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Day 2 al-Mustazhir billah would ascend the caliphal throne at the ripe old age of 16 . . .
In the span of two years-- so many of the key players (Nizam al-Mulk, Malikshah, al-Muqtadi) in the region were dead, Malikshah& #39;s brothers (Arslan Arghun, Tutush) would soon follow...
In the span of two years-- so many of the key players (Nizam al-Mulk, Malikshah, al-Muqtadi) in the region were dead, Malikshah& #39;s brothers (Arslan Arghun, Tutush) would soon follow...
I guess at this point it should be important to mention that Urban II was planning for that fateful conference at Claremont in 1095, but .. .seriously folks, "the Crusades" were & #39;paraochial politics& #39; to al-Mustazhir, and the plethora of candidates vying for the Saljuq throne
Ironically, al-Mustazhir (r. 487-512/1094-1118) had to best chance of making headway for the & #39;Abbasids in light of ensuing civil war between Barkyaruq and his half-brothers (Muhammad Tapar and Sanjar) (Tarkan Khatun and Mahmud died of smallpox in 487/1094)
And while al-Mustazhir did attempt to take part in the back and forth b/w the Saljuq princes (the khutbas changed so much over the following years, at one point a khatib is said to have thrown up his hand w/o naming any Saljuq), but he was rebuffed by the Saljuqs.
Simply put, while the Abbasids and their city of Baghdad were considered a great prize sought after by any would-be ruler, the caliphs had yet to acquire any military capability. To that end, al-Mustazhir was largely a spectator to events around him...in retrospect-a smart move
