Abū al-Qāsim Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ( ar, أبو القاسم محمد ابن عبد الله; – 17 May 946), better known by his

regnal name A regnal name, or regnant name or reign name, is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and, subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they ...

al-Qāʾim () or al-Qāʾim bi-Amr Allāh () was the second

Caliph 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 ...

of the

Fatimid dynasty The Fatimid dynasty () was an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty of Arab descent that ruled an extensive empire, the Fatimid Caliphate, between 909 and 1171 CE. Claiming descent from Fatima and Ali, they also held the Isma'ili imamate, claiming to be the r ...

, ruling in Ifriqiya from 934 to 946. He was the 12th

Isma'ili 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- ...

Imam, succeeding his father

Abd Allah al-Mahdi Billah Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh/ʿUbayd Allāh ibn al-Ḥusayn (), 873 – 4 March 934, better known by his regnal name al-Mahdi Billah, was the founder of the Isma'ili Fatimid Caliphate, the only major Shi'a caliphate in Islamic history, and the e ...

().

History

Al-Qa'im was born in Salamiyah in Syria in 895 with the name Muhammad. After his father

(910-934) seized power in Ifriqiya he was named heir to the throne in 912, and helped put down several revolts. However, campaigns into

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 914–915 and 919–921) faltered against the resistance of 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 ...

, with heavy casualties. In 934 Al-Qa'im succeeded his father as Caliph, after which he never again left the royal residence at

Mahdia Mahdia ( ar, المهدية ') is a Tunisian coastal city with 62,189 inhabitants, south of Monastir and southeast of Sousse. Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax. It is important for the associated fish-processing industry, as well as w ...

. Nevertheless, the Fatimid realm became an important power in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

. After the re-conquest of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

province of Calabria and the Ligurian coast was plundered and the city of Genoa sacked. From 944 to 947 the realm was plunged into crisis by the revolt of

Abu Yazid Abu Yazid Makhlad ibn Kaydad (; – 19 August 947), known as the Man on the Donkey (), was an Ibadi Berber of the Banu Ifran tribe who led a rebellion against the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia and eastern Algeria) starting ...

, who had united the Kharijite Berber tribes of the Aurès Mountains of eastern

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

and overrun Ifriqiya. Imam Al-Qa'im was able to hold out in Mahdia with the help of the navy for over a year, but died (13th Shawwal 334 AH (Mahdiyya)/17 May 946) before the revolt could be put down. He was succeeded by his son

Ismail al-Mansur Abu Tahir Isma'il ( ar, أبو طاهر إسماعيل, Abū Ṭāhir ʾIsmāʿīl; January 914 – 18 March 953), better known by his regnal name al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah (), was the third caliph of the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya, ruling fro ...

(r. 946–953).

Family

He was married already at an early age, before his family left Salamiya. His wife, Umm Habiba, apparently was still a child when she accompanied him to the Maghreb. He also had six known concubines, of which one, Karima, became the mother of his successor al-Mansur.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Qaim Bi-Amrillah 893 births 946 deaths 10th-century Fatimid caliphs Syrian Ismailis

History

Family

See also

References

Sources