At-Ta'i

Al-Ta'i (932 – 3 August 1003) (Arabic: الطائع بالله‎) was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 974 to 991. Very little is known about his personal and official life. During his Caliphate, Syria was torn by contending factions — Fatimid, Turkish, and Carmathian; while the Buwayhid dynasty was split up into parties that were fighting among themselves. To top this all off, the Byzantine Emperor John Tzimisces stormed the east in a victorious campaign in 975. After holding the office for seventeen years, al-Ta'i was deposed in 991 by the Buwayhid emir Baha' al-Dawla.^[1]

Assessment

At-Tai ruled for 17 years from 974 to 991 C.E. He was very weak and incapable. He had no hold on power. He was virtually a prisoner in the hands of the Buwayhids. During his rule the Abbasid dominions further shrunk in extent. Syria and Hijaz were occupied by the Fatimid. The Abbasid were no longer in the position to make any conquests. The protection of the borders now became the responsibility of the petty states that had come to established on the borders of the dominion.

More information on Ta'i can be found in Hilal al-Sabi's account of the Abbasid court, specifically the interaction between Ta'i and his Buwayhid generalissimo 'Adud al-Daula.

References