Anushtakin al-Dizbari

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Sharaf al-Maʿālī
Az-Zahir
Fatimid Military Governor of Palestine
In office
1023–1026
Appointed byAz-Zahir
Fatimid Governor of Baalbek
In office
1017–1022
Appointed byAl-Hakim
Personal details
BornUnknown
Khuttal, Transoxiana
DiedJanuary 1042
Citadel of Aleppo

Sharaf al-Maʿālī Abu Manṣūr Anūshtakīn al-Dizbarī[a] (died January 1042) was a Fatimid statesman and general who became the most powerful Fatimid governor of Syria. Under his Damascus-based administration, all of Syria was united under a single Fatimid authority. Near-contemporary historians, including Ibn al-Qalanisi of Damascus and Ibn al-Adim of Aleppo, noted Anushtakin's wealth, just rule and fair treatment of the population, with whom he was popular.

An ethnic

Lake Tiberias
in 1029.

Anushtakin consolidated his authority over Syria by forming alliances with the local nobility, particularly

Mirdasid emir of Aleppo, Shibl al-Dawla Nasr, which ended when Anushtakin defeated and killed Nasr in 1037. The following year, Anushtakin captured Aleppo with little resistance, marking the first and last time all of Syria was ruled by a single Fatimid governor. Anushtakin's rule in Damascus came to an end after an army mutiny engineered by al-Jarjara'i forced him to flee for the Aleppo citadel; he died there amid accusations of betraying Caliph al-Mustansir. Fifteen years later, the latter honored Anushtakin by relocating his grave to Jerusalem
.

Sources

The most comprehensive contemporary biography of Anushtakin was written by the Damascene historian, Ibn al-Qalanisi (d. 1160).[3] According to modern historian Yaacov Lev, the "richness of details" Ibn al-Qalanisi provided about Anushtakin was "unusual" at the time for biographies on military slaves.[4] Ibn al-Adim (1193–1262) was a major source for information regarding Anushtakin's governorship of Aleppo, while al-Maqrizi (1364–1442) documented several stories about Anushtakin's career in Cairo.[4] Lev maintains that all three of the aforementioned medieval historians stressed Anushtakin's "just rule and fair treatment of the population in the towns he ruled as governor".[4]

Biography

Origins and military slavery

Anushtakin was an ethnic Turk born in Khuttal,[b] a mountainous principality in Transoxiana; from there, he was captured and sold into slavery in Kashgar.[6][7] He escaped to Bukhara, but was again captured and enslaved.[7] He was then taken to the Abbasid capital of Baghdad.[7] Afterward, he was moved to Fatimid-held Damascus in 1009/10,[6] where he was purchased and employed by Dizbiri ibn Awnim[7] (also known as Dizbar), a Fatimid officer of Daylamite descent who had previously served the Hamdanids.[6] Anushtakin acquired the nisba (surname) "al-Dizbari" from his master;[6] his Turkish given name, "Anajtekin", which means "adult-prince", was commonly transcribed in Arabic as "Anushtakin" or "Anashtajin".[8] For the next three years, Anushtakin successfully protected Dizbiri's properties as his steward.[1]

In 1012,[5] Dizbiri conceded to Anushtakin's wish to serve Caliph al-Hakim (r. 996–1021) in Cairo,[7] where he became a ghulam (slave soldier; pl. ghilman) in the hujra (training barracks).[9] He demonstrated martial talents during his training.[6] There are scant details about Anushtakin's time in the hujra, though it is known that he was dismissive of his younger and less experienced colleagues whom he insulted with mocking nicknames.[7][9] He completed his training relatively quickly by 1014/15,[6] after which he was manumitted from enslavement.[10]

Early career

Anushtakin acquired a position in the Fatimid court and caught the attention of al-Hakim, who made him an army officer.[6][9] After serving a year in al-Hakim's court, Anushtakin was posted in Damascus in the retinue of a Fatimid general.[9] He resided in the home of a certain Hayyus in the Zuqaq-Attaf quarter where he became friends with Hayyus's son and poet, Muhammad ibn Hayyus;[5] the latter later dedicated several panegyrics to Anushtakin.[5] While in the city, Anushtakin tracked down and met Dizbiri to pay respect to his old master.[6][7]

Though contemporary sources do not indicate when Anushtakin learned

madhab (school of thought), which was rarely practiced in Damascus, possibly to Sunni Islam.[12] Lev doubts that Anushtakin ever deviated from the state religion,[13] and asserts that in any case, Anushtakin firmly forsook his pagan past for a Muslim frame of reference.[14]

Anushtakin's stay in Damascus was cut short when he was recalled to Cairo.[5] By 1017,[8] he was made wali (governor) of Ba'albek.[15] He held the post for roughly four years,[15] during which he developed a positive reputation among the inhabitants.[6] It was in Ba'albek that Anushtakin acquired his own ghilman, and through them, he gained the significant wealth and knowledge of regional affairs that proved critical to his future political career in Syria, according to historian Suhayl Zakkar.[15] At this time, he also came under the patronage of the Fatimids' Armenian governor of Aleppo, Fatik Aziz ad-Dawla.[6]

Governor of Palestine

After his service in Ba'albek, Anushtakin was briefly made walī of

Franciscan friars of Jerusalem.[16]

At the time of Anushtakin's appointment, inland Palestine was dominated by the

mountains around Nablus to apprehend Hassan.[18] However, the latter had since recovered and with 3,000 of his horsemen, repulsed Anushtakin, who retreated to Ramla,[16] the capital of Palestine.[18]

The Jarrahids retaliated against Anushtakin by besieging him Ramla and plundering and massacring the inhabitants of

al-Hasan al-Rudhbari, to recall Anushtakin to Cairo.[6]

Governor of Syria

Anushtakin was arrested in Ascalon, then imprisoned in Cairo.[25] His dismissal left the Bedouin alliance in virtual control of Syria.[25] Anushtakin was ultimately released upon the intervention of Sa'id al-Su'ada, a senior eunuch of az-Zahir.[25] Despite his distance from events, Anushtakin remained privy to developments in Palestine and Syria.[6] Al-Rudhbari was replaced as vizier by Ali al-Jarjara'i in December 1027/January 1028 and in November 1028, he assigned Anushtakin to lead a military expedition against the Tayy in Palestine;[26] by then, the Kalb had defected to az-Zahir, weakening the Bedouin alliance and giving the Fatimids an opportunity to reassert their authority in Syria.[26]

At the head of 7,000 infantry, cavalry and Bedouin

Lake Tiberias.[6][26] The battle ended when Salih was slain,[26] after which many of his comrades were killed as they fled south into the Hejaz.[27] Anushtakin's victory paved the way for the Fatimid reconquest of Syria, with Salih's governors fleeing the coastal fortress of Sidon and the inland fortresses of Baalbek, Homs and Hisn Akkar between Damascus and the Mirdasid capital in Aleppo.[26] Anushtakin, meanwhile, acquired Salih's Turkish ghilman and set up headquarters in Damascus.[26] Afterward, Anushtakin "solidified his position as the most powerful Fatimid governor of Syria", according to Lev.[12]

Though based in Damascus, Anushtakin remained in charge of affairs in Palestine.[28] He consolidated his alliance with the Kalb by marrying Rafi's daughter in 1035.[29] The Kalb and Tayy reconciled by 1030 and in the following year both tribes, then allied with the Byzantines, moved their encampments near Byzantine-held Antioch. Anushtakin launched assaults against the Tayy at Qastun, Inab and al-Arwaj.[30] During Fatimid-Byzantine peace negotiations, in 1033, the Tayy attempted to negotiate a separate peace with Anushtakin to retrieve their iqtaʿat in Palestine.[31] Within a few years, Anushtakin gained the Tayy's backing through an alliance with Hassan's son Allan.[29] Anushtakin also drew support from a faction of the Kilab, the tribe to which the Mirdasids belonged.[29]

Conquest of Aleppo

Al-Jarjara'i grew wary of Anushtakin's ambition and virtual independence and sought to limit his influence in Syria.[32] At the same time, Caliph al-Munstansir (r. 1036–1094) and Salih's son and Mirdasid emir of Aleppo, Shibl al-Dawla Nasr, reconciled their differences.[33] As a result of these political conditions, the Fatimids transferred to Nasr the governorship of Homs,[32] then under the jurisdiction of Anushtakin's deputy, Ja'far ibn Kulayd al-Kutami.[34] Anushtakin was angered at what he viewed as a conspiracy against him.[32] Al-Jarjara'i, meanwhile, believed that depriving Anushtakin of Homs would inevitably put him in conflict with Nasr, thus weakening both him and the Mirdasids and thereby strengthening the central government's leverage in Syria.[34] Indeed, the enmity between Anushtakin and Nasr, which dated to Anushtakin's killing of Nasr's father in 1029, was rekindled.[34] Ja'far further incited Anushtakin against the Mirdasid threat and Anushtakin made preparations for war against Aleppo.[35]

Before proceeding militarily against Nasr, Anushtakin secured an agreement with the Byzantine Empire, Nasr's ostensible protector;

Tell al-Fas, a hill just outside of Latimin, northwest of Hama.[29] In the middle of the fighting, Nasr's brother and rival, Mu'izz al-Dawla Thimal, abandoned Nasr's camp and headed for Aleppo to seize the city for himself.[37] This reduced Nasr's force and he was defeated and killed. Nasr's head was delivered to Anushtakin, while his body was hanged on the gates of Hama's citadel.[38]

On hearing of Nasr's death, Thimal felt vulnerable in Aleppo and left for

Balis and al-Rahba.[42] Anushtakin's conquest of Aleppo marked the first and last time that all of Syria was under the control of a single Fatimid governor.[43] Al-Jarjara'i did not perceive Anushtakin's conquest of Aleppo, which he opposed, as a restoration of direct Fatimid rule, but rather as the beginning of the Fatimids' complete loss of Syria.[42] Nonetheless, the central government in Cairo conceded to Anushtakin and Caliph al-Mustansir granted him the governorship of Aleppo.[42]

Later years and downfall

Anushtakin took refuge in the Citadel of Aleppo (pictured) after escaping Damascus. He died in the citadel and left there a treasure of 600,000 gold dinars

After a three-month stay, Anushtakin departed Aleppo for Damascus, leaving the citadel in the hands of his ghilman, Sabuktekin and Fatik, and the city under another ghulam named Banjutekin.

Euphrates River fortress of Qal'at Dawsar in 1040/41.[41][45]

The extensive recruitment of ghilman irked Anushtakin's Fatimid troops in Damascus, prompting some of them to complain to al-Jarjara'i.[41] The latter had sought a pretext to remove Anushtakin, and took advantage of the Damascene troops' dissent to conspire against him.[41] Al-Jarjara'i told the troops of his disapproval of Anushtakin and instructed them to await notice on how to proceed while encouraging them to quietly gather support among their comrades in Syria.[41] Soon after, al-Jarjara'i secretly ordered all Fatimid local and provincial governors in Syria to bypass Anushtakin's authority and report directly to Cairo.[41] He then issued a letter to Thimal restoring his governorship of Aleppo, which he beckoned Thimal to capture by force.[46] Anushtakin was unaware of the intrigues against him,[44] and in late 1041, al-Jarjara'i intentionally provoked Anushtakin by demanding the dismissal and handover of his chief scribe (katib), Abu Sa'id.[44] Angered, Anushtakin summoned the vizier's Damascus representative and had him beaten and humiliated.[44] Zakkar asserts that by this action Anushtakin "actually proclaimed his independence".[44]

In the following days, Anushtakin discontinued payments to his Fatimid troops, with the exception of those loyal to him rather than the caliph.[44] This led to a mutiny in Damascus among the Fatimid officers who had colluded with al-Jarjara'i.[44] Disorder spread throughout the city and Anushtakin's palace was assaulted and plundered,[12][44] prompting Anushtakin to flee with 300 of his ghilman and seek safety in Ba'albek.[44][47] He was refused entry into the latter and headed north to Hama, but was again denied refuge.[44] However, the Banu Munqidh emir of Kafartab (northwest of Hama) offered him protection and safely escorted him to Aleppo,[44] where he took refuge in the citadel.[48] Afterward, al-Jarjara'i branded Anushtakin a traitor deserving of severe punishment for betraying al-Mustansir.[44] According to contemporary sources, Anushtakin had been suffering from severe fatigue and was deeply disheartened by the allegations of treachery.[49] As a result of his ailing condition, he collapsed and died in the citadel in January 1042.[48] A month later, Thimal reestablished Mirdasid rule in the city and a governor was appointed to Damascus, thereby ending the administrative unity of Syria.[48]

For unclear reasons, in 1057, al-Mustansir honored Anushtakin by having his body relocated from Aleppo to

Tulunid period (9th century).[50][51] A state funeral procession was held for the occasion and Fatimid officials were directed to pay honors to Anushtakin as his coffin passed through their towns on the way to Jerusalem.[12]

Patronage and local relations

During his career, Anushtakin amassed significant wealth from a number of sources.

Hanafi qadi of Aleppo, to fund the establishment of Islamic law colleges, mosques and bridges in the Muslim lands of Transoxiana.[14] This indicated Anushtakin's interest in his ancestral homeland and, according to al-Maqrizi, was partly meant to publicly demonstrate his transition from a slave from Central Asia to a formidable governor in Syria.[14] As a testament to his fortune, Ibn al-Qalanisi asserted that by the time of Anushtakin's death, he had left 600,000 gold dinars and 200,000 dinars-worth of grain in the citadel of Aleppo.[14]

Throughout his career, Anushtakin established close ties with the wulat al-atraf (chieftains of the fringes),[52] i.e. the numerous heterodox Muslim clans who lived in the highland regions west of Damascus, Tiberias and Aleppo.[52][53] According to historian Kamal Salibi, it is probable that Anushtakin's good relations with the highland chieftains "paved the way for the spread of a special cult of al-Hakim among the tribal peasants of these areas", i.e. the Druze.[52] According to Ibn al-Qalanisi, Anushtakin "endeared himself to the notables and the common folk by showing them affection and honour in every way possible".[52] He pursued a policy of solidifying relationships with the Bedouin tribes through marriage.[36] To that end, he wed the daughters of Rafi ibn Abi'l Layl of Kalb, Wahb ibn Hassan of Tayy and Mansur ibn Zughayb of Kilab. His marriage ties with others among the nobility in Syria included a certain Husam ad-Dawla al-Bajnaki, whose daughter Anushtakin married, and a certain Sarim ad-Dawla Dhu'l Fadilatayini, whose son wed a daughter of Anushtakin.[54] He had a son from his Jarrahid wife, and four daughters from his other marriages.[54] Anushtakin also had daughters with concubines from the Fatimid court.[54]

Notes

  1. ^
    honorific titles: al-amīr al-muẓaffar (commander wreathed in victory); amīr al-juyūsh (commander of the armies); ʿuddat al-imām (the treasure of the imam, i.e. the caliph); sayf al-khilāfa (sword of the Caliphate); ʿaḍud ad-dawla (support of the state); and muṣṭafā al-mulk (the realm's choice).[1][2]
  2. ^ Anushtakin's year of birth was not provided by contemporary chroniclers.[5]
  3. Kalb would control the region of Damascus.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b Zakkar 1971, p. 129.
  2. ^ Gil 1997, p. 387.
  3. ^ Stern, Samuel Miklós (1964). Fāṭimid Decrees: Original Documents from the Fatimid Chancery. Faber & Faber. p. 30.
  4. ^ a b c Lev 2003, p. 55.
  5. ^ a b c d e Zakkar 1971, p. 130.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Kennedy 2004, p. 289.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Lev 1991, p. 85.
  8. ^ a b c Salibi 1977, p. 100.
  9. ^ a b c d Lev 2003, p. 45.
  10. ^ Lev 2003, pp. 58–59.
  11. ^ Lev 2003, pp. 44–45.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Lev 2003, p. 54.
  13. ^ Lev 2003, pp. 54–55.
  14. ^ a b c d e f Lev 2003, p. 56.
  15. ^ a b c d Zakkar 1971, p. 131.
  16. ^ a b c d e Gil 1997, p. 388.
  17. ^ Lev 2003, pp. 45–46.
  18. ^ a b c d e Lev 2003, p. 48.
  19. ^ a b c d Lev 2003, p. 49.
  20. ^ a b c Gil 1997, p. 389.
  21. ^ Lev 2003, pp. 48–49.
  22. ^ Gil 1997, p. 390.
  23. ^ Lev 2003, pp. 49–50.
  24. ^ Lev 2003, p. 50.
  25. ^ a b c Lev 2003, p. 51.
  26. ^ a b c d e f g Lev 2003, p. 52.
  27. ^ Rustow 2008, p. 191.
  28. ^ Gil 1997, p. 398.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h i Zakkar 1971, p. 124.
  30. ISBN 90-04-07026-5
    .
  31. ISBN 9789025610722
    .
  32. ^ a b c Zakkar 1971, p. 122.
  33. ^ Zakkar 1971, pp. 121–122.
  34. ^ a b c Zakkar 1971, p. 123.
  35. ^ Zakkar 1971, pp. 123–124.
  36. ^ a b c d Smoor 1985, p. 198.
  37. ^ Zakkar 1971, pp. 124–125.
  38. ^ Zakkar 1971, p. 125.
  39. ^ a b c d Zakkar 1971, p. 132.
  40. ^ Zakkar 1971, p. 133.
  41. ^ a b c d e f g h Zakkar 1971, p. 135.
  42. ^ a b c d Zakkar 1971, p. 134.
  43. ^ Zakkar 1971, pp. 132–133.
  44. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Zakkar 1971, p. 136.
  45. ISBN 90-04-14713-6
    .
  46. ^ Zakkar 1971, pp. 135–136.
  47. ^ a b Lev 2003, p. 58.
  48. ^ a b c Zakkar 1971, p. 137.
  49. ^ Zakkar 1971, pp. 136–137.
  50. ^
    ISBN 9780521068857
    .
  51. ISBN 9781134488506
    .
  52. ^ a b c d Salibi 1977, pp. 100–101.
  53. ^ Salibi 1977, pp. 85–86.
  54. ^
    ISBN 9780748617333
    .

Bibliography
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