Ibn Muqlah

Ibn Muqla
Born	885/6 Baghdad
Died	20 July 940 Baghdad
Occupation	Abbasid court official and vizier
Years active	908–936
Known for	Islamic calligraphy
Style	Naskh, Thuluth, Tevki, Muhaqqaq

Abu 'Ali Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn Muqla al-Shirazi (Baghdad, 885/6 – Baghdad, 20 July 940) was a Persian official of the Abbasid Caliphate who rose to high state posts in the early 10th century. His career culminated in his own assumption of the vizierate at Baghdad thrice, in 928–930, 932–933 and 934–936. Unable to successfully challenge the growing power of regional emirs, he lost his position to the first amir al-umara, Ibn Ra'iq, and died in prison. He was also a noted calligrapher.

Ibn Muqla was born in Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, in AH 272 (885/886 CE). His career in public service began in Fars, where he served as tax collector. His rise to power in the central government came in 908, under the patronage of the powerful vizier Abu 'l-Hasan Ali ibn al-Furat, who appointed him in charge of official dispatches. It was at this time, under the ineffectual rule of Caliph al-Muqtadir (r. 908–932 CE) that the civil bureaucracy reached its apex of power in the Abbasid court, but where the achievements of previous reigns in restoring the Caliphate's fortunes collapsed due to chronic financial shortages. Throughout the period, the political scene in Baghdad was dominated by Ibn al-Furat and his faction (the Banu'l-Furat), his rival Ali ibn Isa al-Jarrah and the faction gathered around him (the Banu'l-Jarrah), and the powerful chief of the military, Mu'nis al-Khadim. Despite his close ties to Ibn al-Furat, which were re-affirmed during the latter's second tenure in 917–918, Ibn Muqla eventually turned against him. His next promotion came during the de facto 918–928 vizierate of Ali ibn Isa, when he assumed the important department (diwan) of the public estates.

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