Al-Ta'i was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 974 to 991. Very little is known about his personal and official life. During his Caliphate, Syria was torn by contending factions — Fatimid, Turkish, and Carmathian; while the Buwayhid dynasyty was split up into parties that were fighting among themselves. After holding the office for seventeen years, al-Ta'i was deposed and cast into captivity by a Buwayhid ruler who craved al-Ta'i's property.