which he even put on his coins. Despite his support of the Caliph's anti-Shi'a policies, Muhammad ibn al-Qasim was soon dismissed in favour of Ahmad al-Khasibi. Like his predecessor, however, al-Khasibi was unable to overcome the mounting financial crisis of the state. The contemporary Baghdadi historian al-Mas'udi, in his Meadows of Gold, reports that "His fits of violence made him the fear and terror of his subjects". He went about armed with a lance, striking down those who displeased him. However, the very "inconstancy of his behaviour and the horror inspired by his rages" alienated the populace and the court alike, and prepared the ground for his downfall. Downfall and death The exiled vizier Ibn Muqla continued plotting against al-Qahir; he won over the caliphal guard, which on 24 April 934 staged a coup and took the Caliph prisoner while the latter was drunk. Refusing to abdicate in favour of al-Radi (), he was blinded and cast into prison. According to al-Mas'udi, al-Radi "kept news of him hidden", so that he vanished from common knowledge. He was not freed until eleven years later, when al-Mustakfi () came to the throne and discovered him locked away in a remote room in the palace. He lived the remainder of his life as a beggar, dying in October 950. References Sources 899 births 950 deaths 10th-century Abbasid caliphs 10th-century rulers in Africa 10th-century rulers in Asia Prisoners and detainees of the Abbasid Caliphate Anti-Shi'ism Dethroned monarchs Sons of Abbasid caliphs