al-Mustarshid bi'llah al-Fadl ibn al-Mustazhir
Abbasid caliph [512–529], Abu Mansur al-Fadl ibn al-Mustazhir, born Rabi' I 485. Of soaring resolve and dread presence he revived the caliphate's dignity and campaigned in person till his last expedition broke near Hamadan. A calligrapher without peer among caliphs, he corrected slips in his books; al-Shashi wrote his fiqh al-Umda for him — 'Umdat al-Dunya wa'l-Din. He was killed by Batiniyya at Maragha, Thursday 16 Dhu'l-Qa'da 529.
Reign · Abbasid Caliphate · no. 4 in the chain · 1118–1135 CE
Ruled the caliphate
Events of the reign
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Al-Zamakhshari's second journey to Mecca via Damascus, 526/1132
About a decade later al-Zamakhshari again set out for Mecca, staying for a time in Damascus where he composed eulogies for the Burid rulers Taj al-Muluk Tughtakin (d. 526/1131) and his son Shams al-Mulk. He reached Mecca for the pilgrimage in 526/1132 and stayed there three years, again the honoured guest of Ibn Wahhas, who encouraged him to assemble his poetry diwan and to compose his Qur'an commentary al-Kashshaf.
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Battle of al-Atharib (1130)
Draft card for the Battle of al-Atharib in 1130, part of the Zengid–Crusader struggle over Aleppo; its sources are not yet checked on the page.
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Battle of Al-Mubarakah (1123)
Draft card for Battle of Al-Mubarakah (1123); its sources are not yet checked on the page.
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Battle of Alamin (1131)
Draft card for Battle of Alamin (1131); its sources are not yet checked on the page.
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Battle of Azaz
Draft card for the Battle of Azaz in 1125, the Crusaders' victory over Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi's Muslim army; its sources are not yet checked on the page.
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Battle of Beirut
Draft card for the Battle of Beirut in 1126, the Crusader clash with Damascene forces; its sources are not yet checked on the page.
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Battle of Marj al-Saffar
Draft card for the Battle of Marj al-Saffar in 1126, Tughtakin's Damascene victory over Baldwin II's Crusaders; its sources are not yet checked on the page.
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Battle of Qinnasrin (1135)
Draft card for the Battle of Qinnasrin in 1135, a clash between Zengi and Antioch; its sources are not yet checked on the page.
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Battle of Rafaniyya (1133)
Draft card for the Battle of Rafaniyya in 1133, a clash between Zengi and Antioch; its sources are not yet checked on the page.
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Battle of Yibneh
Draft card for the Battle of Yibneh in 1123, the Kingdom of Jerusalem's victory over the last great Fatimid expedition; its sources are not yet checked on the page.
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The Massacre of the Ismailis in Damascus in 523
In 523 about six thousand people accused of Ismaili allegiance were killed at Damascus; Bahram al-Astarabadhi had entered Syria gathering followers, Tughtigin granted him Banyas, his da'i drew a large Damascus following, and they held Syrian fortresses including Qadmus — while Banyas's safe-conduct was handed to the Franks.
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The Burning of Dar al-Saltana in Baghdad in 515
In 515 Baghdad's Dar al-Sultana burned, with losses valued at a million dinars.
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The Franks Take Tyre by Safe-Conduct, 518
In 518 the Franks took Tyre by safe-conduct, and it stayed in their hands until 690.
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Ibn 'Asakir travels to Baghdad with his brother and stays five years, 520/1126
Ibn 'Asakir entered Baghdad in 520 and stayed five years, hearing Abu al-Qasim ibn al-Husayn, Abu al-Hasan al-Dinawari, Abu al-'Izz ibn Kadish, Abu Ghalib ibn al-Banna and many more, and keeping to the lectures and fiqh of the Nizamiyya. He went with his brother al-Sa'in, who attended Asad al-Mayhani's fiqh and Ibn Burhan's philosophy at the Nizamiyya, while 'Ali also heard the Hanbali Sa'd al-Khayr al-Ansari and the circles of al-Barmaki and al-Tanukhi.
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Ibn 'Asakir's hajj and hearings at Mecca and Kufa on the way back, 521/1127
In 521 Ibn 'Asakir made the pilgrimage; at Mecca he heard 'Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ghazzal al-Misri, pupil of Karima al-Marwaziyya, and at Kufa he heard 'Umar ibn Ibrahim al-'Alawi; he passed some time at Mecca and Medina and stopped at Kufa on his way back to Baghdad.
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Ibn 'Asakir returns to Damascus in the year of Taj al-Mulk Buri's assassination, 525/1131
Ibn 'Asakir visited the Mosul region and returned to Damascus in 525, the year Taj al-Mulk Buri was assassinated. He seems to have married toward the end of this period, for his son al-Qasim was born in 527/1133.
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Assassination of Aq Sunqur al-Bursuqi
In 1126 the Batinis assassinated Aq Sunqur al-Bursuqi, atabeg of Mosul and crusade-fighter, while he prayed in Mosul's Great Mosque.
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Al-Mustarshid's victory over Dubays al-Asadi in 517
Early in 517 the caliph al-Mustarshid met Dubays al-Asadi in battle — Dubays had grown insolent and promised his army the sack of Baghdad, so the caliph drew his own sword and stood on a hill until Dubays's host broke, with about twenty of the caliph's men killed; Dubays fled to ravage the outskirts of Basra.
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The Revealing of the Tombs of Ibrahim, Ishaq and Ya'qub in 513
In 513 the tombs of Ibrahim, Ishaq and Ya'qub were uncovered — people saw them with their bodies undecayed, and in the cave were lamps of gold and silver; the report of Hamza b. al-Qalanisi in his history.
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Al-Sam'ani's first great hadith journey, 529-538/1135-1143
Al-Sam'ani travelled before and after thirty to Khurasan, Isfahan, Iraq, the Hijaz, al-Sham, Tabaristan and Transoxiana. On this first great journey (529-538/1135-1143) he went via Isfahan and Hamadan to Baghdad and its environs, to Mecca and Medina, to Damascus and Jerusalem — which at his visit in 536/1141 had been in Crusader hands for forty-two years — and north and east to Khwarazm, Samarqand, Bukhara, Balkh and Herat.
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Siege of Aleppo
Draft card for the Siege of Aleppo in 1124–25, Balak's repulse of Baldwin II's siege; its sources are not yet checked on the page.
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Siege of Hama (1130)
Draft card for Siege of Hama (1130); its sources are not yet checked on the page.
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Siege of Tbilisi
Draft card for the Siege of Tbilisi in 1122, David the Builder's capture of the city ending the Muslim emirate; its sources are not yet checked on the page.