The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 35

The Crisis of the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate: The Caliphates of al-Mustaʿīn and al-Muʿtazz A.D. 862-869/A.H. 248-255

Translated by George Saliba

Subjects: Islam
Series: SUNY series in Near Eastern Studies
Paperback : 9780791406274, 200 pages, July 1990
Hardcover : 9780873958837, 200 pages, October 1985

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Table of contents

Translator's Foreword

The Caliphate of al-Mustac in

The Events of the Year 249 (863/864)

Reason for the death of c Ali b. Yahya al-Armani

The Shakiriyyah riot in Baghdad

Reason for the death of Utamish and Shujac

The Events of the Year 250 (864/865)

Causes of Yahya b. c Umar b. Abi Talib's uprising

Reason for the rebellion of al-Hasan b. Zayd b. Abi Talib

The events of the Year 251 (865/866)

The killing of Baghar

The civil war between al-Mu c tazz and al-Mustac in

Al-Mada'in during the civil war

Al-Anbar and the civil war

The Caliphate of al-Mu c tazz

The Events of the Year 252 (866/867)

Al-Mu c tazz removes his brother as heir to the throe

The death of al-Mu'ayyad, and its cause

The Death of al-Musta c in

The Talibids carried off to Samarra

The Events of the Year 253 (867)

The killing of Bundar al-Tabari

The Events of the Year 254 (868)

The killing of Bugha al-Sharabi

The Events of the Year 255 (868/869)

Ya c qub b. al-Layth takes Fars and capturesc Ali b.al-Husayn

Bibliography

Index

Description

The period covered in this volume is one of the most tumultuous periods of Islamic history. In it, al-Ṭabarī details with great success the intricate events that shaped real political power in Sāmarrā and Baghdad during the middle of the ninth century, laying bare the dynamics through which the army generals--who were mainly of Central Asian Turkish extraction--consolidated their grip on the caliphate. The political maneuvering that enabled them to pass the reins of real power to their descendants, creating a dynasty parallel to the "legitimate" caliphal dynasty, is also clearly revealed.

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