Al-Muwaffaq

Who was Al-Muwaffaq?

Abu Ahmad Talha ibn Ja'far, better known by his laqab as al-Muwaffaq bi-Allah, was an Abbasid prince and military leader, who acted as the virtual regent of the Abbasid Caliphate for most of the reign of his brother, Caliph al-Mu'tamid. His stabilization of the internal political scene after the decade-long "Anarchy at Samarra", his successful defence of Iraq against the Saffarids and the suppression of the Zanj Rebellion restored a measure of the Caliphate's former power and began a period of recovery, which culminated in the reign of al-Muwaffaq's own son, the Caliph al-Mu'tadid.