A previous article tackled Caliph Al-Fa’ez bi Nasr Allah (549- 555 AH) (1154- 1160 AD), the 10th Fatimid caliph of Egypt, who assumed the throne at the age of five following the murder of his father, Al-Zafir. Due to his young age, the de-facto ruler was Minister Abbas, until he was killed in revenge for Al-Zafir’s death; afterwards, Tala’eibnRuzaiq became the ruler of Egypt and was called “Al-Malek Al-Saleh”.
Al-Saleh was interested in raising money and murdering senior statesmen to get rid of his rivals; so he overtook the rule and set prices for the rule of the princes, on condition that the term of ruling shall be no more than six months; which caused great damage to the people. He also imposed his authority on the palace until he caused a lot of trouble to the people. Al-Fa’ez’s aunt, who was his sponsor, sought to kill Al-Saleh, but her attempt was foiled. Indeed, Al-Saleh killed her and entrusted his younger aunt with the sponsorship of Al-Fa’ez.
Some historians mention that Al-Saleh used to meet with writers for many nights, and that he used to compose poetry, but much of his poetry was said to be taken from Ibn Al-Zubayr, “the polite judge”, including:
Time shows us many incidents, from which we learn and within us is the repulsion and the refusal
We forget about death and do not make its remembrance of it in us, but diseases remind us of it.
The days of Caliph Al-Fa’ez witnessed the occurrence of great earthquakes in most of the Levant countries that destroyed many; IbnTaghri states: “There were great earthquakes in Levant, Aleppo, Hama, Shaizar, and most of the Levant and the East, and many people perished. A teacher at Hama was said to be at the Kuttab (elementary school), he rose to relieve himself, he returned to find all the boys dead beneath the office which fell on them. Surprisingly, nobody came to ask about the boys, as all their fathers also died under their demolished homes too! The towers of Aleppo Castle collapsed and other towers too, all the people of Shaizar died except for a woman and a servant. Apameacastle was swallowed into the ground, Tal Harran was split in halves to uncover old houses and buildings. A place in Latakiasplit where an idol standing in the water appeared. Sidon, Beirut,Tripoli, Acre, Tyre and all the castles of the Franks were devastated.” This occurred in 552 AH (1157 AD). Also, Baghdaddrowned in 554 AH (1159 AD); Ibn al-Atheer mentions that the tide flowed to the country, filling the deserts and trench of the country with water, which demolished the wall and flooded many places in Baghdad, many buildings, shops and some cemeteries were brought down, so it was a severe devastation of the country. In the same yearof Al-Fa’ez’s death, the Abbasid caliph Al-MuqtafiBillah died too, then he was succeeded by Al-MustanjidBillah. Al-Saleh maintained the governance affairs till the death of Caliph Al-Fa’ez in 555 AH (1160 AD), spending nearly six years and a few months in power, he was succeeded by his cousin, Al-A’adidBillah.
Al-A’adidBillah (555 – 567 AH) (1160 – 1172 AD)
He is Abu Muhammad Abdullah bin Yusuf bin Al-Hafez, nicknamed Al-A’adidBillah, he is the eleventh and last Fatimid caliph in Egypt. He took over at the age of eleven and few months, after the death of his cousin, Al-Fa’ez Bi Nasr Allah. His father, Youssef bin Al-Hafez was killed by Minister Abbas after the murder of Al-Zafir. He assumed the caliphate while Al-Malek Al-Saleh was still keeping control of the government affairs, controlling the caliph’s palace since the days of Al-Fa’ez. Nonetheless, the younger aunt of Al-Fa’ez, along with her sister’s friends, (who was killed at the orders ofAl-Saleh),plotted to kill Al-Saleh, and he indeed died, and was succeeded in the ministry by his son,Ruzaik, who spent a year and a few months. It was said about him: “People saw no better than his days, and he forgave the people for the money they owed, and for the rest of money registered inministries.” And … stories about beautiful Egypt never end!
The General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
العربية
