Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 16.djvu/615

Rh last Vhba- ABBASIDS.] party of Moktadir prevailed, and his rival was put to death. Moktadir, however, was too young to exercise any real power ; he was governed by his eunuchs. He was, besides, a man of feeble character, and looked on help lessly at the death-struggle of the empire, upon which calamities of every kind now poured in. The Greeks invaded Mesopotamia. A truce was concluded with them ; but the Cannathians then recommenced their disorders in Syria. The indolence of the Caliph, and his inaction in the face of this danger, alienated all hearts from him ; and the eunuch Munis, the principal chief of his party,&quot; took the lead in deposing him and proclaiming in his stead his brother KAhir billAh (Victorious through God), in the year 317 (A.D. 929-930). KAhir, however, having refused to distribute a donative to the army on the occasion of his accession, a counter-revolution took place, and Moktadir, who had been imprisoned, was taken from his dungeon and replaced on the throne, only three days after his de position. Favoured by these disturbances, the governor of Mosul, NAsir al-Daula, declared himself independent, and founded definitively the dynasty of the Hamdanites ; thus causing an additional dismemberment of the empire. The Carmathians in their turn, under the guidance of a new chief, Abu Tahir, obtained possession of Mecca, and carried off the celebrated black stone of the Ka ba, which they did not restore till very long afterwards. Meanwhile the eunuch Mtinis had been disgraced. He withdrew at first to Mosul, to the court of Nasir al-Daula ; but it was to raise an army and march upon Baghdad, where the Caliph had again fixed his abode. The object of Munis was not to attack the Caliph, but only to take vengeance on his personal enemies. Moktadir was induced by evil coun sellors to make a sally against Munis. His troops were put to the rout, and he himself fell on the field of battle, in the year 320 (A.D. 932). With the reign of Moktadir is connected one of the greatest events in the history of the Caliphate, the founda tion of the Fatimite dynasty, which reigned, first in the Maghrib and then in Egypt, for nearly three centuries. The first of this family who put forward any pretensions to the Caliphate was Obaid Allah, surnamed the Mahdi, or Messiah of the followers of AH, who gave himself out as a direct descendant of All, through his wife FAtima, the daughter of Mohammed, whence the name of Fatimite. It .seems to be proved that Obaid Allah was really descended from a certain AbdallAh b. Maimun el-Kaddah, the founder of the Ismailian sect, of which the Carmathians were only a branch. This Obaid Allah had himself become pontiff of the Ismailians. As early as the Caliphate of Moktafi, one of Obaid Allah s missionaries, named Abu AbdallAh, had succeeded in gaining numerous parti sans in the province of Africa, then subject to the Aghlabites, and the victories of this missionary had wrested Eastern Africa from the family of Aghlab when Moktadir ascended the throne. Obaid Allah then repaired to his new realm (A.H. 303), and founded the city of Mahdiya, which he made his capital. He tried also, but without success, to seize Egypt ; the conquest of that country was reserved for one of his successors, Mo izz li-din-illAh. Obaid Allah died two years after Moktadir, leaving to his son Kaim an empire already sufficiently powerful to cause uneasiness to the AbbAsids, to the Omayyads of Spain, and to all the Christian princes whose states bordered on the Mediterranean. 19. KAhir billAh, on being raised anew to the throne a ft cr the death of his brother Moktadir, still bore ill-will to his patrons, and tried to free himself from their guardianship. The emirs of his court dethroned him a second time and put out his eyes. One of his nephews was then proclaimed Caliph under the name of RAdi 587 billah (Content through God). This prince, who was entirely governed by those about his person, created, in favour of a certain Abiibekr Mohammed b. RAik, the office of Amir al-OmarA, or Emir of the Emirs, which nearly corresponds to that of Mayor of the Palace among the Franks. 1 The Amir al-OmarA was charged with the administration of civil and military affairs. He also acted as the Caliph s deputy in sacerdotal functions, and was named next after him in the public prayers. Thenceforth the Caliphate was no longer anything but an empty shadow. During the reigns of KAhir and RAdi, the Car mathians became more audacious than ever. The Amir al-OmarA was obliged to purchase from them the freedom of pilgrimage to Mecca at the price of a disgraceful treaty. Thus the Caliphate found itself almost reduced to the pro vince of BaghdAd. KhorAsAn, Transoxiana, Kirman, and Persia were in the hands of independent sovereigns, the SA- mAnids, the Biiyids, and a prince named Washimgir. The HamdAnites possessed Mesopotamia ; the Sajites, Armenia; Egypt was under the rule of the Ikhshidites ; Arabia was held by the Carmathians ; Africa, as we have seen, had become the prey of the FAtimites. The single transient success obtained by RAdi was the capture of Mosul in A.H. 328 (A.D. 939-40) ; and even this success he owed to the Turk Bejkem, who had succeeded Mohammed b. RAik as Amir al-OmarA. RAdi died in the following year, and was succeeded by Mottab. Mottaki lillAh (He who fears God). From his very accession, this prince saw himself exposed to the attacks of a certain Al-Barfdi, who had carved out for himself a principality in Chaldrea, and who now laid siege to BaghdAd. NAsir al-Daula, prince of Mosul, who had been reinstated in his government, offered an asylum to Mottaki ; put his troops at his disposal, and succeeded in repelling Al- Baridi. In return he obtained the office of Amir al-OmarA. But there were other competitors for that post. Turun, a former lieutenant of Bejkem, protested sword in hand against the choice of the Caliph, and threatened Bagh dAd. Ikhshid, sovereign of Egypt, offered Mottaki a refuge in his states ; but Turun, fearing to see the Caliph obtain such powerful support, found means to entice him to his tent, and had his eyes put out, A.H. 333 (A.D. 944-945). As successor to Mottaki, Turun chose Mostakfi billah (He MostakfL who places his whole trust in God). This prince, like his predecessors, was a mere puppet in the hands of his min isters. A new Amir al-OmarA, Zirak 1). ShirzAd, made himself so hateful to the people of BaghdAd by his deeds of violence and rapacity that they besought the help of the Biiyids. Ahmed, the third prince of that dynasty, entered BaghdAd, overthrew Zirak, and took his place under the title of Mo izz al-Daula. Mostakfi soon had enough of this new master, and ventured to conspire against him. The plot was discovered, and Mo izz al-Daula had the eyes of the Caliph put out. There were now at BaghdAd three Caliphs who had been dethroned and blinded KAhir, Mottaki, and Mostakfi. Mo izz al-Daula thought for a moment of restoring the illusory title of Caliph to the descendants of Ali. He feared, however, lest this should lead to the recovery by the Caliphs of their former supremacy, and his choice fell on a son of Moktadir under the name of Moti lillAh (He who obeys Moti&quot;. God). Reserving to himself all the powers and revenues of the Caliph, he allowed Moti merely a secretary and a moderate pension. The prince of Mosul, who began to think his possessions threatened by the neighbourhood of Mo izz, entered on a struggle with him and tried to wrest BaghdAd from him ; but he failed, and was obliged to 1 See Defreinerv, Memoire sur les Emirsal-0mf.ro. Paris, 1848.