Al-Musta'in (836–866)
Born 836 CE, died 866 CE.
Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Mustaʿīn bi-ʾllāh (Arabic: أبو العباس أحمد بن محمد بن محمد; 836 – 17 October 866), better known by his regnal title al-Mustaʿīn, was the Abbasid caliph from 862 to 866 during the period known as the "Anarchy at Samarra". Following the death of caliph al-Muntasir, the Turkic military leaders bypassed the claims of al-Mu'tazz and his brothers and selected al-Mustaʿīn, a nephew of al-Mutawakkil, as caliph. Al-Mustaʿīn's reign was marked by the growing influence of the Turkish military officers in the affairs of the caliphate. His accession provoked unrest in Samarra and opposition from supporters of al-Mu'tazz, while defeats in campaigns in Armenia and Asia Minor and internal rebellions contributed to instability within the caliphate. In 865, conflict between rival military factions led al-Mustaʿīn to flee from Samarra to Baghdad, where he became the center of a civil war with al-Mu'tazz and his supporters. After a prolonged siege of Baghdad, al-Mustaʿīn agreed to abdicate in favor of al-Mu'tazz in January 866.
Text from the Wikipedia article Al-Musta'in, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.