Al-Muti' was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 946 to 974, ruling under the tutelage of the Buyid emirs. Al-Muti's reign represented the nadir of the Abbasid Caliphate's power and authority. In previous decades, the secular authority of the caliphs had shrunk to Iraq, and even there had been curtailed by powerful warlords; with the Buyid conquest of Baghdad, it was now abolished entirely. Al-Muti' was raised to the throne by the Buyids and was effectively reduced to a rubber-stamp figurehead, albeit with some vestiges of authority over judicial and religious appointments in Iraq. The very fact of his subordination and powerlessness helped restore some stability to the caliphal institution: in stark contrast to his short-lived and violently deposed predecessors, al-Muti' enjoyed a long and relatively unchallenged tenure, and was able to hand over the throne to his son al-Ta'i'. Al-Muti's prestige as the nominal leader of the Muslim world sharply declined during his tenure. (Full article...).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Muti%27> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1776: American Revolutionary War: The town of Norfolk, Virginia, was burned and destroyed by the combined actions of British and Whig forces. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_of_Norfolk> 1785: The Times began publication in London as The Daily Universal Register. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Times> 1926: Ireland's first broadcaster, 2RN, began broadcasting. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2RN> 2011: A suicide bombing took place outside a Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria, Egypt, following a New Year service, killing 23 people. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Alexandria_bombing> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: new year, new me: 1. (informal) Used to indicate a person's intention to adopt significant personal changes or improvements at the start of a new calendar year. 2. About Word of the Day 3. Nominate a word 4. Leave feedback <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/new_year%2C_new_me> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: I don't really deeply feel that anyone needs an airtight reason for quoting from the works of writers he loves, but it's always nice, I'll grant you, if he has one. --J. D. Salinger <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._D._Salinger> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe write to: [email protected] Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
