page_title: Al-Mutawakkil
section_title: Death
hierarchical_section_title: Al-Mutawakkil / Death
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of the Abbasid Caliphate at its greatest extent, c. 850. (Partially based on Atlas of World History (2007) - Progress of Islam, map)
context_page_description: Abu al-Faḍl Jaʽfar ibn Muḥammad al-Muʽtaṣim billāh, better known by his regnal name al-Mutawakkil ʽalà Allāh was an Abbasid caliph who reigned in Samarra from 847 until 861. He succeeded his brother al-Wathiq. His assassination on 11 December 861 by the Turkic guard with the support of his son, al-Muntasir, began the troubled period of civil strife known as "Anarchy at Samarra".
  He is known as the caliph who ended the Mihna.
context_section_description: Al-Mutawakkil continued to rely on Turkic statesmen and slave soldiers to put down rebellions and lead battles against foreign empires, notably the Byzantines. His secretary, Al-Fath ibn Khaqan, who was Turkic, was a famous figure of Al-Mutawakkil's era. His reliance on Turkic soldiers would come back to haunt him.  Al-Mutawakkil would have his Turkic commander-in-chief killed. This, coupled with his extreme attitudes towards the Shia, made his popularity decline rapidly.
  Al-Mutawakkil had appointed his oldest son, al-Muntasir, as his heir in 849/50, but slowly had shifted his favour to his second son, al-Mu'tazz, encouraged by al-Fath ibn Khaqan and the vizier Ubayd Allah ibn Yahya ibn Khaqan. This rivalry extended into the political sphere, as al-Mu'tazz's succession appears to have been backed by the traditional Abbasid elites as well, while al-Muntasir was backed by the Turkic and Maghariba guard troops. In late autumn 861, matters came to a head: in October, al-Mutawakkil ordered the estates of the Turkic general Wasif to be confiscated and handed over to al-Fath. Feeling backed into a corner, the Turkic leadership began a plot to assassinate the Caliph. They were soon joined, or at least had the tacit approval, of al-Muntasir, who smarted from a  succession of humiliations: on 5 December, on the recommendation of al-Fath and Ubayd Allah, he was bypassed in favour of al-Mu'tazz for leading the Friday prayer at the end of Ramadan, while three days later, when al-Mutawakkil was feeling ill and chose al-Muntasir to represent him on the prayer, once again Ubayd Allah intervened and persuaded the Caliph to go in person. Even worse, according to al-Tabari, on the next day al-Mutawakkil alternately vilified and threatened to kill his eldest son, and even had al-Fath slap him on the face. With rumours circulating that Wasif and the other Turkish leaders would be rounded up and executed on 12 December, the conspirators decided to act.
  According to al-Tabari, a story later circulated that al-Fath and Ubayd Allah were forewarned of the plot by a Turkic woman, but had disregarded it, confident that no-one would dare carry it out.  On the night of 10/11 December, about one hour after midnight, the Turks burst in the chamber where the Caliph and al-Fath were having supper. Al-Fath was killed trying to protect the Caliph, who was killed next. Al-Muntasir, who now assumed the caliphate, initially claimed that al-Fath had murdered his father, and that he had been killed after; within a short time, however, the official story changed to al-Mutawakkil choking on his drink. The murder of al-Mutawakkil began the tumultuous period known as "Anarchy at Samarra", which lasted until 870 and brought the Abbasid Caliphate to the brink of collapse.
caption: Abbasid Caliphate at its greatest extent c. 850 until Al-Mutawakkil's death. (The Abbasid Caliphate completed its 100 years during his reign)
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