Episode 86: Al Qaher’s folly

A chaotic period followed al Muqtadir’s death in battle. Although officials quickly reached a consensus on the elevation of his successor, the very fact that the last caliph had been killed meant that more political violence was to be expected. Al Qaher managed to best the men who installed him but his gratuitous brutality and empty pockets lost him what little support he had. It didn’t take long for his troops to turn on him, propagating the Abbasid predicament for another generation.