Abu'l-Qasim Ahmad al-Mustansir (), (c. 1210 – 28 November 1261) was the first Abbasid caliph whose seat was in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

and who was subservient to the

Mamluk Sultanate The Mamluk Sultanate ( ar, سلطنة المماليك, translit=Salṭanat al-Mamālīk), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz (western Arabia) from the mid-13th to early 16t ...

. He reigned from June 1261 to 28 November 1261.

Life

Abu'l-Qasim Ahmad was a member of the Abbasid house who was imprisoned by his nephew the Caliph

al-Musta'sim Abu Ahmad Abdallah ibn al-Mustansir Billah (; 1213 – 20 February 1258), better known by his regnal name al-Musta'sim Billah ( ar, المستعصم بالله, al-Mustaʿṣim billāh, label=none) was the 37th and last caliph of the Abbasid dynas ...

in Baghdad. Following the Sack of Baghdad by the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

in 1258, he escaped to the Arab tribes in the desert, where he hid out for over three years, until after the Mamluks had driven the Mongols from Syria in 1260. After making his way to

Mamluk Egypt The Mamluk Sultanate ( ar, سلطنة المماليك, translit=Salṭanat al-Mamālīk), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz (western Arabia) from the mid-13th to early 16th ...

, al-Mustansir was installed as

Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

there by the Mamluk Sultan Baybars I in 1261. He was sent with an army to the east to recover Baghdad, but was killed in a Mongol ambush near

al-Anbar Al Anbar Governorate ( ar, محافظة الأنبار; ''muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār''), or Anbar Province, is the largest governorate in Iraq by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, ...

(near Falluja in modern

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

) in 1261, and was succeeded, though not immediately, by his rather distant Abbasid kinsman (and former rival caliph, having been proclaimed by the ruler of Aleppo) Al-Hakim I. Though he was not the direct ancestor of any of them, the line of Cairo caliphs Ahmad al-Mustansir founded lasted until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517, but they were little more than religious figureheads for the Mamluks.

References

Bibliography

*Amitai-Preisss, Reuven. ''Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk-Ilkhanid War, 1260-1281''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Pp. 56–60, 62. * *Glubb, John Bagot. ''Soldiers of Fortune: The Story of the Mamlukes''. New York: Dorset Press, 1988. Pp. 66, 73–75. *Holt, P. M. "al-Mustansir (II)." ''The Encyclopaedia of Islam''. 2nd ed. Vol. VII. P. 729. * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mustansir 1262 deaths Cairo-era Abbasid caliphs 13th-century Abbasid caliphs Year of birth unknown Monarchs killed in action 13th-century Egyptian people Sons of Abbasid caliphs