Political intercession at the court of caliph al-muqtadir

Abstract

The caliphal court in Baghdad was the arena of countless conlicts and struggles for power between the caliph and the political elites of the 'Abbasid empire. In many of these conlicts third parties were asked - or styled themselves - as intercessors to intervene on behalf of the subordinate party to ask for mercy or a favour from the superior party. This article will analyse these intercession processes and the types of intercessors that were involved. At the court of caliph al-Muqtadir (r. 295-320/908-932) a colourful group of courtiers - chamberlains, eunuchs, harem stewardess, concubines and the queen mother - functioned as go-betweens in various kinds of conlicts. Their roles as intermediary and their own inluence upon the settlement processes are vividly described in the sources. By analysing three cases of political intercession at the court of caliph al-Muqtadir, this article will demonstrate that successful and reliable intercessors were often marginal igures whose position as outsider made them particularly suitable for this job.