Review of Ibn al-Muʿtazz, In Deadly Embrace

In Arabic historiography, Abd Allh b. al-Mutazz (d.296/908) is often remembered as "the caliph of a day and a night" (khalfat yawm wa-layla), but his legacy extends beyond the tragic brevity of his political career.He was proclaimed caliph by a faction within the palace to replace the young al-Muqtadir (r.295-320/908-32) on 20 Rab al-Awwal 296 (22 December 908).However, the palace guards rejected Ibn al-Mutazz as an alternative, and he was deposed the following day and ultimately killed shortly thereafter.Though Ibn al-Mutazz had the pedigree and education for political power, he was more a man of letters than of politics and was reportedly reluctant to take the throne.Raised by his grandmother Qaba-literally, "the ugly woman," which appears to be an apotropaic name-he was placed in the care of prominent scholars and received a comprehensive education.He was an accomplished poet and literary critic, best known for his seminal treatise on poetics Kitb al-Bad, a work that explores stylistic and rhetorical techniques in Abbasid poetry, highlighting that these techniques could also be found in earlier Arabic poems as well as in the Islamic scripture and the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad.He also authored abaqt al-shuar al-mudathn f mad al-khulaf wa-l-wuzar, ranking poets who praised caliphs and viziers, and Ful al-tamthl f tabshr al-surr, a study on appropriate courtly behavior and bacchanalia.Additionally, he addressed proper etiquette in another work, Kitb al-db or Ful qir (no longer extant), a collection of wisdom literature from various traditions, showcasing Ibn al-Mutazz's integration of Abbasid, Sasanian, and Arab cultural elements.He also produced a substantial dwn (collection of poetry) covering various themes, including hunting poetry (ardiyya, pl.ardiyyt), describing different aspects of the hunt.