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Assassination of Abbasid Caliph al-Mustarshid
In August 1135, Abbasid Caliph al-Mustarshid was assassinated by Nizari assassins near Khulwan while withdrawing after a failed campaign against Selj…
Timeline
- 1134–1135Baghdad · BaghdadCaliph al-Mustarshid long contended with Seljuk Sultan Mas'ud, seeking to throw off the yoke of suzerainty. Around 1134 he assembled an army, preparing to challenge Seljuk dominance in Iraq by force.
- 1135central Iraq · IraqThe caliph's forces were repulsed in clashes with Seljuk troops and forced to retreat from the battlefield, marching back toward Baghdad. During the withdrawal, morale was low and vigilance lax, creating conditions for the assassins' operation.
- 1135Khulwan · IraqNizari assassins surprised the caliph's camp near Khulwan; al-Mustarshid was stabbed to death in his tent. This is one of the landmark cases of Nizari targeted killings of major political figures in the 12th century.
Sources
- The Cambridge History of Islam, Volume 1A — P. M. Holt, Ann K. S. Lambton, Bernard Lewis (eds.) (1970)
- The Assassins: A Radical Sect in Islam — Bernard Lewis (1967)