Abū Tamīm Maʿad al-Mustanṣir biʾllāh ( ar, أبو تميم معد المستنصر بالله; 2 July 1029 – 29 December 1094) was
the eighth Fatimid Caliph from 1036 until 1094. He was one of the longest reigning
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
rulers. His reign, otherwise mixed, was the twilight of the Fatimid state. The start of his reign saw the continuation of competent administrators running the Fatamid state (
Anushtakin,
al-Jarjara'i, and later
al-Yazuri), overseeing the state's prosperity in the first two decades of al-Mustansir's reign. However, the break out of court infighting between the Turkish and Berber/Sudanese court factions following al-Yazuri's assassination, coinciding with natural disasters in Egypt and the gradual loss of administrative control over Fatamid possessions outside of Egypt, almost resulted in the total collapse of the Fatamid state in the 1060s, before the appointment of the Armenian general
Badr al-Jamali, who assumed power as
vizier
A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was a ...
in 1073, and became the ''de facto'' dictator of the country under the nominal rule of al-Mustansir.
[
The caliph al-Mustanṣir bi-llāh was the last Imam before a disastrous split divided the Isma'ili movement in two, due to the struggle in the succession between al-Mustansir's older son, Nizar, and the younger ]al-Mustaʽli
Abu al-Qasim Ahmad ibn al-Mustansir ( ar, أبو القاسم أحمد بن المستنصر, Abū al-Qāsim Aḥmad ibn al-Mustanṣir; 15/16 September 1074 – 12 December 1101), better known by his regnal name al-Musta'li Billah ( ar, ال ...
, who was raised to the throne by Badr's son and successor, al-Afdal Shahanshah
Al-Afdal Shahanshah ( ar, الأفضل شاهنشاه, al-Afḍal Shāhanshāh; la, Lavendalius/Elafdalio; 1066 – 11 December 1121), born Abu al-Qasim Shahanshah bin Badr al-Jamali was a vizier of the Fatimid caliphs of Egypt. According to a ...
. The followers of Nizar, who predominated in Iran and Syria, became the Nizari
The Nizaris ( ar, النزاريون, al-Nizāriyyūn, fa, نزاریان, Nezāriyān) are the largest segment of the Ismaili Muslims, who are the second-largest branch of Shia Islam after the Twelvers. Nizari teachings emphasize independent ...
branch of Isma'ilism, while those of al-Musta'li became the Musta'li
The Musta‘lī ( ar, مستعلي) are a branch of Isma'ilism named for their acceptance of al-Musta'li as the legitimate nineteenth Fatimid caliph and legitimate successor to his father, al-Mustansir Billah. In contrast, the Nizari—the other l ...
branch.
Biography
Al-Mustansir was born in Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
on 16th Jumada II
Jumada al-Thani ( ar, جُمَادَىٰ ٱلثَّانِي, Jumādā ath-Thānī, lit=The second Jumada) also known as Jumada al-Akhirah ( ar, جُمَادَىٰ ٱلْآخِرَة, link=no, Jumādā al-ʾĀkhirah, lit=The final Jumada), Jumad ...
, 420 AH/2 July 1029,[ to Ali az-Zahir and Rasad, a black slave from ]Nubia
Nubia () (Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), or ...
. At the age of only eight months he was declared the heir of his father. His name was Abu Tamim Ma‘ad, surnamed al-Mustansir bil-Lah ("The Asker Of Victory From God"). He ascended to the Fatimid Caliphate
The Fatimid Caliphate was an Isma'ilism, Ismaili Shia Islam, 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 ea ...
's throne on 15th Shaban
Shaʽban ( ar, شَعْبَان, ') is the eighth month of the Islamic calendar. It is called as the month of "separation", as the word means "to disperse" or "to separate" because the pagan Arabs used to disperse in search of water.
The fiftee ...
, 427/June 13, 1036 at the age of . During the early years of his Caliphate
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
, state affairs were administered by his mother. His rule lasted for 60 years, the longest of all the caliphs, either in 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 Mediter ...
or elsewhere in Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic states. However, Fatimid power was confined to Egypt due to conquests of the Seljuks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
in the Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
, Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...
in Sicily and Malta, and by Arab tribes destabilizing Fatamid control over Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
and Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
. Al-Mustansir was considered incapable and as such his court was dominated by military strongmen and his mother's favourite officials, while the treasury was exhausted by factional infighting.
He had constructed a special mihrab
Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...
at one of the pillars in the Mosque of Ibn Tulun
The Mosque of Ibn Tulun ( ar, مسجد إبن طولون, Masjid Ibn Ṭūlūn) is located in Cairo, Egypt. It is one of the oldest mosques in Egypt as well as the whole of Africa surviving in its full original form, and is the largest mosque in ...
. Atop the mihrab, his name is engraved along with the Shahada
The ''Shahada'' (Arabic: ٱلشَّهَادَةُ , "the testimony"), also transliterated as ''Shahadah'', is an Islamic oath and creed, and one of the Five Pillars of Islam and part of the Adhan. It reads: "I bear witness that there is n ...
commonly recited by the public in the Fatimid era ending with the phrase 'Ali-un-Wali-ul-lah', meaning "Ali is the friend of God".
Al-Mustansir's court
Prominent Dais/ Vizirs of his era are as follows:
*Ali bin Ahmad Jarjarai Abu’l-Qāsim ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad al-Jarjarāʾī was a Fatimid official of Iraqi origin, who served as the Fatimid vizier from 1027 until his death on 27 March 1045.
As his ''nisba'' shows, he came from the locality of Jarjaraya, south of Baghdad ...
, vizier (d. 1045)
* Badr al-Jamali, vizier (d. 1094)
*Mu'ayyad fi'l-Din al-Shirazi
Al-Mu'ayyad fid-din Abu Nasr Hibat Allah b. Abi 'Imran Musa b. Da'ud ash-Shirazi (c. 1000 CE/390 AH – 1078 CE/470 AH) was an 11th-century Isma'ili scholar, philosopher-poet, preacher and theologian of Persian origin. He served the Fatimid Ca ...
, chief missionary ('' dā‘i al-dū‘at'') from 1059 to 1078
Moulai Abadullah and Syedi Nuruddin
Syedi Nuruddin, an 11th-century famous saint (death: Jumadi al-Ula 11) and was the Fatimid Ismaili Mustaali Missionary. He was the companion of Maulaya Abdullah (Ismaili Mustaali Missionary) and visited the Imam Al-Mustansir Billah in Cairo, Egyp ...
were two Indians who visited Imam Al-Mustansir Billah in Egypt. They joined the Ismaili faith under Fatimid Dai Mu'ayyad fi'l-Din al-Shirazi
Al-Mu'ayyad fid-din Abu Nasr Hibat Allah b. Abi 'Imran Musa b. Da'ud ash-Shirazi (c. 1000 CE/390 AH – 1078 CE/470 AH) was an 11th-century Isma'ili scholar, philosopher-poet, preacher and theologian of Persian origin. He served the Fatimid Ca ...
, and went to India to propagate the faith.
The Ismaili da ‘wa
During the reign of the Imam al-Mustanṣir, the Ismaili
Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...
da ‘wa (“invitation”) was led, in the eastern regions, by ‘Abd al-Malik b. ‘Aṭṭāsh, who was based in Iṣfahān
Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
.
Ibn al-Athīr
Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ash-Shaybānī, better known as ʿAlī ʿIzz ad-Dīn Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī ( ar, علي عز الدین بن الاثیر الجزري) lived 1160–1233) was an Arab or Kurdish historian a ...
(a Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
historian) describes ‘Abd al-Malik (Ibn ‘Aṭṭāsh) as being interested in works of literature, and being a professional calligrapher. He continues by describing him as a clever, intelligent and quick thinker, and an ethical man.
One of Ibn ‘Aṭṭāsh's most notable students, Ḥasan-i Ṣabbāḥ became an important figure and was selected as the ḥujja or “proof” of al-Mustanṣir. This position/rank was right below the Imam in the Ismaili religious hierarchy.
Architecture
Prominent buildings constructed during the reign of Al-Mustansir are as follows:
*Bab al-Futuh Bab al-Futuh ( ar, باب الفتوح, , Conquest Gate) is one of three remaining gates in the city wall of the old city of Cairo, Egypt. It is located at the northern end of al-Mu'izz Street. The other two remaining gates are Bab al-Nasr (Victory ...
* Bab al-Nasr
*Bab Zuweila
Bab Zuweila or Bab Zuwayla ( ar, باب زويلة) is one of three remaining gates in the city wall of the Old City of Cairo, the capital of Egypt. It was also known as Bawabbat al-Mitwali during the Ottoman period. It is considered one of the ...
*Juyushi Mosque
The Juyushi Mosque ( ar, الجامع الجيوشى, lit=Mosque of the Armies) was built by the vizier Badr al-Jamali who was ''Amir al-Juyush'' ( ar, امير الجيوش, lit=Commander of the Armies) for the Fatimid Caliphate. The mosque was co ...
Famine
Between 1065 CE (457 AH) and 1072 CE (464 AH), famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...
degraded conditions in Egypt from bad to worse. Meanwhile, in 1062 CE (454 AH) and again in 1067 CE (459 AH), the struggle between the Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
and Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
ese soldiery deteriorated into open warfare, ending in a victory for the Turks.
During this same period, Berber
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
* Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa
* Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages
Places
* Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile
People with the surname
* Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
nomadic tribes from lower Egypt
Lower Egypt ( ar, مصر السفلى '; ) is the northernmost region of Egypt, which consists of the fertile Nile Delta between Upper Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, from El Aiyat, south of modern-day Cairo, and Dahshur. Historically, ...
deliberately aggravated the distress by ravaging the countryside, destroying the embankments and canals of the Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, 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 ten thousand animals that al-Mustansir's stables once held reportedly deteriorated to the point where only three thin horses were left; it is said that eventually al-Mustansir alone possessed a horse, and that when he rode out, the courtiers followed on foot, having no beast to carry them; it is also said that his escort once fainted from hunger as it accompanied him through the streets. As long as the calamity lasted, the condition of the country continued to decline. The protracted famine was followed inevitably by plague; whole districts were absolutely denuded of population and house after house lay empty.
Turkish mercenaries
Concurrently, the Turkish mercenaries had drained the treasury; many of 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 resold the articles thus gained at a profit. Emerald
Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...
s valued at 300,000 dinar
The dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread.
The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin of ...
s were bought by one Turkish general for 500 dinars, and in one fortnight of the year 460/1068 articles to the value of 30,000,000 dinars were sold off to provide pay for the Turks. The precious library, which had been rendered available to the public and was one of the attractions for many who visited Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
, was scattered; the books were torn up, thrown away, or used to light fires. At length, the Turks began fighting amongst themselves. Nasir al-Dawla ibn Hamdan
Nasir al-Dawla Abu Muhammad al-Husayn ibn Hamdan () was a descendant of the Hamdanid dynasty who became a general of the Fatimid Caliphate, ruing Egypt as a ''de facto'' dictator in 1071–1073.
Abu Muhammad al-Husayn was a grandson of Abu Abdall ...
, the general of the Turks, had invested the city, which was defended by the rival faction of the Turkish guard; after burning part of 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 ...
and defeating the defenders, he entered as conqueror. When he reached the palace, he found al-Mustansir 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 daughters of Ibn Babshand, the grammarian.
The victorious Turks dominated Cairo, held the successive viziers in subjection, treated al-Mustansir with contempt, and used their power to deplete the treasury by enhancing their pay to nearly twenty times its former figure. Nasir al-Dawla became so overbearing and tyrannical in his conduct that he provoked even his own followers, and so at length he was assassinated
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...
in 466/1074. Unfortunately, this left the city in a worse condition than ever, for it was now at the mercy of the various Turkish factions, who behaved no better than brigands. Conditions in Egypt continued to deteriorate, and unabated violence raged in the streets and countryside alike.
Descendants
Using the genealogical information of the members of the Fatimid dynasty imprisoned by Saladin
Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سهلاحهدین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...
, and contemporary documents, the historian Paul E. Walker
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
estimates that al-Mustansir had "at the minimum seventeen sons whose names we can recover". Indeed, he suggests that it was precisely the great number of offspring he sired during his long reign that created the succession crisis after his death.
Gallery
File:Qibla mustansir 1.jpg, Al-Mustansir's ''mihrab'' at the Ibn Tulun mosque, Cairo
File:Imam Mustansir history details at Mosque tulin.jpg, Stone inscription from al-Mustansir's time near al-Mustansir's ''mihrab''
File:Imam Mustansir qibla 3.jpg, Detail of al-Mustansir's ''mihrab''
File:Kalemtut shahadat.jpg, Al-Mustansir's name engraved on the ''mihrab''
See also
* Family tree of Muhammad linking Prophets to Shi'ite Imams
* List of Ismaili imams
This is a list of the Imams as recognized by the different sub-sects of the Ismai'li sect of Shia Islam. Imams are considered members of the '' Bayt'' (Household) of Muhammad through his daughter Fatimah.
Early Imams
All Isma'ili sects shar ...
* List of rulers of Egypt
Lists of rulers of Egypt:
* List of pharaohs (c. 3100 BC – 30 BC)
** List of Satraps of the 27th Dynasty (525–404 BC)
** List of Satraps of the 31st Dynasty (343–332 BC)
* List of governors of Roman Egypt (30 BC – 639 AD)
* List of rul ...
* Juyushi Mosque
The Juyushi Mosque ( ar, الجامع الجيوشى, lit=Mosque of the Armies) was built by the vizier Badr al-Jamali who was ''Amir al-Juyush'' ( ar, امير الجيوش, lit=Commander of the Armies) for the Fatimid Caliphate. The mosque was co ...
* Fatimids
The Fatimid Caliphate was an Isma'ilism, Ismaili Shia Islam, 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 ea ...
* Isma'ilism
Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...
* Nizari
The Nizaris ( ar, النزاريون, al-Nizāriyyūn, fa, نزاریان, Nezāriyān) are the largest segment of the Ismaili Muslims, who are the second-largest branch of Shia Islam after the Twelvers. Nizari teachings emphasize independent ...
* Aga Khan
Aga Khan ( fa, آقاخان, ar, آغا خان; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shias. Since 1957, the holder of the title has been the 49th Imām, Prince Shah Karim ...
Notes
References
Sources
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mustansir Billah
1029 births
1090s deaths
Year of death uncertain
11th-century Fatimid caliphs
Egyptian Ismailis
Dawoodi Bohras
Royalty from Cairo