to the palace, the ('Palace Mosque'), now known as the . He also emulated his father in avarice and parsimony, which allowed him to leave, despite a short reign with almost continuous warfare, a considerable surplus. Thus, in May 903, al-Muktafi left Baghdad and went to the old capital of Samarra, with the intention of moving his seat there, but was quickly dissuaded by the high cost the rebuilding of the city would entail. His easy-going nature, on the other hand, was the antithesis of his father, who was famous for his extreme severity and the cruel and imaginative punishments he inflicted, and al-Muktafi became popular when, soon after his accession, he destroyed his father's underground prisons and gave the site to the people, released prisoners and returned lands confiscated by the government. He is also notable for personally attending the sessions of the , and hear the complaints and petitions of the common people. Role of the vizier al-Qasim Al-Muktafi was not as steadfast as his father, and was easily swayed by the officials at court. The early period of his caliphate was dominated by the vizier al-Qasim ibn Ubayd Allah. A very able man, he was also ambitious; he had plotted to assassinate al-Mu'tadid shortly before the latter's death, and now ruthlessly eliminated any rivals for influence over the new caliph. Thus al-Qasim ordered the execution of the imprisoned Saffarid ruler, Amr ibn al-Layth, when al-Muktafi, immediately after his arrival in Baghdad, asked after his well-being and indicated that he wanted to treat him well. Shortly after, the vizier managed to discredit al-Mu'tadid's loyal commander-in-chief, Badr al-Mu'tadidi. Badr was forced to flee Baghdad but surrendered after being promised a pardon by the vizier's agents, only to be executed on 14 August. A few days later, al-Qasim ordered the arrest of an uncle of the Caliph, Abd al-Wahid, a son of al-Muwaffaq, who never heard from again; and in September 903, al-Husayn ibn Amr al-Nasrani, a Christian secretary, whom al-Muktafi initially favoured and who opposed al-Qasim, was denounced and exiled, his offices being given to al-Qasim's sons, al-Husayn and Muhammad. Al-Qasim even succeeded in having his little daughter betrothed to al-Muktafi's infant son Abu Ahmad Muhammad in March 904, and his eminent position in the state was highlighted by the award, for the first time in the Islamic world, of a special honorific title, . In the bureaucratic struggles