Islamic leaders, their biographies and accomplishments. Saul Silas Fathi

would fall into a decline.

      Al-Mutawakkil continued to rely on Turkish statesmen and slave soldiers to put down rebellions and lead battles against foreign empires, notably the Byzantines, from who Sicily was captured. His vizier, Al-Fath bin Khaqan, who was Turkish, was a famous figure of Al-Mutawakkil’s era.

      His reliance on Turkish soldiers would come back to haunt him. Al-Mutawakkil would have his Turkish commander-in-chief killed. This, coupled with his extreme attitudes towards the Shi’a, made his popularity decline rapidly.

      Al-Mutawakkil was murdered by a Turkish soldier on December 11, 861 CE. Some have speculated that his murder was part of a plot hatched by his son, al-Muntasir, who had grown estranged from his father. Al-Muntasir feared his father was about to move against him and struck first.

       Accomplishments:

      Al-Mutawakkil was unlike his brother and father in that he was not known for having a thirst for knowledge, but he had an eye for magnificence and a hunger to build. The Great Mosque of Samarra was at its time, the largest mosque in the world; its minaret is a vast spiraling cone 55 m high with a spiral ramp. The mosque had 17 aisles and its wall were paneled with mosaics of dark blue glass.