Tarikh (al-Tabari) 3807
Then the Year 320 AH of the Hijrah Began
ذِكْرُ قَتْلِ الْمُقْتَدِرِ لَمَّا اجْتَمَعَتِ الْعَسَاكِرُ عَلَى مُؤْنِسٍ بِالْمَوْصِلِ قَالُوا لَهُ: اذْهَبْ بِنَا إِلَى الْخَلِيفَةِ فَإِنْ أَنْصَفَنَا، ( وَأَجْرَى أَرْزَاقَنَا ). وَإِلَّا قَاتَلْنَاهُ، فَانْحَدَرَ مُؤْنِسٌ مِنَ الْمَوْصِلِ فِي شَوَّالٍ، وَبَلَغَ خَبَرُهُ جُنْدَ بَغْدَاذَ، فَشَغَبُوا وَطَلَبُوا أَرْزَاقَهُمْ، فَفَرَّقَ الْمُقْتَدِرُ فِيهِمْ أَمْوَالًا كَثِيرَةً، إِلَّا أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَسَعْهُمْ، وَأَنْفَذَ أَبَا الْعَلَاءِ سَعِيدَ بْنَ حَمْدَانَ وَصَافِيًا الْبَصْرِيَّ فِي خَيْلٍ إِلَى سُرَّ مَنْ رَأَى، وَأَنْفَذَ أَبَا بَكْرٍ مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ يَاقُوتٍ فِي أَلْفَيْ فَارِسٍ، وَمَعَهُ الْغِلْمَانُ الْحُجَرِيَّةُ، إِلَى الْمَعْشُوقِ. فَلَمَّا وَصَلَ مُؤْنِسٌ إِلَى تَكْرِيتَ أَنْفَذَ طَلَائِعَهُ، فَلَمَّا قَرُبُوا مِنَ الْمَعْشُوقِ جَعَلَ الْعَسْكَرُ الَّذِينَ مَعَ ابْنِ يَاقُوتٍ يَتَسَلَّلُونَ وَيَهْرُبُونَ إِلَى بَغْدَاذَ، فَلَمَّا رَأَى ذَلِكَ رَجَعَ إِلَى عُكْبَرَا، وَسَارَ مُؤْنِسٌ، فَتَأَخَّرَ ابْنُ يَاقُوتٍ وَعَسْكَرُهُ، وَعَادُوا إِلَى بَغْدَاذَ، فَنَزَلَ بِبَابِ الشَّمَّاسِيَّةِ وَنَزَلَ ابْنُ يَاقُوتٍ وَغَيْرُهُ مُقَابِلَهُمْ، وَاجْتَهَدَ الْمُقْتَدِرُ بِابْنِ خَالِهِ هَارُونَ بْنِ غَرِيبٍ لِيَخْرُجَ، فَلَمْ يَفْعَلْ، وَقَالَ: أَخَافُ مِنْ عَسْكَرِي، فَإِنَّ بَعْضَهُمْ أَصْحَابُ مُؤْنِسٍ، وَبَعْضَهُمْ قَدِ انْهَزَمَ أَمْسِ مِنْ مَرْدَاوِيجَ، فَأَخَافُ أَنْ يُسْلِمُونِي وَيَنْهَزِمُوا عَنِّي، فَأَنْفَذَ إِلَيْهِ الْوَزِيرَ فَلَمْ يَزَلْ بِهِ حَتَّى أَخْرَجَهُ، وَأَشَارُوا عَلَى الْمُقْتَدِرِ بِإِخْرَاجِ الْمَالِ مِنْهُ وَمِنْ وَالِدَتِهِ لِيُرْضِي الْجُنْدَ، وَمَتَى سَمِعَ أَصْحَابُ مُؤْنِسٍ بِتَفْرِيقِ الْأَمْوَالِ تَفَرَّقُوا عَنْهُ وَاضْطُرَّ إِلَى الْهَرَبِ، فَقَالَ: لَمْ يَبْقَ لِي وَلَا لِوَالِدَتِي جِهَةُ شَيْءٍ. وَأَرَادَ الْمُقْتَدِرُ أَنْ يَنْحَدِرَ إِلَى وَاسِطَ، وَيُكَاتِبَ الْعَسَاكِرَ مِنْ جِهَةِ الْبَصْرَةِ، وَالْأَهْوَازِ، وَفَارِسَ، وَكَرْمَانَ، وَغَيْرِهَا، وَيَتْرُكَ بَغْدَاذَ لِمُؤْنِسٍ إِلَى أَنْ يَجْتَمِعَ عَلَيْهِ الْعَسَاكِرُ، وَيَعُودَ إِلَى قِتَالِهِ، فَرَدَّهُ ابْنُ يَاقُوتٍ عَنْ ذَلِكَ، وَزَيَّنَ لَهُ اللِّقَاءَ، وَقَوَّى نَفْسَهُ بِأَنَّ الْقَوْمَ مَتَى رَأَوْهُ عَادُوا بِأَجْمَعِهِمْ إِلَيْهِ، فَرَجَعَ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ وَهُوَ كَارِهٌ. ( ثُمَّ أَشَارَ عَلَيْهِ بِحُضُورِ الْحَرْبِ، فَخَرَجَ وَهُوَ كَارِهٌ )، وَبَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ الْفُقَهَاءُ وَالْقُرَّاءُ مَعَهُمُ الْمَصَاحِفُ مَشْهُورَةٌ، وَعَلَيْهِ الْبُرْدَةُ وَالنَّاسُ حَوْلَهُ، فَوَقَفَ عَلَى تَلٍّ عَالٍ بَعِيدٍ عَنِ الْمَعْرَكَةِ، فَأَرْسَلَ قُوَّادُ أَصْحَابِهِ يَسْأَلُونَهُ التَّقَدُّمَ مَرَّةً بَعْدَ أُخْرَى، ( وَهُوَ وَاقِفٌ )، فَلَمَّا أَلَحُّوا عَلَيْهِ تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ مَوْضِعِهِ، فَانْهَزَمَ أَصْحَابُهُ قَبْلَ وُصُولِهِ إِلَيْهِمْ، وَكَانَ قَدْ أَمَرَ فَنُودِيَ: مَنْ جَاءَ بِأَسِيرٍ فَلَهُ عَشَرَةُ دَنَانِيرَ، وَمَنْ جَاءَ بِرَأْسٍ فَلَهُ خَمْسَةُ دَنَانِيرَ فَلَمَّا انْهَزَمَ أَصْحَابُهُ لَقِيَهُ عَلِيُّ بْنُ بُلَيْقٍ، وَهُوَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ مُؤْنِسٍ، فَتَرَجَّلَ وَقَبَّلَ الْأَرْضَ وَقَالَ لَهُ: إِلَى أَيْنَ تَمْضِي ؟ ارْجِعْ، فَلَعَنَ اللَّهُ مَنْ أَشَارَ عَلَيْكَ بِالْحُضُورِ ! فَأَرَادَ الرُّجُوعَ، فَلَقِيَهُ قَوْمٌ مِنَ الْمَغَارِبَةِ وَالْبَرْبَرِ، فَتَرَكَهُ عَلِيٌّ مَعَهُمْ وَسَارَ عَنْهُ، فَشَهَرُوا عَلَيْهِ سُيُوفَهُمْ، فَقَالَ: وَيْحَكُمْ أَنَا الْخَلِيفَةُ ! فَقَالُوا: قَدْ عَرَفْنَاكَ يَا سِفْلَةُ، أَنْتَ خَلِيفَةُ إِبْلِيسَ، تَبْذُلُ فِي كُلِّ رَأْسٍ خَمْسَةَ دَنَانِيرَ، وَفِي كُلِّ أَسِيرٍ عَشَرَةَ دَنَانِيرَ ! وَضَرَبَهُ أَحَدُهُمْ بِسَيْفِهِ عَلَى عَاتِقِهِ فَسَقَطَ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ وَذَبَحَهُ بَعْضُهُمْ، فَقِيلَ: إِنَّ عَلِيَّ بْنَ بُلَيْقٍ غَمَزَ بَعْضَهُمْ فَقَتَلَهُ. وَكَانَ الْمُقْتَدِرُ ثَقِيلَ الْبَدَنِ، عَظِيمَ الْجُثَّةِ، فَلَمَّا قَتَلُوهُ رَفَعُوا رَأْسَهُ عَلَى خَشَبَةٍ وَهُمْ يَكْبِّرُونَ وَيَلْعَنُونَهُ، وَأَخَذُوا جَمِيعَ مَا عَلَيْهِ حَتَّى سَرَاوِيلَهُ، وَتَرَكُوهُ مَكْشُوفَ الْعَوْرَةِ، إِلَى أَنْ مَرَّ بِهِ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْأَكَرَةِ، فَسَتَرَهُ بِحَشِيشٍ، ثُمَّ حَفَرَ لَهُ مَوْضِعَهُ، وَدُفِنَ، وَعُفِيَ قَبْرُهُ. وَكَانَ مُؤْنِسٌ فِي الرَّاشِدِيَّةِ لَمْ يَشْهَدِ الْحَرْبَ، فَلَمَّا حُمِلَ رَأْسُ الْمُقْتَدِرِ إِلَيْهِ بَكَى، وَلَطَمَ وَجْهَهُ وَرَأْسَهُ، وَقَالَ: يَا مُفْسِدُونَ ! مَا هَكَذَا أَوْصَيْتُكُمْ، وَقَالَ: قَتَلْتُمُوهُ، وَكَانَ هَذَا آخِرَ أَمْرِهِ، وَاللَّهِ لَنُقْتَلَنَّ كُلُّنَا، وَأَقَلُّ مَا فِي الْأَمْرِ أَنَّكُمْ تُظْهِرُونَ أَنَّكُمْ قَتَلْتُمُوهُ خَطَأً، وَلَمْ تَعْرِفُوهُ. وَتَقَدَّمَ مُؤْنِسٌ إِلَى الشَّمَّاسِيَّةِ، وَأَنْفَذَ إِلَى دَارِ الْخَلِيفَةِ مَنْ يَمْنَعُهَا مِنَ النَّهْبِ، وَمَضَى عَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ بْنُ الْمُقْتَدِرِ، وَهَارُونُ بْنُ غَرِيبٍ، وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَاقُوتٍ، وَابْنَا رَائِقٍ إِلَى الْمَدَائِنِ، وَكَانَ مَا فَعَلَهُ مُؤْنِسٌ سَبَبًا لِجُرْأَةِ أَصْحَابِ الْأَطْرَافِ ( عَلَى ) الْخُلَفَاءِ وَطَمَعِهِمْ فِيمَا لَمْ يَكُنْ يَخْطُرُ لَهُمْ عَلَى بَالٍ، وَانْخَرَقَتِ الْهَيْبَةُ وَضَعُفَ أَمْرُ الْخِلَافَةِ حَتَّى صَارَ الْأَمْرُ إِلَى مَا نَحْكِيهِ. عَلَى أَنَّ الْمُقْتَدِرَ أَهْمَلَ مِنْ أَحْوَالِ الْخِلَافَةِ كَثِيرًا، وَحَكَّمَ فِيهَا النِّسَاءَ وَالْخَدَمَ، وَفَرَّطَ فِي الْأَمْوَالِ، وَعَزَلَ مِنَ الْوُزَرَاءِ وَوَلَّى مِمَّا أَوْجَبَ طَمَعَ أَصْحَابِ الْأَطْرَافِ وَالنُّوَّابَ، وَخُرُوجَهَمْ عَنِ الطَّاعَةِ. وَكَانَ جُمْلَةُ مَا أَخْرَجَهُ مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ، تَبْذِيرًا وَتَضْيِيعًا فِي غَيْرِ وَجْهٍ، نَيِّفًا وَسَبْعِينَ أَلْفَ أَلْفِ دِينَارٍ، سِوَى مَا أَنْفَقَهُ فِي الْوُجُوهِ الْوَاجِبَةِ، وَإِذَا اعْتَبَرْتَ أَحْوَالَ الْخِلَافَةِ فِي أَيَّامِهِ وَأَيَّامِ أَخِيهِ الْمُكْتَفِي وَوَالِدِهِ الْمُعْتَضِدِ، رَأَيْتَ بَيْنَهُمْ تَفَاوُتًا بَعِيدًا، وَكَانَتْ مُدَّةُ خِلَافَتِهِ أَرْبَعًا وَعِشْرِينَ سَنَةً وَأَحَدَ عَشَرَ شَهْرًا وَسِتَّةَ عَشَرَ يَوْمًا، وَكَانَ عُمْرُهُ ثَمَانِيًا وَثَلَاثِينَ سَنَةً وَنَحْوًا مِنْ شَهْرَيْنِ.
Translation
✧ Mention of the Killing of al-Muqtadir When the armies assembled with Muʾnis at al-Mawṣil, they said to him: "Take us to the caliph. If he treats us fairly and pays our stipends, then good; otherwise, we will fight him." Muʾnis descended from al-Mawṣil in Shawwāl, and news of him reached the troops of Baghdādh, so they rioted and demanded their stipends. Al-Muqtadir distributed abundant wealth among them, but it was not enough for them. He dispatched Abū al-ʿAlāʾ Saʿīd b. Ḥamdān and Ṣāfī al-Baṣrī with cavalry to Surra man Raʾā, and dispatched Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. Yāqūt with two thousand horsemen, and with him the chamber pages, to al-Maʿshūq. When Muʾnis reached Takrīt, he sent out his vanguard. When they drew near al-Maʿshūq, the troops with Ibn Yāqūt began to slip away and flee to Baghdādh. When he saw that, he returned to ʿUkbarā. Muʾnis advanced, and Ibn Yāqūt and his army fell back and returned to Baghdādh. He encamped at Bāb al-Shammāsiyyah, and Ibn Yāqūt and others encamped opposite them. Al-Muqtadir urged his maternal uncle Hārūn b. Gharīb to go out, but he refused and said: "I fear for my troops, for some of them are companions of Muʾnis, and some of them fled yesterday from Mardāwīj. I fear they will betray me and flee from me." He sent the vizier to him, and the vizier did not cease until he brought him out. They advised al-Muqtadir to bring out money from himself and his mother to satisfy the troops, and that when Muʾnis's companions heard of the distribution of funds, they would disperse from him and he would be forced to flee. He said: "There remains no source of anything for me or my mother." Al-Muqtadir wanted to go down to Wāsiṭ and correspond with the armies from the direction of al-Baṣrah, al-Ahwāz, Fāris, Kirmān, and elsewhere, leaving Baghdādh to Muʾnis until the armies gathered to him and he returned to fight him. Ibn Yāqūt dissuaded him from that and made the encounter seem attractive to him, strengthening his resolve by saying that when the people saw him, they would all return to him. So he went back to his opinion, though reluctantly. Then he advised him to be present at the battle, so he went out reluctantly, with jurists and Qurʾān reciters before him carrying copies of the Qurʾān displayed openly, and he wore the Prophet's mantle, with the people around him. He stood on a high hill far from the battlefield. The commanders of his troops sent to him asking him to advance, time after time, while he stood still. When they insisted, he advanced from his position, but his companions were routed before he reached them. He had ordered that it be proclaimed: "Whoever brings a captive shall have ten dinars, and whoever brings a head shall have five dinars." When his companions were routed, ʿAlī b. Bulayq, who was one of Muʾnis's companions, met him. He dismounted, kissed the ground, and said to him: "Where are you going? Return! May God curse whoever advised you to attend!" He wanted to return, but a group of Maghribīs and Berbers met him. ʿAlī left him with them and went away. They drew their swords upon him, and he said: "Woe to you! I am the caliph!" They said: "We know you, you scoundrel! You are the caliph of Iblīs! You offer five dinars for every head and ten dinars for every captive!" One of them struck him with his sword on his shoulder, and he fell to the ground, and some of them slaughtered him. It is said that ʿAlī b. Bulayq signaled to some of them and they killed him. Al-Muqtadir was heavy-bodied, of large frame. When they killed him, they raised his head on a pole while shouting "Allāhu akbar" and cursing him. They took everything he had on, even his trousers, and left him with his private parts exposed until a man from the peasants passed by and covered him with grass. Then he dug a grave for him on the spot, and he was buried, and his grave was effaced. Muʾnis was at al-Rāshidiyyah and did not witness the battle. When al-Muqtadir's head was brought to him, he wept, struck his own face and head, and said: "You corrupters! This is not what I commanded you." And he said: "You killed him, and this was the end of his affair. By God, we shall all be killed. The least of the matter is that you claim you killed him by mistake and did not recognize him." Muʾnis advanced to al-Shammāsiyyah and sent to the caliphal palace someone to protect it from looting. ʿAbd al-Wāḥid b. al-Muqtadir, Hārūn b. Gharīb, Muḥammad b. Yāqūt, and the two sons of Rāʾiq went to al-Madāʾin. What Muʾnis did was a cause of the provincial lords' boldness against the caliphs and their coveting what had never occurred to them. Awe was rent, and the affairs of the caliphate weakened until the matter reached what we shall relate. Al-Muqtadir neglected much of the affairs of the caliphate, letting women and servants rule in them, squandered wealth, and dismissed and appointed viziers in such a way as to cause the provincial lords and governors to covet power and rebel against obedience. The total of what he spent in squandering and waste, not in a proper way, was more than seventy million dinars, apart from what he spent on obligatory purposes. If you compare the state of the caliphate in his days, the days of his brother al-Muktafī, and his father al-Muʿtaḍid, you see a great difference among them. The duration of his caliphate was twenty-four years, eleven months, and sixteen days, and his age was thirty-eight years and about two months.
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