representatives to meet the Banu Jahir in Baghdad (rather than in Khorasan). According to Ibn al-Athir's account, the Banu Jahir left Baghdad on Saturday, 22 July 1083. They were succeeded as viziers by Abu'l-Fath al-Muzaffar, son of the ra'is al-ru'asa''', who had previously been "in charge of the palace buildings". Al-Muqtadi was honored by the Seljuk sultan Malik-Shah I, during whose reign the Caliphate was recognized throughout the extending range of Seljuk conquest. Arabia, with the Holy Cities, now recovered from the Fatimids, acknowledged again the spiritual jurisdiction of the Abbasids. Malik-Shah I arranged a marriage between his daughter and al-Muqtadi, possibly planning on the birth of a son who could serve as both caliph and sultan. Though the couple had a son, the mother left with her infant to the court of Isfahan. Following the failure of the marriage, the Sultan grew critical of the Caliph's interference in affairs of state, and sent an order for him to retire to Basra. The death of Malik-Shah I shortly after, however, made the command inoperative. In 1092, when Malik Shah I was assassinated shortly after Nizam al-Mulk, Taj al-Mulk nominated Mahmud as Sultan and set out for Isfahan. Mahmud was a child, and his mother Terken Khatun wished to seize power in his stead. To accomplish this, she entered negotiations with the Caliph al-Muqtadi to secure her rule. The Caliph opposed both a child and a woman as ruler, and could not be persuaded to allow the khutba, the sign of the sovereign, to be proclaimed in the name of a woman. Eventually, however, the Caliph agreed to let her govern if the khutba was said in the name of her son, and if she did so assisted by a vizier he appointed for her, a condition she saw herself forced to accept. Family Al-Muqtadi's first wife was Sifri Khatun. She was the daughter of Sultan Alp Arslan. In 1071–72, his father Al-Qa'im sent his wazir Ibn Al-Jahir to ask her hand in marriage, to which demand the Sultan agreed. His second wife was Mah-i Mulk Khatun, daughter of Sultan Malik-Shah I. In March 1082, Al-Muqtadi sent Abu Nasr ibn Jahir to Malik Shah in Isfahan to ask for her hand in marriage. Her father gave his consent and the marriage contract was concluded. She arrived Baghdad in March 1087. The marriage was consummated in May, 1087. She gave birth to