Mu'nis al-Khadim

Abū'l-Ḥasan Mu'nis (Arabic: ابوالحسن مؤنس‎‎; 845/6–933), also commonly known by the surnames al-Muẓaffar (المظفر; "the Victorious") and al-Khadim (ﺍﻟﺨﺎﺩﻡ; "the Eunuch"), was the commander-in-chief of the Abbasid army from 908 to his death in 933 CE, and virtual dictator and king-maker of the Caliphate from 928 on.

A veteran of campaigns under Caliph al-Mu'tadid, he distinguished himself by saving the young Caliph al-Muqtadir from a palace coup in 908. With the Caliph's support, he became commander-in-chief of the caliphal army, in which role he served in several expeditions against the Byzantine Empire, saved Baghdad from the Qarmatians in 927 and defeated two Fatimid invasions of Egypt, in 915 and 920. In 924 he helped secure the dismissal and execution of the vizier Ibn al-Furat, after which his political influence grew enormously, to the point that he briefly deposed al-Muqtadir in 928. His rivalry with the Caliph and with the civilian bureaucracy of the court finally resulted in an open confrontation in 931–932, that ended with Mu'nis's victory and the Caliph's death in battle. Mu'nis installed a new caliph, al-Qahir, but in August 933 the latter had Mu'nis and his senior officers executed. Mu'nis's usurpation of power, just as his violent end, marked the beginning of a new period of turmoil for the declining Abbasid Caliphate, culminating in its takeover by the Buyids in 946.

According to the 14th-century account of al-Dhahabi, Mu'nis was 90 years old at his death, indicating a birth ca. 845/6. He was a eunuch slave, and is hence called al-Khadim ("the Eunuch") in the sources to distinguish him from his contemporary colleague, the treasurer Mu'nis al-Fahl ("the Stallion"). He first appears as a ghulam of the future caliph al-Mu'tadid (reigned 892–902) during the suppression of the Zanj Rebellion in 880/1, and had risen to the position of chief of police (sahib al-shurta) in al-Mu'tadid's camp by 900. Al-Dhahabi, however, records that the caliph banished him to Mecca, whence he was recalled only after the accession of al-Muqtadir (r. 908–932) in 908, a statement apparently corroborated by his complete absence from the sources during the intervening reign of al-Muktafi.

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