Al-Zahir li-I'zaz Din Allah

"Az-Zāhir" redirects here. For other uses, see Zahir.

Abu'l Hasan ʻAlī az-Zāhir li A'zaz li Din-illah (20 June 1005 – 13 June 1036) (Arabic: الظاهر بالله) was the Seventh Caliph of the Fātimids (1021–1036). Az-Zāhir assumed the Caliphate after the disappearance of his father Al-Ḥakīm bi Amr al-Lāh. According to the Hijri Calendar, his birth date is 3rd of Ramzaan 395 A.H.

Governance under the Seventh Caliph

At first, the government was conducted by Ḥakīm's sister Sitt al-Mulk, but after her death in 1023, a group of her favourites took power.

Under this regime, the Fātimid state slipped into crisis - in Egypt, famine and plague led to anarchy in the years 1023-1025, and in Palestine and Syria, there was a revolt amongst the Bedouin (1024–1029). The coalition of rebels was fragmented by Fātimid diplomacy, after which General Anushtakin al-Dizbari was able to defeat it militarily.

Meanwhile, in 1028 one of the governing circle, ʻAlī ibn Ahmad Jarjarai, was able to eliminate his colleagues and take over the office of vizir, which he managed to retain until 1045. He enjoyed good relations with the Byzantine Empire, even though the suzerainty over Aleppo was constantly disputed, occasionally coming to arms. To improve relations with Byzantium and the Christian subjects of the realm, the rebuilding of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, destroyed in 1009, was authorised under his caliphate in a treaty with the Byzantine Emperor Romanus III. Actual building work, funded by the Byzantines, was not undertaken until 1042.

Death and succession

The period of his Imaamate was sixteen years. After ʻAlī died of the plague 13 June 1036, his son became the eighth caliph under the throne name of al-Mustansir.

See also

• Family tree of Muhammad#Family tree linking prophets to Imams
• List of Ismaili imams
• List of rulers of Egypt

Family tree of the Fatimid dynasty

Abu Muhammad Abdallah al-Mahdi bi'llah (r. 909–934) Abu'l-Qasim Muhammad al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah (r. 934–946) Abu Ali Ahmad Other children al-Qasim§ Abu Tahir Isma'il al-Mansur bi'llah (r. 946–953) Other children Abu Tamim Ma'ad al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah (r. 953–975) Abd al-Rahim§ Tamim Abdallah§ Abu Mansur Nizar al-Aziz bi'llah (r. 975–996) Sitt al-Malik Rashida Abda Other children Sitt al-Mulk Abu Ali Mansur al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (r. 996–1021) Other children Abu'l-Hasan Ali al-Zahir li-I'zaz Din Allah (r. 1021–1036) Abu Tamim Ma'ad al-Mustansir bi'llah (r. 1036–1094) Abu Mansur Nizar§ Abu Abdallah Abdallah Isma'il Abu'l-Qasim Muhammad Other children Abu'l-Qasim Ahmad al-Musta'li bi'llah (r. 1094–1101) al-Husayn Nizari imams (claimed descent) Abu'l-Maymun Abd al-Majid al-Hafiz li-Din Allah (r. 1132–1149) Abu Ali Mansur al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah (r. 1101–1130) Ja'far Other children Sulayman§ Haydara§ Hasan§ Abu Mansur Isma'il al-Zafir bi-Amr Allah (r. 1149–1154) Yusuf Other children Abu'l-Qasim al-Tayyib§ Abu'l-Qasim Isa al-Fa'iz bi-Nasr Allah (r. 1154–1160) Abu Muhammad Abdallah al-Adid li-Din Allah (r. 1160–1171) Tayyibi hidden imams (claimed descent) Dawud Sulayman § denotes designated heirs who did not accede to the throne    denotes ruling Fatimid caliphs (with regnal names in bold and regnal dates)