Chapter V: Part 5

Yet many in after days looked back to those years as a kind of golden age. It was a period in which the later growth of Arabic literature was in full tide, that later literature which contrasted with the ancient Arabic poetry of the more strictly classical period, when both prose and poetry were manipulated mainly by men who were not Arabs by race, but obtained a greater technical skill than the earlier writers had achieved. To that later literature the negro ruler of Egypt showed himself a generous patron and his court was filled with poets, wits, and men of letters who were attracted to Egypt by the liberality of the black Maecenas. Like most of his race he was passionately fond of music; and the beautiful gardens which he laid out on the north of Fustat, gardens which the Fatimids incorporated in their royal city of Cairo, transmitted his name to succeeding generations. He was lavish in his expenditure,—the negro is always ostentatious,—and especially so on the daily provisions of his kitchen, but this was counted in his favour, for the Arabic tradition was that princes should dispense an open handed hospitality, and the Egyptians of ancient and modern times have had a strong inclination to appreciate feasting and the indulgence of the appetite. But most welcome of all to his table were poets and epigrammists, who rarely went away without some substantial rewards for their literary efforts. One poet was able to leave behind him a hundred suits of robes of honour, twice that number of vests, and five hundred turbans. Such literary courtiers naturally turned their genius to complimentary verses about their patron. One, playing upon his name Kafur or “camphro,” composed verses on the fragrant scented gardens which he had laid out, and which long stood for the ideal gardens in the Egyptian mind: another explained in verse how the shocks of earthquake had been caused by the Egyptians dancing for delight as they contemplated Kafur’s merits, an effusion which caused the delighted Ustad to throw him a purse containing a thousand dinars. Amongst his pensioners was the poet al-Mutanabbi, who had left the court of the Hamdanid Sayf ad-Dawla in anger at the smallness of his presents, and thought little of a prince who did not come up to his very high standard of generosity. At first Kafur used to smile graciously at him, but the poet wanted presents and not mere compliments. “When I went into Kafur’s presence,” he said, “with the intention of reciting verses to him, he always laughed at seeing me and smiled in my face, but when I repeated to him these lines:—

‘Since friendship has become a mere deception, I am repaid
for my smiles with smiles; but when I choose a friend my mind
misgives me, for I know he is but a man’:

he never did so again as long as I remained with him. I was astonished at this proof of his sagacity and intelligence.” He was very quickly dissatisfied with Kafur. “What I want,” he said, “I declare not; thou art gifted with sagacity, and my silence is a sufficient explanation, nay a plain request.” At length he left Kafur’s court, dissatisfied at the liberal gifts he received because they were not ample enough, and revenged himself by writing satires on Kafur, such as:—

“Who could teach noble sentiments to this castrated negro?—his
white masters?—or his ancestors who were hunted like wild
beasts?”

The poet finally settled at the court of Adud ad-Dawla at Shiraz (Ibn Khall. ii. 524, sqq.).

But Kafur, though easy going and with many of the weaknesses of the negro, was a man who had the wit to acquire more than a superficial education by the right use of opportunities which were often available to the ambitious slave, and which indeed form one of the redeeming features of slavery as it existed in Muslim lands. Besides this he was a painstaking and efficient administrator, and a man of deep religious convictions.

In all Kafur ruled the country twenty-two years, part of the time as tutor to the two sons of the Ikhshih, part as independent viceroy in all but name. During the closing years of this period he became unpopular. Feeling had been strained by the famine due to the bad Niles, and the reports of the Qarmatians’ advance into Syria bred disaffection amongst the Turkish and Greek mercenaries. On Tuesday, the 20th Jumada I. 356 (May, 967), he died at the age of sixty, leaving property to the value of 700,000 dinars of gold, and goods, furniture, jewels, slaves, and animals valued at some 600,000 dinars.

Kafur’s death left Egypt in a state of confusion. The court assembled to elect a governor; a significant mark of the times, for no reference was made to the Khalif at Baghdad, who was a mere phantom. The choice fell on Abu l-Fawaris Ahmad, grandson of the Ikhshih Muhammad b. Tughj, who was a mere child. Soon after this, however, there arrived in Egypt Husayn, the son of ʿAbdullah, the brother whom Muhammad had left in Syria in 321. During the thirty years which had elapsed since then ʿUbayd and his son had had a chequered military career, and the son now arrived as a fugitive, fleeing from the Qarmatians. His arrival was welcome to the Turkish troops who forthwith elected him their general, and he at once assumed the supreme power. The use he made of this authority was to arrest the wazir Ibn al-Furat and torture him until he wrung from him a large sum of money with which he departed at once to Syria. During his brief stay in Egypt he had been guilty of other acts of cruelty and rapacity, and when a year later he was himself sent a prisoner to Egypt, there was a general feeling of satisfaction that he was himself treated with severity. His departure for Syria took place on the first of Rabiʿ II. 358 (Feb., 969). The rule of the Ikhshids, or at least their nominal authority, continued for five months more until the summer of the same year (Ibn Khall, Life of Tughj).

It was a time of acute disorder. Famine had followed the failure of the Nile, and plague had followed the famine. The soldiers had their pay diminished, their customary gratuities were in arrear, and they were in open mutiny, for there was no controlling hand to restrain them. The administration was in the hands of the wazir Ibn al-Furat, who had been plundered by ʿAbdullah, and he was unable either to pay the troops or to relieve the distress of the people. It was clear that under these conditions the country would be in no condition to offer effective resistance to an invader, and this was the moment chosen by the Fatimid Khalif to make his attack.

For two years (356-357) al-Moʿizz had been making detailed preparations for the invasion of Egypt. In 356 he had commenced constructing roads, digging wells along the roadside, and building rest-houses at regular intervals. At the same time he began collecting funds for the necessary expenses and paying substantial sums to the Katama leaders, who were thus enabled to arm and equip their followers. As we have already seen, there had been Fatimite missionaries for some time at work in Egypt, and al-Moʿizz had even made formal advances to Kafur and had been well received, and his proposals for coming to Egypt had been heard with politeness: he certainly had many strong adherents in high office in Egypt. Now the general disorder following the famine and plague, and the disorganization after Kafur’s death seemed to furnish the right opportunity, just as all his preparations were mature.

An even more important task had been performed in bringing all North Africa into complete subordination. Cultured literary man as the Fatimid Khalif was, he was also a most efficient organizer, and was well served by officials whom he treated with generous confidence. The disciplining of Africa was a necessary preliminary to an expedition outside the bounds of the country, which might well be of protracted duration and uncertain issue. For this he had the assistance of an able general, Abu l-Hasan Jawhar b. ʿAbdullah, commonly known as “Jawhar the Greek scribe,” as he was a liberated slave trained as a secretary, whose father had been subject of the Byzantine Empire. Like Kafur he shows that the slave in Islam was not merely treated as a fellow man, but had a career of ambition open before him, in which his servile origin was no obstacle; even in modern times slaves have risen to high office, and have sometimes married princesses. There was no colour barrier nor any racial feeling: no reluctance was felt at white men being ruled by a negro ex-slave.

Marching to the Maghrab, Jawhar joined forces with the Sanhaja chieftain Ziri, who was one of the most faithful allies of the Fatimids (cf. p. 123), and together they advanced upon the Umayyad colonies at Fez and Sijilmasa. These they took and thus prevented the possibility of Spanish interference in Africa for the time. Continuing westwards they reduced the whole Maghrab to the coast. As a sign of the extent of the expedition fish were caught in the ocean, and sent in jars to the Khalif in company with the princes of Fez and Sijilmasa, who were conveyed in an iron cage. The only town left to the Umayyads was Sibta (Ceuta). The Idrisid princes of the far west, descendants of Hasan, the son of ʿAli, were put down, and thus their independent rule which had lasted just over two centuries came to an end. It was a more thorough reduction of the country than had ever been made previously, and when Jawhar returned to Kairawan al-Moʿizz was recognised as the unquestioned ruler of all North Africa.

The Khalif determined to entrust the invasion of Egypt to Jawhar, who had so clearly proved his efficiency in the reduction of the Maghrab, but just about this time Jawhar fell ill. Al-Moʿizz was not willing to replace him, and continued his preparations, assembling troops and supplies at Raqada: every day he visited the general who, as soon as his health was sufficiently restored, the order to advance was given.

Jawhar was the commander of the Fatimid force, but with him was another who played an important part in the subsequent construction of the Fatimid state in Egypt. Yaqub b. Killis was a native of Baghdad, by origin and for many years by religion a Jew. His father sent him first to Syria, then to Egypt, where he became a chamberlain to Kafur, then received a seat on the privy council and acted as accountant and treasurer. He became a Muslim in 356. At Kafur’s death he was arrested by his rival the wazir Ibn al-Furat, but by bribing his gaolers he managed to escape and fled to Kairawan. The expedition against Egypt was already in full preparation, but he joined himself with Jawhar and proved a useful adviser. He was commonly regarded as the instigator of the enterprise, but this does not seem to be accurate.

Jawhar’s start was made on the 14th of Rabiʿ II. 358 (A.D. 969). Al-Moʿizz attended with his court to bid him farewell. During this meeting the general stood before the Khalif, who leaned down on his horse’s neck and spoke to him privately for some time. The Khalif then ordered his sons to dismount and give Jawhar the salutation of departure; this obliged all the great officers of state to dismount also. Jawhar then kissed the hand of the Khalif and the hoof of his horse and, mounting at his master’s command, gave the word for the whole force to march. When al-Moʿizz returned to his palace he sent as a present to Jawhar all the clothes he had been wearing at the farewell interview, save only his drawers and signet ring. At the same time he sent forward orders to Aflah, the governor of Barqa, that he should set out to meet Jawhar and kiss his hand. Aflah offered a gift of 100,000 dinars to be permitted to escape this act of homage, but was obliged to submit (Ibn Khall. i. 341-2).

Jawhar first advanced upon Alexandria. The city capitulated on liberal terms; there was no pillage and no violence to any of the inhabitants, as Jawhar was able to restrain his well-paid army in admirable discipline.

The news of Jawhar’s approach caused great dismay in Fustat. It was decided that the wazir Ibn al-Furat should write to him and ask for peace with security for the lives and property of the citizens. At the same time Abu Jaʿfar Muslim b. ʿUbayd Allah, an emir of high standing, and an acknowledged descendant of Husayn the son of ʿAli, was asked to go in person to plead with Jawhar, it being assumed that an ʿAlid envoy would carry weight with the Shiʿites. Abu Jaʿfar consented on condition that a company of citizens went with him (id.).

The deputation set out on Monday, the 18th of Rajab 358 (= 18 June, 969) and met Jawhar at Taruja, a village not far from Alexandria. They delivered their appeal to him, and he immediately granted all their requests, and confirmed his promised by a written statement. With this the envoys returned to Fustat, where they arrived on the 7th of Shaban. The wazir Ibn al-Furat rode out to meet them, read Jawhar’s statement, and handed to each of his companions who had written to Jawhar asking for appointments under the new government his replies, which were in all cases favourable. Some time was spent then in discussion, but the informal gathering dispersed without agreeing to any uniform attitude towards the invaders. The city was still in great alarm, and the adherents of the Ikhshids, the officers who had served under Kafur and some of the army, determined to reject Jawhar’s proffered peace and to make armed resistance. Valuables were concealed, a camp was formed, and Nahrir ash-Shoizai was chosen general. Under his leadership the Egyptian army marched out to Giza and set companies to guard the bridges.

On the 11th of Shaban, Jawhar arrived, having been informed of the intended resistance. He took several prisoners and marched to Muniat as-Sayadin (the village of the fishermen) and seized the ford of Muniat Shalkan. At this some of the Egyptian troops passed over in boats and surrendered, but the men on the Fustat side put a guard at the ford. Then Jawhar stripped to his trousers, and at the head of his men waded into the river, and thus arrived at the other side where they attacked the defenders and killed a considerable number. Night had now approached, and under the cover of darkness the rest of the defenders fled from the city, carrying off from their houses whatever they could. A deputation of wives waited on Abu Jaʿfar asking him to write to Jawhar and obtain, if possible, a renewal of his previous offers of peace. Abu Jaʿfar wrote as requested: the Fatimid general readily assented, and issued an order to the troops forbidding pillage and violence. At this the city recovered its confidence, the bazars were re-opened, and commercial life went on its normal course (Ibn Khall. i. 343).

On Tuesday, the 17th Shaban, by Jawhar’s order, a deputation of leading officials, sharifs, the learned, and prominent citizens went out to Giza. By orders announced by a herald everyone except the wazir Ibn al-Furat and the Sharif Abu Jaʿfar, dismounted and saluted Jawhar in turn, the Fatimite general standing with the Sharif on his right hand, the Wazir on his left. After this ceremony was concluded the envoys returned to the city, and the troops commenced their entry with arms and baggage. After the ʿAsr or hour of mid-afternoon prayer Jawhar himself made his entry preceded by drums and flags; he wore a silk dress heavily embroidered with gold, and rode a cream coloured horse. He rode straight through the city with his men, and passing out on the north-east side pitched camp there.

Late in the evening in the camping ground he marked out a great square of 1,200 yards base, and men were stationed, spade in hand, ready to start the foundations of this new city, or rather royal suburb, when the signal was given. The projected lines, all sketched out by al-Moʿizz himself beforehand, were marked with pegs, and bells were hung from connected ropes so that a signal might be given for the simultaneous turning of the first sod. Meanwhile the astrologers were busy calculating the propitious moment for the birth of the city. Unexpectedly, however, a raven settling down on one of the ropes set all the bells jingling, and the men at once thrust their spades into the soil. It was too late to check them, though the astrologers found that it was a most inauspicious moment as the planet _al-Kahir_ (Mars) was in the ascendant. There was nothing for it but to accept the omen, and the city thus commenced was named _al-Kahira_ (Cairo), or more fully _al-Kahira al-Mahrusa_ (the guarded city of Mars). It was designed as a royal suburb to be entirely devoted to palaces and official buildings, inaccessible to the general public, similar to the city of al-Muhammadiya outside Kairawan. In course of time, however, the main part of the population of Fustat migrated to Kahira, and it is now the most populous city in the whole of Africa.

Fustat, or Misr al-Atika, or simply Misr, was the old Arab city founded in A.H. 21 soon after the conquest. In 133 the suburb of al-ʿAskar to the north-east was added, but this was simply cantonments for the government officials, and was not accessible to the ordinary citizens. Al-Qataiʿ “the wards,” a kind of additional cantonments intended for the foreign mercenary troops, was added in 256, but was partially destroyed by the later ʿAbbasid governors and finally abandoned. Al-Kahira stood further to the north-east, and it was after the burning of Fustat in 564 that the population generally began to colonize this suburb.

When the people came out from the city next morning to Jawhar’s camp they found, to their unbounded surprise, that the foundations of the new city had been dug during the night. For six days after the troops continued entering the old city, passing through, and going out to the new suburb where was Jawhar’s camp. News of the successful occupation of Egypt was without delay sent to the Khalif, and with it were the heads of the Egyptians slain at the ford.

Jawhar now issued orders that all mention of the ʿAbbasid Khalif at Baghdad in the Friday prayer must cease, and in place of his name the coinage must bear the inscription _bi-smi mulaʿi l-Moʿizz_, “in the name of my master al-Moʿizz.” At the same time the preachers in the mosques were forbidden to wear the black garments usual under the ʿAbbasids, and were ordered to use white, a similar order being issued to public officials generally. It was ordered that every Sunday a court should be held for the “Inspection of complaints,” for the hearing of petitions against officials and against the administration, the Kaʾid or military governor, _i.e._, Jawhar himself, being present as well as the Wazir, Qadi, and a number of men learned in the law, so that those who had complaints against officials which lay outside the scope of the ordinary law courts might obtain redress. The court did not try cases, but on hearing a complaint referred it to the proper qadi with orders to see that it received attention. The decision was then sent to the court of “Inspection of complaints,” and written out in substance by a secretary, and then passed on to another secretary who put the summary in full legal form. This was taken to the Khalif who confirmed it, and this authoritative decision was then communicated to the petitioner, who had the whole protection of the state behind him in putting it into effect.

On Friday, the 8th of Dhu l-Kaada, in the _khutba_, the words were added, “O my God, bless Muhammad the chosen, ʿAli the accepted, Fatima the pure, and al-Hasan and al-Husayn, the grandsons of the Apostle, whom thou hast freed from stain and thoroughly purified. O my God, bless the pure Imams, ancestors of the Commanders of the faithful” (Ibn Khall. i. 344). This was at once a profession of Shiʿite faith, and an assertion of the claim of al-Moʿizz to be descended from the house of ʿAli. There is no sign that any appreciable number of the Egyptians became converts to Shiʿite views: for the most part these claims were regarded with complete apathy until the celebration of the great Shiʿite festival of the Muharram, when there was some rioting. The people at large acquiesced in the new rule without paying any attention to its religious claims.

On Friday, the 18th of Rabiʿ II. 359, the Kaʾid Jawhar himself presided at the public prayers and sermon in the Old Mosque, that is the Mosque of ʿAmr. The building then existing had been erected by ʿAbdullah b. Tahir in 212, and is still standing. It escaped destruction when the city was burned, but suffered a disastrous restoration in A.D. 1798. At this service many soldiers were present. The preacher was ʿAbdu s-Sami b. Umar al-ʿAbbasi, who in the _khutba_ made especial mention of the “people of the house,” _i.e._, the family of ʿAli, and prayed for the Kaʾid, although Jawhar did not approve of his own name being thus mentioned, saying that no authority for it had been given in the instructions he had received from al-Moʿizz. In the call to prayer the Shiʿite custom of adding the words “come to the excellent work” was adopted. In the month of Jumada I. this addition was made in the call to prayer at the Old Mosque, at which Jawhar was greatly pleased, and made a report of the circumstance to the Khalif (Ibn Khall. i. 344-5).

Meanwhile progress was being made with the building of al-Kahira. The new city was surrounded with a wall of large bricks, of which the last fragments were observed by Maqrizi in A.D. 1400. In the middle of the great enclosure was an open space, the _Bayn al-Kasrayn_, “between the two palaces,” as it was afterwards called, large enough for 10,000 troops to be paraded: a small portion of this open space remains as the Suq an-Nahhasin. On the east was the Khalif’s palace; one corner of its site is now marked by the Khan al-Khalili, another by the Husayn Mosque. The name of the square was of later date, and due to the fact that al-Moʿizz’s successor built a lesser palace on its west side, at the beginning of the beautiful garden which Kafur had laid out, and which the Fatimid Khalifs maintained. A great thoroughfare led through the midst of Kahira from the Bab al-Zuwayla on the south side, communicating with the old city of Fustat, and passing through the Bayn al-Kasrayn to the Bab al-Futah, which led out to the open country on the north. To the north of the Khalif’s palace lay the Wazir’s official residence, and to the south the mosque of al-ʾAzhar, which Jawhar commenced soon after the foundation of Kahira and finished on the 7th of Ramadan, 361. Although the existing building has been much modernised it retains enough of the older structure to show the typical character of Fatimid architecture. The horse shoe arch, commonly regarded as of Persian origin, seems to have been developed in Egypt, and appears first in the Nilometer and then in the mosque of Ibn Tulun: it had an Indian parentage, and was not introduced into Persia until it had already been employed in Egypt (Rivoira: _Moslem Architecture_, E.T. 154, etc.), at least no dated example is found until later than the mosque of al-ʾAzhar. The Fatimid style shows this horse-shoe arch combined with high imposts which occur in the mosque of Ziadat Allah in Kairawan (A.H. 816-837); “nor does it seem an unnatural conjecture that it was Jauhar, not only a distinguished general, but also a man of letters, and therefore of culture, who suggested the form to some Christian architect of Egypt: and that, under these circumstances, the designer of the building, wishing to endow it with some distinctive feature marking the accession of the new dynasty, modified the pointed arch of Tulun’s time under the influence of the Indian ‘cyma reversa’ or ogee arch” (Rivoira: op. cit. 157).

In general plan, style, the use of brick piers, etc., the mosque of al-ʾAzhar followed the model of the mosque of Ibn Tulun, and so was a development of Egyptian native taste. The minaret was of heavy square type with outside stairs which has always remained popular in western Islam.

The most novel feature introduced by the Fatimid architects was the pendentive, the pensile cusped framing arch over a recessed angle. This appears clearly in the interior of the dome of the mihrab in the mosque of al-Hakim, commenced in 380 but not completed until 404. But this reproduces the pendentive as it appears in the mosque of Cordova (A.H. 350-366) in the bay in the front of the mihrab, and had its precursor more than four centuries before in the church of St. Vitale at Ravenna.

It is impossible, therefore, to connect Fatimid architecture with Persia: obviously it was developed out of the older Egyptian Muslim style under the influence of western and European, _i.e._, Italo-Greek, models. As usual, art is a clear indication of the general line of culture contact and intellectual influences. Though Asiatic and Persian in origin the Fatimids were, by their heretical character, entirely cut off from the Islamic world in Asia, a severance which the Fatimid rule in Syria, being one of purely military occupation, did not bridge over. Isolated in art, it was isolated in philosophy and literature, although this isolation from the Muslim world at large was richly compensated by its close contact with Shiʿite circles, and by some contact with the Greek and Roman Empire along the shores of the Mediterranean.

The wall surrounding the whole city of Kahira was finished in 359. To its south-east lay the old city which remained the centre of commercial and non-official life until the end of the Fatimid dynasty, and to the west the suburbs of Maqs, which extended down to the river and remained the port of Cairo until the shifting of the Nile in the 13-14th cent. A.D. gave the opportunity for the building of Bulaq.

The first serious problem with which Jawhar had to deal was the famine due to the successive bad Niles. Fortunately al-Moʿizz had sent a number of ships laden with grain as soon as he heard that Jawhar had occupied the country, and this caused some temporary relief in the city, and showed the people that they had a ruler anxious to assist them. At the same time Jawhar established a public corn exchange under an inspector (_muhtasib_), who had to prevent hoarding and excessive prices, and several offending millers were flogged. Of course these primitive expedients produced no serious relief, although they evoked the sympathy of the people, and a state of famine continued until the end of 360, and there were still cases of plague. In the following winter, _i.e._, in the early months of 361 (October, etc., of A.D. 971), the famine came to an end, and in the course of the next few months the country began to recover, and as a consequence the plague disappeared.

In the year 361 an Ikhshid officer in the district of Bashmur revolted, but was put down, chased to Palestine, captured there, and put to death. So far there had been very little reluctance to the change of government, in this insignificant revolt as in the first efforts to oppose Jawhar it is only a few of the Ikhshid officials who seem to feel the slightest grievance.

Jawhar now felt anxious to raise the prestige of Egypt, which had suffered greatly since the death of the first Ikhshid governor. In 355 the Nubians had invaded the country, so now in 362 he sent an embassy to king George of Nubia, inviting him to become a Muslim and to pay tribute. The Nubians, it must be noted, remained Christians down to the 14th cent. A.D. The embassy was politely received, tribute was paid, but no further reference was made to religious differences.

Jawhar found that as ruler of Egypt he was necessarily involved in the politics of Syria, some portions of which had been, at least nominally, part of the Ikhshid dominions. Indeed, Egypt never has been free from Syrian connections, either in ancient, mediaeval, or modern history. At this time independent Shiʿite princes were ruling at Aleppo, and Husayn the Ikhshid, who had returned to Syria after plundering the Wazir Ibn al-Furat, held his own at Ramla. Against him Jawhar sent his lieutenant Jaʿfar b. Fellah, who attacked and defeated him. Husayn was brought a prisoner to Fustat, publicly exposed as a proof of the power of the Fatimids, and viewed with great satisfaction by the inhabitants of the Egyptian city who remembered his cruelties. He was then sent on to a prison in Ifrikiya, where he died in 371. After defeating Husayn, Jaʿfar marched north and occupied Damascus. But this brought the Fatimids into conflict with the Qarmatians, for Damascus had for some time past been paying tribute to the Qarmatian leader Hasan b. Ahmad, and this payment was now stopped. After the death of Abu Saʿid, the _kabir_ of the Qarmatians, in 301, as we have already noted, the leadership was held temporarily by Abu l-Kasim Saʿid, and then passed to Abu Tahir Sulayman who attacked Mecca. Abu Tahir died in 332, as well as a third son of Abu Saʿid named Abu Mansur Ahmad. Then the eldest brother, Abu l-Kasim, resumed the leadership. In 360, the date we have now reached, the chieftain was Hasan b. Ahmad (Abu l-Feda, _Ann. Moslem._ ii. 325, 350, 509). It seems that at this time there had been a complete rupture between the Shiʿites of Africa and the Asiatic Qarmatians, though we are quite in the dark as to when or why this took place. It may have arisen from this attack upon the tribute paying city of Damascus, which the Qarmatians regarded as aggressive: or it may have had an earlier origin, perhaps in the relaxation of Ismaʿilian doctrine and practice amongst the African Shiʿites when they accommodated themselves to the tone generally current at Kairawan. Now Hasan had no hesitation in proposing an alliance with the orthodox Khalif of Baghdad against the Fatimids, but this was rejected by the Khalif with contempt. The Shiʿite Buwayhid prince who was the real ruler of ʿIraq, however, was more complaisant, and a third ally was found in the Hamdanid prince of Rabha on the Euphrates, whilst various Arab tribes, always ready to join in any fighting and usually as much an embarrassment to their allies as to their enemies, readily agreed to take part. Thus helped Hasan captured Damascus and celebrated his achievement by the public cursing of al-Moʿizz in the great Mosque. Theoretically, the Qarmatians professed to believe in the divine right of the Fatimid Imam, and so this cursing seems strange. It may be that the people of Damascus, who were fanatically anti-Shiʿite, were responsible, or it may be that the Qarmatians no longer troubled to pretend an attachment to the reputed house of ʿAli, but displayed their total indifference to all religious considerations without reserve. After taking Damascus Hasan marched south rapidly and, avoiding Jaffa where Jaʿfar and his army were stationed, passed through Ramla and made a lightning descent on Egypt itself. He surprised Kulzum (Suez) and Farama (al-Arish), and thus commanded the whole Isthmus of Suez, whilst Tinnis declared in his favour. He then advanced into the country and encamped at ʿAyn Shams (Heliopolis), and threatened Cairo. Jawhar had commenced defensive measures as soon as he heard that Hasan had reached the Isthmus and had made a trench before the city. The real danger lay in the possible treachery of officials of the old régime, and a spy was told off to watch Ibn al-Furat. At the same time men were sent to Hasan’s army who, under the pretence of being discontented citizens, made treacherous overtures to its officers. After some delay Hasan attempted to storm the trench, but was driven back with heavy losses, the most surprising incident being the unexpected courage shewn by the Egyptian volunteers who were enrolled in Jawhar’s army. A number of Ikhshid officers who were serving with Hasan were taken prisoner, and Hasan was compelled to retire to Kulzum, leaving his baggage to be plundered by the Egyptians.

News of the attack on Egypt had been sent to al-Moʿizz, and soon after the defeat reinforcements arrived from Kairawan under Ibn ʿAmmar. Thus supported Jawhar advanced on Tinnis, which was now penitent for its defection and was pardoned. A Qarmatian fleet which had sailed up the Nile to support Hasan fled hurriedly, and was obliged to abandon seven vessels and some 500 prisoners.

Jawhar had effectively repelled the Qarmatian invasion, and acted prudently in following up the retreating enemy and relieving Jaffa. Hasan fell back upon Damascus, but after some delay there began to recover and commenced preparations for a new attempt.

At this juncture Jawhar felt that the time had arrived when al-Moʿizz ought to be commanding in Egypt in person, and wrote earnestly entreating him to come and take up the reins of government, and this appeal decided the Khalif to remove from Kairawan to Cairo.

Early in 363 al-Moʿizz appointed Bolukkin b. Ziri of the Sanhaja tribe as deputy in Ifrikiya, advising him “never cease levying contributions on the nomadic Arabs, and keeping the sword on the (necks of the) Berbers; never appoint any of your own brothers or cousins to a place of authority, for they imagine that they have a better right than you to the power with which you are invested; and treat with favour the dwellers in towns” (Ibn Khall. i. 267).

Having thus provided for the government of Ifrikiya al-Moʿizz then set out. Passing by Qabus, Tripoli, Ajdabiya, and Barqa, he reached Alexandria in the course of the spring, and there received the Qadi of Fustat and other officials. At the beginning of the summer he encamped in the gardens of the monastery at Giza, and there received Jawhar who came out to welcome him on his arrival. After resting a short time he made his solemn entry into the capital. Although Fustat was decorated ready for his coming, he paid it no visit, but marched straight to his palace in Kahira where he took up his abode. In this solemn entry the coffins of the three Khalifs who had been his predecessors were carried in the first ranks, escorted by two state elephants, and the Khalif himself rode surrounded by his four sons and other kinsmen. He entered the royal city by the “gate of the arch,” one of the two openings in the Bab az-Zuwayla. The other opening which no longer existed in Maqrizi’s time was generally regarded as unlucky. This _bab_ is now commonly regarded as the mysterious dwelling place of the head of all the darwishes who, wherever he may be, is supposed to be able to fly in spirit to this abode, and there the spirit is placated. The legends connected with this gate seem to have varied from age to age, but it has always been regarded as haunted by mysterious presences.

Soon after taking up his abode in the royal palace, on the great feast day which terminates the fast of Ramadan, al-Moʿizz conducted prayers in the newly finished mosque of al-ʾAzhar which, it will be remembered, lay within the guarded precincts, and so was not accessible to the public. The mosque, commenced by Jawhar in 360, had been completed in 361. In 378 the following Khalif, al-ʿAziz, devoted it especially to the learned, and from this it has gradually become the leading university of Islam.

But al-Moʿizz was not able to remain as a sacred character in the seclusion of the guarded city, although that perhaps was his first intention. The Qarmatians were still threatening. Al-Moʿizz wrote to Hasan proposing negotiations, but the Qarmati chief merely replied, “I have received thy letter, full of words, but empty of sense: I will bring my answer.”

In the following spring the Qarmatians appeared again at ʿAyn Shams, and helped by Ikhshid partisans, spread far and wide through Egypt. Al-Moʿizz sent his son ʿAbdullah with some 4,000 men into Lower Egypt and he gained several minor advantages over some of the marauding bands of Qarmatians, but this did not prevent the main body from assembling before Jawhar’s trench which they prepared to assault. By means of spies the Khalif managed to bribe the Arab tribe of B. Tayy, the strongest factor in Hasan’s army, allies but not themselves of the Qarmatian sect, to desert, the price being 100,000 dinars. As the treasury did not contain sufficient gold these coins were specially struck of lead and gilt. In the next attack the B. Tayy rode away and Hasan was routed, his camp plundered, and some 1,500 of his irregular followers slain. The advantage was pressed home by the Egyptians who advanced into Syria, but after this defeat the Qarmatians began to fall to pieces as the result of internal disputes.

The defeat of the Qarmatians was followed by the appearance of a new danger in the person of the Turkish leader Haftakin. This man had been a slave in the service of the Buwayhid prince, Moʿizz ad-Dawla, and rose to a leading position in command of the Turkish mercenaries under his son Azz ad-Dawla Bakhtiar (Maq. ii. 9). In the course of a battle which took place outside Baghdad between the Turks and the Daylamites, Haftakin, though himself acting with exemplary courage, was deserted by most of his men and compelled to flee with a small body of some 400 followers. At first he took refuge at Rabha on the Euphrates, but afterwards moved to Syria. The Syrian Arabs were alarmed at his approach, and appealed for help to Ibn Jaʿfar, the Fatimite governor of Damascus, who was easily convinced that Haftakin was acting on behalf of the ʿAbbasid Khalif of Baghdad, and so took the field against him. But the Emir of Aleppo sent a force under the eunuch Bashara to the help of Haftakin, and as soon as this became known the Arabs deserted Jaʿfar and went home. Bashara then escorted Haftakin to Aleppo (Abu l-Feda) or Emessa (Maqrizi), where the Emir received him well and bestowed on him many presents.

At Damascus Jaʿfar was faced with a discontented group of citizens, and they even formed themselves into armed bands under the leadership of one Ibn Maward. As soon as these men heard of Haftakin’s arrival in Syria, they opened negotiations with him and invited him to Damascus, promising to join him in expelling the Fatimid garrison and to recognise him as emir. Damascus, it must be remembered, was fanatical in its hatred of the Shiʿites. Haftakin agreed to these proposals, and towards the end of Shaban 364 proceeded as far as Thaniyyat al-Okab on the road to Damascus.

At this juncture Ibn Jaʿfar heard that the Greeks were intending to make an attack upon Tripoli in Syria, and so marched his forces out of Damascus to intercept them. This gave Haftakin his opportunity, and he was able to enter Damascus without opposition. After a brief stay there he went down to Baʿalbak to chastise the Arabs who had taken up arms to assist Jaʿfar against him, but was surprised by a large Greek force, which was pillaging Baʿalbak and laying waste the surrounding country: he was only just able to escape before them and seek safety in Damascus whither the Greeks soon followed him. The citizens sent out an embassy to ask for terms, and were informed that the city would be spared in return for a substantial fine. Soon Haftakin went out to the Greek camp and explained that he was unable to raise the promised fine because of the obstacles put in his way by Ibn Maward and his partisans, the free militia of Damascus. As a result of this the Greek Emperor, John Tzimisces, sent officers into the city, who arrested Ibn Maward and brought him out a prisoner. By this means the city was cleared of its irregular forces and Haftakin took full possession, raising the sum of 30,000 pieces of gold as a fine with great rigour. He paid the sum to the Greeks, who forthwith retired to Beirut and thence to Tripoli.

Thus Haftakin became absolute master of Damascus, and formally recognised the suzerainty of the ʿAbbasid Khalif of Baghdad. He was afraid, however, that the Fatimid Khalif would before long take steps to recover his hold over Syria, and so wrote to the Qarmatians at Lahsa, their headquarters in the Bahrayn, asking them to ally themselves with him against al-Moʿizz. They accepted these proposals and a large body of them arrived before Damascus in 365, where they encamped for a few days; after resting and conferring with Haftakin they passed on to Ramla, where the Fatimid general Ibn Jaʿfar was in command, and at their approach he retired to Jaffa, and they occupied Ramla. Meanwhile Haftakin, as agreed with the Qarmatians, marched along the coast, and at Saʿida (Sidon) engaged two subordinate Fatimite generals, Dhalim b. Marhub and Ibn ash-Sheikh, whom he defeated. Dhalim then withdrew to Tyre, and Haftakin had the hands of the slain of the Fatimite army cut off and sent as a trophy to Damascus (Maq. ii. 9).

Just about this time the Khalif al-Moʿizz died, his son ʿAbdullah having pre-deceased him. He had spent only two years in Egypt but, besides the decisive repulse of the Qarmatians, he had established a government, which on the whole was a fair one and kept good order in the land. To avoid racial disputes, such as had disturbed Kairawan, he settled his African troops at al-Khandaq near ʿAyn Shams and, although they were allowed to visit Fustat freely during the day, all were required to leave the city before nightfall. In dealing with the inhabitants of Egypt both al-Moʿizz and Jawhar put aside all prejudices, whether of race or religion, and took a simply practical attitude, at heart no doubt regarding all religions as equally worthless. The Copts were as a rule far more efficient as clerks, accountants, and scribes, than their Muslim fellow countrymen, and they, as well as some Greek Christians, were largely employed in all the subordinate branches of the administration, and even to rise to some of the higher offices. As a practical measure this was thoroughly satisfactory, but the fact that the tax collectors and practically all the finance officials were Christians or Jews, caused the gradual evolution of a strong feeling of dislike against members of these two religions. Undoubtedly also the methods of oriental finance gave opportunity for much oppression and dishonesty, and the Copts and Jews were unable to avoid these temptations, so that much of the prejudice felt against them was justified. Although the employment of Christians and Jews in the civil service is more or less an established tradition in Muslim lands, it was carried much further by the Fatimids than had been usually the case.

Al-Moʿizz entrusted the task of organising a new system of taxation to the converted Jew, Ibn Killis, who had had experience of administrative work under Kafur, and to ʿAsluj. The old system of farming out the taxes was abolished and the whole was centralised, whilst at the same time a new assessment of land and taxable sources was made. All arrears were rigorously called up, but very careful consideration was given to every appeal and complaint. The whole system of taxation was strictly enforced, but efforts were made to protect the tax-paying community from unjust exactions. As a result the revenue of the state was considerably increased, the daily takings in the city of Fustat alone ranging between 50,000 and 120,000 dinars. At the same time, however, al-Moʿizz commenced an extravagant expenditure on the erection of the royal suburb of Kahira, and this was followed by ostentatious and luxurious outlay on an unprecedented scale, so that the actual financial position of the government was not much improved on the whole. A taste for display became a characteristic of the Fatimid dynasty, and this tended to exert a demoralising influence on the community generally by raising the general standard of expenditure.

IX

THE FIFTH FATIMID KHALIF, AL-ʿAZIZ

(A.H. 365-386 = A.D. 975-996)

Al-Moʿizz was succeeded by his son Nizar, who took the name _al-Imam Nizar Abu Mansur al-ʿAziz bi-llah_, and so is generally known as al-ʿAziz. Although his father’s death took place in the early part of 365, it was concealed for some time until it seemed that the succession was secure, and the formal proclamation was deferred until the Feast of Sacrifice on Thursday, the 4th of Rabiʿ II. 365. The traditional picture of al-ʿAziz represents him as humane, generous, a fearless hunter, and a successful general. Like his father he had a strong taste for building, and erected a great mosque in Kahira, generally known as the Mosque of al-Hakim, as it was finished by his son Hakim, near the Bab al-Futuh: besides this he built the “Palace of gold” facing his father’s palace across the great square in the midst of Kahira, also a mosque in the cemetery of al-Karafa, and a palace at ʿAyn Shams (Ibn Khall. iii. 525). These can hardly be called public buildings in the true sense as they were all connected with the royal court, and as such were within the precincts of the “guarded city” and inaccessible to the public generally. In person al-ʿAziz was tall, broad shouldered, with reddish hair, and eyes large and of a dark blue colour: in Arab opinion there is something sinister in such hair and eyes. He was not only fond of sport, but had also a marked taste for literature, and was particularly adept at composing epigrams. According to Ibn Khallikan, who, as a partisan of the ʿAbbasids, delights in reporting anecdotes to the detriment of the Fatimid Khalifs, he once addressed a derisive and sarcastic letter to al-Hakim, the Umayyad of Spain, who replied, “You satirize us because you have heard of us; had we ever heard of you we should reply” (Ibn Khall. iii. 525).

The Fatimid Khalifs were not able to maintain their somewhat dubious pedigree above the reach of criticism. In Egypt there were many undoubted descendants of ʿAli, and some of these, as well as other people, were strongly inclined to resent the Khalifs’ pretensions. No serious credence can be given to the story that al-Moʿizz was examined on this subject at his first entry into Egypt, and simply displayed his sword as his title to the throne (cf. 49, above), but no doubt many criticisms were passed in private. One day, when al-ʿAziz ascended the pulpit in the Old Mosque he found before him a paper on which was written: “We have heard a doubtful genealogy proclaimed from the pulpit of the mosque: if what you say be true, name your ancestors to the fifth degree. If you wish to prove your assertion, give us your genealogy, one that is as certain as that of at-Taʿi. If not, leave your pedigree in the shade and enter with us in the great family which includes all mankind. The most ambitious vainly strive to have a genealogy like that of the sons of Hashim” (Ibn Khall. iii. 525). The “sons of Hashim” means the ʿAbbasids, of whom at-Taʿi was then the reigning Khalif. The incident seems probable enough as the Egyptians generally were not at all in sympathy with Shiʿite claims; it seems, however, that there was a growing feeling even amongst Fatimid supporters that the Khalif would do well to discard the Shiʿite religious theories which were now of no assistance to the dynasty, and that he would do better if he posed frankly as a secular ruler. Probably this feeling had commenced to form soon after the execution of Abu ʿAbdullah in the time of the first Fatimid: we shall see it gathering force under the son of al-ʿAziz, and finally deciding the Fatimids to cast aside all the quasi religious and mystical pretensions which had been adopted at the formation of the sect by ʿAbdullah, the son of Maymun.

Like his father, al-ʿAziz was favourably disposed towards the Copts and other Christians, but in his case a pro Christian attitude was emphasized by the fact that he had a Christian wife whose two brothers were, by the Khalif’s influence, appointed Malkite patriarchs,—that is to say, patriarchs of the church in communion with the orthodox Greek Church as distinguished from the Jacobite body to which the Copts belonged,—the one at Alexandria, the other in Jerusalem. The Khalif’s favour was extended to the Coptic Church as well as to the Malkite body to which his wife belonged, and permission was given to the Coptic patriarch Efraim to rebuild the ruinous church of Abu s-Seyfeyn in Fustat. Al-ʿAziz exceeded his predecessors in the ostentatious display of wealth, introducing new fashions of Persian origin, such as turbans of cloth of gold, gold inlain armour, and other splendours which were copied by the courtiers and nobles. At one time he spent a sum nearly equivalent to £12,000 on a magnificent silk curtain from Persia.

Al-Moʿizz had left his successor a difficult problem in Syria. From the first Syria was the hardest burden which the Fatimids had to assume by their entry into the heritage of Egypt, and it is worth remembering that, of the three pieces of advice which Ibn Killis gave to the Khalif as the great wazir was on his death bed, the two first were, try to keep peace with the Greeks, and “be content if the Hamdanids of Aleppo mention your name in the Friday prayer and put it on their coinage.” The ambition to control Syria has always been the fatal temptation of the sovereigns of Egypt, in the days of the ancient Pharaohs as at every period of subsequent history, and the great minister was undoubtedly wise in advising the Khalif not to seek more than a formal recognition of suzerainty. At this moment, however, it was no matter of choice. The Qarmatians had threatened the gates of Cairo, and were now in alliance with Haftakin, who had ejected the Fatimid governor from Damascus: it seemed that the prestige, and perhaps the existence of the Fatimids, depended on their dealing with Haftakin.