Al-Ghalib
Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Qadir (Arabic: محمد بن أحمد القادر) better known by his laqab al-Ghalib bi'llah (Arabic: الغالب بالله) was the Abbasid prince, son of caliph al-Qadir. He was nominated heir in 1001, however he died before his father.
| Al-Ghalib الغالب | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heir apparent of the Abbasid Caliphate | |||||||||
| Tenure | 1001 – 1029/30 | ||||||||
| Born | 991/92 Baghdad | ||||||||
| Died | 1029/30 Baghdad | ||||||||
| Burial | Baghdad | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Dynasty | Abbasid | ||||||||
| Father | al-Qadir | ||||||||
| Mother | Umm Ghalib | ||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||||
Biography
Muhammad (al-Ghalib) was the son of Caliph al-Qadir. His father came to the Caliphal throne in 991. Al-Qadir[1] made public proclamation of his just nine-year-old son Muhammad as heir apparent, with the title of al-Ghalib Bi'llah, in 1001.[1][2]
His father, Al-Qadir faced two usurpation attempts during this time. About 998, a certain Abdallah ibn Ja'far, a close relative of the deposed al-Ta'i, pretended to be the escaped caliph in Gilan and even gained the backing of the local ruler for a time, before he was discovered.[2] At about the same time, in Transoxiana, another distant cousin, Abdallah ibn Uthman, a descendant of the 9th-century caliph al-Wathiq, pretended to be al-Qadir's designated heir and won the support of the local Karakhanid ruler.[2] Al-Qadir's proclamation of his son as heir was a response to this pretender. The Karakhanids soon recognized the Abbasid caliph's suzerainty for the first time, and dropped their support of the pretender.[3][2] The pretender then arrived in Baghdad, where he secretly gathered support, before moving again to the east via Basra, Kufa, and Kirman. He was finally arrested by the Ghaznavids on al-Qadir's orders, and died in captivity.[4]
However, al-Ghalib died during his father's reign and never ascended to the throne. In 1030, al-Qadir named his another son Abu Ja'far, the future al-Qa'im, as his heir, a decision taken completely independently of the Buyid emirs.[5][6] Al-Qadir died after an illness on 29 November 1031. Initially he was buried in the caliphal palace, but in the next year he was ceremonially moved to al-Rusafa.[3] Al-Qa'im, meanwhile, received "the usual oath of allegiance" on 12 December 1031.
References
- Sourdel 1978, p. 378.
- Busse 2004, p. 70.
- Küçükaşcı 2001, p. 127.
- Busse 2004, pp. 70–71.
- Sourdel 1978, p. 379.
- Busse 2004, p. 72.
Sources
- Küçükaşcı, Mustafa Sabri (2001). "Kādir-Billâh". TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 24 (Kāânî-i Şîrâzî – Kastamonu) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 127–128. ISBN 978-975-389-451-7.
- Sourdel, D. (1978). "al-Ḳādir Bi'llāh". In van Donzel, E.; Lewis, B.; Pellat, Ch. & Bosworth, C. E. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Volume IV: Iran–Kha (2nd ed.). Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 378–379. OCLC 758278456.
- Busse, Heribert (2004) [1969]. Chalif und Grosskönig - Die Buyiden im Irak (945-1055) [Caliph and Great King - The Buyids in Iraq (945-1055)] (in German). Würzburg: Ergon Verlag. ISBN 3-89913-005-7.