وفاة المهدي

وفاة المهدي

c. August 785 CE · 8 Muharram 169 AH

In year 169 al-Mahdi died: chasing game, the quarry burst into a ruin and his horse followed, breaking his back in its doorway — he died on the spot, on the eighth of Muharram; others say he died poisoned 1.

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Era
The Early Abbasid Caliphate
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In time

770780790800 c.
The Early Abbasid Caliphate

Overview

In 169 AH, eight nights before the end of Muharram, al-Mahdi died. He rode in pursuit of game, the game ran into a ruin and he followed it, and his back struck the doorway, and he died instantly. It is also said that he died poisoned. 1

Note

The second account, the poison account, is related by al-Suyuti with the phrase "it is said". The report comes from a single source and needs an additional source.

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Had participant
Muhammad al-Mahdi

People and things also explored

The Digging of Nahr al-Sila· The Aman of Samalu and its People's Transfer to Baghdad· The Taking and Settling of Mar'ash· خلع عيسى بن موسى من ولاية العهد· قتل صالح بن عبد القدوس· The Building of Madinat al-Hadath· The Founding of Madinat al-Salam (Baghdad)· Founding of al-Muhammadiyya at Rayy

Sources

  1. Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition), p. 443
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “وفاة المهدي”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/death-of-al-mahdi/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.

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Related

The Digging of Nahr al-Sila

In al-Baladhuri: al-Mahdi ordered Nahr al-Sila dug; they dug it and revived the lands along it, assigning its revenue to the sila of the people of the two sanctuaries and their expenses there — the compact offered cultivators who joined it, which they remain on today, fifty years, after which they would sharecrop at half.