Abbas ibn Abi al-Futuh
Abbas ibn Abi al-Futuh | |
---|---|
Born | before 1115 |
Died | 7 June 1154 near Eilat |
Nationality | Fatimid Caliphate |
Occupation(s) | Military commander, governor of Cairo, vizier |
Years active | before 1149 – 1154 |
Abu’l-Faḍl ʿAbbās ibn Abī al-Futūḥ al-Ṣinhājī (
Abbas' family fled to Egypt when he was an infant. He grew up in the household of the Fatimid general and governor
Life
Abbas was born shortly before 1115, to Abu al-Futuh, a prince of the
In 1115, when Abbas was still an infant, his father was banished to
Under Ibn al-Sallar
In 1149, the new caliph, the 16-year-old al-Zafir (r. 1149–1154), appointed his father's long-standing chief secretary, Ibn Masal, to the vacant vizierate.[5] This appointment was opposed by Ibn al-Sallar, who marched on Cairo and forced al-Zafir to appoint him as vizier instead.[1][4] Abbas likely accompanied his stepfather during his uprising, and was then tasked with the pursuit of Ibn Masal, who had fled the capital to rally troops in Lower Egypt.[1][4]
Ibn Masal managed to gather an army of
Abbas reappears in the sources in early 1153, when he was appointed to lead an expedition to
Vizierate and downfall
Abbas' tenure as vizier was troubled from the outset.[4] Ibn al-Sallar's supporters threatened to kill Usama for his rumoured role in the vizier's downfall,[4] while Abbas and Nasr, according to Usama's memoirs, were now suspicious of each other, so that Usama had to mediate between them.[1] A major issue was Nasr's close, and widely suspected to be sexual, relationship with the caliph, which aroused negative reactions among the court, while Usama also claims that al-Zafir incited Nasr to kill his own father.[4] The veracity of Usama's claims is impossible to verify, but his version has been taken up by most medieval sources. There are a few diverging accounts, such as Ibn Taghrirbirdi, who rejects any sexual relationship between Nasr and the caliph, but claims that Nasr plotted to murder and replace his father on his own account.[4]
In the end, Abbas and Nasr, urged by Usama, turned on al-Zafir: on the night of 16 April 1154, Nasr invited the caliph to the vizieral palace of Dar Yunis, and murdered him.
The court and populace now had enough of the incessant plotting, culminating in the murder of a caliph.[4] The terrified women of the Fatimid harem called upon the Armenian-born governor of Asyut, Tala'i ibn Ruzzik, for assistance, reportedly sending their own cut hair in supplication.[8][10] Ibn Ruzzik readily agreed and marched on Cairo. Abbas tried to resist, but faced general opposition: most of the troops were reluctant to support him or defected outright, and the remainder found themselves under attack by the populace with stones. In the end, on 29 May Abbas had to force his way out of the capital with his son and a handful of followers.[8][11]
The party made for the Levant, but was intercepted on 7 June by the Crusaders near
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Becker & Stern 1960, p. 9.
- ^ Brett 2017, pp. 85, 112ff..
- ^ Brett 2017, p. 184.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Sajjadi 2015.
- ^ Halm 2014, p. 223.
- ^ a b Canard 1971, p. 868.
- ^ a b c Brett 2017, p. 282.
- ^ a b c d Brett 2017, p. 283.
- ^ Halm 2014, p. 237.
- ^ Halm 2014, p. 238.
- ^ Halm 2014, pp. 238–239.
- ^ a b Halm 2014, p. 240.
Sources
- OCLC 495469456.
- Brett, Michael (2017). The Fatimid Empire. The Edinburgh History of the Islamic Empires. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-4076-8.
- OCLC 495469525.
- ISBN 978-3-406-66163-1.
- Sajjadi, Sadeq (2015). "ʿAbbās b. Abī al-Futūḥ". In ISSN 1875-9831.