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 ac ...
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, ruling in
Ifriqiya from 934 to 946. He was the 12th
Isma'ili Imam
Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, se ...
, succeeding his father
Abd Allah al-Mahdi Billah ().
History
Al-Qa'im was born in
Salamiyah
A full view of Shmemis (spring 1995)
Salamieh ( ar, سلمية ') is a city and district in western Syria, in the Hama Governorate. It is located southeast of Hama, northeast of Homs. The city is nicknamed the "mother of Cairo" because it was ...
in
Syria in 895 with the name Muhammad. After his father
Abd Allah al-Mahdi Billah (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 Med ...
(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-Mutta ...
, with heavy casualties.
In 934 Al-Qa'im succeeded his father as Caliph, after which he never again left the royal residence at
Mahdia. 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 and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...
. After the re-conquest of
Sicily
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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 Constantin ...
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, who had united the
Kharijite
The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the ...
Berber tribes of the
Aurès Mountains of eastern
Algeria
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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 (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.
See also
*
List of Ismaili imams
*
Ali ibn Muhammad al-Iyadi
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qaim Bi-Amrillah
893 births
946 deaths
10th-century Fatimid caliphs
Syrian Ismailis