Al-Wāthiq (Merveilles des Morte)

al-Wāthiq الواثق بالله‎
Caliph of Islam Imam of Baghdad Amir al-Mu'minin
Head bust of Caliph al-Wāthiq (c. 1342)
Reign	1340 - 1350
Predecessor	al-Mutawakkil
Successor	al-Mustaʿīn
Issue
al-Mustaʿīn
Full name
Abū ʾIsḥāq ʾIbrāhīm
House	Abbasid Dynasty
Born	1300 Cairo
Died	1350 Baghdad
Burial	1351
Religion	Sunni Islam

al-Wāthiq bi-llāh (Arabic: الواثق بالله‎) was the 43rd Abbasid Caliph and third Imam of the Baghdad Imamate. He succeeded his father, Caliph al-Mustakfī, in 1340 shortly following his death, and served as Caliph until 1350.

Although little is known about Caliph al-Wāthiq, it's recorded that he was a devote officer in the Order of Taymiyyah in Iraq, and expanded their presence across the Arabian peninsula and into Ifriqiya. He would additionally institute a number of clerical reforms to the Ulema, eclipsing the power of the Mu'tazila and establishing the Knights of Taymiyyah (later the Mamluke Knights). During the Taymiyyah Civil War, Caliph al-Wāthiq would declare war on the State of Turkey, conquering the territories of Palestine before being repulsed from Egypt in the Battle of Alexandria in 1349. He would die the following year due to a stroke.