Editing Fatimid dynasty (section)

==Ruling an empire==
===Establishment of the Fatimid Caliphate===
In the meantime, in Ifriqiya, the {{transliteration|ar|da'i}} Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i had managed to convert the [[Berbers|Berber]] tribe of the [[Kutama]] to the Isma'ili cause. From 902 on, the Kutama had gradually conquered the region from its Abbasid clients, the [[Aghlabids]]. On 25 March 909, Abu Abdallah and his Kutama entered the Aghlabid palace city of [[Raqqada]] in triumph.{{sfn|Halm|2014}}{{sfn|Daftary|2007|pp=126–127}} The {{transliteration|ar|da'i}} proclaimed a Shi'a regime, but kept the name of his master secret as yet, only using the title {{transliteration|ar|hujjat Allah}}, 'God's proof'; and soon set out westward, at the head of a large army, to bring his imam to Ifriqiya.{{sfn|Halm|2014}}{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=127}} The Kutama army destroyed the Kharijite [[Rustamid]] emirate on its way, and arrived at Sijilmasa in August 909. There Abdallah was acclaimed caliph by the troops.{{sfn|Daftary|2007|pp=127–128}} On 4 January 910, Abdallah entered Raqqada, where he publicly proclaimed himself caliph with the [[laqab|regnal title]] of {{transliteration|ar|al-imam al-mahdi bi'llah}}, 'the imam rightly guided by God'.{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=128}}

The first crisis of the new regime occurred quickly. Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i and his brother demanded proof of Abdallah being the {{transliteration|ar|mahdi}}, or resented the limitations on their authority placed by the new ruler. Al-Mahdi Billah was able to eliminate them in 911, but this led to a Kutama revolt, led by a child {{transliteration|ar|mahdi}} as a figurehead. The uprising was defeated, and the Fatimid control over the Kutama consolidated.{{sfn|Canard|1965|p=852}}{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=141}} Nevertheless, Fatimid power remained fragile, as it was based almost exclusively on the—often truculent—Kutama, and later the [[Sanhaja]] tribe as well.{{sfn|Halm|2014}} Conversely, the local Arabs of Ifriqiya were [[Maliki]] Sunnis, while most Berber tribes further west—notably the [[Zenata]] confederation—adhered to various forms of [[Kharijism]], and thus opposed to the Isma'ili regime of the Fatimids.{{sfn|Canard|1965|p=852}}{{sfn|Daftary|2007|pp=141–142}}

===Imperial expansion===
Given the semi-divine status they claimed as the rightful imams of Islam, the Fatimids' ambitions were not limited to Ifriqiya. The Fatimid caliphs aimed to overthrow not only the rival Muslim monarchs—the Abbasids of Baghdad and the [[Umayyad dynasty|Umayyads]] of [[Caliphate of Cordoba|Cordoba]]—but also the [[Byzantine Empire]], claiming a divine right to universal sovereignty.{{sfn|Canard|1942–1947}}

Fatimid power quickly expanded across the sea to [[Sicily]], which had been [[Muslim conquest of Sicily|conquered]] by the Aghlabids from the Byzantines,{{sfn|Halm|2014}} but Fatimid rule was established there only after a series of revolts by the local Muslims, who at times declared for the Abbasids, were suppressed.{{sfn|Canard|1965|p=853}}{{sfn|Daftary|2007|pp=143–144}} Sicily was also important as a battleground against the Byzantines, which among other things allowed the Fatimids to present themselves as champions of Islam, engaged in [[jihad|holy war]] against the infidels. In practice, relations were often more pragmatic, and warfare alternated with periods of truce.{{sfn|Canard|1965|p=853}}{{sfn|Lev|1995|pp=191–192}} From 948 on, a series of hereditary governors, the [[Kalbid dynasty]], governed Sicily on the Fatimids' behalf.{{sfn|Canard|1965|p=853}}

The Fatimids also expanded west to the rest of the Maghreb, where [[Fez, Morocco|Fez]] and Sijilmasa were captured in 920–921, although these conquests were difficult to hold, and brought the Fatimids into conflict with the Umayyads of Cordoba.{{sfn|Canard|1965|pp=852–853}}{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=142}} In an attempt to supplant the Abbasids, al-Mahdi's son and heir, al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah, led campaigns eastward to capture Egypt in [[Fatimid invasion of Egypt (914–915)|914]] and [[Fatimid invasion of Egypt (919–921)|919]]. Both endeavours failed, leaving only the [[Cyrenaica]] in Fatimid hands.{{sfn|Halm|2014}}{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=142}}

===Revolt of Abu Yazid===
[[File:Connjunt de la Skifa Kahla.jpg|thumb|right|The fortified entrance to al-Mahdiyya today]]
Between 916 and 921, al-Mahdi built a new residence, the fortified palace city of [[Mahdia|Mahdiyya]], on a rocky promontory on the Ifriqiyan coast.{{sfn|Halm|2014}} When Al-Mahdi died in 934, he was succeeded by his son, al-Qa'im ({{reign|934|946}}), who continued his father's policies.{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=145}} Another attempted invasion of Egypt in 935 was defeated by the country's new strongman ruler, [[Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid]].{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=143}}

The most notable event of al-Qa'im's reign was the revolt of the Zenata Berbers under the Khariji preacher [[Abu Yazid]] in 943/44: almost all of Ifriqiya succumbed to the rebels, and in January 945, the rebels laid siege to Mahdiyya itself.{{sfn|Halm|2014}}{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=146}} Al-Qa'im died during the siege, and was succeeded by his son, Abu Tahir Isma'il ({{reign|946|953}}). The new caliph concealed his father's death, took to the field, and in a series of battles defeated the rebel armies and captured Abu Yazid in August 947.{{sfn|Halm|2014}}{{sfn|Daftary|2007|pp=146–147}} The victory over the rebel leader, who had almost destroyed the Fatimid state and was symbolically called the {{transliteration|ar|[[Dajjal]]}} ('the false Messiah') by the Isma'ili {{transliteration|ar|da'wa}}, was the moment when Abu Tahir declared himself as the imam and caliph in succession to his father, with the name of [[al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah]] ('The Victor with the Help of God').{{sfn|Halm|2014}}{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=147}}  Al-Mansur moved the Fatimid court to a new palace city, [[Mansouria, Tunisia|al-Mansuriyya]] near [[Kairouan]], but died soon after, and was succeeded by his son, [[al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah]] ({{reign|953|975}}).{{sfn|Halm|2014}}

===Conquest of Egypt and move of the capital to Cairo===
Al-Mu'izz was an excellent planner and organizer, and the state he inherited had regained internal stability, after the turmoils of Abu Yazid's revolt.{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=156}} His early reign saw successes against the Byzantines, where the last remaining Byzantine strongholds were extinguished with the [[Siege of Rometta|Fall of Rometta]] in 965,{{sfn|Daftary|2007|pp=144–145}} as well as the reconquest of the western Maghreb by the Fatimid general [[Jawhar (general)|Jawhar]] in 958–960, temporarily expelling Umayyad influence from the region and extending Fatimid rule to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.{{sfn|Daftary|2007|pp=156–157}}

After these successes, al-Mu'izz once again turned to the abandoned project of the conquest of Egypt. Meticulous military and political preparations were undertaken, and the agents of the Isma'ili {{transliteration|ar|da'wa}} engaged to promote the Fatimid cause in Egypt and suborn officials of the weakened [[Ikhshidid]] regime.{{sfn|Canard|1965|p=853}}{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=158}} As a result, when the Fatimid army under Jawhar [[Fatimid conquest of Egypt|arrived in Egypt]] in summer 969, it faced little organized resistance. Jawhar entered the Egyptian capital, [[Fustat]], in July 969, and claimed the country for his master.{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=159}} Immediately he began establishing a new capital city near Fustat, which came to be known as {{transliteration|ar|al-Qahira al-Mu'izziyya}} ('the Victorious One of al-Mu'izz'), modern [[Cairo]].{{sfn|Halm|2014}}

Jawhar governed Egypt for the next four years as viceroy of al-Mu'izz, restoring the country's finances.{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=161}} It was not until August 972 that al-Mu'izz left Ifriqiya, appointing the Berber [[Buluggin ibn Ziri]] as his viceroy there. In June 973, the Fatimid court arrived in Egypt and al-Mu'izz took up residence in Cairo.{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=162}}

===Expansion into Syria===
In the meantime, immediately after the conquest if Egypt Jawhar had tried to extend Fatimid rule into [[Bilad al-Sham|Syria]]. The first Fatimid invasion failed largely due to the opposition of the Qarmatians of Bahrayn, who did not hesitate to align themselves with the Abbasid caliph and denounce al-Mu'izz in public. The Qarmatian leader [[al-Hasan al-A'sam]] led two invasions of Egypt in 971 and again, despite al-Mu'izz's efforts to win him over, in 974. Both invasions were beaten back at the gates of Cairo, forcing the Qarmatians to retreat to Bahrayn, and opening the path for a renewed Fatimid attempt to conquer Syria.{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=162–164}} At the same time, around 970/71, the two holy cities of [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]], recognized Fatimid suzerainty, an important symbolic victory for the Fatimids.{{sfn|Canard|1965|p=854}}

In 978, Caliph [[al-Aziz]] ({{reign|975|996}}) captured Damascus, but Fatimid power in Syria continued to be challenged, whether by powerful generals or by the restive Bedouin of Palestine under the [[Jarrahids]].{{sfn|Canard|1965|p=854}} Al-Aziz's attempts to capture the [[Hamdanid]] emirate of [[Aleppo]] brought the Fatimids into conflict with the Byzantines, who considered the city their protectorate.{{sfn|Canard|1965|p=855}} Attempts to take Aleppo failed in 983, 992/3 and 994/5,{{sfn|Canard|1965|p=854}} and effective Fatimid power reached little past [[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]] in the north.{{sfn|Canard|1965|p=854}} In 987, the Fatimid suzerainty was recognized by the [[Ya'furids]] in Yemen,{{sfn|Canard|1965|p=854}} but Fatimid attempts to induce the fellow Shi'a rulers of Iraq, the [[Buyids]], to recognize their suzerainty, failed; the Buyids rejected the Fatimids' claims of Alid descent.{{sfn|Canard|1965|pp=855–856}} Al-Aziz's reign saw also a transformation in the structure and nature of the Fatimid state: the Kutama, who had been the main pillar of the early Fatimid regime, were now complemented by Turkish military slaves ({{Transliteration|ar|[[ghilman]]}}) as well as Black African slave soldiers, while under the guidance of [[Ya'qub ibn Killis]], the Fatimid administration became organized and regularized.{{sfn|Halm|2014}}

===Reign of al-Hakim===
Al-Aziz died in 996, while preparing a major campaign against the Byzantines and Hamdanids. He was succeeded by his eleven-year-old son, [[al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah|al-Hakim]]  ({{reign|996|1021}}).{{sfn|Halm|2014}} Initially under the tutelage of powerful officials, al-Hakim managed to seize the reins of power for himself in 1000.{{sfn|Halm|2014}} The early years of his reign saw the conclusion of peace with Byzantium in 1001,{{sfn|Canard|1965|p=855}} as well as the great tribal revolts of [[Abu Rukwa]] in [[Cyrenaica]] in 1005, and of [[Mufarrij ibn Daghfal]] in Palestine in 1012–13.{{sfn|Halm|2014}} In the north, the [[Uqaylids]] of [[Mosul]] briefly acknowledged Fatimid suzerainty in 1010, and in 1015, Aleppo did the same, with Fatimid troops entering the city and imposing direct control in 1017.{{sfn|Canard|1965|p=854}} Relations with the Zirids, who quickly had begun distancing themselves from Cairo's authority, became more strained under al-Hakim due to disputes over Cyrenaica and [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]],{{sfn|Canard|1965|p=855}} and in 1016/7, the new Zirid emir, [[al-Mu'izz ibn Badis]], launched a pogrom against the remaining Isma'ilis in Ifriqiya.{{sfn|Halm|2014}}

From 1015 on, the Fatimid Caliphate, and the Isma'ili community, were confronted by a rise in sectarianism: a series of preachers who propagated extremist versions of Isma'ilism appeared, preaching the imminence of the end times, the divinity of al-Hakim, and the abolition of the [[Sharia]]. The Fatimid religious establishment opposed such [[antinomian]] views, but al-Hakim seems to have tolerated, if not encouraged them. Although al-Hakim never officially espoused their views, the teachings of men such as [[al-Darzi]] and [[Hamza ibn Ali]] resulted in the birth of the [[Druze]] faith.{{sfn|Halm|2014}} At the same time, al-Hakim made curious innovations in the succession, by splitting up his office in two: one to succeed the caliphate, i.e. the secular office, and one to succeed as imam, i.e. as leader of the Isma'ili community. Furthermore, he sidelined his own son and appointed two cousins to the posts, thereby arousing the hostility of the Fatimid elites. As a result of a conspiracy among the latter, al-Hakim was murdered during one of his night rides outside Cairo, and his corpse disposed of, never to be found.{{sfn|Halm|2014}}