Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad ibn al-Wāthiq (‎; – 21 June 870), better known by his regnal name al-Muhtadī bi-'llāh (Arabic: , "Guided by God"), was the Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate from July 869 to June 870, during the "Anarchy at Samarra". Early life Al-Muhtadi was the son of Abbasid caliph al-Wathiq. He was born in 833. Al-Muhtadi's mother was Qurb, a Greek slave. After the death of his father, Caliph al-Wathiq () in August 847, there were some officials who wanted to elect the young al-Muhtadi as caliph, but in the end, their choice fell on his uncle, al-Mutawakkil (). Background Despite the successes of caliph al-Mu'tazz, He could not overcome the main problem of the period: a shortage of revenue with which to pay the troops. The financial straits of the Caliphate had become evident already at his accession—the customary accession donative of ten months' pay for the troops had to be reduced to two for lack of funds—and had helped bring down the regime of al-Musta'in in Baghdad. The civil war and the ensuing general anarchy only worsened the situation, as revenue stopped coming in even from the environs of Baghdad, let alone more remote provinces. As a result, al-Mu'tazz refused to honour his agreement with Ibn Tahir in Baghdad, leaving him to provide for his own supporters; this led to unrest in the city and the rapid decline of Tahirid family. The turmoil in Baghdad was worsened by al-Mu'tazz, who in 869 dismissed Ibn Tahir's brother and successor Ubaydallah, and replaced him with his far less capable brother Sulayman. In the event, this only served to deprive the Caliph of a useful counterweight against the Samarra soldiery, and allowed the Turks to regain their former power. Accession By 869 the Turkic leaders Salih ibn Wasif and Ba'ikbak were again in the ascendant, and secured the removal of Ahmad ibn Isra'il. Finally, unable to meet the financial demands of the Turkic troops, in mid-July a palace coup deposed al-Mu'tazz. He was imprisoned and maltreated to such an extent that he died after three days, on 16 July 869. He was succeeded by his cousin al-Muhtadi. Caliphate After the deposition and murder of his cousin al-Mu'tazz () on 15 July 869, the leaders of the Turkic guard chose al-Muhtadi as the new Caliph on 21/22 July. As a ruler, al-Muhtadi sought to emulate the Umayyad caliph Umar ibn Abd