Al-Musta'sim (Cairo)

Abū Yahya Zakariya al-Musta'sim bi'llah (Arabic: أبو يحيى زكريا المستعصم بالله; died 1389) was the eighth Abbasid caliph of Cairo under the tutelage of the Mamluk Sultanate. He served twice: first in 1377, then again in 1386–1389.

Abu Yahya Zakariya al-Musta'sim أبو يحيى زكريا المستعصم
8th Caliph of Cairo (first period)
Reign	1377
Predecessor	al-Mutawakkil I
Successor	al-Mutawakkil I
(second period)
Reign	1386–1389
Predecessor	al-Wathiq II
Successor	al-Mutawakkil I
Born	unknown date Cairo, Mamluk Sultanate (now Egypt)
Died	1389 Cairo, Mamluk Sultanate
Father	al-Wathiq I
Religion	Sunni Islam

Al-Musta'sim was the son of al-Wathiq I (the fourth Caliph of Cairo). His given name was Zakariya and his Kunya was Abu Yahya. He was first installed in the office in 1377 for a short period of time, after al-Mutawakkil I was deposed. Al-Musta'sim was also deposed by Mamluk sultan and al-Mutawakkil I was again installed as caliph of Cairo by Mamluks.

After few years, in 1386 al-Musta'sim was again installed as caliph of Cairo for the Mamluk Sultanate. He remained in the office from 1386 to 1389 and he was again succeeded by al-Mutawakkil I in 1389.

Bibliography

• Garcin, Jean-Claude (1967). "Histoire, opposition, politique et piétisme traditionaliste dans le Ḥusn al Muḥādarat de Suyûti" [History, opposition, politics and traditionalistic pietism in Suyuti's Ḥusn al Muḥādarat] (PDF). Annales Islamologiques (in French). 7. Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale: 33–90. doi:10.3406/anisl.1967.909. S2CID 259055409. Archived from the original (PDF, 14.62 MB) on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
• Holt, P. M. (1984). "Some Observations on the 'Abbāsid Caliphate of Cairo". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 47 (3). University of London: 501–507. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00113710. JSTOR 618882. S2CID 161092185.