Al-Mustarshid Abū'l-Manṣūr Faḍl b. Mustazhir. When his father passed away, he was pledged allegiance to the caliphate and the khutbah was read in his name from the pulpits. After his father, he held the caliphate for twenty-three years. The pledge of allegiance to the caliphate was taken on his behalf by the Qāḍī al-quḍāt Abū'l-Ḥasan al-Damīghānī. Once the pledge made to him was completed, his brother Abū'l-Ḥasan, accompanied by three others, boarded a ship and fled to Ḥilla to the side of Dabis b. Ṣadaka b. Manṣūr b. Debīr b. ʿAlī b. Mazyad al-Asadī. Dabis treated him with generosity and kindness. Because of this, the brother of Caliph al-Mustarshid became uneasy and sent the Naqīb al-Nuqabāʾ al-Zaynabī as an envoy to Dabis regarding this matter. Upon hearing this, the caliph's brother Abū'l-Ḥasan also fled from Dabis's side. Dabis dispatched soldiers to capture him, but he escaped into the desert. In the desert, he suffered severe thirst, encountered two Bedouins, who gave him water and took him to Baghdad. Afterwards, his brother received him in his presence; the two embraced and wept. The caliph settled him in the mansion where he had resided before the caliphate. He treated him generously and pleased his heart. Abū'l-Ḥasan's absence from Baghdad lasted eleven months. After this, the caliphate remained in al-Mustarshid's hands without dispute.
In this year, a severe famine occurred in Baghdad. It did not rain. Provisions ran out. Thieves and pickpockets became a great scourge in Baghdad. They openly looted houses during the day. The security forces could not prevent them.
In this year, Ḥādim Yūmn led people in the ḥajj.
Famous Personalities Who Died in the 522nd Year of the Hijra
Caliph Mustazhir
We narrated the death of Caliph Mustazhir Billāh on previous pages. After him, his grandmother also passed away.