Tarikh (al-Tabari) 3375
The Year 248 AH
خِلَافَةِ الْمُسْتَعِينِ وَفِي سَنَةُ ثَمَانٍ وَأَرْبَعِينَ وَمِائَتَيْنِ بُويِعَ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْمُعْتَصِمِ بِالْخِلَافَةِ، وَيُكَنَّى: أَبَا الْعَبَّاسِ، وَقِيلَ: أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، وَكَانَ يَنْزِلُ سُرَّ مَنْ رَأَى، ثُمَّ وَرَدَ بَغْدَادَ فَأَقَامَ بِهَا إِلَى أَنْ خُلِعَ، وَأُمُّهُ أُمُّ وَلَدٍ اسْمُهَا مُخَارِقُ، وَكَانَ أَبْيَضَ حَسَنَ الْوَجْهِ، ظَاهِرَ الدَّمِ، بِوَجْهِهِ أَثَرُ جُدَرِيٍّ، وَسَبَبُ بَيْعَتِهِ أَنَّ الْمُنْتَصِرَ لَمَّا تُوُفِّيَ اجْتَمَعَ الْمُوَالِي عَلَى الْهَارُونِيَّةِ مِنَ الْغَدِ، وَفِيهَا بُغَا الْكَبِيرُ، وَبُغَا الصَّغِيرُ، وَأَتَامِشُ، وَغَيْرُهُمْ، فَاسْتَحْلَفُوا قُوَّادَ الْأَتْرَاكِ، وَالْمَغَارِبَةِ، وَالْأَشْرُوسَنِّيَّةِ عَلَى أَنْ يَرْضَوْا بِمَنْ رَضِيَ بِهِ بُغَا الْكَبِيرُ، وَبُغَا الصَّغِيرُ، وَأُتَامِشُ، وَذَلِكَ بِتَدْبِيرِ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ الْخَصِيبِ، فَحَلَفُوا، وَتَشَاوَرُوا، وَكَرِهُوا أَنْ يَتَوَلَّى الْخِلَافَةَ أَحَدٌ مِنْ وَلَدِ الْمُتَوَكِّلِ لِئَلَّا يَغْتَالَهُمْ، وَأَجْمَعُوا عَلَى أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْمُعْتَصِمِ، فَدَعَوْهُ لِيُبَايِعَ لَهُ بِالْخِلَافَةِ، فَقَالَ: أَسْتَعِينُ بِاللَّهِ وَأَفْعَلُ. فَسُمِّيَ الْمُسْتَعِينُ، فَبَايَعُوهُ بَعْدَ عِشَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ لَيْلَةِ الِاثْنَيْنِ لَسْتٍ خَلَوْنَ مِنْ رَبِيعٍ الْآخَرِ، فَاسْتَكْتَبَ أَحْمَدَ بْنَ الْخَصِيبِ، وَاسْتَوْزَرَ أُوتَامُشَ. فَلَمَّا كَانَ يَوْمُ الِاثْنَيْنِ سَارَ الْمُسْتَعِينُ إِلَى دَارِ الْعَامَّةِ فِي زِيِّ الْخِلَافَةِ، وَحَمَلَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ الْحَرْبَةَ، وَصَفَّ وَاجِنُ الْأَشْرُوسَنِيُّ أَصْحَابَهُ صَفَّيْنِ، وَقَامَ هُوَ وَعِدَّةٌ مِنْ وُجُوهِ أَصْحَابِهِ، وَحَضَرَ الدَّارَ أَصْحَابُ الْمَرَاتِبِ مِنَ الْعَبَّاسِيِّينَ وَالطَّالِبِيِّينَ وَغَيْرِهِمْ. فَبَيْنَا هُمْ كَذَلِكَ إِذْ جَاءَتْ صَيْحَةٌ مِنْ نَاحِيَةِ الشَّارِعِ وَالسُّوقِ، وَإِذَا نَحْوًا مِنْ خَمْسِينَ فَارِسًا ذَكَرُوا أَنَّهُمْ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ طَاهِرٍ، وَمَعَهُمْ غَيْرُهُمْ مِنْ أَخْلَاطَ النَّاسِ وَالْغَوْغَاءِ وَالسُّوقَةِ، فَشَهَرُوا السِّلَاحَ، وَصَاحُوا: نَفِيرَ، يَا مَنْصُورُ ! وَشَدُّوا عَلَى أَصْحَابِ الْأُشْرُوسَنِيِّ فَتَضَعْضَعُوا، وَانْضَمَّ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ، وَتَحَرَّكَ مَنْ عَلَى بَابِ الْعَامَّةِ مِنَ الْمُبَيِّضَةِ وَالشَّاكِرِيَّةِ، وَكَثُرُوا، فَحَمَلَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَغَارِبَةُ، وَبَعْضُ الْأُشْروسَنِّيَّةِ، فَهَزَمُوهُمْ حَتَّى أَدْخَلُوهُمْ دَرْبَ زَرَافَةَ، ثُمَّ نَشِبَتِ الْحَرْبُ بَيْنَهُمْ، فَقُتِلَ جَمَاعَةٌ، وَانْصَرَفَ الْأَتْرَاكُ بَعْدَ ثَلَاثِ سَاعَاتٍ، وَقَدْ بَايَعُوا الْمُسْتَعِينَ هُمْ وَمَنْ حَضَرَ مِنَ الْهَاشِمِيِّينَ وَغَيْرِهِمْ. وَدَخَلَ الْغَوْغَاءُ وَالْمُنْتَهِبَةُ دَارَ الْعَامَّةِ، فَانْتَهَبُوا الْخِزَانَةَ الَّتِي فِيهَا السِّلَاحُ، وَالدُّرُوعُ، وَالْجَوَاشِنُ، وَالسُّيُوفُ، وَالتُّرُسُ، وَغَيْرُ ذَلِكَ، وَكَانَ الَّذِينَ نَهَبُوا ذَلِكَ الْغَوْغَاءُ، وَأَصْحَابُ الْحَمَّامَاتِ، وَغِلْمَانُ أَصْحَابِ الْبَاقِلِّيِّ، وَأَصْحَابُ الْفُقَّاعِ، فَأَتَاهُمْ بُغَا الْكَبِيرُ، فِي جَمَاعَةٍ، فَأَجْلُوهُمْ عَنِ الْخِزَانَةِ، وَقَتَلُوا مِنْهُمْ عِدَّةً، وَكَثُرَ الْقَتْلُ مِنَ الْفَرِيقَيْنِ، وَتَحَرَّكَ أَهْلُ السِّجْنِ بِسَامَرَّا، وَهَرَبَ مِنْهُمْ جَمَاعَةٌ، ثُمَّ وَضَعَ الْعَطَاءَ عَلَى الْبَيْعَةِ، وَبَعَثَ بِكِتَابِ الْبَيْعَةِ إِلَى مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ طَاهِرٍ، فَبَايَعَ لَهُ هُوَ وَالنَّاسُ بِبَغْدَاذَ. ذِكْرُ ابْنِ مِسْكَوَيْهِ فِي كِتَابِ " تَجَارِبِ الْأُمَمِ " أَنَّ الْمُسْتَعِينَ أَخُو الْمُتَوَكِّلِ لِأَبِيهِ، وَلَيْسَ هُوَ كَذَلِكَ، إِنَّمَا هُوَ وَلَدُ أَخِيهِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْمُعْتَصِمِ، وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ. وَلَمَّا تُوُفِّيَ الْمُنْتَصِرُ كَانَ فِي بَيْتِ الْمَالِ تِسْعُونَ أَلْفَ أَلْفِ دِرْهَمٍ فَأَمَرَ الْمُسْتَعِينُ لِلْجُنْدِ بِرِزْقِ خَمْسَةِ أَشْهُرٍ وَكَانَ أَلْفَيْ أَلْفِ دِينَارٍ، وَلِلْعَابِدِ: أَلْفٍ وَاثْنَيْنِ وَتِسْعِينَ دِينَارًا. وعن عَبْدُ اللَّهِ] بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ دَاوُدَ الْمَعْرُوفُ بِأُتْرُجَّةَ قَالَ: دَخَلْتُ عَلَى الْمُسْتَعِينِ بِاللَّهِ فَأَنْشَدْتُهُ: غَدَوْتَ بِسَعْدٍ غُدْوَةً لَكَ بَاكِرَةْ فَلَا زَالَتِ الدُّنْيَا بِمُلْكِكَ عَامِرَهْ وَنَالَ مَوَالِيكَ الْغِنَى بِكَ مَا بَقُوا وَعَزُّوا وَعَزَّتْ دَوْلَةٌ لَكَ نَاصِرَهْ بُعِثْتَ عَلَيْنَا غَيْثَ جُودٍ وَرَحْمَةٍ فَنِلْنَا بِدُنْيَا مِنْكَ فَضْلًا وَآخِرَهْ فَلَا خَائِفَ إِلَّا بَسَطْتَ أَمَانَهُ وَلَا مُعْدِمَ إِلَّا سَدَدْتَ مَفَاقِرَهْ تَيَقَّنْ بِفَضْلِ الْمُسْتَعِينِ بِفَضْلِهِ عَلَى غَيْرِهِ نَعْمَاءَ فِي النَّاسِ ظَاهِرَهْ قَالَ: فَدَفَعَ إِلَيَّ خَرِيطَةً كَانَتْ فِي يَدِهِ مَمْلُوءَةً دَنَانِيرَ، وَدَعَا بِغَالِيَةٍ فَجَعَلَ يُغَلِّفُنِي بِيَدِهِ.
Translation
✧ The caliphate of al-Mustaʿīn In the year 248 AH, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. al-Muʿtaṣim was given allegiance as caliph. His kunya was Abū al-ʿAbbās, and it was also said Abū ʿAbd Allāh. He resided in Surra man raʾā. Then he came to Baghdad and stayed there until he was deposed. His mother was an umm walad named Mukhāriq. He was fair-skinned, handsome of face, ruddy-complexioned, with a pockmark on his face. The reason for his allegiance was that when al-Muntaṣir died, the mawālī gathered at al-Hārūniyya the next day, among them Bughā the Elder, Bughā the Younger, Atāmish, and others. They made the commanders of the Turks, the Maghāriba, and the Ushrūsaniyya swear an oath that they would accept whomever Bughā the Elder, Bughā the Younger, and Atāmish accepted. That was by the contrivance of Aḥmad b. al-Khaṣīb. So they swore, took counsel together, and disliked that anyone from the descendants of al-Mutawakkil should assume the caliphate, lest he assassinate them. They agreed upon Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. al-Muʿtaṣim. They summoned him to have allegiance pledged to him for the caliphate. He said: "I seek help from God, and I will do it." So he was named al-Mustaʿīn. They pledged allegiance to him after the late evening prayer on the night of Monday, six nights remaining of Rabīʿ al-Ākhir. He appointed Aḥmad b. al-Khaṣīb as his secretary and Atāmish as his vizier. When Monday came, al-Mustaʿīn went to Dār al-ʿĀmma in the attire of the caliphate, and Ibrāhīm b. Isḥāq carried the spear before him. Wājin al-Ushrūsanī drew up his companions in two rows, and he stood with a number of his chief men. Those who held ranks from the ʿAbbāsids, the Ṭālibids, and others attended the dār. While they were thus, a shout came from the direction of the main street and the market. About fifty horsemen appeared who claimed to be from the companions of Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Ṭāhir, and with them others from the mixed populace, the rabble, and the market people. They brandished weapons and shouted: "War cry! O Manṣūr!" They attacked the companions of al-Ushrūsanī, who wavered and drew together. Those at the gate of al-ʿĀmma from the Mubayyiḍa and the Shākiriyya stirred and increased in number. The Maghāriba and some of the Ushrūsaniyya charged them and routed them until they drove them into Darb Zarāfa. Then fighting broke out among them, and a group was killed. The Turks departed after three hours, having pledged allegiance to al-Mustaʿīn, they and those present from the Hāshimites and others. The rabble and the looters entered Dār al-ʿĀmma and plundered the storehouse containing weapons, coats of mail, cuirasses, swords, shields, and other things. Those who plundered that were the rabble, the bath-house attendants, the servants of the sellers of bāqillāʾ, and the sellers of fuqqāʿ. Bughā the Elder came to them with a group and expelled them from the storehouse, killing a number of them. The killing increased on both sides. The prison inmates in Sāmarrā stirred and a group of them escaped. Then he assigned the gift on the pledge of allegiance, and he sent the document of allegiance to Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Ṭāhir, and he and the people in Baghdad pledged allegiance to him. Ibn Miskawayh mentioned in his book "The Experiences of the Nations" that al-Mustaʿīn was the brother of al-Mutawakkil through his father. That is not so; rather he was the son of his brother Muḥammad b. al-Muʿtaṣim, and God knows best. When al-Muntaṣir died, there were ninety thousand thousand dirhams in the public treasury. Al-Mustaʿīn ordered for the army the stipend of five months, which was two thousand thousand dinars, and for the slave: one thousand and ninety-two dinars. On the authority of ʿAbd Allāh b. Muḥammad b. Dāwūd, known as Utrujja, he said: I entered upon al-Mustaʿīn billāh and recited to him: You set out with good fortune, early in the morning for you, So may the world remain inhabited by your rule. And your mawālī attained wealth through you as long as they remain, And they grew mighty, and mighty grew a state that had you as its helper. You were sent to us as a rain of generosity and mercy, So we obtained from you in this world bounty and the next. So no one is fearful but you spread security for him, And no one is destitute but you fill his needs. Be certain of the bounty of al-Mustaʿīn, by his bounty over others, A blessing among the people that is manifest. He said: Then he handed me a purse that was in his hand, full of dinars, and he called for gāliya and began to perfume me with his own hand.
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