Timeline January 842

Events in January 842 3

• 796 – 842 Al-Mu'tasim (796-842) Died 5 January 842, aged 45 Al-Mu'tasim was the eighth Abbasid Caliph, remembered for founding the garrison city of Samarra as the new Abbasid capital and for relying heavily on Turkic slave-soldiers in his army. He led a major campaign against the Byzantine Empire, sacking the city of Amorium in 838. He died in Samarra and was succeeded by his son al-Wathiq.
• 813 – 842 Theophilos (813-842) Died 20 January 842, aged 29 Theophilos was the last Byzantine emperor to actively support Iconoclasm, continuing military campaigns against the Abbasid Caliphate through much of his reign. He died in Constantinople, leaving the throne to his two-year-old son Michael III under the regency of Empress Theodora. Theodora's regency would soon restore the veneration of icons.
• 842 Al-Wathiq becomes Abbasid Caliph Succeeds his father al-Mu'tasim after his death Following the death of Caliph al-Mu'tasim on 5 January 842, his son Harun al-Wathiq was proclaimed Abbasid Caliph in Samarra. His reign continued the Abbasid court's residence at Samarra and its reliance on Turkic military guards. He ruled until his own death in 847.