nued for a time their hateful excesses, and
their new leader, Musa b. Bogha, was without the greed and ambition of
his predecessors. A son of Motawakkil was brought out of prison to
succeed his cousin, and reigned for twenty-three years under the name of
_al-Mo'tamid 'ala'llah_ ("he whose support is God"). He was a feeble,
pleasure-loving monarch, but Mohtadi had regained for the Caliphate some
authority, which was exercised by Obaidallah b. Khaqan, the able vizier
of Mohtadi, and by Motamid's talented brother Abu Ahmad al-Mowaffaq;
Musa b. Bogha himself remained till his death a staunch servant of the
government. During the reign of Motamid great events took place. The
great power long wielded by the Tahirids, not only in the eastern
provinces, but also at Bagdad itself, had been gradually diminishing,
and came to an end in the year 873, when Ya'qub the Saffarid occupied
Nishapur and imprisoned Mahommed b. Tahir with his whole family. The
power of Ya'qub then increased to such an extent that he was not content
with the caliph's offer to recognize him as supreme in the provinces he
had conquered, and military governor of Bagdad, but marched against
Irak. The caliph himself, wearing the mantle and the staff of the
Prophet, then went out against him, and after a vigorous resistance he
was beaten by Mowaffaq, who had the command of the troops, and fled to
Jondisapur in Khuzistan, where he died three years later, leaving his
empire to his brother 'Amr. This prince maintained himself in power till
the year 900, when he was beaten and taken prisoner by Isma'il b. Ahmed
the Samanid. The Samanids had been governors of Transoxiana from the
time of Mamun, and after the fall of the Tahirids, had been confirmed in
this office by the caliph. After 287 (900) they were independent
princes, and under their dominion these districts attained to high
prosperity.

Motamid had also to deal with a rising of the negro slaves in the
province of Basra, led by one Ali b. Mahommed, who called himself a
descendant of Ali. It lasted from 869 to 883, and tasked the government
to its utmost.[40]

In the west, Ahmad b. Tulun became a mighty prince, whose sway extended
over Syria and a part of Mesopotamia. Motamid, who wished to free
himself from the guardianship of his brother Mowaffaq, concerted with
him a plan to emigrate to Egypt, Ahmad being himself angered against
Mowaffaq on personal grounds. Motamid's flight was stopped by his vizier
Ibn Makh