Al-Fath ibn Khaqan

Al-Fatḥ ibn Khāqān (Arabic: الفتح بن خاقان) (c. 817/8 – 11 December 861) was an Abbasid official and one of the most prominent figures of the court of the Caliph al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861). The son of a Turkic general of Caliph al-Mu'tasim, al-Fath was raised at the caliphal palace alongside the future al-Mutawakkil and adopted by al-Mu'tasim at age seven. With the accession of al-Mutawakkil, he occupied a series of official posts, including governor of Egypt and the Syrian provinces, but his power stemmed mainly from his close relationship to al-Mutawakkil, whose main adviser and confidant he was. A well-educated man and ardent bibliophile, al-Fath was himself a writer and a patron of writers, and assembled a large library at his palace at Samarra. He was assassinated by the Turkic guard alongside al-Mutawakkil.