Dhuka al-Rumi (; died 11 August 919) was a Byzantine Greek who served the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

as governor of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

in 915–919. He was installed as governor of Egypt in 915 by the Abbasid commander-in-chief

Mu'nis al-Muzaffar Abū'l-Ḥasan Mu'nis al-Qushuri ( ar, ابوالحسن مؤنس ابوالحسن; 845/6–933), also commonly known by the surnames al-Muẓaffar (; ) and al-Khadim (; 'the Eunuch'), was the commander-in-chief of the Abbasid army from 908 to his ...

, as part of his effort to stabilize the situation in the country and expel a

Fatimid The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dyna ...

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity aggressively enter territory (country subdivision), territory owned by another such entity, gen ...

that had taken

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

. Dhuka was in Aleppo at the time, and arrived in Egypt in late August, succeeding

Takin al-Khazari The takin (''Budorcas taxicolor''; ), also called cattle chamois or gnu goat, is a large species of ungulate of the subfamily Caprinae found in the eastern Himalayas. It includes four subspecies: the Mishmi takin (''B. t. taxicolor''), the golde ...

. The first Fatimid attempt to capture Egypt ended in failure thanks to Mu'nis' intervention, but soon the Fatimids began to make plans for a second assault, starting with the capture of Barqa after an 18-month siege in 917. The Fatimids evidently had sympathizers in Egypt, as the Egyptians since the early 9th century had come to resent rule from Baghdad; Dhuka was forced to execute several people for corresponding with the Fatimid ruler al-Mahdi Billah and his son, al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah. Although Dhuka had the garrison of Alexandria reinforced following the sack of Barqa, the arrival of the Fatimid expeditionary force in July 919 caught him by surprise. The city's governor, Dhuka's son Muzaffar, fled, along with his aides and many of the populace, leaving the city to be sacked. Dhuka's efforts to repel the new invasion were hampered by the reluctance of the provincial garrison at

Fustat Fusṭāṭ ( ar, الفُسطاط ''al-Fusṭāṭ''), also Al-Fusṭāṭ and Fosṭāṭ, was the first capital of Egypt under Muslim rule, and the historical centre of modern Cairo. It was built adjacent to what is now known as Old Cairo by t ...

to fight, exacerbated by the habitual delays in their pay, forcing him to rely on volunteers at first. He nevertheless moved quickly to secure Giza, across the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

from Fustat, by constructing a fort there. Soon after, however, the new fiscal administrator for Egypt, al-Husayn al-Madhara'i, arrived with sufficient funds to pay the regular troops their arrears. Dhuka died on 1st August, and was succeeded by his predecessor Takin, who arrived to take up his office in January. Once more, the intervention of Mu'nis in the next year saved Fustat and threw the Fatimids out of the country.

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* * {{s-end 9th-century births 919 deaths 10th-century Byzantine people Byzantine defectors Doukas family Converts to Islam from Christianity Greek Muslims 10th-century Abbasid governors of Egypt