MUKTAFI, AL-

died 908 'Abbasid caliph (reigned 902908) who prosecuted wars on several fronts vigorously in a period of disintegration of the Islamic empire. The son of al-Mu'tadid, al-Muktafi ascended to the throne in 902 with somewhat more popular support than his predecessors, thanks to his liberal rule and abolition of dungeons in Baghdad. He immediately faced battle with the Qarmatians, a schismatic sect and political movement, and defeated them once in 903 and decisively in 907. Al-Muktafi ended the independent rule of the Tulunids in Egypt in 905. In a war against the Byzantine Empire, he defeated the general Andronicus in battles in Tarsus and other cities. However, al-Muktafi was unable to prevent the establishment of the independent Fatimid dynasty in Tunisia.