Turkish Guards Kill Caliph: Anarchy at Samarra Begins
Turkish guards assassinate Caliph al-Mutawakkil and install his son al-Muntasir, triggering a decade-long power struggle that fractures Abbasid authority. This coup shatters central control, plunging the empire into the Anarchy at Samarra and allowing regional governors to seize independent power.
December 11, 861
1165 years ago
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