al-Zafir

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For the Arab tribe, see
al-Zafir (tribe)
.
al-Zafir
al-Hafiz li-Din Allah
Successoral-Fa'iz bi-Nasr Allah
Born23 February 1133
Died1 or 15 April 1154(1154-04-15) (aged 21)
Cairo
DynastyFatimid
Fatheral-Hafiz
ReligionHafizi Isma'ilism
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Abū Manṣūr Ismāʿīl ibn al-Ḥāfiẓ (

Ismaili
sect.

Life

The future al-Zafir was born on 23 February 1133,

al-Hafiz li-Din Allah (r. 1132–1149).[1] As all his older brothers predeceased their father, al-Zafir was appointed heir-apparent.[1]

Accession and the vizierate of Ibn Masal

Al-Zafir was proclaimed caliph immediately after his father's death, on 10 October 1149.

Sunni resurgence in Egypt.[4][5] The Fatimid caliphs themselves had become virtual puppets in the hands of their viziers,[6] whose power was such that chroniclers often attributed to them the royal title of sultan.[4] Al-Zafir's father had tried to curtail the power of his viziers, and for the last decade of his reign, did not appoint anyone to that office, instead relying on high-ranking clerks as ad hoc directors of government affairs.[7]

The accession of al-Zafir undid these efforts.

donative was distributed and promises were made to look after them. The situation was brought under control in November, when Ibn Masal, executed the faction leaders.[1][8]

Ibn Masal lasted between 40 and 50 days in office,

Lawata Berbers, of Black Africans, of Bedouin Arabs and of native Egyptians, but despite a first success in the field, he was soon forced to leave Cairo in December 1149 for Lower Egypt, to recruit more men, while Ibn al-Sallar took over the city.[1][8][9]

Vizierate of Ibn al-Sallar

Map of the Middle East showing the Christian states of c. 1140 in colour
Political map of the Levant in c. 1140

Al-Zafir was unreconciled to the new situation, and conspired to have Ibn al-Sallar killed. In retaliation, in January 1150 Ibn al-Sallar gathered the caliphal guard (ṣibyān al-khāṣṣ), an elite corps of cadets comprising the sons of high dignitaries and officials, and executed most of them, sending the rest to serve on the empire's frontiers.[1][9] After that, he executed the chief supervisor of the government departments (nāẓir fi'l-dawāwīn), Abu'l-Karam Muhammad ibn Ma'sum al-Tinnisi.[3] After securing Cairo, an army under his stepson Abbas, along with Tala'i ibn Ruzzik, was sent to confront Ibn Masal and his ally, Badr ibn Rafi. The two armies met in battle at Dalas in the province of Bahnasa on 19 February 1150, in which Ibn Masal was defeated and killed. Abbas brought his severed head back to Cairo as a token of victory.[1][8]

Unsurprisingly, the relationship between caliph and vizier remained extremely hostile: according to

Mujir al-Din Abaq of Damascus, who were preoccupied with their own rivalries.[1] In contrast, in early 1153 the Crusaders launched an attack on the Fatimid outpost of Ascalon.[9]

In March 1153, Ibn al-Sallar sent reinforcements to the city under his stepson Abbas and Usama ibn Munqidh. According to the historian

carrier pigeon to his father, who quickly returned to Cairo to claim the vizierate for himself (9 April), showing Ibn al-Sallar's severed head to the populace assembled before the Bab al-Dhahab gate.[9][12][13] Abandoned to its fate, Ascalon, the last Fatimid outpost in the Levant, fell to the Crusaders in August 1153.[11][12]

Murder and aftermath

Ibn al-Sallar had been generally resented due to his greed and cruelty, but had apparently favoured the Sunni cause in Egypt, and was likely behind the appointment of a Sunni chief qāḍī.[4] As a result, his Sunni supporters appealed the al-Zafir for the punishment of Ibn Mandiqh, whom they held responsible for the murder.[4] Ibn Mandiqh, afraid for his life, turned to Abbas, inciting him against al-Zafir with the rumour of a sexual relationship between al-Zafir and Nasr;[4] Ibn Munqidh in his own memoirs claims that the Caliph wanted to use Nasr to eliminate Abbas, but was informed of the plot by Nasr.[12] Abbas became enraged, and persuaded his son to assassinate the caliph. Nasr invited al-Zafir to spend the night together at the vizieral palace of Dar al-Ma'mun. On arrival, the Caliph and his small escort were killed, with their bodies thrown into a pit close by.[4] This was on 1 or 15 April 1154.[12]

On the next day, Abbas rode to the palace gates, ostensibly looking for al-Zafir.[4] A search ensued, but eventually the truth became known when a servant of the caliph's escort, who had managed to hide and escape the massacre of the previous night, informed the palace. While the palace women began mourning, Abbas and his own escort forced their way into the palace and installed himself in the grand audience chamber.[4] When al-Zafir's two younger brothers, Jibril and Yusuf, demanded that Nasr be questioned on the whereabouts of the Caliph, Abbas ordered them executed, and announced to the public that they had confessed to being responsible for the Caliph's murder.[4] In his stead, al-Zafir's five-year old son, Isa, was proclaimed caliph as al-Fa'iz bi-Nasr Allah.[4] The young caliph was so shocked by the sight of the bloody corpses of his uncles and the acclamations of the court officials, that he became insane.[4]

Legacy

Al-Zafir's rule marks the beginning of the end for the Fatimid state: from then on the caliphs were underage youths, sidelined and mere puppets at the hands of the strongmen who vied for the vizierate.

takeover by Saladin in 1171.[15]

In 1148/49, al-Zafir built a mosque in Cairo, near the

faqihs) were attached to it for that purpose.[12][16]

See also

  • List of rulers of Egypt

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bianquis 2002, p. 382.
  2. ^ a b Halm 2014, p. 223.
  3. ^ a b c d e Öztürk 2013, p. 69.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Bianquis 2002, p. 383.
  5. ^ Brett 2017, pp. 277, 280.
  6. ^ Daftary 2007, p. 248.
  7. ^ Walker 2017.
  8. ^ a b c Canard 1971, p. 868.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Al-Imad 2015.
  10. ^ Öztürk 2013, pp. 69–70.
  11. ^ a b Daftary 2007, p. 250.
  12. ^ a b c d e Öztürk 2013, p. 70.
  13. ^ Bianquis 2002, pp. 382–383.
  14. ^ Daftary 2007, pp. 250–252.
  15. ^ Sanders 1998, p. 154.
  16. ^ Lev 1999, p. 121.

Sources

  • Al-Imad, Leila S. (2015). "al-ʿĀdil b. al-Sallār". In Fleet, Kate;
    ISSN 1873-9830
    .
  • ISBN 978-90-04-12756-2
    .
  • 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 978-0-521-61636-2
    .
  • ISBN 978-3-406-66163-1
    .
  • Lev, Yaacov (1999). Saladin in Egypt. Leiden: Brill.
    ISBN 90-04-11221-9
    .
  • Öztürk, Murat (2013). "Zâfir-Biemrillâh". TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 44 (Yusuf – Zwemer) (in Turkish). Istanbul:
    ISBN 978-975-389-785-3
    .
  • Sanders, Paula A. (1998). "The Fatimid State, 969–1171". In Petry, Carl F. (ed.). The Cambridge History of Egypt, Volume 1: Islamic Egypt, 640–1517. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 151–174.
    ISBN 0-521-47137-0
    .
  • Walker, Paul E. (2017). "al-Ḥāfiẓ li-Dīn Allāh". In Fleet, Kate;
    ISSN 1873-9830
    .
al-Zafir
Born: late February 1133 Died: March 1154
Preceded by
al-Hafiz li-Din Allah
Fatimid Caliph

10 October 1149 – 1 or 15 April 1154 		Succeeded by
Imam of Hafizi Isma'ilism
10 October 1149 – 1 or 15 April 1154
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