Al-Musta'in (Cairo)

Abu’l-Faḍl Abbas Al-Musta'in Billah (Arabic: أبو الفضل عباس المستعين بالله; c. 1390 – February or March 1430)^[1] was the tenth "shadow" Abbasid caliph of Cairo, reigning under the tutelage of the Egyptian Mamluk sultans from 1406 to 1414. He was the only Cairo-based caliph to hold political power as Sultan of Egypt,^[2][3] albeit for only six months in 1412. All the other Cairene caliphs who preceded or succeeded him were spiritual heads lacking any temporal power.^[4]

Abu al-Fadl Abbas al-Musta'in Billah أبو الفضل عباس المستعين بالله
10th Caliph of Cairo
Reign	22 January 1406 – 9 March 1414
Predecessor	al-Mutawakkil I
Successor	al-Mu'tadid II
Sultan of Egypt
Reign	7 May – 6 November 1412
Predecessor	Nasir-ad-Din Faraj
Successor	Shaykh al-Mahmudi
Born	1390 Cairo, Egypt
Died	February or March 1430 (aged 39–40) Alexandria, Egypt
Burial	Alexandria
Issue	al-Mutawakkil II
Names Ebû’l-Fadıl el-`Abbâs "el-Mûsta`in bi’l-Lâh"
Father	al-Mutawakkil I
Mother	Bay Khatun
Religion	Sunni Islam

Life

Al-Musta'in was the son of al-Mutawakkil I by a Turkish concubine named Bay Khatun. He succeeded his father as caliph on 22 January 1406.^[5] At that point in time, the role of the caliphs had been reduced to legitimizing the rule of the Burji Mamluk sultans through the issuance of certificates of investiture. Al-Musta'in accompanied Sultan Faraj on his campaign in the Levant against the rebel amirs (governors) of Aleppo and Tripoli. Faraj's defeat at Lajjun on 25 April 1412 resulted in anarchy. Al-Musta'in was captured by the rebels, who competed against each other for the sultanate. Unable to choose a candidate from among themselves, the quarreling Mamluks followed the advice of Faraj's infant son Fath Allah, who had suggested appointing al-Musta'in as sultan.^[1]

After formally removing Faraj from office, al-Musta'in reluctantly accepted the sultanate on 7 May 1412.^[1] He agreed to take on the post only after having obtained assurance from the Mamluks that he would retain his position as caliph in the event of his deposition from the sultanate.^[2] Faraj surrendered and was sentenced to death. His execution took place on 28 May. The Mamluk realms were divided, with Nawruz al-Hafizi receiving the Syrian provinces and al-Musta'in returning to Egypt accompanied by Shaykh al-Mahmudi and Baktamur Djillik. Al-Musta'in took up his residence at the Cairo Citadel on 12 July.^[1] He involved himself in the appointment and removal of ministers, and coins were struck in his name.^[5] This signalled his intention to rule as sultan and not to content himself with a figurehead role. Worried by such a prospect, Shaykh started to gradually isolate al-Musta'in, nearly turning him into a state prisoner. Baktamur Djillik's death on 15 September accelerated Shaykh's usurpation of power, which became complete when he had himself recognized as sultan on 6 November 1412, whereupon he assumed the title of al-Mu'ayyad. After long hesitation, al-Musta'in formally abdicated the sultanate, and was held in the Citadel. Having filled his role as interim sultan, he expected to remain as caliph, as had been initially agreed upon. However, he was deposed from the caliphate by Shaykh on 9 March 1414, and replaced by his brother al-Mu'tadid II.^[1]

Shaykh's dethronement of al-Musta'in was declared unlawful by the ulama. Acting upon this, Nawruz al-Hafizi decided to wage battle against Shaykh.^[5] The latter transferred al-Musta'in to Alexandria along with Faraj's three sons on 29 January 1417.^[1] According to 15th-century historian al-Suyuti, al-Musta'in remained in the Mediterranean city until the reign of Sultan Sayf ad-Din Tatar, when he was released and allowed to return to Cairo. However, he preferred to stay in Alexandria, where he received considerable sums of money from the merchants.^[5] He died there of plague in 1430 at less than 40 years of age. In retrospect, al-Musta'in's short reign as sultan is viewed as a failed attempt at producing an Abbasid revival.^[1] In 1455, his brother al-Qa'im equally tried and failed to hold power as sultan.^[2] Nevertheless, al-Musta'in's position as caliph was recognized far beyond Egypt's borders, with distant rulers such as Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah of Bengal sending him large sums of money.^[5]

See also

• List of monarchs who lost their thrones in the 15th century

References

1. Holt, Peter Malcolm (1993). "Al-Musta'in (II)". The Encyclopaedia of Islam: New Edition. Vol. VII (Mif – Naz) (2nd ed.). Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 723. ISBN 978-90-04-09419-2.
2. King, Joan Wucher (1989) [First published 1984]. Historical Dictionary of Egypt. Books of Lasting Value. American University in Cairo Press. pp. 453–454. ISBN 978-977-424-213-7.
3. Arnold, T. W. (1993). "Khalifa". In Houtsma, Martijn Theodoor (ed.). E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936. Vol. IV (ʿItḳ – Kwaṭṭa) (Reprinted 1st ed.). Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 883. ISBN 978-90-04-09790-2. Retrieved 2010-10-15. But not a single one of them (with the exception of Musta'in, who was made the plaything of rival political factions in 1412 and for six months was styled Sultan) ever exercised any function of government or enjoyed any political power.
4. Singh, Nagendra Kumar, ed. (2002). International Encyclopaedia of Islamic Dynasties. New Delhi: Anmol Publications. p. 199. ISBN 978-81-261-0403-1. These Caliphs were the spiritual heads only. All temporal authority lay with the Mamluk Sultans. [...] In 1412 C.E. the Caliph Al Mustain captured temporal power as well, but he could not hold such power for more than six months. The Caliphs who followed him had to remain content as spiritual heads only.
5. Jalalu'ddin as-Suyuti (1881) [Composed 15th century]. "Al Musta'in Bi'llah Abu'l Fadhl". Tarikh al-khulafa [History of the Caliphs]. trans. Henry Sullivan Jarrett. Calcutta: The Asiatic Society. pp. 534–538. OCLC 470140533.

Further reading

• Garcin, Jean-Claude (1967). "Histoire, opposition, politique et piétisme traditionaliste dans le Ḥusn al Muḥādarat de Suyûti" [History, opposition, politics and traditionalistic pietism in Suyuti's Ḥusn al Muḥādarat] (PDF). Annales Islamologiques (in French). 7. Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale: 33–90. doi:10.3406/anisl.1967.909. S2CID 259055409. Archived from the original (PDF, 14.62 MB) on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
• Holt, P. M. (1984). "Some Observations on the 'Abbāsid Caliphate of Cairo". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 47 (3). University of London: 501–507. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00113710. JSTOR 618882. S2CID 161092185.
• Popper, William; Ibn Taghribirdi (1955). Egypt and Syria under the Circassian sultans, 1382-1468 A.D. : systematic notes to Ibn Taghrî Birdî's chronicles of Egypt. University of California publications in Semitic philology. University of California Press. [Includes a translation of Ibn Taghribirdi's text about the relevant years.]

External links

• "Biography of al-Musta'in" (in Arabic). Islampedia.com. Archived from the original on 2008-06-11.

Al-Musta'in Mamluk Abbasid dynasty Born: c. 1390 Died: 1430
Sunni Islam titles
Preceded by Al-Mutawakkil I	Caliph of Cairo 22 January 1406 – 9 March 1414	Succeeded by Al-Mu'tadid II
Regnal titles
Preceded by Faraj	Sultan of Egypt 7 May 1412 – 6 November 1412	Succeeded by Shaykh al-Mahmudi