Editing Abbasid Caliphate (section)

===Political fragmentation (861–945)===
{{further|Anarchy at Samarra}}From the ninth century onward, the Abbasids found they could no longer keep together a centralized polity from Baghdad, which had grown larger than that of [[Roman Empire|Rome]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wickham |first=Chris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yDiDfipV4AIC&pg=PT239 |title=The Inheritance of Rome: A History of Europe from 400 to 1000 |publisher=Penguin UK |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-14-190853-3 |language=en}}</ref> As mentioned, Harun al-Rashid had already granted the province of Ifriqiya to the Aghlabids, who ruled this region as an autonomous vassal state until its fall to the [[Fatimids]] in 909.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=Bosworth |first=Clifford Edmund |title=The New Islamic Dynasties |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-231-10714-3 |pages=31–32 |language=en |chapter=The Aghlabids |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=maQxEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA31}}</ref> In al-Ma'mun's reign, Tahir ibn Husayn (al-Ma'mun's general in the civil war) was appointed viceroy of Iran and most of the eastern regions of the empire from 821 onward. His descendants, the [[Tahirids]], continued to govern in this position with significant autonomy until 873, although they remained loyal to the caliph and used only the title of ''[[amir]]''. From their capital at [[Nishapur]], they were important patrons of Arabic literature and Sunni religious scholarship, in addition to making major improvements to agriculture.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=147–148, 292}} In [[Transoxiana]], the Persian [[Samanids]] of [[Bukhara]] and [[Samarkand]] ruled as local governors, initially under the Tahirids. They oversaw the development of the region's cities into major trade centers, profiting from long-distance trade between China, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=|pp=148–149}}

[[File:صوره في اجواء مطريه للمأذنه الملويه في سامراء العراق.jpg|thumb|The walls and spiral [[minaret]] of the [[Great Mosque of Samarra]], built from 848 to 852 CE in the Abbasid capital of [[Samarra]]<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Northedge |first=Alastair E. |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three |publisher=Brill |year=2012 |isbn=9789004161658 |editor-last=Fleet |editor-first=Kate |location= |pages= |chapter=ʿAbbāsid art and architecture |editor-last2=Krämer |editor-first2=Gudrun |editor-last3=Matringe |editor-first3=Denis |editor-last4=Nawas |editor-first4=John |editor-last5=Rowson |editor-first5=Everett}}</ref>]]
The reign of [[al-Mutawakkil]] ({{Reign|847|861}}) was characterized by the caliph's extravagant spending, his attempts to further consolidate power within the state, and his replacement of the ''Mihna'' policy with support for more orthodox Sunni scholars, in particular the [[Hanbali school]].{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=141–142}} In 853, the Byzantines [[Sack of Damietta (853)|sacked Damietta]] in Egypt, and the caliph responded by sending troops into Anatolia, who sacked and marauded until they were [[Battle of Lalakaon|eventually annihilated]] in 863.<ref name="DD3">{{harvnb|Dupuy|Dupuy|1986|p=266}}</ref> 

Al-Mutawakkil's lifestyle and spending weakened his support among the military. In 861, he was murdered at a party by a group of Turkish soldiers.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=142–143}} This was the first time the Abbasid military intervened so directly and violently at court and it set a precedent for further coups.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=143}} The following period, sometimes known as the "[[Anarchy at Samarra]]" (861–870), saw four different caliphs come and go. While they each attempted to reassert their authority, they were at the mercy of military and political factions. Tax collection lapsed and, along with al-Mutawakkil's previous spending, this left the state short on funds, which exacerbated the infighting.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=169–170}} In 865, the Turkish soldiers of Samarra even [[Abbasid civil war (865–866)|besieged Baghdad]] to overthrow the caliph [[al-Musta'in]] and, when the city fell the following year, they replaced him with [[al-Mu'tazz]].{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=171–172}} The latter was overthrown by the same faction in 869 and replaced by [[al-Muhtadi]], who was similarly overthrown in 870. Al-Muhtadi was succeeded by [[al-Mu'tamid]], who was finally able to restore some order, in large part thanks to the help of his brother [[al-Muwaffaq]], who kept the military under control and ran most government affairs.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=172–174}}{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=146–147}} The restoration was hampered by the [[Zanj Rebellion|Zanj rebellion]], which erupted in 869 and threatened the center of Abbasid control in Iraq. This major threat was not brought under control until a determined campaign was launched in 879.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=177–179}}

[[File:Abbasid Caliphate 891-892.png|thumb|upright=1.3|Map of the fragmented Abbasid empire {{circa|892}}, with areas still under direct control of the Abbasid central government (dark green) and under autonomous rulers adhering to nominal Abbasid suzerainty (light green)]]
By the 870s, Egypt became autonomous under [[Ahmad ibn Tulun]] and his [[Tulunid]] successors, though they continued to acknowledge the caliph and generally sent tribute to Baghdad. For a time, they even controlled Syria and parts of the Jazira ([[Upper Mesopotamia]]). In 882, the caliph al-Mu'tamid even tried (but failed) to move his residence to Egypt at Ibn Tulun's invitation.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=174, 176–177}} 

In the east, the [[Saffarids]] were former soldiers in the Abbasid army who were stationed in [[Sistan]] and remained there as local strongmen. From 854 onward, they began to challenge the Tahirids and in 873 they captured Nishapur, ending Tahirid rule. They marched on Baghdad in 876 but [[Battle of Dayr al-Aqul|were defeated]] by al-Muwaffaq. The two sides were forced to come to terms and the Abbasids allowed the Saffarids to rule over Sistan, [[Fars province|Fars]], [[Kerman province|Kirman]], and [[Khurasan]].{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=151–152}}{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=175–176}} 

In 898, al-Mu'tadid set the Saffarids and Samanids against each other but the latter came out triumphant in battle and were able to expand their control to Khurasan, while the Saffarids remained further south. The Samanids never threatened the Abbasids in Iraq, but they were also not as close to the caliphs as their Tahirid predecessors and in practice they were almost entirely independent of Baghdad.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=183}} They became even greater patrons of religion and the arts than the Tahirids, still maintaining orthodox Sunni ideology but differing in their promotion of the [[Persian language]].{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=149–150}}

There was a brief Abbasid political and military revival at the end of the 9th century, especially under the policies of caliph [[al-Mu'tadid]] ({{Reign|892|902}}) and [[al-Muktafi]] ({{Reign|902|908}}).{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=179–185}} Under al-Mu'tadid, the capital was moved from Samarra back to Baghdad.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=180}} Incursions by the [[Qarmatians]] and allied Bedouin tribes posed a serious threat from 899 onwards, but the Abbasid army, led by [[Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Katib|Muhammad ibn Sulayman]], won a reprieve against them in 904 and 907.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=183–185}} In 905, the same general invaded Egypt and overthrew the weakened Tulunids, re-establishing Abbasid control to the west.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=184–185}} By the time caliph al-Muktafi died in 908, the Abbasid revival was at its peak and a strong centralized state was in place again.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=185}} 

After his death, however, the state became dominated by feuding bureaucrats. Under [[al-Muqtadir]] ({{Reign|908|932}}), the Abbasid court continued to project power and wealth publicly but the politics and financial policies of the time compromised the caliphate's sustainability in the long-term. It was in this period that the practice of giving out [[iqta|''iqta'']]s ([[fief]]s in the form of tax farms) as favours began, which had the effect of reducing the caliphate's own tax revenues.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=163–168}}

In 909, North Africa was lost to the [[Fatimid dynasty]], an [[Isma'ilism|Isma'ili]] Shia sect tracing its roots to Muhammad's daughter [[Fatima]]. The Fatimids took control of Ifriqiya from the Aghlabids and eventually [[Fatimid conquest of Egypt|conquered Egypt]] in 969, where they established their capital, [[Cairo]], near [[Fustat]].{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=|pp=313–317}}{{Sfn|Naylor|2015|pp=72–73, 79}} By the end of the century, they were one of the main political and ideological challenges to Sunni Islam and the Abbasids, contesting the Abbasids for the titular authority of the Islamic [[ummah|''ummah'']].{{Sfn|Naylor|2015|p=80}}{{Sfn|Daftary|Jiwa|2017|p=|pp=1–2}}{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=195–196}} The challenge of the Fatimid Caliphate only ended with their downfall in the 12th century.{{Sfn|Daftary|Jiwa|2017|p=4}}

Under the caliph [[al-Radi]] ({{Reign|934|941}}), Baghdad's authority declined further as local governors refused to send payments to the capital. The [[Ikhshidids]] ruled Egypt and Syria autonomously prior to the Fatimid takeover. Even in Iraq, many governors refused to obey and the caliph was unable to send armies against them.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=194–195}} Al-Radi was forced to invite the governor of [[Wasit]], [[Muhammad ibn Ra'iq]], to take over the administration under the newly-created position of ''[[amir al-umara]]'' ("Commander of Commanders").{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=194–195}} Ibn Ra'iq disbanded the salaried army of the caliph and reduced much of the government's bureaucratic infrastructure, including the traditional vizierate, thus removing much of the Abbasid state's basis for power. He was overthrown in 938 and the following years were bogged down in political turmoil.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=195–196}}

[[Al-Mustakfi]] had a short reign from 944 to 946, and it was during this period that the Persian faction known as the [[Buyids]] from [[Daylam]] swept into power and assumed control over the bureaucracy in Baghdad. According to the history of [[Miskawayh]], they began distributing ''iqta''s to their supporters. This period of localized secular control was to last nearly 100 years.<ref name=":11" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Michele |first=Campopiano |date=2012 |title=State, Land Tax and Agriculture in Iraq from the Arab Conquest to the Crisis of the Abbasid Caliphate (Seventh-Tenth Centuries) |url=https://www.academia.edu/12137429 |url-status=live |journal=Studia Islamica |volume=107 |issue=1 |pages=1–37 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913114643/http://www.academia.edu/12137429/_State_Land_Tax_and_Agriculture_in_Iraq_from_the_Arab_Conquest_to_the_Crisis_of_the_Abbasid_Caliphate_Seventh-Tenth_Centuries_in_Studia_Islamica_3_2012_35-80 |archive-date=13 September 2018 |access-date=19 October 2015 |via=Academia.edu}}</ref>

Outside Iraq, all the autonomous provinces slowly took on the characteristic of de facto states with hereditary rulers, armies, and revenues and operated under only nominal caliph suzerainty, which may not necessarily be reflected by any contribution to the treasury, such as the [[Soomro]] emirs that had gained control of [[Sindh]] and ruled the entire province from their capital of [[Mansura, Sindh|Mansura]].<ref name="Brauer" /> [[Mahmud of Ghazni]] took the title of [[sultan]], as opposed to the ''amir'' that had been in more common usage, signifying the [[Ghaznavids|Ghaznavid Empire]]'s independence from caliphal authority, despite Mahmud's ostentatious displays of Sunni orthodoxy and ritual submission to the caliph. In the 11th century, the loss of respect for the caliphs continued, as some Islamic rulers no longer mentioned the caliph's name in the Friday [[khutba|''khutba'']], or struck it off their coinage.<ref name="Brauer" />