Al-Nasir, Abbasid caliph in Baghdad
Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Hassan al-Mustadi (Arabic: أبو العباس أحمد بن الحسن المستضيء) better known by his laqab Al-Nasir il-Din Allah (Arabic: الناصر الدین الله; 6 August 1158 – 5 October 1225) or simply as Al-Nasir was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 1180 until his death. His laqab literally can mean The One who Gives Victory to the Religion of God. He attempted to restore the caliphate to its ancient dominant role and achieved a surprising amount of success, despite the fact that the caliphate had long been militarily subordinated to other dynasties. He not only held Baghdad (the capital of the Abbasid empire), but extended his dominion into Mesopotamia and Persia. According to the historian, Angelika Hartmann, Al-Nasir was the last effective Abbasid Caliph.Besides his occasional conquests, he consistently held Iraq from Tikrit to the Persian Gulf without interruption. His long reign of forty-seven years is chiefly marked by ambitious and corrupt dealings with the Tartar chiefs, and by his hazardous invocation of the Mongols, which so soon brought his own dynasty to an end. But in his day, there was comparative peace at Baghdad; learning flourished; while refuges for the poor, and other works of public interest, were encouraged.