Chapter XVI: Part 16

'Amr-ibn-el-Ass, A.H. 18-24 (A.D. 639-645).
'Abdallah b. Sa'd b. Abi Sarh, 24-36 (645-656).
Qais b. Sa'd b. 'Ubadah, 36 (657-658).
Mahommed b. Abu Bekr, 37-38 (658).
Ashtar Malik b. al-Harith (appointed, but never governed).
'Amr-ibn-el-Ass, 38-43 (658-663).
'Utbah b. Abu Sofian, 43-44 (664-665).
'Utbah b. 'Amir, 44-45 (665).
Maslama b. Mukhallad, 45-62 (665-682).
Sa'id b. Yazid b. 'Alqamah, 62-64 (682-684).
Abdarrahman b. 'Utbah b. Jahdam, 64-65 (684).
Abdalaziz ('Abd al-'Aziz) b. Merwan, 65-86 (685-705).
'Abdallah b. 'Abd al-Malik, 86-90 (705-708).
Qurrah b. Sharik al-'Absi, 90-96 (709-714).
'Abd al-Malik b. Rifa'ah al-Fahmi, 96-99 (715-717).
Ayyub b. Shurahbil al-Asbahi, 99-101 (717-720).
Bishr b. Safwan al-Kalbi, 101-102 (720-721).
Hanzalah b. Safwan, 102-105 (721-724).
Mahommed b. 'Abd al-Malik, 105 (724).
Hurr b. Yusuf, 105-108 (724-727).
Hafs b. al-Walid, 108 (727).
'Abd al-Malik b. Rifa'ah, 109 (727).
Walid b. Rifa'ah, 109-117 (727-735).
'Abd al-Rahman b. Khalid, 117-118 (735).
Hanzalah b. Safwan, 118-124 (735-742).
Hafs b. al-Walid, 124-127 (742-745).
Hassan b. 'Atahiyah al-Tu'jibi, 127 (745).
Hafs b. al-Walid, 127 (745).
Hautharah b. Suhail al-Bahili, 128-131 (745-749).
Mughirah b. 'Ubaidallah al-Fazari, 131-132 (749).
'Abd al-Malik b. Marwan al-Lakhmi, 132 (750).
Salih b. 'Ali, 133 (750-751).
Abu 'Aun 'Abdalmalik b. Yazid, 133-136 (751-753).
Salih b. 'Ali, 136-137 (753-755)--second time.
Abu 'Aun, 137-141 (755-758)--second time.
Musa b. Ka'b b. 'Uyainah al-Tamimi, 141 (758-759).
Mahommed b. al-Ash'ath b. 'Uqbah al-Khuza i, 141-143 (759-760).
Humaid b. Qahtabah b. Shabib al-Ta'i, 143-144 (760-762).
Yazid b. Hatim b. Kabisah al-Muhallabi, 144-152 (762-769).
'Abdallah b. 'Abdarrahman b. Moawiya b. Hudaij, 152-155 (769-772).
Mahommed b. Abdarrahman b. Moawiya b. Hudaij, 155 (772).
Musa b. 'Ulayy b. Rabah al-Lakhmi, 155-161 (772-778).
'Isa b. Luqman b. Mahommed al-Jumahi, 161-162 (778).
Wadih, 162 (779).
Mansur b. Yazid b. Mansur al-Ru'aini, 162 (779).
Abu Salih Yahya b. Dawud b. Mamdud, 162-164 (779-780).
Salim b. Sawadah al-Tamimi, 164 (780-781).
Ibrahim b. Salih b. 'Ali, 165-167 (781-784).
Musa b. Mus'ab b. al-Rabi al-Khath'ami, 167-168 (784-785).
Usamah b. 'Amr b. 'Alqamah al-Ma'afiri, 168 (785).
al Fadl b. Salih b. 'Ali al-'Abbasi, 168-169 (785-786).
'Ali b. Sulaiman b. 'Ali al-'Abbasi, 169-171 (786-787).
Musa b. 'Isa b. Musa al-'Abbasi, 171-172 (787-789).
Maslamah b. Yahya b. Qurrah al-Bajili, 172-173 (789-790).
Mahommed b. Zuhair al-Azdi, 173 (790).
Dawud b. Yazid b. Hatim al-Muhallabi, 174-175 (790).
Musa b. 'Isa al-'Abbasi, 175-176 (790-792).
Ibrahim b. Salih, 176 (792).
Salih b. Ibrahim, 176 (792).
Abdallah b. al-Musayyib b. Zuhair al Dabbi, 176-177 (792-793).
Ishaq b. Sulaiman b. 'Ali al-'Abbasi, 177-178 (793-794).
Harthamah b. A'yan, 178 (794-795).
'Obaidallah b. al-Mahdi, 179 (795).
Musa b. 'Isa al-'Abbasi, 179-180 (795-796).
'Obaidallah b. al-Mahdi, 180-181 (796-797)--second time.
Isma'il b. Salih b. 'Ali al-'Abbasi, 181-182 (797-798).
Isma'il b. 'Isa b. Musa al-'Abbasi, 182-183 (798).
Laith b. al-Fadl al-Abiwardi, 183-187 (798-803).
Ahmad b. Isma'il b. 'Ali al-'Abbasi, 187-189 (803-805).
'Obaidallah b. Mahommed b. Ibrahim al-'Abbasi, 189-190 (805-806).
Husain b. Jamil, 190-192 (806-808).
Malik b. Dalham b. 'Isa al-Kalbi, 192-193 (808).
Hasan b. al-Tahtah, 193-194 (808-809).
Hatim b. Harthamah b. A'yan, 194-195 (809-811).
Jabir b. al-Ash'ath b. Yahya al-Ta'i, 195-196 (811-812).
'Abbad b. Mahommed b. Hayyan al-Balkhi, 196-198 (812-813).
Mottalib b. 'Abdallah b. Malik al-Khuza'i, 198 (813-814).
'Abbas b. Musa b. 'Isa al-'Abbasi, 198-199 (814).
Mottalib b. 'Abdallah, 199-200 (814-816)--second time.
Sari b. al-Hakam b. Yusuf, 200-201 (816).
Sulaiman b. Ghalib b. Jibril al-Bajili, 201 (816-817).
Sari b. al-Hakam, 201-205 (817-820).
Abu Nasr Mahommed b. al-Sari, 205 (820-821).
'Obaidallah b. al-Sari, 205-211 (821-826).
'Abdallah b. Tahir, 211-213 (826-829).
Mahommed b. Harun (al-Mo'tasim), 213-214 (829).
'Umair b. Al-Walid al-Tamimi al-Badhaghisi, 214 (829).
'Isa b. Yazid, 214 (829).
'Abduyah b. Jabalah, 215-216 (830-831).
'Isa b. Mansur b. Musa al-Rafi'i, 216-217 (831-832).
Nasr b. Abdallah Kaidar al-Safadi, 217-219 (832-834).
Muzaffar b. Kaidar, 219 (834).
Musa b. Abi'l-'Abbas Thabit al-Hanafi, 219-224 (834-839).
Malik b. Kaidar al Safadi, 224-226 (839-841).
'Ali b. Yahya abu l-Hasan al-Armani, 226-228 (841-842).
'Isa b. Mansur al-Rafi'i, 229-233 (843-847).
Harthamah b. al-Nadir al-Jabali, 233-234 (848-849).
Hatim b. Harthamah, 234 (849).
'Ali b. Yahya, 234-235 (849-850).
Ishaq b. Yahya al-Khatlani, 235-236 (850-851).
'Abd al-Wahid b. Yahya b. Mansur, 236-238 (851-852).
'Anbasa b. Ishaq b. Shamir, 238-242 (852-856).
Yazid b. 'Abdallah b. Dinar, 242-253 (856-867).
Muzahim b. Khaqan al-Turki, 253-254 (867-868).
Ahmad b. Muzahim b. Khaqan, 254 (868).
Urjuz b. Ulugh Tarkhan al-Turki, 254 (868).

_Tulunid house._

Ahmad b. Tulun, 254-270 (868-884).
Khomaruya b. Ahmad, 270-282 (884-896).
Jaish b. Khomaruya, 282 (896).
Harun b. Khomaruya, 283-292 (896-904).
Shaiban b. Ahmad, 292 (905).
'Isa b. Mahommed al-Naushari, 292 (905).
Mahommed b. 'Ali al-Khalanji, 292-293 (905-906).
'Isa al-Naushari, 293-297 (906-910)--second time.
Takin b. Abdallah al-Khazari, 297-302 (910-915).
Dhuka al-Rumi, 303-307 (915-919).
Takin b. 'Abdallah, 307-309 (919-921)--second time.
Abu Qabus Mahmud b. Hamal, 309 (921).
Hilal b. Badr, 309-311 (921-923).
Ahmad b. Kaighlagh, 311 (923).
Takin b. Abdallah, 311-321 (923-933)--third time.
Mahommed b. Takin, 321 (933).

_Ikshidi house._

Mahommed b. Tughj al-Ikshid, 321 (933).
[Ahmad b. Kaighlagh, 321-322 (933-934)].
Mahommed b. Tughj, 323-334 (934-946)--second time.
Unjur b. al-Ikshid, 334-349 (946-961).
'Ali b. al-Ikshid, 349-355 (961-966).
Kafur b. Abdallah al-Ikshidi, 355-357 (966-968).
Abu'l-Fawaris Ahmad b. 'Ali b. al-Ikshid, 357 (968).

_(b) Fatimite Caliphs_, 357-567 (969-1171).

Mo'izz Abu Tamim Ma'add (or li-din allah), 357-365 (969-975).
'Aziz Abu Mansur Nizar (al-'Aziz billah), 365-386 (975-996).
Hakim [Abu 'Ali Mansur], 386-411 (996-1020).
Zahir [Abu'l-Hasan 'Ali], 411-427 (1020-1035).
Mostansir [Abu Tamim Ma'add], 427-487 (1035-1094).
Mosta'li [Abu'l-Qasim Ahmad], 487-495 (1094-1101).
Amir [Abu 'Ali Mansur], 495-524 (1101-1130).
Hafiz [Abu'l-Maimun 'Abd al-Majid], 524-544 (1130-1149).
Zafir [Abu'l-Mansur Isma'il], 544-549 (1149-1154).
Fa'iz [Abu'l-Qasim 'Isa], 549-555 (1154-1160).
'Adid [Abu Mahommed 'Abdallah], 555-567 (1160-1171).

_(c) Ayyubite Sultans_, 564-648 (1169-1250).

Malik al-Nasir Salah al-din Yusuf b. Ayyub (SALADIN), 564-589
(1169-1193).
Malik al-'Aziz 'Imad al-din Othman, 589-595 (1193-1198).
Malik al-Mansur Mahommed, 595-596 (1198-1199).
Malik al-'Adil Saif al-din Abu Bakr, 596-615 (1199-1218).
Malik AL-KAMIL Mahommed, 615-635 (1218-1238).
Malik al-'Adil II. Saif al-din Abu Bakr, 635-637 (1238-1240).
Malik al-Salih Najm al-din Ayyub, 637-647 (1240-1249).
Malik al-Mo'azzam Turanshah, 647-648 (1249-1250).
Malik al-Ashraf Musa, 648-650 (1250-1252).

_(d) Bahri Mamelukes_, 648-792 (1250-1390).

Shajar al-durr, 648 (1250).
Malik al-Mo'izz 'Izz al-din Aibek, 648-655 (1250-1257).
Malik al-Mansur Nureddin 'Ali, 655-657 (1257-1259).
Malik al-Mozaffar Saif al-din KOTUZ, 657-658 (1259-1260).
Malik al-Zahir [Rukn al-din (Rukneddin) BIBARS Bundukdari],
658-676 (1260-1277).
Malik al-Sa'id Nasir al-din Barakah Khan, 676-678 (1277-1279).
Malik al-'Adil Badr al-din Salamish, 678 (1279).
Malik al-Mansur Saif al-din QALA'UN, 678-689 (1279-1290).
Malik al-Ashraf [Salah al-din KHALIL], 689-693 (1290-1293).
Malik al-Nasir [Nasir al-din Mahommed], 693-694 (1293-1294).
Malik al-'Adil [Zain al-din KITBOGA], 694-696 (1294-1296).
Mansur [Husam al-din LAJIN], 696-698 (1296-1298).
NASIR MAHOMMED (again), 698-708 (1298-1308).
Mozaffar [Rukn al-din Bibars Jashengir], 708-709 (1308-1310).
Nasir Mahommed (third time), 709-741 (1310-1341).
Mansur [Saif al-din ABU BAKR], 741-742 (1341).
Ashraf [Ala'u 'l-din KUCHUK], 742 (1341-1342).
Nasir [Shihab al-din Ahmad], 742-743 (1342).
Salih 'Imad al-din Isma'il], 743-746 (1342-1345).
Kamil [Saif al-din SHA'BAN], 746-747 (1345-1346).
Mozaffar [Saif al-din HAJJI], 747-748 (1346-1347).
Nasir [Nasir al-din Hasan], 748-752 (1347-1351).
Salih [Salah al-din Salih], 752-755 (1351-1354).
Nasir [Hasan] (again), 755-762 (1354-1361).
Mansur [Salah al-din Mahommed], 762-764 (1361-1363).
Ashraf [Nasir al-din Sha'ban], 764-778 (1363-1377).
Mansur ['Ala'u 'l-din 'Ali], 778-783 (1377-1381).
Salih [Salah al-din Hajji, 783-784 (1381-1382).
Barkuk or Barquq (see below), 784-791 (1382-1389).
Hajji again, with title of Mozaffar, 791-792 (1389-1390).

_(e) Burji Mamelukes_, 784-922 (1382-1517).

Zahir [Saif al-din Barquq], 784-801 (1382-1398) [interrupted by Hajji,
791-792].
Nasir [Nasir al-din FARAJ], 801-808 (1398-1405).
Mansur ['Izz al-din Abdalaziz ('Abd al-'Aziz)], 808-809 (1405-1406).
Nasir Faraj (again), 809-815 (1406-1412).
'Adil Mosta'in (Abbasid caliph), 815 (1412).
Mu'ayyad [Sheikh], 815-824 (1412-1421).
Mozaffar [Ahmad], 824 (1421).
Zahir [Saif al-din Tatar], 824 (1421).
Salih [Nasir al-din Mahommed], 824-825 (1421-1422).
Ashraf [Saif al-din Barsbai], 825-842 (1422-1438).
'Aziz [Jamal al-din Yusuf], 842 (1438).
Zahir [Saif al-din Jakmak], 842-857 (1438-1453).
Mansur [Fakhr al-din Othman], 857 (1453).
Ashraf [Saif al-din Inal], 857-865 (1453-1461).
Mu'ayyad [Shihab al-din Ahmad], 865 (1461).
Zahir [Saif al-din Khoshkadam], 865-872 (1461-1467).
Zahir [Saif al-din Yelbai or Bilbai], 872 (1467).
Zahir [Timurbogha], 872-873 (1467-1468).
Ashraf [Saif al-din (KAIT BEY)], 873-901 (1468-1495).
Nasir [Mahommed], 901-904 (1495-1498).
Zahir [Kansuh], 904-905 (1498-1499).
Ashraf [Janbalat or Jan Belat], 905-906 (1499-1501).
'Adil Tumanbey, 906 (1501).
Ashraf [Kansuh Ghuri], 906-922 (1501-1516).
Ashraf [Tumanbey], 922 (1516-1517).

_(f) Turkish Governors after the Ottoman Conquest._

Khair Bey, 923 (1517).
Mustafa Pasha, 926 (1520).
Ahmad, 929 (1523).
Qasim, 930 (1524).
Ibrahim, 931 (1525).
Suleiman, 933 (1527).
Dawud, 945 (1538).
'Ali, 956 (1549).
Mahommed, 961 (1554).
Iskandar, 963 (1556).
'Ali al-Khadim, 968 (1561).
Mustafa, 969 (1561).
'Ali al-Sufi, 971 (1563).
Mahmud, 973 (1566).
Sinan, 975 (1567).
Hosain, 980 (1573).
Masih, 982 (1575).
Hasan al-Khadim, 988 (1580).
Ibrahim, 991 (1583).
Sinan, 992 (1584).
Uwais, 994 (1585).
Hafiz Ahmad, 999 (1591).
Kurt, 1003 (1595).
Sayyid Mahommed, 1004 (1596).
Khidr, 1006 (1598).
'Ali al-Silahdar, 1009 (1601).
Ibrahim, 1012 (1604).
Mahommed al-Kurji, 1013 (1605).
Hasan, 1014 (1605).
Mahommed al-Sufi, 1016 (1607).
Ahmad al-Daftardar, 1022 (1613).
Mustafa Lafakli, 1026 (1617).
Ja'far, 1027 (1618).
Mustafa, 1028 (1619).
Hosain, 1028 (1619).
Mahommed, 1031 (1622).
Ibrahim, 1031 (1622).
Mustafa, 1032 (1623).
'Ali, 1032 (1623).
Mustafa, 1032 (1624).
Bairam, 1036 (1626).
Mahommed, 1037 (1627).
Musa, 1040 (1631).
Khalil al-Bustanji, 1041 (1631).
Ahmad al-Kurji, 1042 (1633).
Hosain, 1045 (1636).
Mahommed b. Ahmad, 1047 (1638).
Mustafa al-Bustanji, 1049 (1639).
Maqsud, 1050 (1641).
Suyan Bey, 1054 (1644).
Ayyub, 1055 (1645).
Mahommed b. Haidar, 1057 (1647).
Ahmad, 1058 (1648).
'Abd al-Rahman, 1061 (1651).
Mahommed al-Silahdar, 1062 (1652).
Ghazi, 1066 (1655).
Omar, 1067 (1652).
Ahmad, 1077 (1666).
Ibrahim, 1078 (1667).
Hosain, 1085 (1674).
Hasan al-Janbalat, 1087 (1676).
Othman, 1091 (1680).
Hasan al-Silahdar, 1099 (1688).
Ahmad, 1101 (1690).
'Ali Qilij, 1102 (1691).
Isma'il, 1107 (1696).
Hosain, 1109 (1697).
Qara Mahommed or Ahmad, 1111 (1699).
Mahommed Rami, 1116 (1704).
'Ali Muslim, 1118 (1706).
Hosain Ketkhuda, 1119 (1707).
Ibrahim Qabudan, 1121 (1709).
Khalil, 1122 (1710).
Wali, 1123 (1711).
'Abidin, 1127 (1715).
'Ali Izmirli, 1129 (1717).
Rajab, 1130 (1718).
Mahommed al-Bashimi, 1132 (1720).
'Ali, 1138 (1728).
Bakir, 1141 (1729).
'Abdallah Kuburlu, 1142 (1729).
Mahommed Silahdar, 1144 (1732).
Othman Halabi, 1146 (1733).
Bakir, 1148 (1735).
Mustafa, 1149 (1736).
Sulaiman b. al-'Azim, 1152 (1739).
'Ali Hakim Oghlu, 1153 (1740).
Yahya, 1154 (1741).
Mahommed Yedkeshi, 1156 (1743).
Mahommed Raghib, 1158 (1745).
Ahmad Kuruzir, 1161 (1748).
Sharif 'Abdallah, 1163 (1750).
Mahommed Amin, 1166 (1753).
Mustafa, 1166 (1753).
'Ali Hakim Oghlu, 1169 (1756).
Mahommed Sa'id, 1171 (1758).
Mustafa, 1173 (1759).
Ahmad Kamil, 1174 (1761).
Bakir, 1175 (1761).
Hasan, 1176 (1761).
Hamzah, 1179 (1765).
Mahommed Raqim, 1181 (1767).
Mahommed Urflu, 1182 (1768).
Ahmad, 1183 (1770).
Qara Khalil, 1184 (1770).
Mustafa Nabulsi, 1188 (1774).
Ibrahim 'Arabgirli, 1189 (1775).
Mahommed 'Izzet, 1190 (1776).
Isma'il, 1193 (1779).
Mahommed Malik, 1195 (1781).
Sharif 'Ali Qassab, 1196 (1782).
Mahommed Silahdar, 1198 (1783).
Mahommed Yeyen, 1200 (1785).
'Abidin Sharif, 1201 (1787).
Isma'il Tunisi, 1203 (1788).
Salih Qaisarli, 1209 (1794).
Abu Bakr Tarabulsi, 1211 (1796).

_French Occupation._

Khosrev, 1216 (1802).
Tahir, 1218 (1803).
Ali Jaza'irli' or Tarabulsi, 1218 (1803).
Khorshid, 1219 (1804).

_(g) Hereditary Pashas (later Khedives), from 1220 (from 1805)._

Mehemet 'Ali, 1220-1264 (1805-1848).
Ibrahim, 1264 (1848).
'Abbas I., 1264-1270 (1848-1854).
Sa'id, 1270-1280 (1854-1863).
Isma'il 1280-1300 (1863-1882).
Tewfik, 1300-1309 (1882-1892).
Abbas II., 1309 (1892).

(3) _Period under Governors sent from the Metropolis of the eastern Caliphate._--The first governor of the newly acquired province was the conqueror 'Amr, whose jurisdiction was presently restricted to Lower Egypt; Upper Egypt, which was divided into three provinces, being assigned to Abdallah b. Sa'd, on whom the third caliph conferred the government of Lower Egypt also, 'Amr being recalled, owing to his unwillingness to extort from his subjects as much money as would satisfy the caliph. In the troubles which overtook the Islamic empire with the accession of Othman, Egypt was greatly involved, and it had to be reconquered from the adherents of Ali for Moawiya (Mo'awiyah) by 'Amr, who in A.H. 38 was rewarded for his services by being reinstated as governor, with the right to appropriate the surplus revenue instead of sending it as tribute to the metropolis. In the confusion which followed on the death of the Omayyad caliph Yazid the Egyptian Moslems declared themselves for Abdallah b. Zobair, but their leader was defeated in a battle near Ain Shams (December 684) by Merwan b. Hakam (Merwan I.), who had assumed the Caliphate, and the conqueror's son Abd al-'Aziz was appointed governor. They also declared themselves against the usurper Merwan II. in 745, whose lieutenant al-Hautharah had to enter Fostat at the head of an army. In 750 Merwan II. himself came to Egypt as a fugitive from the Abbasids, but found that the bulk of the Moslem population had already joined with his enemies, and was defeated and slain in the neighbourhood of Giza in July of the same year. The Abbasid general, Salih b. Ali, who had won the victory, was then appointed governor.

Coptic revolt.

During the period that elapsed between the Moslem conquest and the end of the Omayyad dynasty the nature of the Arab occupation had changed from what had originally been intended, the establishment of garrisons, to systematic colonization. Conversions of Copts to Islam were at first rare, and the old system of taxation was maintained for the greater part of the first Islamic century. This was at the rate of a dinar per _feddan_, of which the proceeds were used in the first place for the pay of the troops and their families, with about half the amount in kind for the rations of the army. The process by which the first of these contributions was turned into coin is still obscure; it is clear that the corn when threshed was taken over by certain public officials who deducted the amount due to the state. In general the system is well illustrated by the papyri forming the Schott-Reinhardt collection at Heidelberg (edited by C.H. Becker, 1906), which contain a number of letters on the subject from Qurrah b. Sharik, governor from A.H. 90 to 96. The old division of the country into districts (_nomoi_) is maintained, and to the inhabitants of these districts demands are directly addressed by the governor of Egypt, while the head of the community, ordinarily a Copt, but in some cases a Moslem, is responsible for compliance with the demand. An official called "receiver" (_qabbal_) is chosen by the inhabitants of each district to take charge of the produce till it is delivered into the public magazines, and receives 5% for his trouble. Some further details are to be found in documents preserved by the archaeologist Maqrizi, from which it appears that the sum for which each district was responsible was distributed over the unit in such a way that artisans and tradesmen paid at a rate similar to that which was enforced on those employed in agriculture. It is not known at what time the practice of having the amount due settled by the community was altered into that according to which it was settled by the governor, or at what time the practice of deducting from the total certain expenses necessary for the maintenance of the community was abandoned. The researches of Wellhausen and Becker have made it clear that the difference which is marked in later Islam between a poll-tax (_jizyah_) and a land-tax (_kharaj_) did not at first exist: the papyri of the 1st century know only of the jizyah, which, however, is not a poll-tax but a land-tax (in the main). The development of the poll-tax imposed on members of tolerated cults seems to be due to various causes, chief of them the acquisition of land by Moslems, who were not at first allowed to possess any, the conversion of Coptic landowners to Islam, and the enforcement (towards the end of the 1st century of Islam) of the poll-tax on monks. The treasury could not afford to lose the land-tax, which it would naturally forfeit by the first two of the above occurrences, and we read of various expedients being tried to prevent this loss. Such were making the Christian community to which the proselyte had belonged pay as much as it had paid when his lands belonged to it, making proselytes pay as before their conversion, or compelling them to abandon their lands on conversion. Eventually the theory spread that all land paid land-tax, whereas members of tolerated sects paid a personal tax also; but during the evolution of this doctrine the relations between conquerors and conquered became more and more strained, and from the time when the control of the finance was separated from the administration of the country (A.D. 715) complaints of extortion became serious; under the predecessor of Qurrah, 'Abdallah b. 'Abd al-Malik, the country suffered from famine, and under this ruler it was unable to recover. Under the finance minister Obaidallah b. Habhab (720-734) the first government survey by Moslems was made, followed by a census; but before this time the higher administrative posts had been largely taken out of the hands of Copts and filled with Arabs. The resentment of the Copts finally expressed itself in a revolt, which broke out in the year 725, and was suppressed with difficulty. Two years after, in order that the Arab element in Egypt might be strengthened, a colony of North Arabians (Qaisites) was sent for and planted near Bilbeis, reaching the number of 3000 persons; this immigration also restored the balance between the two branches of the Arab race, as the first immigrants had belonged almost exclusively to the South Arabian stock. Meanwhile the employment of the Arabic language had been steadily gaining ground, and in 706 it was made the official language of the bureaux, though the occasional use of Greek for this purpose is attested by documents as late as the year 780. Other revolts of the Copts are recorded for the year 739 and 750, the last year of Omayyad domination. The outbreaks in all cases are attributed to increased taxation.

The Abbasid period was marked at its commencement by the erection of a new capital to the north of Fostat, bearing the name _'Askar_ or "camp." Apparently at this time the practice of farming the taxes began, which naturally led to even greater extortion than before; and a fresh rising of the Copts is recorded for the fourth year of Abbasid rule. Governors, as will be seen from the list, were frequently changed. The three officials of importance whose nomination is mentioned by the historians in addition to that of the governor were the commander of the bodyguard, the minister of finance and the judge. Towards the beginning of the 3rd Islamic century the practice of giving Egypt in fief to a governor was resumed by the caliph Mamun, who bestowed this privilege on 'Abdallah b. Tahir, who in 827 was sent to recover Alexandria, which for some ten years had been held by exiles from Spain. 'Abdallah b. Tahir decided to reside at Bagdad, sending a deputy to Egypt to govern for him; and this example was afterwards followed. In 828, when Mamun's brother Motasim was feudal lord, a violent insurrection broke out in the Hauf, occasioned, as usual, by excessive taxation; it was partly quelled in the next year by Motasim, who marched against the rebels with an army of 4000 Turks. The rebellion broke out repeatedly in the following years, and in 831 the Copts joined with the Arabs against the government; the state of affairs became so serious that the caliph Mamun himself visited Egypt, arriving at Fostat in February 832; his general Afshin fought a decisive battle with the rebels at Basharud in the Hauf region, at which the Copts were compelled to surrender; the males were massacred and the women and children sold as slaves.

Turkish governors appointed.

This event finally crushed the Coptic nation, which never again made head against the Moslems. In the following year the caliph Motasim, who surrounded himself with a foreign bodyguard, withdrew the stipends of the Arab soldiers in Egypt; this measure caused some of the Arab tribes who had been long settled in Egypt to revolt, but their resistance was crushed, and the domination of the Arab element in the country from this time gave way to that of foreign mercenaries, who, belonging to one nation or another, held it for most of its subsequent history. Egypt was given in fief to a Turkish general Ashnas (Ashinas), who never visited the country, and the rule of individuals of Turkish origin prevailed till the rise of the Fatimites, who for a time interrupted it. The presence of Turks in Egypt is attested by documents as early as 808. While the governor was appointed by the feudal lord, the finance minister continued to be appointed by the caliph. On the death of Ashnas in 844 Egypt was given in fief to another Turkish general Itakh, but in 850 this person fell out of favour, and the fief was transferred to Montasir, son of the caliph Motawakkil. In 856 it was transferred from him to the vizier Fath b. Khaqan, who for the first time appointed a Turkish governor. The chief places in the state were also filled with Turks. The period between the rise of the Abbasids and the quasi-independent dynasties of Egypt was marked by much religious persecution, occasioned by the fanaticism of some of the caliphs, the victims being generally Moslem sectarians. (For Egypt under Motawakkil see CALIPHATE, S c. par. 10.)

The policy of these caliphs also led to severe measures being taken against any members of the Alid family or adherents of their cause who were to be found in Egypt.

Tulunid Dynasty.

In the year 868 Egypt was given in fief to a Turkish general Bayikbeg, who sent thither as his representative his stepson Ahmad b. Tulun, the first founder of a quasi-independent dynasty. This personage was himself the son of a Turk who, originally sent as a slave to Bagdad, had risen to high rank in the service of the caliphs. Ahmad b. Tulun spent some of his early life in Tarsus, and on his return distinguished himself by rescuing his caravan, which conveyed treasure belonging to the caliph, from brigands who attacked it; he afterwards accompanied the caliph Mosta'in into exile, and displayed some honourable qualities in his treatment of the fallen sovereign. He found a rival in Egypt in the person of Ibn al-Modabbir, the finance minister, who occupied an independent position, and who started the practice of surrounding himself with an army of his own slaves or freedmen; of these Ibn Tulun succeeded in depriving the finance minister, and they formed the nucleus of an army by which he eventually secured his own independence. Insurrections by adherents of the Alids gave him the opportunity to display his military skill; and when in 870 his stepfather died, by a stroke of luck the fief was given to his father-in-law, who retained Ahmad in the lieutenancy, and indeed extended his authority to Alexandria, which had till that time been outside it. The enterprise of a usurper in Syria in the year 872 caused the caliph to require the presence of Ahmad in that country at the head of an army to quell it; and although this army was not actually employed for the purpose, it was not disbanded by Ahmad, who on his return founded a fresh city called Kata'i', "the fiefs," S.E. of modern Cairo, to house it. On the death of Ahmad's father-in-law in the same year, when Egypt was given in fief to the caliph's brother Mowaffaq (famous for his defeat of the Zanj), Ahmad secured himself in his post by extensive bribery at headquarters; and in the following year the administration of the Syrian frontier was conferred on him as well. By 875 he found himself strong enough to refuse to send tribute to Bagdad, preferring to spend the revenues of Egypt on the maintenance of his army and the erection of great buildings, such as his famous mosque; and though Mowaffaq advanced against him with an army, the project of reducing Ahmad to submission had to be abandoned for want of means. In 877 and 878 Ahmad advanced into Syria and obtained the submission of the chief cities, and at Tarsus entered into friendly relations with the representatives of the Byzantine emperor. During his absence his son 'Abbas revolted in Egypt; on the news of his father's return he fled to Barca, whence he endeavoured to conquer the Aghlabite dominions in the Maghrib; he was, however, defeated by the Aghlabite ruler, and returned to Barca, where he was again defeated by his father's forces and taken prisoner.

In 882 relations between Ahmad and Mowaffaq again became strained, and the former conceived the bold plan of getting the caliph Mo'tamid into his power, which, however, was frustrated by Mowaffaq's vigilance; but an open rupture was the result, as Mowaffaq formally deprived Ahmad of his lieutenancy, while Ahmad equally formally declared that Mowaffaq had forfeited the succession. A revolt that broke out at Tarsus caused Ahmad to traverse Syria once more in 883, but illness compelled him to return, and on the 10th of May 884 he died at his residence in Kata'i'. He was the first to establish the claim of Egypt to govern Syria, and from his time Egypt grew more and more independent of the Eastern caliphate. He appears to have invented the fiction which afterwards was repeatedly employed, by which the money spent on mosque-building was supposed to have been furnished by discoveries of buried treasure.

He was succeeded by his son Khomaruya, then twenty years of age, who immediately after his accession had to deal with an attempt on the part of the caliph to recover Syria; this attempt failed chiefly through dissensions between the caliph's officers, but partly through the ability of Khomaruya's general, who succeeded in winning a battle after his master had run away from the field. By 886 Mowaffaq found it expedient to grant Khomaruya the possession of Egypt, Syria, and the frontier towns for a period of thirty years, and ere long, owing to the disputes of the provincial governors, Khomaruya found it possible to extend his domain to the Euphrates and even the Tigris. On the death of Mowaffaq in 891 the Egyptian governor was able to renew peaceful relations with the caliphs, and receive fresh confirmation in his possessions for thirty years. The security which he thereby gained gave him the opportunity to indulge his taste for costly buildings, parks and other luxuries, of which the chroniclers give accounts bordering on the fabulous. After the marriage of his daughter to the caliph, which was celebrated at enormous expense, an arrangement was made giving the Tulunid sovereign the viceroyalty of a region extending from Barca on the west to Hit on the east; but tribute, ordinarily to the amount of 300,000 dinars, was to be sent to the metropolis. His realm enjoyed peace till his death in 896, when he fell a victim to some palace intrigue at Damascus.

His son and successor Abu'l-'Asakir Jaish was fourteen years old at his accession, and being without adequate guidance soon revealed his incompetence, which led to his being murdered after a reign of six months by his troops, who gave his place to his brother Harun, who was of about the same age. In the eight years of his government the Tulunid empire contracted, owing to the revolts of the deputies which Harun was unable to quell, though in 898 he endeavoured to secure a new lease of the sovereignty in Egypt and Syria by a fresh arrangement with the caliph, involving an increase of tribute. The following years witnessed serious troubles in Syria caused by the Carmathians, which called for the intervention of the caliph, who at last succeeded in defeating these fanatics; the officer Mahommed b. Solaiman, to whom the victory was due, was then commissioned by the caliph to reconquer Egypt from the Tulunids, and after securing the allegiance of the Syrian prefects he invaded Egypt by sea and land at once. Before the arrival of these troops Harun had met his death at the hands of an assassin, or else in an affray, and his uncle Shaiban, who was placed on the throne, found himself without the means to collect an army fit to grapple with the invaders. Fostat was taken by Mahommed b. Solaiman after very slight resistance, at the beginning of 905, and after the infliction of severe punishment on the inhabitants Egypt was once more put under a deputy, 'Isa al-Naushari, appointed directly by the caliph.

The old regime was not restored without an attempt made by an adherent of the Tulunids to reconquer Egypt ostensibly for their benefit, and for a time the caliph's viceroy had to quit the capital. The vigorous measures of the authorities at Bagdad speedily quelled this rebellion, and the Tulunid palace at Kata'i' was then destroyed in order that there might be nothing to remind the Egyptians of the dynasty. In the middle of the year 914 Egypt was invaded for the first time by a Fatimite force sent by the caliph al-Mahdi 'Obaidallah, now established at Kairawan. The Mahdi's son succeeded in taking Alexandria, and advancing as far as the Fayum; but once more the Abbasid caliph sent a powerful army to assist his viceroy, and the invaders were driven out of the country and pursued as far as Barca; the Fatimite caliph, however, continued to maintain active propaganda in Egypt. In 919 Alexandria was again seized by the Mahdi's son, afterwards the caliph al-Qa'im, and while his forces advanced northward as far as Ushmunain (Eshmunain) he was reinforced by a fleet which arrived at Alexandria. This fleet was destroyed by a far smaller one sent by the Bagdad caliph to Rosetta; but Egypt was not freed from the invaders till the year 921, when reinforcements had been repeatedly sent from Bagdad to deal with them. The extortions necessitated by these wars for the maintenance of armies and the incompetence of the viceroys brought Egypt at this time into a miserable condition; and the numerous political crises at Bagdad prevented for a time any serious measures being taken to improve it. After a struggle between various pretenders to the viceroyalty, in which some pitched battles were fought, Mahommed b. Tughj, son of a Tulunid prefect of Damascus, was sent by the caliph to restore order; he had to force his entrance into the country by an engagement with one of the pretenders, Ibn Kaighlagh, in which he was victorious, and entered Fostat in August 935.

Ikshidite Dynasty.

Mahommed b. Tughj was the founder of the Ikshidi dynasty, so called from the title Ikshid, conferred on him at his request by the caliph shortly after his appointment to the governorship of Egypt; it is said to have had the sense of "king" in Ferghana, whence this person's ancestors had come to enter the service of the caliph Motasim. He had himself served under the governor of Egypt, Takin, whose son he displaced, in various capacities, and had afterwards held various governorships in Syria. One of the historians represents his appointment to Egypt as effected by bribery and even forgery. He united in his person the offices of governor and minister of finance, which had been separate since the time of the Tulunids. He endeavoured to replenish the treasury not only by extreme economy, but by inflicting fines on a vast scale on persons who had held offices under his predecessor and others who had rendered themselves suspect. The disaffected in Egypt kept up communications with the Fatimites, against whom the Ikshid collected a vast army, which, however, had first to be employed in resisting an invasion of Egypt threatened by Ibn Raiq, an adventurer who had seized Syria; after an indecisive engagement at Lajun the Ikshid decided to make peace with Ibn Raiq, undertaking to pay him tribute. The favour afterwards shown to Ibn Raiq at Bagdad nearly threw the Ikshid into the arms of the Fatimite caliph, with whom he carried on a friendly correspondence, one letter of which is preserved. He is even said to have given orders to substitute the name of the Fatimite caliph for that of the Abbasid in public prayer, but to have been warned of the unwisdom of this course. In 941, after the death of Ibn Raiq, the Ikshid took the opportunity of invading Syria, which the caliph permitted him to hold with the addition of the sacred cities of Mecca and Medina, which the Tulunids had aspired to possess. He is said at this time to have started (in imitation of Ahmad Ibn Tulun) a variety of vexatious enactments similar to those afterwards associated with the name of Hakim, e.g. compelling his soldiers to dye their hair, and adding to their pay for the purpose.

In the year 944 he was summoned to Mesopotamia to assist the caliph, who had been driven from Bagdad by Tuzun and was in the power of the Hamdanids; and he proposed, though unsuccessfully, to take the caliph with him to Egypt. At this time he obtained hereditary rights for his family in the government of that country and Syria. The Hamdanid Saif addaula shortly after this assumed the governorship of Aleppo, and became involved in a struggle with the Ikshid, whose general, Kafur, he defeated in an engagement between Homs and Hamah (Hamath). In a later battle he was himself defeated by the Ikshid, when an arrangement was made permitting Saif addaula to retain most of Syria, while a prefect appointed by the Ikshid was to remain in Damascus. The Buyid ruler, who was now supreme at Bagdad, permitted the Ikshid to remain in possession of his viceroyalty, but shortly after receiving this confirmation he died at Damascus in 946.

The second of this dynasty was the Ikshid's son Unjur, who had been proclaimed in his father's time, and began his government under the tutelage of the negro Kafur. Syria was immediately overrun by Saif addaula, but he was defeated by Kafur in two engagements, and was compelled to recognize the overlordship of the Egyptian viceroy. At the death of Unjur in 961 his brother Abu'l-Hasan 'Ali was made viceroy with the caliph's consent by Kafur, who continued to govern for his chief as before. The land was during this period threatened at once by the Fatimites from the west; the Nubians from the south, and the Carmathians from the east; when the second Ikshidi died in 965, Kafur at first made a pretence of appointing his young son Ahmad as his successor, but deemed it safer to assume the viceroyalty himself, setting an example which in Mameluke times was often followed. He occupied the post little more than three years, and on his death in 968 the aforementioned Ahmad, called Abu'l-Fawaris, was appointed successor, under the tutelage of a vizier named Ibn Furat, who had long served under the Ikshidis. The accession of this prince was followed by an incursion of the Carmathians into Syria, before whom the Ikshidi governor fled into Egypt, where he had for a time to undertake the management of affairs, and arrested Ibn Furat, who had proved himself incompetent.

The administration of Ibn Furat was fatal to the Ikshidis and momentous for Egypt, since a Jewish convert, Jacob, son of Killis, who had been in the Ikshid's service, and was ill-treated by Ibn Furat, fled to the Fatimite sovereign, and persuaded him that the time for invading Egypt with a prospect of success had arrived, since there was no one in Fostat capable of organizing a plan of defence, and the dissensions between the Buyids at Bagdad rendered it improbable that any succour would arrive from that quarter. The Fatimite caliph Mo'izz li-din allah was also in correspondence with other residents in Egypt, where the Alid party from the beginning of Abbasid times had always had many supporters; and the danger from the Carmathians rendered the presence of a strong government necessary. The Fatimite general Jauhar (variously represented as of Greek, Slav and Sicilian origin), who enjoyed the complete confidence of the Fatimite sovereign, was placed at the head of an army of 100,000 men--if Oriental numbers are to be trusted--and started from Rakkada at the beginning of March 969 with the view of seizing Egypt.

Before his arrival the administration of affairs had again been committed to Ibn Furat, who, on hearing of the threatened invasion, at first proposed to treat with Jauhar for the peaceful surrender of the country; but though at first there was a prospect of this being carried out, the majority of the troops at Fostat preferred to make some resistance, and an advance was made to meet Jauhar in the neighbourhood of Giza. He had little difficulty in defeating the Egyptian army, and on the 6th of July 969 entered Fostat at the head of his forces. The name of Mo'izz was immediately introduced into public prayer, and coins were struck in his name. The Ikshidi governor of Damascus, a cousin of Abu'l-Fawaris Ahmad, endeavoured to save Syria, but was defeated at Ramleh by a general sent by Jauhar and taken prisoner. Thus the Ikshidi Dynasty came to an end, and Egypt was transferred from the Eastern to the Western caliphate, of which it furnished the metropolis.

(4) _The Fatimite period_ begins with the taking of Fostat by Jauhar, who immediately began the building of a new city, al-Kahira or Cairo, to furnish quarters for the army which he had brought. A palace for the caliph and a mosque for the army were immediately constructed, the latter still famous as al-Azhar, and for many centuries the centre of Moslem learning. Almost immediately after the conquest of Egypt, Jauhar found himself engaged in a struggle with the Carmathians (q.v.), whom the Ikshidi prefect of Damascus had pacified by a promise of tribute; this promise was of course not held binding by the Fatimite general (Ja'far b. Falah) by whom Damascus was taken, and the Carmathian leader al-Hasan b. Ahmad al-A'sam received aid from Bagdad for the purpose of recovering Syria to the Abbasids. The general Ja'far, hoping to deal with this enemy independently of Jauhar, met the Carmathians without waiting for reinforcements from Egypt, and fell in battle, his army being defeated. Damascus was taken by the Carmathians, and the name of the Abbasid caliph substituted for that of Mo'izz in public worship. Hasan al-A'sam advanced from Damascus through Palestine to Egypt, encountering little resistance on the way; and in the autumn of 971 Jauhar found himself besieged in his new city. By a timely sortie, preceded by the administration of bribes to various officers in the Carmathian host, Jauhar succeeded in inflicting a severe defeat on the besiegers, who were compelled to evacuate Egypt and part of Syria.

Meanwhile Mo'izz had been summoned to enter the palace that had been prepared for him, and after leaving a viceroy to take charge of his western possessions he arrived in Alexandria on the 31st of May 973, and proceeded to instruct his new subjects in the particular form of religion (Shi'ism) which his family represented. As this was in origin identical with that professed by the Carmathians, he hoped to gain the submission of their leader by argument; but this plan was unsuccessful, and there was a fresh invasion from that quarter in the year after his arrival, and the caliph found himself besieged in his capital. The Carmathians were gradually forced to retreat from Egypt and then from Syria by some successful engagements, and by the judicious use of bribes, whereby dissension was sown among their leaders. Mo'izz also found time to take some active measures against the Byzantines, with whom his generals fought in Syria with varying fortune. Before his death he was acknowledged as caliph in Mecca and Medina, as well as Syria, Egypt and North Africa as far as Tangier.

In the reign of the second Egyptian Fatimite 'Aziz billah, Jauhar, who appears to have been cashiered by Mo'izz, was again employed at the instance of Jacob b. Killis, who had been raised to the rank of vizier, to deal with the situation in Syria, where a Turkish general Aftakin had gained possession of Damascus, and was raiding the whole country; on the arrival of Jauhar in Syria the Turks called the Carmathians to their aid, and after a campaign of many vicissitudes Jauhar had to return to Egypt to implore the caliph himself to take the field. In August 977 'Aziz met the united forces of Aftakin and his Carmathian ally outside Ramleh in Palestine and inflicted a crushing defeat on them, which was followed by the capture of Aftakin; this able officer was taken to Egypt, and honourably treated by the caliph, thereby incurring the jealousy of Jacob b. Killis, who caused him, it is said, to be poisoned. This vizier had the astuteness to see the necessity of codifying the doctrines of the Fatimites, and himself undertook this task; in the newly-established mosque of el-Azhar he got his master to make provision for a perpetual series of teachers and students of his manual. It would appear, however, that a large amount of toleration was conceded by the first two Egyptian Fatimites to the other sects of Islam, and to other communities. Indeed at one time in 'Aziz's reign the vizierate of Egypt was held by a Christian, Jesus, son of Nestorius, who appointed as his deputy in Syria a Jew, Manasseh b. Abraham. These persons were charged by the Moslems with unduly favouring their co-religionists, and the belief that the Christians of Egypt were in league with the Byzantine emperor, and even burned a fleet which was being built for the Byzantine war, led to some persecution. Aziz attempted without success to enter into friendly relations with the Buyid ruler of Bagdad, 'Adod addaula, who was disposed to favour the 'Alids, but caused the claim of the Fatimites to descend from 'Ali to be publicly refuted. He then tried to gain possession of Aleppo, as the key to 'Irak, but this was prevented by the intervention of the Byzantines. His North African possessions were maintained and extended by 'Ali, son of Bulukkin, whom Mo'izz had left as his deputy; but the recognition of the Fatimite caliph in this region was little more than nominal.

His successor _Abu 'Ali al-Mansur_, who reigned under the title _al-Hakim bi'amr allah_, came to the throne at the age of eleven, being the son of 'Aziz by a Christian mother. He was at first under the tutelage of the Slav Burjuwan, whose policy it was to favour the Turkish element in the army as against the Maghribine, on which the strength of the Fatimites had till then rested; his conduct of affairs was vigorous and successful, and he concluded a peace with the Greek emperor. After a few years' regency he was assassinated at the instance of the young sovereign, who at an early age developed a dislike for control and jealousy of his rights as caliph. He is branded by historians as the Caligula of the East, who took a delight in imposing on his subjects a variety of senseless and capricious regulations, and persecuting different sections of them by cruel and arbitrary measures. It is observable that some of those with which Hakim is credited are also ascribed to Ibn Tulun and the Ikshid (Mahommed b. Tughj). He is perhaps best remembered by his destruction of the church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem (1010), a measure which helped to provoke the Crusades, but was only part of a general scheme for converting all Christians and Jews in his dominions to his own opinions by force. A more reputable expedient with the same end in view was the construction of a great library in Cairo, with ample provision for students; this was modelled on a similar institution at Bagdad. It formed part of the great palace of the Fatimites, and was intended to be the centre of their propaganda. At times, however, he ordered the destruction of all Christian churches in Egypt, and the banishment of all who did not adopt Islam. It is strange that in the midst of these persecutions he continued to employ Christians in high official positions. His system of persecution was not abandoned till in the last year of his reign (1020) he thought fit to claim divinity, a doctrine which is perpetuated by the Druses (q.v.), called after one Darazi, who preached the divinity of Hakim at the time; the violent opposition which this aroused among the Moslems probably led him to adopt milder measures towards his other subjects, and those who had been forcibly converted were permitted to return to their former religion and rebuild their places of worship. Whether his disappearance at the beginning of the year 1021 was due to the resentment of his outraged subjects, or, as the historians say, to his sister's fear that he would bequeath the caliphate to a distant relative to the exclusion of his own son, will never be known. In spite of his caprices he appears to have shown competence in the management of external affairs; enterprises of pretenders both in Egypt and Syria were crushed with promptitude; and his name was at times mentioned in public worship in Aleppo and Mosul.

His son _Abu'l-Hasan 'Ali_, who succeeded him with the title _al-Zahir li'i'zaz din allah_, was sixteen years of age at the time, and for four years his aunt Sitt al-Mulk acted as regent; she appears to have been an astute but utterly unscrupulous woman. After her death the caliph was in the power of various ministers, under whose management of affairs Syria was for a time lost to the Egyptian caliphate, and Egypt itself raided by the Syrian usurpers, of whom one, Salih b. Mirdas, succeeded in establishing a dynasty at Aleppo, which maintained itself after Syria and Palestine had been recovered for the Fatimites by Anushtakin al-Dizbari at the battle of Ukhuwanah in 1029. His career is said to have been marked by some horrible caprices similar to those of his father. After a reign of nearly sixteen years he died of the plague.

His successor, _Abu Tamim Ma'add_, who reigned with the title _al-Mostansir_, was also an infant at the time of his accession, being little more than seven years of age. The power was largely in the hands of his mother, a negress, who promoted the interests of her kinsmen at court, where indeed even in Hakim's time they had been used as a counterpoise to the Maghribine and Turkish elements in the army. In the first years of this reign affairs were administered by the vizier al-Jarjara'i, by whose mismanagement Aleppo was lost to the Fatimites. At his death in 1044 the chief influence passed into the hands of Abu Sa'd, a Jew, and the former master of the queen-mother, and at the end of four years he was assassinated at the instance of another Jew (Sadakah, perhaps Zedekiah, b. Joseph al-Falahi), whom he had appointed vizier. In this reign Mo'izz b. Badis, the 4th ruler of the dependent Zeirid dynasty which had ruled in the Maghrib since the migration of the Fatimite Mo'izz to Egypt, definitely abjured his allegiance (1049) and returned to Sunnite principles and subjection to the Bagdad caliphate. The Zeirids maintained Mahdia (see ALGIERS), while other cities of the Maghrib were colonized by Arab tribes sent thither by the Cairene vizier. This loss was more than compensated by the enrolment of Yemen among the countries which recognized the Fatimite caliphate through the enterprise of one 'Ali b. Mahommed al-Sulaihi, while owing to the disputes between the Turkish generals who claimed supremacy at Bagdad, Mostansir's name was mentioned in public prayer at that metropolis on the 12th of January 1058, when a Turkish adventurer Basasiri was for a time in power. The Egyptian court, chiefly owing to the jealousy of the vizier, sent no efficient aid to Basasiri, and after a year Bagdad was retaken by the Seljuk Toghrul Beg, and the Abbasid caliph restored to his rights. In the following years the troubles in Egypt caused by the struggles between the Turkish and negro elements in Mostansir's army nearly brought the country into the dominion of the Abbasids. After several battles of various issue the Turkish commander Nasir addaula b. Hamdan got possession of Cairo, and at the end of 1068 plundered the caliph's palace; the valuable library which had been begun by Hakim was pillaged, and an accidental fire caused great destruction. The caliph and his family were reduced to destitution, and Nasir addaula began negotiations for restoring the name of the Abbasid caliph in public prayer; he was, however, assassinated before he could carry this out, and his assassin, also a Turk, appointed vizier. Mostansir then summoned to his aid Badr al-Jamali, an Armenian who had displayed competence in various posts which he had held in Syria, and this person early in 1074 arrived in Cairo accompanied by a bodyguard of Armenians; he contrived to massacre the chiefs of the party at the time in possession of power, and with the title Amir al-Juyush ("prince of the armies") was given by Mostansir complete control of affairs. The period of internal disturbances, which had been accompanied by famine and pestilence, had caused usurpers to spring up in all parts of Egypt, and Badr was compelled practically to reconquer the country. During this time, however, Syria was overrun by an invader in league with the Seljuk Malik Shah, and Damascus was permanently lost to the Fatimites; other cities were recovered by Badr himself or his officers. He rebuilt the walls of Cairo, of more durable material than that which had been employed by Jauhar--a measure rendered necessary partly by the growth of the metropolis, but also by the repeated sieges which it had undergone since the commencement of Fatimite rule. The time of Mostansir is otherwise memorable for the rise of the Assassins (q.v.), who at the first supported the claims of his eldest son Nizar to the succession against the youngest Ahmed, who was favoured by the family of Badr. When Badr died in 1094 his influence was inherited by his son al-Afdal Shahinshah, and this, at the death of Mostansir in the same year, was thrown in favour of _Ahmed_, who succeeded to the caliphate with the title _al-Mosta'li billah_.

The Crusades.

Mosta'li's succession was not carried through without an attempt on the part of Nizar to obtain his rights, the title which he chose being _al-Mostafa lidin allah_; for a time he maintained himself in Alexandria, but the energetic measures of his brother soon brought the civil war to an end. The beginning of this reign coincided with the beginning of the Crusades, and al-Afdal made the fatal mistake of helping the Franks by rescuing Jerusalem from the Ortokids, thereby facilitating its conquest by the Franks in 1099. He endeavoured to retrieve his error by himself advancing into Palestine, but he was defeated in the neighbourhood of Ascalon, and compelled to retire to Egypt. Many of the Palestinian possessions of the Fatimites then successively fell into the hands of the Franks. After a reign of seven years Mosta'li died and the caliphate was given by al-Afdal to an infant son, aged five years at the time, who was placed on the throne with the title _al-Amir biahkam allah_, and for twenty years was under the tutelage of al-Afdal. He made repeated attempts to recover the Syrian and Palestinian cities from the Franks, but with poor success. In 1118 Egypt was invaded by Baldwin I., who burned the gates and the mosques of Farama, and advanced to Tinnis, whence illness compelled him to retreat. In August 1121 al-Afdal was assassinated in a street of Cairo, it is said, with the connivance of the caliph, who immediately began the plunder of his house, where fabulous treasures were said to be amassed. The vizier's offices were given to one of the caliph's creatures, Mahommed b. Fatik al-Bata'ihi, who took the title _al-Ma'mun_. His external policy was not more fortunate than that of his predecessor, as he lost Tyre to the Franks, and a fleet equipped by him was defeated by the Venetians. On the 4th of October 1125 he with his followers was seized and imprisoned by order of the Caliph Amir, who was now resolved to govern by himself, with the assistance of only subordinate officials, of whom two were drawn from the Samaritan and Christian communities. The vizier was afterwards crucified with his five brothers. The caliph's personal government appears to have been incompetent, and to have been marked by extortions and other arbitrary measures. He was assassinated in October 1129 by some members of the sect who believed in the claims of Nizar, son of Mostansir.

The succeeding caliph, _Abu'l-Maimun 'Abd al-Majid_, who took the title _al-Hafiz lidin allah_, was not the son but the cousin of the deceased caliph, and of ripe age, being about fifty-eight years old at the time; for more than a year he was kept in prison by the new vizier, a son of al-Afdal, whom the army had placed in the post; but towards the end of 1131 this vizier fell by the hand of assassins, and the caliph was set free. The reign of Hafiz was disturbed by the factions of the soldiery, between which several battles took place, ending in the subjection of the caliph for a time to various usurpers, one of these being his own son Hasan, who had been provoked to rebel by the caliph nominating a younger brother as his successor. For some months the caliph was under this son's control; but the latter, who aimed at conciliating the people, speedily lost his popularity with the troops, and his father was able to get possession of his person and cause him to be poisoned (beginning of 1135).