governments of Mowaffaq, Motadid and
himself. The new caliph, _al-Moqtadir billah_ ("the powerful through
God"), a brother of Moktafi, was only thirteen years of age when he
ascended the throne. Owing to his extreme youth many of the leading men
at Bagdad rebelled and swore allegiance to Abdallah, son of the former
caliph Motazz, a man of excellent character and of great poetical gifts;
but the party of the house of Motadid prevailed, and the rival caliph
was put to death. Moqtadir, though not devoid of noble qualities,
allowed himself to be governed by his mother and her ladies and eunuchs.
He began by squandering the 15,000,000 dinars which were in the treasury
when his brother died in largesses to his courtiers, who, however,
merely increased their demands. His very able vizier, the noble and
disinterested Ali b. 'Isa, tried to check this foolish expenditure, but
his efforts were more than counterbalanced by the vizier Ibn abi'l-Forat
and the court. The most shameless bribery and the robbery of the
well-to-do went together with the most extravagant luxury. The
twenty-four years of Moqtadir's reign are a period of rapid decay. The
most important event in the reign was the foundation of the Fatimite
dynasty, which reigned first in the Maghrib and then in Egypt for nearly
three centuries (see FATIMITES and EGYPT: _History_, "Mahommedan").

Far more dangerous, however, for the Caliphate of Bagdad at the time
were the Carmathians of Bahrein, then guided by Abu Tahir, the son of
Abu Sa'id Jannabi. In 311 (A.D. 923) they took and ransacked Basra; in
the first month of the following year the great pilgrim caravan on its
return from Mecca was overpowered; 2500 men perished, while an even
larger number were made prisoners and brought to Lahsa, the residence of
the Carmathian princes, together with an immense booty. The caravan
which left Bagdad towards the end of this year returned in all haste
before it had covered a third of the way. Then Kufa underwent the fate
that had befallen Basra. In 313 (A.D. 926) the caravan was allowed to
pass on payment of a large sum of money. The government of Bagdad
resolved to crush the Carmathians, but a large army was utterly defeated
by Abu Tahir in 315 (927), and Bagdad was seriously threatened. Next
year Mecca was taken and plundered; even the sacred Black Stone was
transported to Lahsa, where it remained till 339 (950), when by the
express order of the Imam, the Fatimite caliph, it was res