1. Al-Mutawakkil succeeded his brother, al-Wathiq, and is known for expanding the empire to its maximum extent.
44 Facts About Al-Mutawakkil
1. 2.
Al-Mutawakkil is known for his tough rule, especially with respect to non-Muslim subjects.
3.
Al-Mutawakkil's father became the eighth Abbasid caliph of the Caliphate in 833.
4.
Al-Mutawakkil's father ruled the caliphate for eight years and he was succeeded by his elder son al-Wathiq.
5.
Al-Mutawakkil's other sons Ahmad and Talha were born in 842 and 843, respectively.
6.
Al-Mutawakkil came in a brand-new court dress, hoping to mollify the Caliph, but instead, al-Wathiq ordered that his hair be shorn off, and al-Mutawakkil was struck in the face with it.
7.
Al-Mutawakkil's possessions were confiscated, and he was tortured to death.
8.
Al-Mutawakkil released from prison the famous jurist Ahmad ibn Hanbal ibn Hilal ibn Asad al-Shaybani, who opposed the Mutazilites in their opinion that the Quran was created.
9.
Al-Mutawakkil retook the mines, pressed on to the Beja royal stronghold and defeated the king in battle.
10.
Al-Mutawakkil's reign is remembered for its many reforms and is viewed as a golden age of the Abbasids.
11.
Al-Mutawakkil would be the last great Abbasid caliph; after his death, the dynasty would fall into decline.
12.
Al-Mutawakkil decided to diverge away from the religious policies of the previous caliphs, opting instead to put a stop to the controversy over whether the Qur'an was created or uncreated, ultimately bringing an end to the doctrinal regime that had been in place since 833.
13.
Al-Mutawakkil spent the next several years taking hostile steps against the Mu'tazilites, dismissing a number of Ibn Abi Du'ad's qadis from office and ordering an end to debate over the nature of the Qur'an.
14.
Al-Mutawakkil appointed the famous Arab Islamic scholar Yahya ibn Aktham as Chief judge in 851, and he remained in office until al-Mutawakkil deposed him in 854.
15.
Al-Mutawakkil was killed before the cypress wood arrived for his new palace.
16.
Al-Mutawakkil was unlike his brother and father in that he was not known for having a thirst for knowledge, but he had an eye for magnificence and a hunger to build.
17.
Al-Mutawakkil ordered a canal to be built to divert water from the Tigris, entrusting the project to two courtiers, who ignored the talents of a local engineer of repute and entrusted the work to al-Farghani, the great astronomer and writer.
18.
Al-Mutawakkil was keen to involve himself in many religious debates, something that would show in his actions against different minorities.
19.
Al-Mutawakkil belonged to the household of his brother caliph al-Wathiq, who kept her as a concubine and favorite although she belonged to the singer Amr ibn Banah.
20.
Al-Mutawakkil married her, and she became one of his favourites.
21.
Al-Mutawakkil then married her, following her conversion to Islam, and she remained his favourite until his death.
22.
Al-Mutawakkil is reputed to have four thousand concubines, all of whom shared his bed.
23.
Al-Mutawakkil was a Greek, and was the mother of his eldest son, the caliph al-Muntasir.
24.
Al-Mutawakkil was an Andulasian and was one of his favourites.
25.
Al-Mutawakkil was the mother of his sons Ibrahim al-Mu'ayyad and Abu Ahmad al-Muwaffaq.
26.
Al-Mutawakkil was from Kufa and was the mother of caliph al-Mu'tamid.
27.
Al-Mutawakkil was a Greek, and was the mother of caliph al-Mu'tazz, Isma'il and Qurb, known as Umm Abdullah.
28.
Al-Mutawakkil was renowned for her poetry and her beauty, and was one of his favourites.
29.
Al-Mutawakkil was devoted to her, preferring her over all his concubines.
30.
Al-Mutawakkil was purchased by Muhammad ibn al-Faraj al-Rukhkhaji, who gave her to al-Mutawakkil.
31.
Al-Mutawakkil had a dark complexion, was cultured, articulate, and quick-witted.
32.
Al-Mutawakkil had been given to al-Mutawakkil by Ubaydullah ibn Tahir, when he became caliph, as one of a group of four hundred slaves.
33.
Al-Mutawakkil then went to Baghdad, where she lived in anonymity and eventually passed away due to sorrow.
34.
Al-Mutawakkil was a poet and was related to the poet Shariyah.
35.
Al-Mutawakkil was known by her epithet al-Attarah because she made a great use of perfume.
36.
Al-Mutawakkil and another concubine, Zamya al-Hamadaniyya, who was a poet, were brought from al-Yamama and sold to al-Mutawakkil.
37.
Al-Mutawakkil was famous for her exceptional singing skills and imaginative talent.
38.
Al-Mutawakkil had three more sons, Abu'l-Hassan, who died in 885, Abu Isa Abdullah, who was a musician and a composer, and who was killed in 892, and Ishaq.
39.
Al-Mutawakkil continued to rely on Turkic statesmen and slave soldiers to put down rebellions and lead battles against foreign empires, notably the Byzantines.
40.
Al-Mutawakkil's secretary, al-Fath ibn Khaqan, who was Turkic, was a famous figure of al-Mutawakkil's era.
41.
Al-Mutawakkil would be the last great Abbasid caliph; after his death the dynasty would fall into a decline.
42.
Al-Mutawakkil is featured in the prologue of the video game Assassin's Creed Mirage, in which the caliph is serving as a puppet for the Order of the Ancients, a secret society devoted to restoring humanity to servitude.
43.
Al-Mutawakkil initially protects a Precursor relic on their behalf, but when the game's protagonist Basim attempts to steal it, he fights the young thief and his friend Nehal, who stabs the caliph with his own dagger.
44.
Al-Mutawakkil's death allows the Order to gain more control in Baghdad, prompting the game's plot, which follows along with the Anarchy at Samarra.