princes as well. Al-Radi's brother, al-Muttaqi (), was raised to the throne by the Bajkam. He tried to exploit the rivalries of the regional warlords to recover the independence and authority of his office, but his attempts failed, and he was deposed and blinded by the Tuzun in September 944. For the 11th-century historian al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, this unprecedented deed signalled the final collapse of caliphal authority. In al-Muttaqi's stead, al-Mustakfi was raised to the throne, at the age of 41. Al-Mustakfi's caliphate Al-Mustakfi's accession meant the restoration of the line of al-Muktafi's line to the throne after 36 years, and from the start the new caliph made deliberate allusions to his father: the chosen regnal name deliberately echoed that of al-Muktafi, and he is said to have worn his father's ceremonial headdress (the ) on his entry in Baghdad. This, and the quick appointment of his son, Abu'l-Hasan Muhammad, as heir-apparent, show that al-Mustakfi confidently intended to emulate his father's successful reign, but in reality, the new caliph was a puppet of the Turkic troops, facing an empty treasury, and with the resulting chaos and poverty threatening even Baghdad with famine. The only freedom for political manoeuvre remaining to the caliphs of this period was to choose which of the neighbouring warlords to ally with. For the warlords, the caliph was a source of legitimacy, and an astute caliph might be able rotate his support among the different warlords in the same way his predecessors had previously changed their viziers. At the same time, al-Mustakfi persecuted potential rivals, in the person of al-Fadl, the chief of the remaining sons of al-Muqtadir and brother of the two previous caliphs, al-Muttaqi and al-Radi. Al-Mustakfi and al-Fadl were said to have hated each other already during their stay in the Tahirid Palace as young princes. When al-Mustakfi was enthroned, al-Fadl prudently went into hiding, and the vengeful al-Mustakfi had his house burned down. The new regime in Baghdad was threatened from the east and south by the Buyids, who had allied themselves with the Baridis of Basra. A Buyid attempt to capture Wasit in spring 944 failed, as did a thrust on Baghdad while Tuzun was preoccupied in the north in the summer 944. In spring 945, the Buyids managed to occupy Wasit, but after Tuzun concluded peace with the Hamdanids, they were forced to retreat. Tuzun was able to fend off various