Al-Mutawakkil

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al-Mutawakkil المتوكل
Amir al-Mu'minin Khalifat Allah
Bust of al-Mutawakkil on a silver dirham
10th Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate
Reign	10 August 847 – 10 December 861
Predecessor	al-Wathiq
Successor	al-Muntasir
Born	31 March 822 Baghdad, Abbasid Empire
Died	11 December 861(861-12-11) (aged 39) Samarra, Abbasid Empire
Burial	Samarra
Consort	List Faridah Sa'anin Hubshiya Umm Ishaq Fityan Qabiha Lujayn Fadl Bunan Mahbuba Nashib Mulah Rayya Zamya Zajir Najla Shajar Sahib
Issue	al-Muntasir al-Muwaffaq al-Mu'tamid al-Mu'tazz al-Mu'ayyad Isma'il Abu'l-Hassan Abu Isa Ishaq Umm Abdullah
Names Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Mu'tasim al-Mutawakkil 'ala Allah
Dynasty	Abbasid
Father	al-Mu'tasim
Mother	Shuja
Religion	Sunni Islam

Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn Harun (Arabic: جعفر بن محمد بن هارون, romanized: Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn); March 822 – 11 December 861, commonly known by his regnal name al-Mutawwakil ala Allah (Arabic: المتوكل على الله, romanized: al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh, lit. 'He who relies on God'), was the tenth Abbasid caliph, ruling from 847 until his assassination in 861. He succeeded his brother, al-Wathiq (r. 842–847), and is known for expanding the empire to its maximum extent.^[1] He was deeply religious, and is remembered for discarding the Muʿtazila, ending the Mihna (a period of persecution of Islamic scholars), and releasing Ahmad ibn Hanbal. He is also known for his tough rule, especially with respect to non-Muslim subjects.

He was assassinated on 11 December 861 by the Turkic guard with the support of his son, al-Muntasir, marking the beginning of the period of civil strife known as the "Anarchy at Samarra".