Following al-Musta`in's forced abdication, al-Mu`tazz was brought out of his jail in Samarra and hailed caliph on 4 Muharram 252/25 January 866. al-Mu`tazz almost immediately broke his promise of safety to his predecessor and had him murdered at al-Qatul in Samarra in Shawwal 252/October-November 866. He also forced his brother, Ibrahim al-Mu`ayyad to renounce his rights to successoin before having him killed. Working with his vizier Ahmad b. Isra`il, al-Mu`tazz worked to undo the influence of the Turkish soldiers, scheming the murder of the generals Wasif and Bugha al-Saghir within his first year in office.