`Abbasid caliph reigning from 256/870 to 279/892, son of al-Mutawakkil.
al-Mu`tamid appears to have had no political experience prior to his accession to the caliphate in 256 after the death of his nephew al-Muhtadi. Despite his long reign, or maybe contributing to his long reign, he never built up an independent power base and spent most of his reign as a figurehead in Samarra. Effective power was placed in the hands of his brother, al-Muwaffaq, who had been called in to help deal with the Zandj uprisings. al-Mu`tamid had appointed his own viziers, `Ubayd Allah b. Yahya b. Khaqan, his father al-Mutawakkil's former vizier, until 262, Sulayman b. Wahb and then Isma`il b. Bulbul.
In 261, al-Mu`tamid arranged the succession to split the empire between his son Ja`far al-Mufawwad in the west and his brother al-Muwaffaq in the east. al-Mufawwad never seems to have held any real authority. al-Muwaffaq held the allegiance of the Turkish military as he fought the Zandj in southern Iraq and the Saffarids in Persia. This allegiance was enough to keep real power in al-Muwaffaq's hands.
The defining moment of al-Mu`tamid's lack of independence came in 268 when he tried leaving Samarra for Egypt to seek refuge with Ahmad ibn Tulun. He tried to meet Ibn Tulun's representative in Raqqa, but his plans were intercepted by al-Muwaffaq's right hand man Sa`id b. Makhlad who contacted the governor of Mawsil Ishaq b. Kundaj and ordered him to detain al-Mu`tamid. The supporters of al-Mu`tamid were arrested and stripped of their estates while al-Mu`tamid was imprisoned in the palace complex at Samarra and forced to denounce Ibn Tulun and assign Ishaq b. Kundaj the governorship of Egypt. Ishaq b. Kundaj made no real attempts to take control of Egypt from Ibn Tulun. In late 269, al-Muwaffaq moved al-Mu`tamid to Wasit to keep a closer eye on him until 270 when he traveled back to Baghdad and then Samarra. In 278, he again left Samarra to attend to al-Muwaffaq in Baghdad when the latter had become ill. After al-Muwaffaq's death, real power moved into the hands of his son al-Mu`tadid.
al-Mu`tamid died in 279 in Baghdad. His son, al-Mufawwad was swept aside in favor of al-Mu`tadid.
Kennedy, Hugh. "al-Mu`tamid `ala'llah". in EI2.
256 - The death of al-Muhtadi brings al-Mu`tamid to power. al-Mu`tamid summons al-Muwaffaq from Mekka to aid in putting down the Zandj revolt.
261 - al-Mu`tamid arranges for a split succession with his son al-Mufawwad receiving the eastern half of the empire and al-Muwaffaq receiving the western half.
268 - al-Mu`tamid becomes a virtual prisoner in Samarra after trying to seek refuge with Ahmad ibn Tulun.
269 - al-Muwaffaq moves al-Mu`tamid to Wasit in order to keep a closer eye on him.
270 - al-Mu`tamid returns to Samarra.
278 - The death of al-Muwaffaq does not improve al-Mu`tamid or al-Mufawwad's conditions as power goes into the hands of al-Muwaffaq's son al-Mu`tadid.
279 - al-Mu`tamid dies in Baghdad with al-Mu`tadid succeeding him.
