Al-Muhtadi (d. June, 870) was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 869 to 870.

After the death of al-Mu'tazz, the Turks chose his cousin, al-Muhtadi, son of al-Wathiq by a Grecian slave-girl, as the new Caliph. Al-Muhtadi turned out be firm and virtuous compared to the last few Caliphs. If he had come earlier, he might have restored life to the Caliphate; however, by now the Turks held more power.

Under him, the Court soon saw a transformation. Singing girls and musicians were expelled; justice was done daily in open court; wine and games were prohibited. He set Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, the Umayyad Caliph, as his model and exemplar.

His reign, however, lasted less than an year. After some disagreements and conspiracies, he was killed by the Turks in 256 AH (June, 870); he was thirty-eight then. The early Arab writers praise his justice and piety; and had he not been killed so soon, he could have been placed among the best of Abbasid Caliphs.

References

• This text is adapted from William Muir's public domain, The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline, and Fall.

Preceded by: al-Mu'tazz	Abbasid Leader	Succeeded by: al-Mu'tamid
	Caliph