Episode 66: Sunni side up

Episode 66: Sunni side up

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Episode 67: Breaking the camel’s back

Succession planning presented a sporadic problem for the caliphate. The great fitna was the last disaster spawned by ill-conceived designs, and it proved absolutely ruinous to the state. Al Mutawakkil’s arrangement was so bad that it became the first to snare the caliph himself i ...  Show more

Episode 68: Al Muntasir and the beginning of the end

It’s difficult to overstate the impact al Mutawakkil’s usurpation had on the political reality of the caliphate. Not only did it completely hijack control of the state, but it also had decisive implications for the nature and locus of official authority. We’ll kick off our journe ...  Show more

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