Abu’l-Qāsim ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad al-Jarjarāʾī was a

Fatimid The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimid dynasty, Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa ...

official of

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

i origin, who served as the Fatimid

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

from 1027 until his death on 27 March 1045. As his ''

nisba The Arabic language, Arabic word nisba (; also transcribed as ''nisbah'' or ''nisbat'') may refer to: * Arabic nouns and adjectives#Nisba, Nisba, a suffix used to form adjectives in Arabic grammar, or the adjective resulting from this formation **c ...

'' shows, he came from the locality of Jarjaraya, south of

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. He came to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

along with his brother Abu'l-Barakat al-Husayn al-Jarjara'i, and held a succession of offices in the

bureaucracy. He entered the service of

Sitt al-Mulk Sitt al-Mulk (; 970–1023) was a Fatimid princess. After the disappearance of her half-brother, the caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, in 1021, she was instrumental in securing the succession of her nephew Ali az-Zahir, and acted as the ''de fa ...

, before becoming secretary to the police chief of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. He was convicted of disloyalty when he opened letters of the secret services in 1013, as a result of which his hands were cut off. However the Caliph al-Hakim soon regretted this harsh punishment, and took him back into the palace and promoted him to high office. In 1015/6 he was appointed head of the ''dīwān al-nafaḳāt'' (bureau of expenditure), before rising to the post of '' wāsiṭa'' (the official intermediary between Caliph and the people) in 1021/2, and finally achieving the post of vizier in 1027. He held the post under the caliphs Ali az-Zahir and al-Mustansir until his death in March 1045. During his tenure, after the pacification of Syria by

Anushtakin al-Dizbari Sharaf al-Maʿālī Abu Manṣūr Anūshtakīn al-Dizbarī (died January 1042) was a Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid statesman and general who became the most powerful Fatimid governor of Bilad al-Sham, Syria. Under his Damascus-based administration, a ...

, al-Jarjara'i, concerned himself with improving relations with the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. A ceasefire had been in place since 1027, and after fresh fighting in 1036 a peace treaty was agreed. The main point of contention was the suzerainty over the

Emirate An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalent ...

of the

Mirdasids The Mirdasid dynasty (), also called the Banu Mirdas, was an Arab Shia Muslim dynasty which ruled an Aleppo-based emirate in northern Syria and the western Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia) more or less continuously from 1024 until 1080. History Do ...

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

, which both powers made claim to. In practice a kind of dual control came into operation. Al-Jarjara'i assumed the regency during Caliph al-Mustansir's early reign, though his rule was moderated for its duration by the influence of the caliph's powerful mother Rasad.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ali Ibn Ahmad Al-Jarjara'i 1045 deaths 11th-century Arab people Iraqi amputees Iraqi Shia Muslims 11th-century regents Regents of Egypt Year of birth unknown 11th-century people from the Fatimid Caliphate Viziers of the Fatimid Caliphate