Chapter VIII: Part 8

The most important event of 401 was the revolt of Hasan b. Mufarraj b. Daghfal b. Jarrah Taiy (cf. year 387). He was persuaded to this by Husayn, the one of the three who fled from Egypt in 399 and was not willing to return. His two sons and two brothers had been put to death at the request of the minister, Mansur b. ʿAbdun, his mortal enemy, and it was this which had alarmed him and caused his flight in the first place. He took refuge with Hasan, and used every persuasion to induce him to revolt. The rebel faction was headed by Hasan’s father Mufarraj, and was joined by a number of Arabs, and very soon by the whole of the tribes of the Hijaz under the leadership of the Sultan of Mecca, Husayn b. Jaʿfar. Hakim sent Yarakhtakin to Aleppo with a large army to put down this movement. As soon as he arrived in Syria Mufarraj and his son became extremely anxious but, between Gaza and Ascalon they managed to get him into an ambush, and in the ensuing battle the Fatimid general was slain. The rebels then besieged Ramla and, as new recruits pressed in every day, they soon took it. Hakim sent them letters of remonstrance, but these were disregarded, and they invited the Sultan of Mecca to assume the Khalifate. This he was perfectly ready to do and, leaving a deputy in the city, joined the army of Mufarraj, and was saluted “Commander of the Faithful.”

But Hakim wrote again to Hasan and Mufarraj promising them estates and other gifts if they would cease from rebellion, so they resolved to abandon the newly proclaimed Khalif and returned to their allegiance. The result of this was a violent dispute between them and the man they had just invited to be Khalif. In the end he left them and returned to Mecca, taking Husayn Maghrabi with him. Not long afterwards Hakim sent an army under Jaʿfar b. Fallah to Syria, and expelled Hasan and his followers from Ramla. For two years Hasan remained in exile then, at the intercession of his father Mufarraj, Hakim pardoned him and gave him an estate in Egypt. Ultimately Mufarraj was poisoned by the Khalif’s orders. The anti-Khalifate of Mecca continued until 403, when the prince requested to be reconciled to Hakim, and when this was granted put Hakim’s name on his coinage and inserted it in the _khutba_.

In 401 Karwash b. Mukallad, chief of the Arabs of Okayl, revolted against the ʿAbbasid Khalif and transferred his allegiance to Hakim, whose name was inserted in the _khutba_ in Mosul, Anbar, Madayn, and other towns. In Mosul the form commenced: “Praise be to God, by whose light the shadows of tyranny have been scattered, by whose greatness the foundations of the heresy of the enemies of ʿAli have been rooted up, by whose power the sun of truth has risen in the west (_i.e._, in Africa).” Baha d-Dawla, the ʿAbbasid Khalif’s guardian, ordered the Emir al-Joyush to march against Karwash, who at once sent his apologies to the Khalif of Baghdad, and the recognition of the rival Fatimid Khalif ceased.

Next year (402) Hakim made more rigorous decrees against beer, vegetables disapproved by the Shiʿites, and the use of fish without scales. He further forbade women to go to funerals or to visit the cemeteries. He strictly suppressed the playing of chess, and caused chess-boards to be burned. Gathering the fishermen together he exacted from them a pledge that they would not take any fish without scales, and further threatened them with death if they were found selling any such.

He had already forbidden the use of beer, and the usual law against wine was strictly enforced. Now he forbade the sale of dried raisins because they were used by some for the making of wine: he forbade their importation into the country, and ordered all found in stores to be destroyed, in consequence of which some 2,340 boxes of dried raisins were burned, the value being put at 500 pieces of gold. He next forbade the sale of fresh grapes exceeding four pounds at a time; in any case grapes were not to be exposed for sale in the markets, and strict prohibition was made against squeezing out the juice. Very many grapes found on sale were confiscated, and either trodden in the street or thrown into the Nile. The vines at Gizeh were cut down and oxen employed to tread the fruit into the mire. Orders were issued that the same was to be done throughout the provinces. But honey as well as grapes can be used in preparing fermented liquor, so the Khalif’s seal was affixed to the stores of honey at Gizeh, and some 5,051 jars of honey were broken and their contents poured into the Nile, as well as 51 cruises of date honey. The sale of fresh dates was then forbidden, and many dates were collected and burned (Maq. ii. 287, Ibn Khall. iii. 450).

A curious story is told by Severus of Ashmunayn in connection with these laws of 402. A certain merchant had all his money invested in the prohibited fruit, and lost everything by the seizure and destruction of his goods. He appeared before the Qadi and summoned Hakim to appear and make good the destruction caused by his officials. The Khalif appeared to answer the charge preferred against him, the Qadi treating him like any other citizen against whom complaint had been made. The merchant asked for compensation to the amount of 1,000 pieces of gold. Hakim in his defence says that the fruits destroyed were intended to be used in the preparation of drinks forbidden by the law of the Qurʾan, but that if the merchant will swear that they were not intended for this purpose but only to be eaten he was willing to pay their price. The merchant refuses to take the oath until the Khalif actually produced the money before the Qadi. Hakim ordered the money to be brought into court, and when it is produced the merchant swore that the fruit was intended only for eating. He then received the money and gave the Khalif a formal receipt. He then demanded letters of protection from the Khalif that he might not incur any retaliation for his suit, and these were given. When the case was concluded the Qadi, who had up to this point treated both parties as ordinary suitors, rose from his seat and gave the Khalif the salute customary at court. Hakim admired the Qadi’s conduct, and made him valuable presents in recognition of his treatment of the case.

This year the ʿAbbasid Khalif assembled the leading ʿAlids and several prominent canonists at Baghdad, and prepared a manifesto against the ʿAlid claims of the Fatimid Khalifs. To this we have already referred (cf. p. 48 supra): how much weight should be attached to it is doubtful, for the motives and pressure brought to bear are obvious. We know, however, that Hakim was greatly annoyed by it.

We have come now to the year 403, another bad year of great scarcity and famine. Early in the year (on the 2nd of Rabiʿ I) the minister, Zara b. Isa b. Nestorius, was put to death and his place given, twenty-seven days later, to Husayn b. Taher al-Wazzan, who received the title of Emir al-Umara “Prince of the empire.” This Husayn began to make a careful survey of the income and expenditure of the state, and expressed his plain opinion that Hakim’s constant and lavish presents were unwise, some measure of economy was urgently called for. It seems that these acts of generosity had now become excessive. In after years the sacred books of the Druses in praising Hakim lay especial emphasis on his unexampled generosity in presenting not only honours and titles but also pensions, estates, fiefs, etc. upon all his friends (cf. de Sacy: _Chrestom._ ii. 69-70). The Emir even suspended payment of the orders brought to the treasury bearing the Khalif’s seal, and addressed a remonstrance to the sovereign. Hakim replied in a tone of kindly remonstrance urging the treasurer to pay the orders. The Emir did so, but sent in a full statement of the sums paid and of the gifts made to strangers.

Extravagance was the besetting fault of all the Fatimids, but it reached its extreme in Hakim. Whilst he was alienating large portions of the public property which was not, of course, distinguished from his own private possessions, he was also making lavish gifts to the mosques of Fustat and Cairo. In Jumada II. of this year he resolved to furnish the mosque which he had completed in Cairo and which bears the name of Hakim’s Mosque. A preliminary estimate of the cost of the lamps, chains, mats, etc. came to 5,000 pieces of gold. Early in Ramadan he presented a _tannur_ or large candelabrum to the Old Mosque in Fustat. This _tannur_ weighed 100,000 drams and had 1,200 lights. It was carried to the mosque to the sound of drums and trumpets and with cries of _tehlil_ (“there is no power or might but in God”) and _takbir_ (“God is great”), the procession being led by the Kaʾid (Commander-in-Chief). When they came near the mosque it was found necessary to remove the mastabas or stone benches outside the houses on the way, and to dig up the roads to enable the _tannur_ to be brought to the door, and then the upper part of the door had to be removed by masons to get the lamp in. The Khalif presented the mosque at the same time with 1,290 copies of the Qurʾan, some of which were written in letters of gold.

At the beginning of his reign Hakim had forbidden the use of the honorific titles customarily applied to the Fatimid Khalifs. He now forbade the custom of kissing the ground before him, and of kissing his hand or stirrup. These customs, he stated, were imitated from the Byzantine court and so not seemly for Muslims. In salutation he desired the use of the simple formula: “Hail to the Commander of the faithful; may the mercy and blessing of God be on him.” Never in speech or in writing might the formula be used, “God be propitious to him,” as this was applied to the patriarchs and saints. In writing petitions, etc., the formula should be, “May the peace of God, his abundant favour and blessing, rest upon the Commander of the faithful.” Similar forms, and no others, were to be used in praying for the Khalif: in the _khutba_ the form approved was, “O God, be propitious to Muhammad thy chosen; grant peace to ʿAli the first of believers, whom thou hast honoured with thy bounty: O God, grant peace to the princes of the believers, the fathers of the Commander of the faithful: O God, may thy most excellent peace rest on thy servant and vicar” (Maq. ii. 288, Ibn Khall. iii. 451).

At the palace the use of cymbals and trumpets when the guard made the rounds was forbidden, all was to be done without music. A new seal was engraved for the use of the Khalif bearing the inscription, “By the help of God most high and beneficent, the Imam ʿAli will be victorious” (Maq. id.).

Various events of passing interest are associated with the month of Jumada II. of this year, the month, it will be remembered, in which the Emir of Mecca abandoned his claim to the Khalifate and was reconciled to Hakim. On the very day on which the Emir’s envoy was received Hakim commenced building an observatory at Karafa. This observatory was never finished. It should be noted in passing that various occasional references in the historians justify us in regarding Hakim as greatly interested in astrology as well as in other branches of natural science, and in this he was true to the Fatimid tradition. After receiving the submission of the Emir of Mecca Hakim wrote a letter to the Sultan, Mahmud of Ghazna, the great champion of orthodoxy, asking for his allegiance. It could hardly be expected that Mahmud would tolerate or recognise any Shiʿite, least of all the head of the Fatimid dynasty. On receiving the letter the Sultan tore it in pieces and spat on the fragments, afterwards sending them to the ʿAbbasid Khalif al-Qadir.

It was perhaps in this year, as De Sacy thinks, although Abu l-Mahsin refers to 400, the Tarikh Jafari to 404, that a crowd of men, presumably Shiʿites, came to the palace demanding justice against the Egyptians. It seems that, as Hakim was now passing through an orthodox phase and, as we have seen, had abandoned some of his pro-Shiʿite legislation, the orthodox Egyptians had been teasing the Shiʿites and paying them back for the insults they had ventured upon in the time of their ascendancy. They were not able to obtain an interview with the Khalif, but were told to come again next day. Some go away, but many pass the whole night before the palace. Next day the clamours recommenced, until at length the Kaʾid appeared and ordered them to withdraw. They then went to the Qadi who assured them that he had no power of dealing with their complaints, and they left his court cursing the “Companions,” that is to say, the early Khalifs who, though regarded by the Shiʿites as usurpers and enemies of ʿAli, were admittedly companions of the Prophet (Maq. ii. 288).

This was followed by an order strictly forbidding any persons to curse the “Companions,” and before long several persons were punished for this offence. One day Hakim saw such curses written up on a public inn, no doubt so written at the time when he had commanded the putting up of inscriptions of this sort. These he ordered to be effaced and sent officials through the streets reading out an order that all such inscriptions on inns, shops, streets, etc. must be removed, and great care was taken to see that the order was carried out. All this was a bid for popularity with the orthodox, and this year he made a further bid by assigning property for the support of the indigent, and for the doctors in the various mosques and the muezzins.

It was in Ramadan of 403 that Hakim showed the zenith of his passing orthodoxy. Each Friday during this month he attended the Mosque of Rashida clad simply, with a turban without jewel and having a sword adorned only with bands of silver, and himself led the public prayers. During his progress to and from the mosque any person who desired to do so was free to approach him, and he took the memoranda and petitions which they presented him, conversing with the petitioners. On Friday the 10th he did thus, clothed plainly in a garment of white wool and riding to the mosque on an ass. On the 27th of Ramadan he went to the Old Mosque and made there the _khutba_ and led the Friday prayer, a thing which no Fatimid had done before. This visit was made without any display; there was no cortège or led horses, save only ten horses whose saddles and bridles were plainly adorned with silver; over his head was borne a plain white parasol without the usual gold fringe; there was no jewel in his turban, and the pulpit in the mosque was without hangings. The same simplicity was observed at the Feast of Sacrifice, at which the victims were slain by the heir, ʿAbdu r-Rahim (Maq. ii. 288). The ceremonial thus observed at the close of Ramadan was to a large extent of Shiʿite origin, but it was a concession to the feelings of the people that the Old Mosque was used. It will be remembered that it was during this month that Hakim presented the great _tannur_ to the same mosque.

The persecution of Christians and Jews continued, and even became more severe, during this year (404). The order that Christians should wear black robes and turbans was renewed; they had to bear crosses of wood a yard long and a yard wide, and to carry them so that they could be seen. This was done to many Christians wearing small crosses as ornaments, and often carrying them beneath the outer garment. Jews received similar orders as to the billets of wood which served as their distinctive badge. According to Severus both cross and billet had to be marked with a lead seal bearing the Khalif’s name: this no doubt means that those of the proper size and material received this seal as a mark that they were approved. Both Christians and Jews were forbidden to ride horses; the mules and asses which they used must have plain saddles of wood and stirrups of sycamore wood without any ornament. Neither were allowed to have Muslim servants or to buy a slave of either sex. Muslim owners of riding animals were forbidden to let on hire to Christians or Jews, and Muslim sailors similarly were forbidden to take them in their boats. Both Christians and Jews were forbidden to wear rings on their right hand. All these orders were proclaimed in the streets of Fustat and Kahira, and great pains were taken to see that they were rigorously enforced. Many Christians turned Muslim in order to avoid these vexations (Maq. _loc. cit._).

It is not easy to date precisely all the anti-Christian and anti-Jewish legislation. It is certain that it commenced in 393 and came to an end in 405, that for the most part it increased in severity up to 403, and then slightly relaxed, but there are various divergences of detail in the accounts as to the actual orders enforced in each of the intervening years.

De Sacy thinks that it was about this time (404) that the conference of the Christians and Jews with Hakim to which reference is made in the books of the Druses, took place. One day as the Khalif was walking at Karafa, in the cemetery Kibab attair, a band of representatives of the two persecuted religions waited upon him. He permitted them to speak with him and assured them that they might talk freely without fear. They pointed out to him that his conduct towards them was very different from that of the Prophet and of his early successors; they asked how he could justify his policy which was so opposed to the compacts which had been made with them. Hakim asked them to retire and meet him again in the same place the following night, to bring their learned men with them, and assured them again of his protection under which they might speak freely. Next night Hakim relates to them the conferences which the Prophet had with Christians and Jews in his day, conferences which were designed to bring about their conversion but which failed in this result; for four hundred years Islam has been available, and the reasons brought forward by the Prophet had been under consideration: now you are offered the choice of Islam again after all this delay, if you do not now accept the punishment can be no longer postponed. The representatives admit the truth of this and retire from Hakim’s presence. It is very doubtful, however, whether we can regard this description as given in the sacred books of the Druses as in any way belonging to serious history.

The Khalif this year gave permission to the Christians who wished to do so to emigrate to the land of the Greeks, or to Nubia, or Abyssinia, permission which had previously not been conceded, and many did thus emigrate. De Sacy connects the incident which we have related above with this permission to emigrate.

Although Hakim had been, and still continued, devoted to the study of astrology, he now made a decree against the astrologers who are to be banished. Many of these astrologers went to the Qadi and entered into a solemn undertaking not to practise their art, and on the strength of this promise were allowed to remain. Maqrizi notes it as a strange thing that after this decree one could no longer see astrologers in the streets. Perquisition was made and any of these found were brought before the Qadi and expelled from the country. The same treatment was meted out to professional musicians (Maq. ii. 288, Ibn Khall. iii. 450).

A general report began to circulate in the course of this year that Hakim intended to have a great massacre of many people, and the report, though vague, was readily believed, with the result that multitudes fled from Cairo, so that the markets were suspended and all business came to an end for the time (Maq. ii. 288).

On the 12th of Rabiʿ I. ʿAbdu r-Rahim, who had killed the victims at the preceding Feast of Sacrifice and was a great grandson of the Mahdi who had been the first Fatimid Khalif, was publicly declared heir to the throne to the exclusion of the Khalif’s infant son. Orders were given that he was to be saluted in the form: “Hail to the cousin of the Commander of the faithful, the designated successor of the sovereign of the Muslims.” His name was placed on the coinage, he received apartments in the royal palace, his name was inserted in the _khutba_, and he acted as the Khalif’s deputy in all business of state. Business was at this time little regarded by Hakim, who spent much of his time riding about in the city and in the country round, sometimes by day, often also by night.

In the following month he cut off the hands of the Kaʾid’s secretary, Abu l-Kasim Jarjarai. This secretary had been in the service of the Princess Hakim’s sister, but fearing that this was a dangerous place had left her for the service of the Kaʾid. The Princess desired to know the reason of this change, and the secretary sent her a letter in which he made reference to a certain matter which he had discovered,—probably Hakim’s intention to change the succession—and this letter the Princess, fearing a trap, showed to the Khalif, at which he was very greatly annoyed. ʿAyn had been Kaʾid (Commander-in-Chief) since 402, and had had one of his hands cut off in 401, and now on the 3rd of Jumada I. Hakim cut off his remaining hand, after which he sent him a present of 5,000 pieces of gold and 25 horses; on the 13th of the same month he had his tongue cut out and then sent other gifts, but after this the Kaʾid died. Very many were put to death about this time, for the Khalif seemed to be suffering from an insane impulse to torture and slay; so great was the alarm that many fled from the city.

Since 400 the Khalif had been showing favour to the orthodox, but in the course of this year he changed his attitude, ceased to make gifts to the mosques, to the muezzins, doctors, etc., and disbanded the college which he had founded for teaching the Malikite canon law. More than this he treated the lecturers with great severity, and put to death Abu Bakr Antaki, the principal, and one of his assistants.

Either in this year or in 405 Hakim made very strict rules about women. He forbade them to go about the streets at all. The baths used by women were closed; boot-makers were forbidden to make outdoor boots for women, and so some of the boot-makers’ shops were closed entirely. Women were forbidden to look out of doors or windows, or to go out on terraces. These laws continued in force until the close of the reign. A case occurred in which some old women who lived by spinning and selling their work to the merchants were neither able to dispose of it to their customers nor go out to buy provisions, and remained inside until their bodies, which showed that they had died of starvation, were found by the neighbours. When this was reported to the Khalif he conceded that merchants who bought or sold with women might go to the doors of their houses and the women might pass out goods or money and receive its exchange, provided they did not show their faces or hands to the merchant or any passer-by in the street.

One day Hakim was passing the “Golden Baths” and heard a great deal of noise within. On making enquiry he found that there were women inside. He ordered the doors and windows to be walled up and left the inmates to perish of hunger. The pretext given for these new regulations was the libertinage of the Egyptian women. Hakim employed many harim spies, and by means of these old women he heard of various assignations and intrigues. On several occasions he sent a eunuch with a guard of soldiers to wait in concealment at the place of assignation, and when the woman appeared had her seized and thrown into the Nile. On other occasions he sent guards to private houses to demand by name women whose conduct had been unfavourably reported, and they were disposed of in the same manner. It seems almost impossible to excuse Hakim’s conduct at this period by the supposition that he was an earnest but fanatical puritan: the frequency of new regulations, the constant changes in so many details, and the capricious character of his conduct all tend to make the theory of so many contemporaries that he was insane the more plausible.

In Syria the prestige of Egypt increased. Mansur, the son of Luʿluʿ at Aleppo, had to ask Hakim’s help against Abu l-Hayja, the grandson of Sayf ad-Dawla, and this was given. In Ramadan of this year (404) Hakim issued a charter granting to Mansur Aleppo and its dependencies which were thus held as tributary to Egypt.

Early in 405 the Chief Qadi, Malik b. Saʿid al-Faraki, was put to death after holding office for six years, nine months and ten days. His income was estimated at 15,000 pieces of gold. In Jumada the chief minister, Husayn b. Taher, was put to death and replaced by the two brothers, ʿAbdu r-Rahim and Husayn, sons of Abu Saʿid. After holding office for sixty-two days they were put to death and replaced by Fadl b. Jaʿfar, who held office only five days and was put to death; then ʿAli b. Jaʿfar b. Fallah. Maqrizi mentions no other holder, but it does not follow that ʿAli held the post to the end of the reign as, for some reason, he omits all mention of Hakim’s later years: no doubt the reason is to be found in his unwillingness to treat the closing phase of Hakim’s strange career, and to these last years he makes no reference in any part of his work.

The Chief Qadi was replaced by Ahmad b. Muhammad ibn Abi l-Awwam, who retained his office until 413, the year following the close of Hakim’s reign.

Hakim now increased his habit of riding out. He began to use asses in preference to horses, and went out clothed plainly in black, wearing on his head a little linen cap without a turban. Orders were given that when he went out the officials were to remain in their offices and not form an escort as had been the custom. As the year went on he went out more and more frequently until he was usually out six or seven times a day, sometimes riding on his ass, sometimes borne in a litter, and sometimes going in a boat on the Nile. He became more lavish than ever with his gifts, and presented estates to the owners of boats, to subordinate officials of various kinds, and to the Arab tribesmen of the B. Qorra. Amongst the gifts he made to these latter was the overlordship of the city of Alexandria and its suburbs.

In Syria Saktekin Shams ad-Dawla was made governor of Damascus, and this office he held until 408. He was a tyrannical and cruel man. Towards the end of his career he built the “New Bridge” below the citadel at Damascus, intending himself to be the first to cross it. One day when it was nearing completion he saw a horseman riding across the bridge. In great anger he sends down a messenger to arrest him. But the strange horseman turned out to be a messenger from Egypt with orders for his deposition from office.

At Aleppo Murtada ad-Dawla raised up many enemies. The Arabs of the B. Kalab tribe took up arms against him; he pretended to agree to their terms and invited them into the city to a feast: as soon as they entered he had the gates shut, arrested the chief men, and slew about one thousand. This took place in 402. Salih b. Mirdas, one of the chief men who had been imprisoned, filed through his irons and escaped in this year, 405. When he is at large he ravages the whole country, and when Murtada goes out to check him he is himself taken prisoner by the Arab. Salih, however, really desired peace, and agreed to liberate Murtada for a ransom of 15,000 pieces of gold, 120,000 pounds of silver, and 500 pieces of stuff, the freedom of the women and others of his tribe who were still in prison, the equal division of the towns and lands of Aleppo between himself and Murtada, and the gift of Murtada’s daughter in marriage. These extraordinary conditions were granted and Murtada was set free. But then he proved unwilling to divide the lands and towns of his principality or to give his daughter in marriage, so Salih makes war again and blockades Aleppo and starves it into unconditional surrender.

In 406 a quarrel sprung up between Murtada and Fatah Kalai who was the governor of the citadel. Murtada considered that he had been instrumental in fomenting Salih’s rebellion. Finally Fatah openly revolted against Murtada and sent him the message, “Go out of Aleppo, or I give the citadel to Salih.” Soon after this, as Murtada was in his palace near the gate Bab al-Jinan, he heard drums and trumpets and cried out: “Hakim, O Mansur: Salih, O Mansur,” believing that the citadel was in the hands of the Arab chieftain: so greatly was he frightened that, without enquiring what was the real cause of the drums and trumpets, he fled out of the city with his family and escaped to Antioch, where he was given an asylum by the Greek Emperor. As soon as Fatah heard of his flight he proclaimed Hakim as sovereign over Aleppo, made terms with Salih and gave him half the revenues of the city and its suburbs, and presented to him the ladies of Murtada’s harim whom he had not taken with him in his flight. Salih sent all Murtada’s wives and the other ladies to Antioch, retaining only Murtada’s daughter whom he married.

Fatah wrote an account of these events to Hakim, and the Khalif was very well pleased that he was now not merely suzerain over the ruler of Aleppo but the actual owner of the city. He conferred the title of _Mubarak ad-Dawla wa-Saidha_ on Fatah. In the following year (407) Hakim wrote to the citizens of Aleppo abolishing the imposts and various taxes which had been paid. Fatah was given all the goods which had belonged to Murtada and was sent as governor to Tyre, after handing over the citadel of Aleppo to the Emir ʿAziz ad-Dawla, an Armenian slave who had belonged to Manjutakin. On this slave Hakim conferred the title _Emir ul-Umara_ or “Supreme Prince,” and presented him with a pelisse of honour, several horses with harness adorned with gold, and a sword of state. Later on the Emir revolted against Hakim.

Meanwhile very curious events were taking place in Egypt. In the course of 407 (though al-Maqin says 408), a Persian _daʿi_ named Muhammad b. Ismaʿil Darazi arrived in Egypt, a Batinite who believed in the transmigration of souls, and hoped to find at the Fatimid court a congenial atmosphere for his mystic creed. He attached himself to the Khalif, over whom he soon began to have great influence, and from whom he received many gifts and favours. In due course he succeeded in persuading the prince that he was an incarnation of the deity, and wrote a book in which he taught that the Divine Spirit which God had breathed into Adam had passed on in due succession from prophet to prophet, through the Imam ʿAli, until at length it found its abode in the Imam Hakim. So great was his influence over the Khalif that much of the public business was given into his hands, and all who desired to approach the Khalif had to pay court to the _daʿi_. The heir elect seems to have fallen into disfavour about this time. He was sent away from Cairo but given the important post of governor of Damascus. After he had been in Syria for some time he was suddenly attacked by a band of men who, after slaying several of his companions, put him in a box and carried him to Egypt. There he was released and, a little later, was sent back to Damascus. No explanation of this strange event is suggested, but it was generally believed that he was thus treated by the Khalif’s orders.

Amongst some of the more advanced Shiʿites many were found to follow the new doctrines of Darazi, and the _daʿi_ accompanied by a band of followers went down to the Old Mosque where he read from the book he had written. According to an account given by al-Masin a Turk, shocked at the blasphemies which occurred in this reading, fell upon Darazi and killed him, after which his house was pillaged, and a tumult followed which lasted for three days. The Turk was arrested and put in prison, and was then brought to trial on another charge for which he was executed. For a long time the Turk’s grave was visited by the orthodox who regarded him as a martyr. But this account is not strictly correct, for Darazi was not killed at that time. According to Abu l-Mahsin, the most weighty authority, Hakim did not openly endorse Darazi’s teaching; when the tumult arose in the mosque Darazi escaped and received money from Hakim, and with this retired to Syria where he preached in the mountainous parts where the people were very ignorant, and amongst them he obtained many disciples and founded a sect, the Druses, which still exists in the Lebanon. In religion these Druses hold a kind of pantheism, which in many respects verges upon agnosticism, but has a pure morality, in spite of the many charges which have been made against this as against every other religion which keeps its creed a secret from the outside world.

About the same time, or perhaps a little after, a Persian from Farghana named Hasan al-Akhram, also appears as using his influence to persuade Hakim of his deity, or to develop the ideas which Darazi had already instilled into him. This man formed a party on the conventional lines of the extremer Shiʿites, entirely discarding all the traditional observances of the Muslim religion. One day he went with a band of fifty followers to the Old Mosque, where he found the Qadi sitting and hearing cases. After treating the by-standers roughly, they present a question to the Qadi, beginning their words with the form “In the name of Hakim, the merciful, the compassionate,” applying to him the terms usually applied to God. The Qadi raised his voice and protested against this with great indignation. The people were so angry at the blasphemy that they fell upon Akhram and his followers: of the latter several were killed, but Akhram escaped.

The most famous of these duʿat, who at this time advocated the deification of Hakim, was Hamza b. ʿAli b. Ahmad Hadi, a native of Zawzan in Persia. The Druses regard him as their founder, and date their years from the “Era of Hamza,” which is placed in A.H. 408. It seems that his teaching was earlier than that of Ahmad the Qadi (405), and so probably he was in private conference with Hakim from somewhere about 405 until he made public declaration of his doctrine in 408. He dwelt in the Mosque of Bir at Mantarea, originally the tomb of an ʿAlid who had been put to death in 145, afterwards known as the Mosque of Tibr after a minister who served under Kafur, and was one of those who had tried to resist the entry of Jawhar. He preached and invited the people to accept the teaching already expounded by Darazi, and sent out missionaries of his doctrines to various parts of Egypt and Syria. Hakim was greatly influenced by Hamza, and was induced by him to discard all the outward observances of Islam, ceasing to visit the mosques, or to take part in prayer. Under the pretext that the Arabs were a danger to travellers he suppressed the pilgrimage to Mecca and ceased to send the veil to the “House of God,” all of which caused great disgust to the orthodox. Hamza and twelve of his disciples, the traditional number of the Shiʿite _nakibs_, were in constant attendance on Hakim. It seems that Hamza was the real founder and teacher of Hakim’s deity, and that Darazi was one of his converts. But the details of the formation of this sectarian development during the years 405-408 are full of obscurities: it does not seem safe to follow the sacred books of the Druses who idealised the whole matter. We do not find ourselves on solid ground until 408, when the claims of Hakim to deity were publicly proclaimed and admitted by the Khalif himself. It is said (by Severus) that Hakim claimed to have a knowledge of secret things, and tried to support this claim by evidence which he gleaned from his spies. But Severus’ evidence must be regarded with some suspicion: a Syrian Christian he heard of the events in Egypt only at second hand, and is very obviously influenced by strong prejudices. He refers to this claimed omniscience of Hakim the incident of the letter which read: “We have endured injustice and tyranny, but we are not willing to endure impiety and folly. If thou knowest hidden things, say the name of him who wrote this letter,” an incident which seems to belong to the early days of the Khalif al-Mahdi in Kairawan. Severus further tells us that when Hakim’s name was mentioned in the _khutba_ all present rose out of respect; but in Fustat the people made a prostration at this name. He is referring, no doubt, to reported conduct of Hamza’s followers. He says further that there were some people who, when Hakim appeared in the streets, used to prostrate themselves on the ground and cry out: “O thou only one, thou alone, thou who givest life and death”: this is exactly what might be expected of the extremer Shiʿites, and is in no way incredible. At this time all persecution of Christians and Jews entirely ceased; obviously the Khalif no longer regarded Islam as in any way superior to those other religions. Persons who had turned Muslims were permitted to return to their former beliefs; contrary to Muslim law they were protected from all punishment, but it is obvious that at this juncture Muslim law was not in any sense observed in the Fatimid state. Severus tells us that some Christians and Jews came to the Khalif and said: “My God, I desire to return to my former religion”: and Hakim replied: “Do as seems good to you.” According to the books of the Druses: “Although it is a precept to make war with the unbelievers, our lord has abolished this precept so far as concerns Jews and Christians.” The Druses refer this to the era of Hamza, _i.e._, 408 A.H., but Severus puts it in the year 736 of the “era of the Martyrs,” that is A.H. 411, the closing year of Hakim’s reign, and dates the beginning of the persecution of Christians from 402, taking the destruction of the great Church in Jerusalem as the beginning of the persecution, that is to say, the beginning of the time when active steps were taken which reached to Syria as well as Egypt, and in this agrees with Abu l-Mahsin, but Maqrizi puts the destruction of the Church of the Resurrection in 400 so that the end of the persecution, which lasted nine years, would come in 408-409, when Hakim had assented to the public declaration of his deity which seems to be the more probable date.

Towards the end of the nine years of persecution it was reported to Hakim that some converts from Christianity had been celebrating the rites of their former religion privately in houses, but he took no steps to punish them, and this emboldened others to do likewise. If this was so it would seem that there was no formal decree of toleration but simply that the penal regulations were permitted to sink into oblivion. Then some attended on the Khalif and asked permission to revert to their former religion. Hakim asked where were their girdles, crosses, and other badges?—they produced them from under their clothes. The Khalif made no rebuke but told them that they could do as they pleased, and sent them with an attendant to the office where they obtained letters of protection. After this many unwilling converts did the same, until most of those who had changed their religion from fear had returned to their former faith.

The monk Yamin next procured the exiled Patriarch Zacharias an interview with the Khalif, which took place in the monastery of St. Mercurius at Sahran. In the course of this interview Hakim gave permission to the Christians to re-open their churches, to restore those which had been destroyed, to recover building material removed at the time when churches were being demolished, and to regain possession of gardens and property attached to the churches and monasteries. The Christians were no longer required to wear distinctive badges, or rather the disuse of those badges was tacitly condoned, and were allowed to sound bells. Ibn Khallikan refers this toleration to 411, which agrees with Severus and with Bar Hebraeus, who speaks of this change as taking place shortly before Hakim was killed, and adds that at this time many of the Christians who had gone abroad returned to Egypt. Probably breaches of the persecuting laws began to be condoned in 408 or soon after, and these increased gradually as it was seen that they could be made with impunity.

Meanwhile the extremes to which the followers of Hamza were prepared to go also increased. Some of the courtiers on entering the Khalif’s presence saluted him, “Hail to thee, only and unique one, hail to thee who givest life and death, who bestowest wealth and poverty.” Having in view the peculiar religious tendencies of the extremer Shiʿite sects, it must not surprise us that there were some apparently sincere in their acceptation of the divine character of the Imam, although the bulk of the people remained sober and orthodox Muslims. One of the adherents of Hamza’s doctrines who was at Mecca struck his lance on the sacred Black Stone and said: “Why, O foolish ones, do you adore and kiss that which cannot be of any use to you nor injure you, whilst you neglect him who is in Egypt, who giveth life and death?”

Ibn Khallikan tells us that one day a Qurʾan reader was reading at court the verse: “And they will not—I swear by the Lord—they will not believe, until they have set thee up as judge between them on points where they differ” (Qur. iv. 68), pointing the while towards the Khalif. Ibn al-Mushajjar, a devout man who was present, then recited the verse: “O men, a parable is set forth to you, wherefore hearken to it. Verily, they on whom ye call beside God, cannot create a fly, though they assemble for it; and if the fly carry off aught from them, they cannot take it away from it. Weak the suppliant and the supplicated” (Qur. xxii. 72). At this the Khalif changed countenance; to Ibn al-Mushajjar he presented 100 dinars, to the reader he gave nothing. But afterwards a friend said to Ibn Mushajjar: “You know al-Hakim’s character, and are aware of his frequent prevarications: take heed lest he conceive a hatred for you and punish you later. You would then have much to suffer from him. My advice is that you get out of his sight.” Ibn al-Mushajjar took this advice seriously and set out on the pilgrimage to Mecca, but was ship-wrecked and drowned.

The years 408 to 411 were entirely abnormal in the history of Egypt. It has been suggested that the entire change in Hakim’s conduct during these years was due to his being now initiated into the higher grades of the Ismaʿilian sect, and thus he was now disposed to disregard all forms of religion. But it seems to be very dubious how far the regular Ismaʿilian system had remained in vigour in Fatimid Egypt. The state was professedly Shiʿite, the Chief Daʿi held the regular conferences required by the rules of the brotherhood, and undoubtedly initiates were admitted: but since the sojourn in Egypt it rather seems that the sect as a religious organization had greatly weakened, save in the one respect that it was regarded with loyalty by the extremer Shiʿites in Persia, and that from Persia more especially there was a constant stream of pilgrims, enthusiastic sectaries whose enthusiasm was, if anything, a source of embarrassment to the Egyptian government, whose interests were now plainly political. Hamza, Darazi, and, later on, the originators of the sect of Assassins, were all Persian Shiʿites who came to visit Egypt. It seems more probable that Hakim’s new attitude was entirely due to the influence of these Persian visitors.

In the year 409 Hakim was riding in the streets and saw what he supposed to be a woman standing in the street, a plain breach of the regulations in force. At once Hakim rode over to her and found that she was holding out a petition in her hand. He ordered one of his attendants to take the paper and arrest the woman. When they laid hands on her it turned out that it was only a guy of paper, and the document she held out was full of charges against the chastity of the Princess Hakim’s sister. Hakim went home in a towering rage. He abused his sister for giving ground for such reflections to be made on her honour, and spoke to her many harsh words. More than once before this he had treated her harshly when she had ventured to remonstrate with him on his various cruelties, but this was an attack graver than he had ever made previously.

Next day Hakim turned loose his mercenaries, Arabs, Berbers, Greeks, and negroes, upon the city. For three days they broke open houses, pillaged, slew those who resisted them, violated women, and carried off maidens of the best families, and burned a great part of Fustat. Each day Hakim rode out to the cemetery of Karafa and looked down on the suffering city. Many of the citizens came around him to implore mercy, but he remained unmoved and gave no sign of hearing them. On the fourth day the Sherifs assembled in the mosques lifting Qurʾans to heaven and implored divine assistance. So piteous was the condition of the people that many of the Turkish guards were moved and took their part, and in this they were soon joined by the Berbers, both doing their best to restrain the bestial ferocity of the negroes, until the whole place was raging in civil war. At length some of the Turks went to Hakim, and in no measured terms called on him to interfere and stop this terrible state of affairs. Hakim replied quite coolly deploring the excesses of the soldiery, and agreeing with the Turks that it ought to be stopped. He then rode down into the city on his ass and stopped the conflict. After that he called the Turks and Berbers round him, expressed the greatest regret for the suffering which the city had had to undergo, protested that he did not at all desire such an unhappy event, and that it could not be avoided, and published a general amnesty. As soon as things settled down it was found that about a third of the city had been burned, and about a half pillaged. The citizens had much trouble in recovering their ravished wives, daughters, and sisters, most of whom had been dishonoured by the negro soldiers. Some of the women had committed suicide to avoid this shame. Many of the citizens went to Hakim and asked him to get back their women for them. Hakim told them to ransom them from their captors and promised to reimburse any sums which were laid out in this manner. One of the townsmen reproached him very harshly for this great disgrace to a Muslim community, and expressed the hope that the women of the Khalif’s own family would suffer the same as their wives and daughters. Hakim bore this reproach patiently and made a mild reply.

Although this atrocious deed had made Hakim feel that he had revenged himself on those who had reflected on his sister, he had by no means forgiven her. After upbraiding her in no measured terms he informed her that he would send some women to examine her and find if she really were a virgin or not. The Asiatic historians who make most reference to the Princess describe her as a woman of the noblest character and of the highest chastity, and represent this as a deliberate and insane insult offered by her brother. It is not at all clear that this is a true estimate. Later on we find her as a woman of undoubted ability, but unscrupulous character. At the same time it is extremely probable that the members of Hakim’s family had graver reasons for alarm than anyone else, if indeed it be true that he was now showing plain signs of a disordered brain. At any rate when Hakim made this threat she was greatly alarmed; it may be that she feared such an examination, or it may be that she deeply resented the insult. In her alarm she went to Yusuf b. Dawwas ad-Dawla. Although one of the great nobles of Egypt Yusuf abstained from attending the court and had so abstained for some time, being thoroughly alarmed at Hakim’s conduct, and was careful to meet the Khalif only at public functions which he could not avoid. One time Hakim at such a parade asked him to visit him in his palace, but Yusuf did not make the desired visit. The next time they met in public Hakim reproached him for this, and Yusuf replied plainly that he would rather not go to the palace; if Hakim had any evil intention towards him he would rather wait at home to be summoned to death than to go to the palace, be killed there, and thrown to the dogs. At this reply Hakim only laughed, but Yusuf had serious fears that sooner or later the Khalif would have his revenge, and probably a cruel one.

The Princess sent to Yusuf and asked for an interview with him at night. This was arranged and she went to Yusuf’s house and explained to him the great dangers threatening them both. The best thing to do would be to arrange Hakim’s death: “You,” she said, “will be made general of the armies, minister of the empire, and guardian of the young prince. I shall live quietly in my palace as befits my sex and take no part in business.” Some reports say that she also promised to marry Yusuf. To all this Yusuf agreed. She asked him to supply two absolutely trusty men, and these he provided. A plan of assassination was agreed upon, and the two cut-throats were presented by her with a Maghrabi dagger each. With reference to this account, which is given by Bar Hebraeus, and outlined by al-Makini, Maqrizi says: “No credit should be given to what the Asiatic writers say in their books, that this prince perished by the plots of his sister. But God alone knows the whole truth” (Maq. ii. 289). It is important to note that Severus of Ashmunayn, who wrote only thirty years after these events, makes no mention of the Princess in this connection, though his tendency is to repeat all gossip unfavourable to the Fatimids: he simply states that the details of Hakim’s disappearance were unknown.