al-MuqtafīArticle Free Pass Al-Muqtafī became caliph in 1136 and
soon embarked upon a policy of strengthening his political
authority vis-à-vis the Seljuqs, whose princes at the time were
feuding among themselves. Consequently, he was able to annex one
district in Iraq after another. In 1156 he recognized the Seljuq
prince Sulaymānshāh as sultan, provided that the latter would
respect al-Muqtafī’s autonomy in Iraq. Al-Muqtafī even supported
him in some military campaigns, but, when Sulaymānshāh was
defeated by his rival Muḥammad, al-Muqtafī himself was besieged
in Baghdad by Muḥammad’s forces. The siege was lifted after
several months, and al-Muqtafī thereafter was able to control
military and political affairs in Iraq and the surrounding
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