Editing Al-Mu'tasim (section)

=== Rise of the Turks ===
Al-Mu'tasim's reliance on his Turkish ''ghilmān'' grew over time, especially in the aftermath of an abortive plot against him discovered in 838, during the Amorium campaign. Headed by [['Ujayf ibn 'Anbasa|Ujayf ibn Anbasa]], a long-serving Khurasani who had followed al-Ma'mun since the civil war against [[al-Amin]], the conspiracy rallied the traditional Abbasid elites, dissatisfied with al-Mu'tasim's policies and especially his favouritism towards the Turks. Discontent with the latter grew due to their servile origin, which offended the Abbasid aristocracy.{{efn|The sullen and rebellious mood of the ''abnāʾ'' and the Iranian elements of the Abbasid elite is conveyed by al-Tabari, who reports two of the leading conspirators, [[Amr al-Farghani]] and [[Ahmad ibn al-Khalil ibn Hisham]], grumbling during the siege of Amorium about being humbled by Ashinas, "this slave, the son of a whore", and that they would rather defect to the Byzantines than continue to serve under him.{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|p=112}}}} The plotters aimed to kill the Caliph and raise al-Ma'mun's son al-Abbas in his stead. According to al-Tabari, al-Abbas, although privy to these designs, rejected Ujayf's urgent suggestions to kill al-Mu'tasim during the initial stages of the campaign for fear of appearing to undermine the [[jihad]]. In the event, Ashinas grew suspicious of al-Farhgani and Ibn Hisham, and the plot was soon uncovered. Al-Abbas was imprisoned, and the Turkish leaders Ashinas, Itakh, and [[Bugha the Elder]] undertook to discover and arrest the other conspirators. The affair was the signal for a large-scale purge of the army that Kennedy describes as "of almost [[Stalin]]esque ruthlessness". Al-Abbas was forced to die of thirst, while his male offspring were arrested, and likely executed, by Itakh. The other leaders of the conspiracy were likewise executed in ingeniously cruel ways, which were widely publicized as a deterrent to others. According to the ''[[Kitab al-'Uyun]]'', about seventy commanders and soldiers were executed, including some Turks.{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|pp=xv, 121–134}}{{sfn|Gordon|2001|pp=48–49, 76–77}}{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|pp=224–227}}

As the historian Matthew Gordon points out, these events are probably connected to the disappearance of the ''abnāʾ'' from the historical record. Correspondingly they must have increased the standing of the Turks and their chief commanders, particularly Ashinas: in 839, his daughter, Utranja, married the son of al-Afshin, and in 840, al-Mu'tasim appointed him as his deputy during his absence from Samarra. When he returned, al-Mu'tasim publicly placed him on a throne and awarded him a ceremonial crown.{{sfn|Gordon|2001|p=77}}{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|p=178}} In the same year, Ashinas was appointed to a super-governorate over the provinces of Egypt, Syria and the Jazira. Ashinas did not govern these directly, but appointed deputies as governors, while he remained in Samarra.{{sfn|Gordon|2001|p=77}}{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|p=178 (note 504)}} When Ashinas participated in the Hajj of 841, he received honours on every stop of the route.{{sfn|Gordon|2001|p=77}}{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|p=201}} In 840, it was the turn of al-Afshin to fall victim to the Caliph's suspicions. Despite his distinguished service as a general, he was very much the "odd man out" in the Samarran elite; the relations of the Iranian prince with the low-born Turkish generals were marked by mutual antipathy. Furthermore, he alienated the Tahirids, who might under other circumstances have been his natural allies, by interfering in [[Tabaristan]], where he allegedly encouraged the local autonomous ruler, [[Mazyar]], to reject Tahirid control (see [[#Mazyar|below]]).{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|p=227}} Al-Tabari reports other allegations against al-Afshin: that he was plotting to poison al-Mu'tasim; or that he was planning to escape to his native Ushrusana with vast sums of money.{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|pp=180–185}} According to Kennedy, the very variety of allegations against al-Afshin is grounds for skepticism about their truthfulness, and it is likely that he was framed by his enemies at court.{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|p=227}} Whatever the truth, these allegations discredited al-Afshin in the eyes of al-Mu'tasim. He was dismissed from his position in the caliphal bodyguard (''al-ḥaras''),{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|p=179}} and a [[show trial]] was held at the palace, where he was confronted with several witnesses, including Mazyar. Al-Afshin was accused, among other things, of being a false Muslim, and of being accorded [[Shirk (Islam)|divine status]] by his subjects in Ushrusana. Despite putting up an able and eloquent defence, al-Afshin was found guilty and thrown into prison. He died soon after, either of starvation or of poison. His body was publicly [[gibbet]]ed in front of the palace gates, burned, and thrown in the Tigris.{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|pp=185–193}}{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|pp=227–229}} Once more, the affair enhanced the standing of the Turkish leadership, and particularly [[Wasif al-Turki|Wasif]], who now received al-Afshin's revenues and possessions.{{sfn|Gordon|2001|pp=77–78}}

Nevertheless, it seems that al-Mu'tasim was not entirely satisfied with the men he had raised to power. An anecdote dating from his last years, relayed by Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Mus'ab, recalls how the Caliph, in an intimate exchange with Ishaq, lamented that he had made poor choices in this regard: while his brother al-Ma'mun had nurtured four excellent servants from the Tahirids, he had raised al-Afshin, who was dead; Ashinas, "a feeble heart and a coward"; Itakh, "who is totally insignificant"; and Wasif, "an unprofitable servant". Ishaq himself then suggested that this was because, while al-Ma'mun had used men with local connections and influence, al-Mu'tasim had used men with no roots in the Muslim community, to which the Caliph sadly assented.{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|pp=212–215}}{{sfn|Kennedy|2006|pp=230–231}}