Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah

al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah
الحاكم بأمر الله
Gold dinar of al-Hakim minted in 391 AH (1000/1001 CE)
ImamCaliph of the Fatimid Caliphate
Reign14 October 996 – 13 February 1021
Predecessoral-Aziz Billah
Successoral-Zahir li-I'zaz Din Allah
Bornal-Mansur
13 August 985
Cairo, Fatimid Egypt
Disappeared13 February 1021 (aged 35)
Mokattam, Cairo, Fatimid Egypt
Issue
  • al-Zahir
  • Sitt Misr
Names
Abu 'Ali al-Mansur al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh
DynastyFatimid
Fatheral-Aziz Billah
Motheras-Sayyidah al-'Azīziyyah
ReligionIsmaili Shia Islam

Abu Ali al-Mansur (Arabic: أبو علي المنصور, romanizedAbū ʿAlī al-Manṣūr; 13 August 985 – 13 February 1021), better known by his regnal name al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (Arabic: الحاكم بأمر الله, romanizedal-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh, lit.'The Ruler by the Order of God'), was the sixth Fatimid caliph and 16th Ismaili imam (996–1021). Al-Hakim is an important figure in a number of Shia Ismaili sects, such as the world's 15 million Nizaris and 1–2 million Musta'lis, in addition to 2 million Druze.[1][2][3][4][5]

Histories of al-Hakim can prove controversial, as diverse views of his life and legacy exist.[6][7] Historian Paul Walker writes "Ultimately, both views of him, the mad and despotic tyrant (like Germanic and Roman despots) irrationally given to killing those around him on a whim, and the ideal supreme ruler, divinely ordained and chosen, whose every action was just and righteous, were to persist, the one among his enemies and those who rebelled against him, and the other in the hearts of true believers, who, while perhaps perplexed by events, nonetheless remained avidly loyal to him to the end."[8] Appraisals of the more controversial accounts[9] of al-Hakim's life and rule have earned him such monikers as "the Nero of Egypt",[10] and "the Mad Caliph".[11][12][13]

  1. ^ Willi Frischauer (1970). The Aga Khans. Bodley Head. p. ?. (Which page?)
  2. ^ Ismail K. Poonawala. "Review – The Fatimids and Their Traditions of Learning". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 119 (3): 542. doi:10.2307/605981. JSTOR 605981.
  3. ^ Brett 2001, p. 470.
  4. ^ Daftary, Ferhad. "ḤĀKEM BE-AMR-ALLĀH". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  5. ^ Brett 2001, p. 418.
  6. ^ Gamal Nkrumah (10 December 2009). "The crazed caliph". Al-Ahram Weekly Online. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  7. ^ Sara Elkamel (24 August 2010). "Caliph of Cairo: The rule and mysterious disappearance of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah". Egypt Independent. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  8. ^ Walker, Paul (2010). Caliph of Cairo: Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, 996–???. The American University in Cairo Press. p. 352. ISBN 978-9774163289.
  9. ^ Jerome Murphy-O'Connor (2012). Keys to Jerusalem: Collected Essays. OUP Oxford. p. 245. ISBN 978-0-19-964202-1.
  10. ^ Ahmed (Sheikh.) (1974). Muslim Architecture: From the Advent of Islam in Arabia to the Rise of the Great Ummayad Khilafat in Spain. Pakistan Institute of Arts and Design of Book-Production. p. 51.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Britannica 1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Asbridge was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Britannica 2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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