Al-Musta’sim

Al-Musta'sim was the last Abbasid caliph to rule from Baghdad, reigning from 1242 until the Mongol conquest in 1258. His government failed to withstand Hülegü Khan’s invasion; Baghdad was captured and devastated, and the caliph was killed after the siege.

Cecelia Holland’s Heart of the World places Al-Musta'sim within a narrative shaped by military command and battlefield decision-making, religion, belief and institutional authority, and political ambition and government.