Al-Musta'in (Cairo)

Names
	Ebû’l-Fadıl el-`Abbâs "el-Mûsta`in bi’l-Lâh"

Abu al-Fadl Abbas al-Musta'in Billah
أبو الفضل عباس المستعين بالله
Abu al-Fadl Abbas al-Musta'in Billah; أبو الفضل عباس المستعين بالله
10th Caliph of Cairo
Reign	22 January 1406 – 9 March 1414
Predecessor	al-Mutawakkil I
Successor	al-Mu'tadid II
Sultan of Egypt
Reign	7 May – 6 November 1412
Predecessor	Nasir-ad-Din Faraj
Successor	Shaykh al-Mahmudi
Born	1390; Cairo, Egypt
Died	February or March 1430 (aged 39–40); Alexandria, Egypt
Burial	Alexandria
Issue	al-Mutawakkil II
Names
Names
	Ebû’l-Fadıl el-`Abbâs "el-Mûsta`in bi’l-Lâh"
Father	al-Mutawakkil I
Mother	Bay Khatun
Religion	Sunni Islam

Abu’l-Faḍl Abbas Al-Musta'in Billah (Arabic: أبو الفضل عباس المستعين بالله; c. 1390 – February or March 1430)^[1] was the tenth "shadow" Abbasid caliph of Cairo, reigning under the tutelage of the Egyptian Mamluk sultans from 1406 to 1414. He was the only Cairo-based caliph to hold political power as Sultan of Egypt,^[2]^[3] albeit for only six months in 1412. All the other Cairene caliphs who preceded or succeeded him were spiritual heads lacking any temporal power.^[4]

^ Holt, Peter Malcolm (1993). "Al-Musta'in (II)". The Encyclopaedia of Islam: New Edition. Vol. VII (Mif – Naz) (2nd ed.). Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 723. ISBN 978-90-04-09419-2.
^ King, Joan Wucher (1989) [First published 1984]. Historical Dictionary of Egypt. Books of Lasting Value. American University in Cairo Press. pp. 453–454. ISBN 978-977-424-213-7.
^ Arnold, T. W. (1993). "Khalifa". In Houtsma, Martijn Theodoor (ed.). E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936. Vol. IV (ʿItḳ – Kwaṭṭa) (Reprinted 1st ed.). Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 883. ISBN 978-90-04-09790-2. Retrieved 2010-10-15. But not a single one of them (with the exception of Musta'in, who was made the plaything of rival political factions in 1412 and for six months was styled Sultan) ever exercised any function of government or enjoyed any political power.
^ Singh, Nagendra Kumar, ed. (2002). International Encyclopaedia of Islamic Dynasties. New Delhi: Anmol Publications. p. 199. ISBN 978-81-261-0403-1. These Caliphs were the spiritual heads only. All temporal authority lay with the Mamluk Sultans. [...] In 1412 C.E. the Caliph Al Mustain captured temporal power as well, but he could not hold such power for more than six months. The Caliphs who followed him had to remain content as spiritual heads only.

[Holt-1] Holt, Peter Malcolm (1993). "Al-Musta'in (II)". The Encyclopaedia of Islam: New Edition. Vol. VII (Mif – Naz) (2nd ed.). Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 723. ISBN 978-90-04-09419-2.

[King-2] King, Joan Wucher (1989) [First published 1984]. Historical Dictionary of Egypt. Books of Lasting Value. American University in Cairo Press. pp. 453–454. ISBN 978-977-424-213-7.

[3] Arnold, T. W. (1993). "Khalifa". In Houtsma, Martijn Theodoor (ed.). E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936. Vol. IV (ʿItḳ – Kwaṭṭa) (Reprinted 1st ed.). Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 883. ISBN 978-90-04-09790-2. Retrieved 2010-10-15. But not a single one of them (with the exception of Musta'in, who was made the plaything of rival political factions in 1412 and for six months was styled Sultan) ever exercised any function of government or enjoyed any political power.

[4] Singh, Nagendra Kumar, ed. (2002). International Encyclopaedia of Islamic Dynasties. New Delhi: Anmol Publications. p. 199. ISBN 978-81-261-0403-1. These Caliphs were the spiritual heads only. All temporal authority lay with the Mamluk Sultans. [...] In 1412 C.E. the Caliph Al Mustain captured temporal power as well, but he could not hold such power for more than six months. The Caliphs who followed him had to remain content as spiritual heads only.

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