Anarchy at Samarra
861–870 crisis in the Abbasid Caliphate
Anarchy at Samarra
The Anarchy at Samarra (Arabic: فوضى سامراء, romanized: fawḍā Sāmarrāʾ) was a period of extreme internal instability from 861 to 870 in the history of the Abbasid Caliphate, marked by the violent succession of four caliphs, who became puppets in the hands of powerful rival military groups. The term derives from the then capital and seat of the caliphal court, Samarra. The "anarchy" began in 861, with the murder of Caliph al-Mutawakkil by his Turkic guards. His successor, al-Muntasir, ruled for six months before his death, possibly poisoned by the Turkic military chiefs. He was succeeded by al-Musta'in. Divisions within the Turkic army leadership enabled Musta'in to flee to Baghdad in 865 with the support of some Turkic chiefs (Bugha the Younger and Wasif) and the Police chief and governor of Baghdad Muhammad, but the rest of the Turkic army chose a new caliph in the person of al-Mu'tazz and besieged Baghdad, forcing the city's capitulation in 866. Musta'in was exiled and executed. Mu'tazz...
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