ʿAlī ibn Bulayq. Meanwhile, the vizier Abū ʿAlī ibn Muqlah held unchecked power: he dismissed and appointed at will, took and bestowed wealth, and removed the Banū al-Barīdī from their posts.
Among the notable deaths of this year was Aḥmad ibn ʿUmayr ibn Jawṣā (6), Abū al-Ḥasan al-Dimashqī, one of the eminent, keen-minded scholars and reliable transmitters of hadith.