Abu Tamim Ma'ad al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah (Template:Lang-ar; 26 September 932 – 19 December 975) was the fourth Fatimid caliph and the 14th Ismaili imam, reigning from 953 to 975. It was during his caliphate that the center of power of the Fatimid dynasty was moved from Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia) to Egypt. The Fatimids founded the city of Cairo (al-Qāhirah, "the Victorious") in 969 as the new capital of the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt.[1]After conquering Egypt, the Levant and Hejaz, he boasted the Fatimid claims to the Caliphate over the Abbasids by having his name mentioned in the Friday prayer sermon in the two holy mosques of Mecca and Medina. He also promised the safety of Haji routes which made him seem as a hero and more legitimate in the eyes of the Muslim World. He is also credited with the invention of the fountain pen.[2]
| al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah المعز لدين الله | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Gold dinar of al-Mu'izz, minted in Cairo, 973 AD | |||||
| Imam–Caliph of the Fatimid Caliphate | |||||
| Reign | 19 March 953 – 21 December 975 | ||||
| Predecessor | al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah | ||||
| Successor | al-Aziz Billah | ||||
| Born | 26 September 931 Mahdia Tunisia | ||||
| Died | 21 December 975 (aged 44) | ||||
| Spouse | Durzan | ||||
| Issue |
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| Dynasty | Fatimid | ||||
| Father | al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah | ||||
| Religion | Isma'ili Shia Islam | ||||
Political career
After the Fatimids, under the third caliph, al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah (r. 946–953), had defeated the rebellion of Abu Yazid, they began, under his son al-Mu'izz, to turn their attentions back to their ambition of establishing their caliphate throughout the Islamic world and overthrowing the Abbasids. Although the Fatimids were primarily concerned with Egypt and the Near East, there were nevertheless campaigns fought in the Maghreb and against the Umayyads of Spain. At the same time, Fatimid raids on Italy enabled naval superiority in the Western Mediterranean to be affirmed, at the expense of Byzantium, even capturing Sicily for a period of time.
The way to Egypt was then clear for the Fatimids, the more so given the state of crisis that the incumbent Ikhshidid dynasty found itself in and the inability of the Abbasids to counterattack. The territory fell to the Fatimids in 969 without any great resistance. After he had secured his position, al-Mu'izz transferred the royal residence from Al-Mansuriya to the newly founded city of Qāhirat al-Muʿizz "al-Mu'izz's Victory", i.e., Cairo, thereby shifting the centre of gravity of the Fatimid realm eastwards. In Egypt, several attacks by the Carmathians had to be fought off (972–974) before the restructuring of state finances under Yaqub ibn Killis could be embarked upon. Al-Mu'izz was succeeded by his son Al-Aziz (975–996).
Qarmatian invasions
The disgrace did not last long, as the conquest of Egypt by the Fatimid general Jawhar in 969 and the subsequent advance into Syria, which led to the defeat and capture of al-Hasan ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Tughj at the hands of the Fatimid general Ja'far ibn Fallah in April 970,[3] changed the situation.[4] The Fatimid takeover meant the end of the annual tribute promised by al-Hasan ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Tughj, and the Fatimids' declared intention to restore the safety of the Hajj routes threatened to put an end to the Qarmatians' extortion of the Hajj caravans as well.[5][6]
This led to a radical shift of the Qarmatians—for which some sources consider al-A'sam to have been the principal instigator—against the Fatimids and a rapprochement with the Abbasids.[4][3][7] Through the mediation of the Abbasid caliph al-Muti, the Qarmatians became the nucleus of a broad anti-Fatimid alliance, comprising not only the Qarmatians, but also the Hamdanid ruler of Mosul, Abu Taghlib, the Buyid ruler Izz al-Dawla, the Bedouin tribes of Banu Kilab and Banu Uqayl, and remnants of the Ikhshidid troops.[4][6][8][9] The Qarmatian army moved to Kufa, Rahba, and Palmyra, gathering allies, arms and money at each stop along the way. As they approached Damascus, Ibn Fallah chose to confront the allies in open battle, but was defeated and killed.[9]
Capture of Syria and first invasion of Egypt
On 25 August 971, the allies captured Damascus, with al-A'sam proclaiming the suzerainty of the Abbasid caliph over Syria and having the name of the Fatimid caliph, al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah, ritually cursed in the mosques.[6][8] The Qarmatians now turned towards Ramla. Jawhar had sent reinforcements, freshly arrived from Ifriqiya, to the city, but their commander, Sa'adat ibn Hayyan, withdrew to Jaffa and adopted a passive stance. The Qarmatians were thus left free to sack Ramla on 5 September 971. Encouraged by his successes, al-A'sam proceeded to lay siege to Jaffa with part of their forces under Akhu Muslim, and led the remainder of his army into an invasion of Egypt.[6][8][10][11] Egypt was left almost defenceless, while the Qarmatian army grew with the addition of the Banu Tayy Bedouin to it.[10]
Al-A'sam entered Egypt at Qulzum, a month after capturing Damascus.[11] Instead of moving directly against the Egyptian capital, Fustat, however, he moved north to the eastern Nile Delta. The coastal town of Tinnis, which had rebelled a year before against Fatimid taxation, rose up again in revolt, and the Qarmatians captured the town of Farama.[10][12] A month later, a Fatimid army under Yaruq recovered Farama, but over the following weeks the revolt spread across the Delta, and Yaruq and his men had to retreat towards Fustat.[12] The Qarmatians' detour nevertheless gave Jawhar time to prepare a ditch and wall, at Ayn Shams, north of Fustat, stretching for 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the Nile to the Muqattam hills.[11][13] The Fatimid general called almost the entire population of Fustat to arms, and in two fierce battles on 22 and 24 December 971, despite heavy losses, managed to defeat his opponents. The Qarmatians broke and retreated back into Palestine. Jawhar did not pursue them, but set a bounty on them, and many Qarmatians were killed as a result.[13][14] Al-As'ar returned to al-Ahsa, but the Qarmatians remained in control of Syria.[4]
Second invasion of Egypt
Fustat
The Fatimids went onto the counteroffensive in 972, and managed to break the siege of Jaffa. In 973, the Qarmatian–Bedouin alliance disintegrated due to infighting, allowing the Fatimids to seize again control of Palestine and southern Syria.[15][16] In the same year, the Fatimid caliph al-Mu'izz moved his court to the new capital of Cairo in Egypt. From there the Caliph sent al-A'sam a letter, accusing him of abandoning the Fatimid cause to which, as al-Mu'izz claimed, his father and grandfather had been devoted.[17] Al-A'sam not only rejected al-Mu'izz's claims, but made the letter public and reaffirmed his opposition to the Fatimids and their claims, launching another invasion of the Fatimid domains.[6] No details are known, but within a short time in late 973, the Fatimids were again driven out of Syria and Palestine, and in the next spring, the Qarmatians invaded Egypt for the second time.[18]
Once again, they found support among the local populace, which was exhausted by the Fatimids' heavy taxation.[19] Al-A'sam occupied the eastern Nile Delta with the main army, but a smaller force under the Hasanid sharif Akhu Muslim bypassed Cairo and encamped between Asyut and Akhmim, driving out the Fatimid officials and collecting the tax revenues of Middle Egypt for the Qarmatian cause. Akhu Muslim's manoeuvre was all the more dangerous because many of the leading ashraf families flocked to join him.[20] In April, al-Mu'izz sent one of his best generals, Rayyan, to the Delta. Rayyan defeated a Qarmatian force at Mahalla, but al-A'sam moved the main Qarmatian army to Bilbays, from where he threatened Cairo.[21] Again the Fatimids were forced to a general call to arms of the entire male population of the capital to confront the Qarmatian advance. On 4 April, the Qarmatian advance guard attacked the Fatimid positions at Ayn Shams. The Fatimids' Berber soldiers repulsed the attack, but during the pursuit they were in turn surprised by a counterattack and suffered heavy losses.[21] This led to the defection of one of the Fatimid commanders, Ali ibn Muhammad al-Khazin, and riots erupted in Fustat. At the same time, news arrived in the capital that Akhu Muslim had defeated a Fatimid army at Akhmim. Fearful of betrayal by the former Ikhshidid commanders now enrolled in his army, on 12 April al-Mu'izz arrested their sons as hostages.[22]
On 27 April, al-Mu'izz's son Abdallah led the Fatimid army out to confront the Qarmatians at the dry lake bed known as Jubb Umayra or Birkat al-Hajj, just north of Ayn Shams. Al-A'sam divided his army, sending his brother, al-Nu'man, to face the Fatimid advance, while he himself remained on a height dominating the lake bed. Abdallah exploited this mistake, by sending a corps to keep al-A'sam in check, while he destroyed al-Nu'man's force. He then turned on al-A'sam, who was defeated and barely escaped capture.[23][a] The Fatimid victory spelled the end of the invasion. 10,000 Berbers pursued the Qarmatians, cutting off their supply routes, and recovering Palestine and southern Syria before the year was out;[24] while in the south, Akhu Muslim dispersed his small army and barely managed to escape capture himself. Hunted by Fatimid agents, he sought refuge in al-Ahsa, but only ended up being poisoned by the Qarmatians, who were now engaged in negotiations with the Fatimids.[25]
Cultural achievements
Al-Mu'izz was renowned for his tolerance of other religions, and was popular among his Jewish and Christian subjects. He is also credited for having commissioned the invention of the first fountain pen, when in 953, he demanded a pen which would not stain his hands or clothes, and was provided with a pen which held ink in a reservoir. As recorded by Qadi al-Nu'man al-Tamimi (d. 974) in his Kitāb al-Majālis wa 'l-musayarāt, al-Mu'izz commissioned the construction of the pen instructing:[26]
…not more than a few days passed before the craftsman, to whom the construction of this contrivance had been described, brought in the pen, fashioned from gold. He then filled it with ink and wrote with it, and it really did write. The pen released a little more ink than was necessary. Hence al-Mu'izz ordered that it should be adjusted slightly, and he did this. He brought forward the pen and behold, it turned out to be a pen which can be turned upside down in the hand and tipped from side to side, and no trace of ink appears from it. When a secretary takes up the pen and writes with it, he is able to write in the most elegant script that could possibly be desired; then, when he lifts the pen off the sheet of writing material, it holds in the ink. I observed that it was a wonderful piece of work, the like of which I had never imagined I would ever see.
Fatimid literature rose to a degree of prominence in the period of al-Mu'izz with the emergence of skilled poets like Ibn Hani, who was often compared to al-Mutanabbi, and hailed as the Mutanabbi of the West. Da'a'im al-Islam, the canon law of the Fatimid Caliphate, was completed under al-Mu'izz.[27]
Relationship with Coptic Christians
Coptic Christians were allowed a large degree of freedom under al-Mu'izz.[28] Copts were among those appointed to the highest offices of the empire and were allowed to freely practice their religion.[29] Under Al-Mu'izz, the viceroy of Syria was Quzman Ibn Nima, a Copt who remained a Christian.[30] The Nayrouz festival, the celebration of the Coptic New Year, was permitted, though prohibitions on some of the activities, such as fire illumination and water splashing, were instituted.[31]
The relationship between al-Mu'izz and the Copts of Egypt has been the subject of a number of legends written later by Coptic Christians. One such legend involves al-Mu'izz challenging Pope Abraham of Alexandria to move the Mokattam mountain in Cairo, recalling a verse in the Gospel of Matthew which says:
If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
According to Coptic sources, Pope Abraham of Alexandria ordered the Coptic community to keep vigil and to pray for three days and nights. On the third night, Pope Abraham had a dream in which Mary directed him to search for Simon the Tanner. The legend continues that with the prayers of the Coptic community, led by the Pope and Simon, the Mokattam mountain moved. This story is recounted in the book History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria, written by Severus Ibn al-Muqaffa.[30]
Later Coptic sources would further claim that this miracle led al-Mu'izz to convert to Christianity, and that he was baptized at the church of Saint Mercurius in Cairo in a baptismal font that continues to exist to this day, known today as the "Sultan's Baptistry".[30][32][33][34][35] According to this legend al-Mu'izz abdicated the throne in favor of his son, and spent the rest of his life in a monastery. This story is rejected by Muslim historians such as Ahmad Zaki Pasha and Muhammad Abdullah Enan.[30]
Family
Sources differ on al-Mu'izz's consorts. According to one version, he married a cousin of his, who gave him two sons, including his successor al-Aziz.[36] Other sources report that his main consort (al-Sayyida al-Mu'iziyya), and mother of al-Aziz, was a slave-girl (jarya) from Mahdia named Durzan, who due to her beautiful singing voice (although this may simply reflect a common stereotype about jaryas) was nicknamed taghrīd ("twittering").[37] Al-Mu'izz had several other sons, but two are known by name: Tamim and Abdallah, who was the designated heir-apparent but died before his father.[38] He also had seven daughters, of whom three are known with some detail: Sitt al-Malik, Rashida, and Abda. The last two died in their nineties in 1050, leaving behind enormous fortunes.[39]
See also
Notes
- ^ Langer, William Leonard (1968). An Encyclopedia of World History: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern, Chronologically Arranged. Houghton Mifflin. p. 286.
- ^ Bosworth, C. E. (Autumn 1981). "A Mediaeval Islamic Prototype of the Fountain Pen?". Journal of Semitic Studies. XXVI (i).
- ^ a b Madelung 1996, p. 35.
- ^ a b c d Canard 1971, p. 426.
- ^ Madelung 1996, p. 36.
- ^ a b c d e Daftary 2007, p. 162.
- ^ Gil 1997, pp. 338–339.
- ^ a b c Gil 1997, p. 339.
- ^ a b Brett 2001, pp. 313–314.
- ^ a b c Brett 2001, p. 315.
- ^ a b c Bianquis 1972, p. 84.
- ^ a b Bianquis 1972, p. 85.
- ^ a b Brett 2001, pp. 314–315.
- ^ Bianquis 1972, pp. 85–86.
- ^ Gil 1997, pp. 339–340.
- ^ Bianquis 1972, pp. 86–87.
- ^ Madelung 1996, pp. 40, 42–43, 52–54.
- ^ Gil 1997, pp. 342–343.
- ^ Bianquis 1972, p. 98.
- ^ Bianquis 1972, pp. 98–99.
- ^ a b Bianquis 1972, p. 99.
- ^ Bianquis 1972, pp. 99–100.
- ^ a b Bianquis 1972, p. 100.
- ^ a b Gil 1997, p. 343.
- ^ Bianquis 1972, pp. 100–102.
- ^ Bosworth, C. E. (Autumn 1981). "A Mediaeval Islamic Prototype of the Fountain Pen?". Journal of Semitic Studies. XXVI (i).
- ^ M. Th. Houtsma, T.W. Arnold (2006). Biographical Encyclopaedia of Islam, Volume 3. Cosmo Publications. ISBN 9788130703879.
- ^ West, Gerald O.; Dube Shomanah, Musa W., eds. (2000). The Bible in Africa: transactions, trajectories, and trends. Brill. p. 108. ISBN 978-90-04-10627-7.
- ^ Gibb, H. A. R. (1979). The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Brill. p. 91.
- ^ a b c d A History of Eastern Christianity, by Aziz Suryal Atiya. Taylor & Francis. 1968. pp. 87–88.
- ^ Phillip, Thomas; Haarmann, Ulrich, eds. (1999). The Mamluks in Egyptian politics and society. Cambridge studies in Islamic civilization. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-59115-7.
- ^ The Coptic Synaxarium Volume II. Published by Saint Mark Coptic Orthodox Church. Cleveland, OH. 2008. pp. 200–202
- ^ The Coptic Synexarion Volume I. Published by Maktabet el Mahaba. 3rd edition. Cairo 1978. pp. 173–177
- ^ كنيسة أبى سيفين ومعمودية السلطان. ما زالت هذه المعمودية الغريبة موجودة والتى تختلف عن أى معمودية أخرى فى الكنائس القبطية , وموجودة حتى الآن فى كنيسة أبى سيفين فى مصر القديمة حيث يردد الكاهن الموجود فى هذه الكنيسة لزوارها عندما يريهم معمودية السلطان أن المعز لدين الله الخليفة الفاطمى قد تعمد فى هذه المعمودية The Sultan's Baptistry at the Church of Saint Mercurius in Cairo. This strange baptistry still exists to this day, and its shape is different from that of all other baptisteries in any Coptic church. It exists to this day at the Church of Saint Mercurius in Old Cairo. The priest of the church tells the visitors that Al-Muizz Lideenilah – the Fatimid Caliph – was baptized at this baptistry.
- ^ Coptic Synexarion: Pope Abraham
- ^ Cortese & Calderini 2006, p. 51.
- ^ Cortese & Calderini 2006, pp. 51, 167–169.
- ^ Cortese & Calderini 2006, p. 52.
- ^ Cortese & Calderini 2006, pp. 52, 155–156.
Sources
- Brett, Michael (2001). The Rise of the Fatimids: The World of the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the Fourth Century of the Hijra, Tenth Century CE. The Medieval Mediterranean. Vol. 30. Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill. ISBN 90-04-11741-5.
- Cortese, Delia; Calderini, Simonetta (2006). Women and the Fatimids in the World of Islam. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0-7486-1733-7.
- Dachraoui, F. (1993). "al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W. P. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume VII: Mif–Naz. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 485–489. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_5447. ISBN 978-90-04-09419-2.
- Halm, Heinz (1991). Das Reich des Mahdi: Der Aufstieg der Fatimiden [The Empire of the Mahdi: The Rise of the Fatimids] (in German). Munich: C. H. Beck. ISBN 978-3-406-35497-7.
- Halm, Heinz (2003). Die Kalifen von Kairo: Die Fatimiden in Ägypten, 973–1074 [The Caliphs of Cairo: The Fatimids in Egypt, 973–1074] (in German). Munich: C. H. Beck. ISBN 3-406-48654-1.
- Jiwa, Shainool, ed. (2009). Towards a Shi'i Mediterranean Empire: Fatimid Egypt and the Founding of Cairo. The Reign of Imam-Caliph al-Muʿizz, from al-Maqrīzī's Ittiʿāẓ al-ḥunafāʾ. London and New York: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-0-8577-1742-9.
- Jiwa, Shainool (2013). The Founder of Cairo: The Fatimid Imam-Caliph al-Mu'izz and his Era. London and New York: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-0-8577-2223-2.
- Jad Hatem, Le Traité christologique du Calife al-Mu‘izz, le druzisme et le nusayrisme, Paris, Éd. du Cygne, 2013
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