Al-Afdal Shahanshah
al-Afdal Shahanshah | |
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al-Musta'li Billah, al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah | |
Preceded by | Badr al-Jamali |
Succeeded by | al-Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi |
Personal details | |
Born | 1066 Acre, Fatimid Caliphate |
Died | 11 December 1121 (aged 54–55) Cairo, Fatimid Caliphate |
Children | Sama al-Mulk Kutayfat |
Parent |
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Al-Afdal Shahanshah (
Ascent to power
He was born in
At this time Fatimid power in
Conflict with the Crusaders
Al-Afdal misunderstood the Crusaders as
When it became apparent that the Crusaders would not rest until they had control of the city, al-Afdal marched out from
When al-Musta'li died in December 1101, al-Afdal raised the five-year-old al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah to the throne as imam and caliph. To further strengthen the familial ties with the young caliph, he married him to his own daughter.[3] As the vizier, father-in-law, and uncle of the young ruler, al-Afdal placed the caliph before him on his own horse during al-Amir's inaugural procession. A decree, dictated by al-Afdal, renewed his appointment as vizier with plenipotentiary powers and ensured his ascendancy over the child-caliph.[3]
Al-Afdal marched out every year to attack the nascent Kingdom of Jerusalem, and in 1105 attempted to ally with Damascus against them, but was defeated at the Third Battle of Ramla. Al-Afdal and his army enjoyed success only so long as no European fleet interfered, but they gradually lost control of their coastal strongholds; in 1109 Tripoli was lost, despite the fleet and supplies sent by al-Afdal, and the city became the centre of the Crusader state of the County of Tripoli. In 1110 the governor of Ascalon, Shams al-Khilafa, rebelled against al-Afdal with the intent of handing over the city to Jerusalem (for a large price). Al-Khilafa was assassinated by his Berber troops, sending his head to al-Afdal.
Al-Afdal also introduced tax (
Final years and assassination
In 1115, an assassin tried to kill al-Afdal, but he was saved by his bodyguards.[4] While he was not harmed, his health deteriorated from that time, leading to assigning his brother Ja'far the task of adding the official, calligraphic signature to documents, while in 1115, he designated his son, Sama al-Mulk, as his deputy (and thus heir-apparent).[5] Following another failed attack by three assassins in 1118, al-Afdal suspected his own sons, and had them deprived of their positions and incomes.[5]
On 13 December 1121, during a procession on the last day of
References
- Mac Guckin de Slane. Paris. pp. 612–615.
- ISBN 90-04-10032-6.
- ^ a b Brett 2017, p. 234.
- ^ Brett 2017, p. 251.
- ^ a b Brett 2017, pp. 251–252.
- ^ a b c Brett 2017, p. 252.
- ^ Lewis 1969, p. 118.
- ^ Walker 2011.
Sources
- Brett, Michael (2017). The Fatimid Empire. The Edinburgh History of the Islamic Empires. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-4076-8.
- ISBN 978-0-521-61636-2.
- ISBN 978-3-406-66163-1.
- ISBN 0-299-04834-9.
- Steven Runciman, A History of the Crusades, vol. I: The First Crusade and the Foundation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Cambridge University Press, 1951.
- Stern, S. M. (1951). "The Succession to the Fatimid Imam al-Āmir, the Claims of the Later Fatimids to the Imamate, and the Rise of Ṭayyibī Ismailism". Oriens. 4 (2): 193–255. JSTOR 1579511.
- William of Tyre. A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea. Edited and translated by E. A. Babcock and A. C. Krey. Columbia University Press, 1943.
- The Damascus Chronicle of the Crusades: Extracted and Translated from the Chronicle of H.A.R. Gibb, London, 1932.
- Walker, Paul E. (2011). "al-Āmir bi-Aḥkām Allāh". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Brill Online. ISSN 1873-9830.