A Short History of the Fatimid Khalifate

by De Lacy O'Leary

Just about this time, however, there was a temporary restoration of Fatimid authority in the Hijaz, and this not due to a rebel like al-Basasiri, but to the work of a devout and earnest Shiʿite. Abu l-Hasan ʿAli b. Muhammad b. ʿAli as-Sulaihi was the son of a Qadi of Yemen, a strict and orthodox Sunni. The son, however, came under the influence of an Ismaʿilian missionary named ʿAmir b. ʿAbdullah az-Zawwahi who, concealing his Shiʿite opinions, was received into great favour by the Qadi, but in private intercourse with the son taught him the Fatimid system of canon law and the tawil or allegorical interpretation of the Qurʾan. For fifteen years as-Sulaihi acted as guide to the Meccan pilgrims along the road between as-Sarat and Taif, then in 429 he broke out in revolt against the established government and, at the head of sixty followers, whom he bound by oath, seized upon Mount Mashar. Secretly he supported the Khalifate of Mustansir, but this he concealed for fear of Najah, the Chieftain of the Tihama. In 452 he presented Najah with a beautiful female slave who, acting under his directions, poisoned Najah and then released from all need of concealment openly proclaimed the Fatimid Imamate. Three years later we find him the master of all Yemen, having his headquarters at Sanaʿa, and for nearly twenty years the khutba in the cities of Yemen, and for part of that time also in the holy cities of the Hijaz made mention of the name of the Khalif al-Mustansir.

After the death of Najah he offered to give the chieftainship of the Tihama to anyone who would pay him 100,000 dinars of gold. The sum was at once paid by his wife on behalf of her brother Asaad b. Shihab. “Where didst thou get this, mistress?” asked as-Sulaih. “From God,” she replied, “God is bounteous without measure to whom he will (Qur. ii. 208).” Perceiving that the money came from his own treasury as-Sulaihi smiled and took it saying, “Here is our money returned to us” (Qur. xii. 65).

In 473 he made the pilgrimage to Mecca, taking with him his wife and all the princes whom he thought at all likely to revolt during his absence. Having appointed his son al-Malik al-Mukarram as his deputy at home he set out with 2,000 horsemen and encamped outside al-Mahjam. Whilst there he was sought out and found by Saʿid, the son of the poisoned Najah, who had been roving about the country but had managed to evade the soldiers of as-Sulaihi. At the very moment when Saʿid entered as-Sulaihi’s tent 5,000 horsemen were out in search of him. Entering his enemy’s tent Saʿid at once cut off his head and then, escaping, went out and joined himself to the horsemen who were searching for him; he announced to them as-Sulaihi’s death, declared who he was himself, claiming to be one of their own race and simply acting to avenge his father’s death. At once the horsemen placed themselves under his command, and returning to the camp fell upon as-Sulaihi’s guards and defeated them. As-Sulaihi’s head was placed on the top of his own state umbrella and carried round to the chanting of the verse, “O God, possessor of all power, thou givest power to whom thou wilt, and from whom thou wilt thou takest it away. Thou raisest up whom thou wilt, and whom thou wilt thou dost abase. In thy hand is good; for thou art over all things potent” (Qur. iii. 25). Thus as-Sulaihi’s kingdom came to an end and with it ceased the recognition of the Fatimid Khalif in Arabia (Ibn Khall. 512, etc.).

Thus, from time to time, Muntasir received temporary recognition in various unexpected quarters and seemed to bulk more prominently than any of the preceding Fatimid Khalifs in the history of Islam, but meanwhile his kingdom was on the decline and in Egypt was in evil condition, indeed the period 450 to 466 shows the nadir of their authority in Egypt itself.

The death of Yazuri in 450 was a very serious loss as it once more liberated the factions and forces of disorder, the evil influence being the Turkish general Nasir ad-Dawla, the same who had succeeded Anushtakin in Syria. After the murder of Yazuri there were forty different wazirs in the space of nine years, many of these being put to death at the end of their term of office, although about this time the more humane practice came into force of appointing the deposed minister to some minor post, very often some provincial government, from which it was quite possible for him to rise to the wazirate again. None of these was a man of any great weight or marked personality, so that the Khalif fell entirely into the hands of mere court flatterers, altogether obscure and incompetent persons, and himself developed a childish and petulant attitude. He was especially annoyed at the frequent interference of the Queen Mother in the affairs of the state, but had not the strength or courage to check her.

The faction fights between the Turkish mercenaries and the negro troops became more constant and violent under this weak and incompetent rule. At length in 454 the Turks, led by Nasir ad-Dawla the Commander-in-Chief, drove the negro regiments out of Cairo and chased them to Upper Egypt where they were kept, although for some years they made regular attempts to recover their footing in Lower Egypt. The victorious Turks dominated Cairo, held the successive wazirs in subjection, treated the Khalif with contempt, and used their power to deplete the treasury by increasing their pay to nearly twenty times its former figure. At last Nasir ad-Dawla’s tyranny made him offensive even to his own officers, and gave the Khalif the opportunity of getting rid of him in 462. Though deposed in Cairo he was able to hold his own in Alexandria where he had the support of the B. Qorra Arabs and the Lawata Berbers. Thus the Arab and Berber tribes under Nasir, helped by some of the Turkish mercenaries, were in command of Alexandria and a considerable portion of Lower Egypt, whilst the expelled negro troops were in possession of Upper Egypt, the Khalif’s authority being limited to Cairo and its immediate vicinity. Added to this was the fact that beginning with 458 there had been a series of bad Niles followed by a famine of seven years duration (459-465), whose later period was aggravated by Cairo being practically isolated by the rebel forces to the north and to the south, the Berbers in Lower Egypt deliberately aggravating the distress by ravaging the country, destroying the embankments and canals, and seeking every way to reduce the capital and the neighbouring districts by sheer starvation. In the city a house could be bought for 20 pounds of flour, an egg was sold for a dinar, a cake of bread for fifteen dinars, and even horses, mules, cats, and dogs were sold at high prices for food. In the Khalif’s own stable where there had been 10,000 animals there were now only three thin horses, and his escort fainted from hunger as it accompanied him through the streets. Many great princes and ex-officials of the court gladly filled menial offices in the few houses where food was still found, and sought employment as grooms, sweepers, and attendants in the baths. Of all the Fatimids Mustansir had at one time enjoyed the largest revenues and in 442 he had inherited the almost incredible wealth of two aged ladies descended from his ancestor Moʿizz. But most of this had long since been plundered by the Turkish guard, and now he also was reduced to dire poverty. The Queen Mother and other ladies of the Khalif’s family made good their escape and took refuge in Baghdad. At length the people of Cairo were reduced to feeding on human flesh, which was even sold publicly in the markets. Wayfarers were waylaid in the lonelier streets, or caught by hooks let down from the windows, and devoured. As an inevitable result of this protracted famine plague broke out, whole districts were absolutely denuded of population, and house after house lay empty.

Meanwhile the Turkish mercenaries had drained the treasury, the works of art and valuables of all sorts in the palace were sold to satisfy their demands; often they themselves were the purchasers at merely nominal prices and sold the articles again at a profit. Emeralds valued at 300,000 dinars were bought by one Turkish general for 500 dinars, and in one fortnight of the year 460 articles to the value of 30,000,000 dinars were sold off to provide pay for the Turks. But this selling of the valuable collections accumulated in the palace was as nothing compared to the damage done wantonly by sheer mischief or unintentionally by carelessness. The precious library which had been rendered available to the public and was one of the objects for which many visited Cairo was scattered, the books were torn up, thrown away, or used to light fires.

At length, after the Queen and her daughters had left Cairo, the Turks began fighting amongst themselves. Nasir ad-Dawla attacked the city which was defended by the rival faction of the Turkish guard and, after burning part of Fustat and defeating the defenders, entered as a conqueror. When he reached the palace he found the Khalif lodged in rooms which had been stripped bare, waited on by only three slaves, and subsisting on two loaves which were sent him daily by the charitable daughters of Ibn Babshad the grammarian.

After this victory over the unhappy city Nasir ad-Dawla became so over-bearing and tyrannical in his conduct that he provoked even his own followers, and so at length he was assassinated in 466. But this only left the city in a worse condition than ever, for it was now at the mercy of the various Turkish factions which behaved no better than troops of brigands.

At this desperate juncture al-Mustansir was roused to action and wrote to the Armenian Badr al-Jamali, who had once been purchased as a slave by Ibn ʿAmmar and was now acting as governor of Tyre, begging him to come to the rescue. Badr replied that he would do so if he were allowed to bring his own army with him and were given a free hand. This was granted, and soon Badr was on his way. With courage quickened by the approach of rescue the Khalif ventured to arrest Ildeguz, the Turkish governor of Cairo, and thus put some check on the military tyranny. At his arrival Badr was well received by the Turkish mercenaries who had no idea that he had been invited by the Khalif. His first act was to invite the Turkish leaders to a conference: each of his own chief officers was told off to deal with one of these leaders and, at a given signal, each slaughtered the man who had been designated. Badr then set himself to restore order in Cairo, and this he did efficiently but with the severity rendered necessary by the desperate condition of the city, and thus re-established the Khalif as master. The grateful prince could not do too much to show his appreciation of these services, and Badr was created wazir of the sword and of the pen, i.e., chief minister of affairs military and civil, Chief Qadi and Chief Daʿi. After reducing Cairo to complete order he proceeded with his troops through Lower Egypt, putting down brigandage and disorder until he reached Alexandria where he had some resistance to overcome, but in due course that also was reduced. The settlement of Cairo and Lower Egypt occupied the greater part of 467: then in 468 he proceeded to Upper Egypt and succeeded in disbanding the black troops which held out there, and reduced those parts also to good order. Thus, once more, Egypt was under an efficient and firm government. It is true that his efforts were greatly assisted by the fact that the year 466 saw an exceptionally good Nile, so that prosperity and abundance once more reigned through the land. It is interesting to note that the Khalif set himself to the formation of a new library at Cairo as one of his first tasks; it helps us to realize that the Shiʿites were then as always the friends of learning.