Jawdhar

Not to be confused with Jawhar al-Siqilli.

Jawdhar, surnamed al-Ustadh, was a eunuch slave who served the Fatimid caliphs al-Qa'im (r. 934–946), al-Mansur (r. 946–953), and al-Mu'izz (r. 953–975) as chamberlain and chief minister until his death in 973. He was an extremely powerful figure in the Fatimid court, and the accession of al-Mansur was probably due to his machinations. His collected documents and letters were published after his death by one of his assistants as the Sirat al-Ustadh Jawdhar, and form one of the main historical sources for the governance of the Fatimid state in the period.

Sources

• Brett, Michael (2001). The Rise of the Fatimids: The World of the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the Fourth Century of the Hijra, Tenth Century CE. The Medieval Mediterranean. Vol. 30. Leiden: BRILL. ISBN 9004117415. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Halm, Heinz (1996). The Empire of the Mahdi: The Rise of the Fatimids. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Vol. 26. transl. by Michael Bonner. Leiden: BRILL. ISBN 9004100563. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)