Battle of Dayr al - ' Aqul The Battle of Dayr al - ‘ Aqul ( , ) was fought on April 8 , 876 between forces of the Saffarid amir Ya ' qub ibn Laith and the Abbasid Caliphate . Taking place some 80 km southeast ( downstream ) of Baghdad , the battle ended in a decisive victory for the Abbasids , forcing Ya ` qub to halt his advance into Iraq . The town of " " ( literally " monastery at the river - bend " , from a Syriac " ʿ " " bend " ) was the main town of the fertile district ( " ṭassūj " ) in central Nahrawan , making it the most important town on the Tigris between Baghdad and Wasit . The battle itself took place near a village of the town ' s district , called Istarband , between Dayr al - ` Aqul itself and Sib Bani Kuma . Background . Ever since the assassination of the caliph al - Mutawakkil in 861 , the Abbasid Caliphate had been in a state of turmoil ( the " Anarchy at Samarra " ) . The Turkish military establishment , in an effort to preserve the power of its leaders , began to overthrow any caliph who they considered unsatisfactory . Between the death of al - Mutawakkil and the ascension of al - Mu ' tamid in 870 , three caliphs met violent ends . With the Turks exercising unprecedented control over the empire while the finances of the caliphate were increasingly unable to support them , the prestige of the caliphs reached its lowest point thus far . As the situation in the capital declined , various groups in different parts of the empire took advantage of this period of weakness . In Tabaristan a Zaydi dynasty came to power in 864 . In 868 the Turk Ahmad ibn Tulun gained control of Egypt and gradually asserted his independence from Samarra . In Lower Iraq and Khuzistan , the Zanj Rebellion began in 869 and posed a serious threat to the Abbasid Caliphate in the region . In Iran , meanwhile , the most significant threat against the caliphate came in the form of the Saffarid Ya ` qub bin Laith . Ya ` qub first came to power in 861 in Sistan , a province which had been held by ' ayyar bands since 854 . From there he rapidly expanded , and in 873 he extinguished the rule of the Tahirids , who were governors loyal to the Abbasids , in Khurasan . This left him in control of much of eastern and central Iran plus parts of Afghanistan . Back in Samarra , reconciliation between the Turks and the caliphs had begun during the reign of al - Mu ' tamid ( 870 - 892 ) . Al - Mu ' tamid ' s brother , al - Muwaffaq , was the driving force behind this success ; he had good relations with the Turkish leaders such as Musa bin Bugha and he gradually gained more and more power until he was the actual administrator of the empire . Musa bin Bugha held the governorships of several of the eastern provinces , but his failure to make any headway against the rebels caused him to resign from these governorships in frustration , after which al - Muwaffaq took over the positions . The Abbasids were concerned about the threat the Saffarids posed , especially after Ya ` qub conquered Fars from Muhammad bin Wasil in 875 . From Fars Ya ` qub moved on to Khuzistan , taking possession of Ramhurmuz in December of 875 . This move put the Saffarid army close to Iraq . It also put Ya ` qub close to the Zanj revolt ; the Abbasids feared that the Saffarids and Zanj would band together against the caliphate , although Ya ` qub ' s later rejection of an offer by the Zanj to become allies casts doubt on this possibility . In any case it was an alarming development , as the caliph did not feel that he had the resources to stop Ya ` qub . All of Ya ` qub ' s supporters in Baghdad , who had been imprisoned in 873 following his conquest of Khurasan , were released , and al - Mu ' tamid sent an embassy to Ya ` qub to grant him the governorships of Khurasan , Tabaristan , Fars , Gurgan , and Ray , as appoint him as head of security in Baghdad . Ya ` qub , sensing that the offer was made due to the weakness of the caliph , rejected it and wrote back that he would be advancing to the capital . The offer also alienated the Turks of Samarra , who felt that Ya ` qub represented a threat to their interests . Seeing that an agreement with the Saffarid was impossible , al - Mu ' tamid decided upon war and pronounced a formal curse upon Ya ` qub . On March 7 , 876 he left Samarra , leaving his son al - Muwaffid in charge of the capital . On March 15 he arrived at Baghdad , before arriving near Kalwadha and setting up camp . From there his army marched to Sib Bani Kuma , where al - Mu ' tamid ' s general Masrur al - Balkhi joined him after slowing down Ya ` qub ' s army ( see below ) . While there the caliph gathered more troops to his side . For his part , Ya ` qub traveled through Khuzistan , during which he gained the defection of a former general of the caliph ' s , Abi ' l - Saj Devdad , and entered Iraq . The caliphal general Masrur al - Balkhi managed to slow down his progress by flooding the land outside Wasit , but the Saffarid army was able to get through this and he entered Wasit on March 24 . Leaving Wasit , he set for the town of Dayr al - ` Aqul , which was about fifty miles from Baghdad . According to one source , Ya ` qub did not actually expect the caliph to offer battle ; instead he would give in to any demands that the Saffarid had . Al - Mu ' tamid , however , sent al - Muwaffaq to stop him . The two armies met at Istarband , between Dayr al - ` Aqul and Sib Bani Kuma . The battle . The battle took place on April 8 . Before the battle , Ya ` qub reviewed his troops , who apparently numbered about ten thousand . The Abbasids , however , had a numerical superiority and the additional advantage of fighting on familiar territory . The center of the Abbasid army was commanded by al - Muwaffaq . Musa bin Bugha had command of the right wing , and Masrur al - Balkhi the left . A final appeal was made to the Saffarids to restore their loyalty to the caliph , and the battle began . The fighting raged on for most of the day . The Saffarid army was somewhat reluctant to directly fight the caliph and his army . Despite this , there were heavy losses on both sides , and several Abbasid and Saffarid commanders were killed . Ya ` qub himself was wounded , but he did not leave the field . As evening approached , reinforcements arrived to support al - Muwaffaq . The " mawla " Nusayr created a diversion by attacking the Saffarid rear from boats on the Tigris and setting fire to the Saffarid baggage train , giving the Abbasids a further advantage . Eventually the Saffarid army began to flee from the battle . Ya ` qub and his bodyguards continued to fight , but were forced to leave the field as the army retreated , leaving them behind . The caliph had apparently flooded the lands behind the Saffarids before the battle , and this made a retreat difficult ; many men drowned attempting to escape the Abbasid army . With the Saffarids making their hasty exit , al - Muwaffaq was able to capture Ya ` qub ' s baggage . Several political prisoners that Ya ` qub had brought with him , such as the Tahirid Muhammad bin Tahir , also fell into Abbasid hands and were freed . Aftermath . The battle completely halted Ya ` qub ' s advance and put an end to what was arguably a major threat to the Abbasid Caliphate . Ya ` qub did not make any subsequent campaigns against Iraq . Al - Mu ' tamid , following the victory , restored several individuals to their governorships in Iran , such as Muhammad bin Wasil to Fars and Muhammad bin Tahir to Khurasan , but they were unable to enforce their claims against the Saffarids . Ya ` qub died three years later , in 879 ; his brother and successor , ' Amr concluded a peace with the caliph that lasted for a few years . The Abbasids were able to continue to work reasserting their authority in several provinces ; the Zanj were defeated in 883 , and Egypt and Fars would eventually return to the Abbasid fold .