companied his father early to the field, and commanded a detachment of his father's army in the war against the Zanjites, A. H. 267 (A. D. 871). Subsequently, Al-mu'tadhed had his own corps of mercenaries. In A. H. 275 (A.D. 888) he was put in prison by his own father, and he was not released till his father's last illness in A. D. 277 or 278 (A. D. 891). His father died in the same year, and Almu'tadhed succeeded him in the command of his troops, which consisted of one hundred thousand men, and soon after he prevailed upon the khalif to declare him his successor; and in order to hasten his elevation to the throne, he poisoned the khalif. On the morning after the death of his predecessor he sent for the kádhí Isma'íl Ibn Hamád, who was the first who saluted him by the title of amiru-l-múmenín (commander of the faithful).

Al-mu'tadhed had the Turkish guard entirely under his control. "When Al-mu'tadhed came to the khalifate," says Al-mas'údí, "all hostilities ceased, and the empire was in a state of tranquillity: there was no war, no rebellion, no discord of parties. He overcame all difficulties, and nobody dared to oppose him, neither in the eastern nor in the western provinces of the empire; he received regularly the tribute of his governors; all the armies and officers were submissive to his orders. At his death he left nine millions of dinars and forty millions of dirhams in the public treasury; and twelve thousand horses, mules, and camels in his stable. Notwithstanding his wealth, he was very avaricious and mean, for he saved in many things to which a poor man would have paid no attention."

Al-mu'tadhed was a man of great energy, but cruel. His usual punishment for soldiers who had incurred his resentment was this:He had a grave dug, in which the victim was put on his head, with his feet upwards. In this posture he was half buried, and left to expire. One day he closed a man's mouth, nose, and ears, and made a hole in his back through which he inflated him until he was swelled to an immense size, and he then shot him with arrows. He had regular torture rooms under ground, with various instruments for torturing people to death.

Soon after his accession he built a palace which was three farsangs long, and which cost four hundred thousand dinars. A contemporary poet said to the khalif, "Many great kings have built palaces in the world, but you have built a world in your palace."

In A. H. 281 (A. D. 894), Al-mu'tadhed marched to Máridín (Mardin) to punish Hamdán, the disobedient governor of Mesopotamia. When the khalif came, Hamdán had taken flight, but the town was defended by his son, who however surrrendered it after the first battle.

In order not to incur the anger of Al

it

mu'tadhed, the second Saffáride prince, 'Amr Ibn Layth sent in A. H. 283 (A. D. 896) rich presents to him: besides four millions of dirhams, a great number of dromedaries, horses, and the like, he sent "an idol which had a human figure with four arms; wore two belts of silver, studded with rubies and diamonds. Before this large idol were many small ones with several faces and arms, and covered with ornaments and precious stones. These idols were placed in a cart which was just large enough to hold them, and it was drawn by mules. When they arrived at the palace of the khalif they were shown to the public three days, and the crowd was so great, and it was so difficult to get a sight of the idols, that they were called shoghl (trouble). 'Amr Ibn Layth had taken these idols from the towns which he had recently captured in India, particularly in the mountainous parts of this country towards Bost." These are the words of Al-mas'údí, p. 766., who had probably seen this statue of Buddha, for he was a contemporary of Al

mu'tadhed.

Ibn

Khámarawayh, the Túlúnide prince of Egypt, also thought it prudent to conciliate the favour of Al-mu'tadhed, whose power he had felt in a short war during the reign of Al-mu'tamed, in which Al-mu'tadhed and Khámarawayh had personally fought against each other. He therefore sent in A. H. 279 (A. H. 892) Ibn Khassás, one of his eunuchs, with rich presents and with one of his daughters to the khalif, to offer her to his presumptive heir of the throne, 'Ali Almuktafi, in marriage. On her arrival she was married by the khalif himself. Khassás had appropriated to himself a great portion of the dowry which had been sent with the bride, and he became subsequently very rich and powerful at Baghdad. But under the reign of Al-muktader his property, which amounted to above four millions of dinars, was confiscated, and he was put to death. The presents which the khalif made to Khámarawayh were no less magnificent: he allowed him one year's taxes of a part of Mesopotamia, amounting to one million of dinars (about four hundred and fifty thousand pounds), many precious articles from India, China, and the 'Irák, such as a half moon of precious stones, sword belts, a crown, and a tiara. These presents arrived in Egypt in Rejeb, A. H. 280 (September or October, A. D. 893).

The inhabitants of Basrah sent a deputation to Al-mu'tadhed, which came up the Tigris in sea vessels splendidly ornamented. The deputation consisted of all the men who were most distinguished by birth, station in life, eloquence, or learning. They brought their complaints before the khalif against the oppression of the public functionaries, and the cruelty of the men in power, and they represented to him how much they had suf

fered during the anarchy which had prevailed for so long a time. These representations were accompanied by the cries of the crews of the vessels which stood in sight of the palace. The khalif gave them a public audience, in which he was seated behind a curtain. This habit, which seems to have been introduced by the Turkish mercenaries in imitation of the Dalai Lama, continued in subsequent times, and was in use when Benjamin of Tudela visited Baghdad (A. D. 1160). The object of this usage was to render the person of the khalif more sacred in the eyes of the vulgar, and to make him entirely dependent upon his ministers. The chamberlain or curtain-keeper (hájib) was, in fact, the jailer of the khalif, and his office became soon after Al-mu'tadhed's time the most important in the government. When Abú-l-kásim Ibn 'Abdullah, the vizír of Almu'tadhed, and the highest officers employed in the revenue had examined into the complaints of the inhabitants of Basrah, the khalif gave the principal members of the deputation another audience, in which the kádhí | of Basrah explained with great natural eloquence the grievances of his city; for instance, that they had to pay double tithes and the like. The khalif promised them relief, and they returned to Basrah.

In A. H. 280 (A. D. 893), Mohammed Ibn Al-huseyn, of the Naubakht family, was seized at Baghdad, and there was a list of conspirators found upon him who had sworn allegiance to the Fátimites. Mohammed

was transfixed with three spears and roasted alive before the eyes of the khalif.

In the same year Al-mu'tadhed undertook in person a campaign against the tribe of Shaybán, in which he made predatory incursions into the southern parts of Mesopotamia and into the country about the river Záb, and he put down the robbers. Since the fall of the Bení Umeyyah, the nomadic population of Arabia had been independent of the khalifs, and as predatory incursions promised greater profit than enlisting in the armies of the khalifs, the Beduins preferred robbing to regular military service, and were the enemies of the khalifs.

In the same year the 'Alite rebel, 'Abdullah Ibn Al-hasan, who had made himself independent in Armenia and part of Azerbíján, was beaten by the troops of the khalif. Merághah, one of his principal towns, was taken, and his property confiscated. But the 'Alites continued in possession of Hamadán, Komm, Abhar, and several places of Taberistán and of the Jebál, and in A. H. 287 (A. D. 900), they again extended their power over Jorján and Daylem.

In A. H. 284 (A. D. 897) some riots took place at Baghdad on account of the secret police. Al-mu'tadhed had appointed a number of spies, who denounced any one whom they heard speak disrespectfully of the khalif,

|

and such transgressions were severely punished. A system of secret police had existed before Al-mu'tadhed, but it had not been so injurious to personal liberty. Almámún is said to have had sixty thousand persons, particularly women, in pay, who brought him the news of the town. There existed at the same time another system of police, which was connected with the post, and which seems to have continued in the Persian provinces since the time of the Sassanidæ the postmaster of every town had to give intelligence to the government of all that happened, and he had particularly to watch the governors, and, if he was near the frontier, the neighbouring nations. A postmaster was therefore a man of great trust, and usually a personal friend of the khalif.

In A. H. 280 (A. D. 893) Ahmed Ibn Thaur had taken Bahreyn and 'Omán from the Abádhians, who were heretics and defended the cause of the imám As-salt Ibn Málik. They were about two hundred thousand men in number, and had for a long time disturbed the peace of the empire. This victory of Ahmed Ibn Thaur had not restored peace to Arabia. In A. H. 284 (A. D. 897) the position of the Beduins, under the command of Abú Sa'íd, was so menacing that Basrah was in great danger. The khalif sent forty thousand dinars to restore the walls of that city, and in A. H. 287 (A. D. 900) the army of Al-'abbás Ibn 'Amr was defeated by them.

In A. H. 288 (A.D. 901) a Turkoman general of the guard of the khalif, of the name of Wasif, attempted to desert from the khalif and to go over to the Greeks. He was however overtaken by Al-mu'tadhed in Syria, and brought back in triumph to Baghdad. When he was on the point of being executed, the khalif sent to him to ask whether he had any further wish, and he asked for perfumes and some amusing books. Among the books that were sent to him he chose particularly histories of ancient kings and descriptions of battles. His life was spared, and he died in prison in A. H. 289 (A. D. 901-2). After his death he was beheaded, and his trunk was crucified and remained hanging on the cross to A. H. 300 (A. D. 912).

Towards the end of Al-mu'tadhed's life the Karmatians made great progress in the 'Irák and in Syria, and several armies sent against them were defeated. Al-mu'tadhed died in the evening of the 21st of the latter Rabí', A. H. 289 (2d of April, A. D. 902), most likely from the effects of poison given to him by one of his concubines, and he was succeeded by Al-muktafi billah. (Al-mas'údí, Meadows of Gold, MS.; Soyútí, History of the Khalifs, MS.; Karamání, Táríkh Addowal, MS.; Abú-l-fedá, Annales Muslemici, ii.; Price, Chron. Retrospect of Mohammedan History.)

A. S.

AL-MUTAKKI LILLAH or BI'LLAH (he who fears God) Abú Is'hák Ibráhím,

killed under him and his having received several wounds. Al-mu'tamed invited his ally to accompany him to Seville, where he entertained him with such splendour that Yusuf was advised by his courtiers at once to seize the person of his host and take possession of his wealth. Yusuf, however, rejected the advice, and crossed over to Africa, leaving a body of Almoravides under Seyr Ibn Abí Bekr to prosecute the war against Alfonso. Al-makkarí relates that Almu'tamed, being aware of the plans formed against him, was strongly advised to seize his guest and keep him under restraint until the Almoravides had recrossed the straits by his orders and Yusuf himself had been made to swear on the Korán never to molest the Moslem rulers of the Peninsula. Two years after these events, in Rabi' the first, A. H. 481 (May, A. D. 1088), Yúsuf returned to Spain, and although his stay was not long, the dethronement of the Mohammedan princes was resolved upon, and intrusted to his general Seyr. After reducing one by one the less powerful of them, on the plea that their cowardice and their subserviency to the Christians had rendered them unfit to rule, Seyr wrote to his master informing him of his success, and asking for further instructions. Yusuf's answer was, that he should propose to Almu'tamed to surrender his capital and cross over to Africa with all his family: if he consented, he was not to be molested; but if he refused, he was to be besieged in his capital, and, when taken, put to death. Seyr sent a message to Al-mu'tamed intimating his master's pleasure; and upon Al-mutamed's refusal to accede to the conditions, he prepared to carry his orders into execution. Having previously detached part of his forces against Al-mámún Al-fat'h, one of Al-mu'tamed's sons, who commanded in Cordova, Seyr with the rest of his army advanced upon Seville, and having taken Carmona in Rabi' the first, A. H. 484 (May, A. D. 1091), he arrived before the capital of Al-mu'tamed, which he immediately invested. Meanwhile Abú 'Abdillah Ibnu-l-háj, whom Seyr had despatched to Cordova, took that city by storm, and put to death Al-mámún. Yezíd Ar-rádhí, another of Al-mu'tamed's sons, who commanded at Ronda, shared a similar fate. He was taken and put to death, and his head was sent to the camp of Seyr, who had it paraded on a spear before the walls of Seville. In this extremity Al-mu'tamed sent to implore the help of Alfonso, to whom he offered the sovereignty of Seville provided he would aid him against the Almoravides; but although Alfonso sent a body of troops to his assistance, Seyr detached ten thousand horse under an experienced general named Abú Is'hák Al-lamtúní, who kept the Christians in check, and prevented them from passing beyond Almodovar on the Guadalquivir. At last, after a siege of several months, during

which Fakhru-d-daulah (glory of the state), one of Al-mu'tamed's sons, was killed, the Almoravides fought their way into Seville, and Al-mu'tamed was compelled to surrender, on the 22d of Rejeb, A. H. 484 (Sept. 10. 1091). He was immediately placed on board a vessel with his son Ar-rashid, and such of his women and slaves as consented to share his fate, and conveyed to the castle of Aghmát, on the western coast of Africa, where he ended his days in Rabi' the first, A. H. 488 (March or April, A. D. 1095), or, according to other accounts, in Dhí-l-hajjah of the same year (Dec. A. D. 1095). He was born at Beja in Alemtejo, in A. H. 431 (A. D. 1039-40), and had occupied the throne of Seville for about twenty-seven years.

66

Al-mu'tamed is described by all contemporary writers as the most liberal and enlightened ruler of Mohammedan Spain. His capital was the resort of poets and literary men from all parts of the Mohammedan dominions. Himself an excellent poet, he composed several poems, fragments from which have been preserved by Ibn Khákán, in his Kaláyidu-l-'ikiyán" ("Gold Necklaces "); by Ibn Bessám, in his "Dhakhírah" ("Hoarded Treasure"); by Ibnu-l-lebbánah, Ibn Sa'íd, and others. A collection of all the verses composed by Al-mu'tamed, as well as by his father and grandfathers, who were also poets, was formed by a native of Seville, under the title of "Sakíttu-d-doror wa lakíttu-z-zohor fí sha'ri-bni 'Abbád" ("The falling of Pearls and the spreading of the Flowers: on the Poetry of the Beni 'Abbád"). (Ibn Bessám, Adh-dhakhirah, Bodl. Lib. No. DCCXLIX.; Ibn Khákán, Kaláyidu-l-'ikiyán, MS. Brit. Mus. No. 7525. fol. 5.; Al-makkarí, Moham. Dyn. ii. 271-300.; Casiri, Bib. Arab. Hisp. Esc. ii. 209.; Conde, Hist. de la Dom. ii. cap. viii.— xxi.; Alfonso el Sabio, Cronica de España, part iii.) P. de G.

AL-MU'TAMED 'ALA'-LLAH (he who puts his faith in God) was the surname of Ahmed, the son of Al-mutawakkel. He was the fifteenth khalif of the house of 'Abbás, and succeeded Al-muhtadí in the khalifate in the month of Rejeb, A. H. 256 (June, A. D. 870), at the age of twenty-five.

His predecessor had been dethroned and put to death by the Turkish guard at Sámarrá for being unable to pay fifty thousand dinars which they demanded from him as arrears of their pay. Al-mu'tamed, who owed his election to these guards, received a lesson by this example, and he left the whole administration to the Turkish guard and to his brother Al-muwaffik, who was one of their leaders, putting himself forward wherever his dignity could be useful for uniting parties or commanding respect. His position somewhat resembled that of the constitutional kings of Europe. His good policy procured him a quiet reign, and the turbulent times and the dangers from without caused the