Abu al-Manaqib Mubarak ibn Abd Allah al-Musta'sim ( also known as Mubarak ibn al-Musta'sim () or posthumously as Mubarak Shah; died 21 September 1278 / 2 Jumada al-Ula 677 AH) was an Abbasid prince. He was the third and youngest son of Al-Musta'sim, the 37th and final Abbasid caliph in Baghdad. He is historically significant as one of the few male members of the immediate caliphal family to survive the Mongol destruction of Baghdad in 1258.Al-Abbasi, Mahfuz [Mahfoudh Beg] (1969). Imarat Bahdinan al-Abbasiyah [The Abbasid Princedom of Bahdinan]. Mosul: Matba'at al-Jumhuriyah. p. 32.
Biography Early life and capture During the catastrophic sack of Baghdad by the Mongol Empire under Hulagu Khan, Mubarak's older brothers—the eldest, Abul Abbas Ahmad, followed by the second brother, Abul Fadail Abd al-Rahman—were executed by the Mongols.
Mubarak was spared along with his sisters. He was taken captive and transported northeast to the Ilkhanate capital of Maragheh (modern-day Iran).
Life in Maragheh In Maragheh, Mubarak lived out the remainder of his life under Mongol custody. According to the medieval historian Ibn al-Kazaruni, Mubarak was treated with considerable respect by his captors. During his time in the Ilkhanid capital, he married and fathered four children: Abu Nasr Muhammad (his eldest son) Abu Ahmad Abdullah Abu Hashim Yusuf Al-Mubarakah Mama Khatun
While living in Maragheh, his presence was recorded by several prominent Islamic chroniclers. The historian Ibn al-Fuwati personally met and heard from him, and his biographical details were later preserved in the historical writings of Ibn Kathir and Al-Dhahabi.
Death and burial Mubarak died in Maragheh on Thursday, 2 Jumada al-Ula 677 AH (21 September 1278). Roughly two years later, on Thursday, 11 Rajab 679 AH (6 November 1280), his body was exhumed and moved back to Baghdad. The transfer of his remains was overseen by his eldest son, Abu Nasr Muhammad. He was reburied in Baghdad near the grave of the earlier Abbasid caliph, Al-Mustarshid.
The Syrian imposter (1266) Mubarak's status as the sole surviving son of the last Baghdad caliph made his identity a powerful political tool. In June 1266 (Ramadan 664 AH), an individual claiming to be Mubarak arrived in geographical Syria accompanied by a group of Bedouin leaders. Because he claimed caliphal lineage, the Mamluk governor's deputy in Syria, Amir Jamal al-Din al-Nujaymi (d. 677/1278), ordered that the man be hosted with the highest diplomatic honors.
When Sultan Baybars arrived in Damascus, he sought to verify the man's identity. He dispatched a prominent Baghdadian servant (a tawashi eunuch) named Mukhtar—who had previously recognized the deceased Cairo-based caliph Al-Mustansir—alongside Jamal al-Din ibn al-Dawadar to inspect the claimant. Neither official recognized the man, exposing him as an imposter. The fraudulent claimant was arrested, sent to Cairo, and held there in safe custody.
Legacy and regional connections Mubarak's branch of the family continued through his grandson, Izz al-Din bin Muhammad. Izz al-Din relocated to the city of Tarun, where he permanently settled. He married his cousin, Zahida bint Abdullah (a granddaughter of Mubarak Shah widely known as Zahida Abbasiyah), and together they had four sons: Imad al-Din, Ahmad, Mahmud, and Khalil.
The descendants of these four sons went on to establish three prominent autonomous Kurdish dynasties: Bahdinan: In 1339, Izz al-Din's youngest son, Khalil, seized control of Amadiya and established the Abbasid Emirate of Bahdinan. The emirate was subsequently named after its fourth emir, Khalil's son Baha al-Din. Hakkari (Shanbo Dynasty): The eldest son, Imad al-Din, displaced the ruling Julamarki dynasty of Çolemerg to become the Emir of Hakkari, establishing the prominent Shanbo ruling line. Shamdinan: Khalil's son, Shams al-Din, became the direct ancestor of the ruling Princes of Shamdinan.
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