View source for Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah

{{Short description|Fatimid caliph from 953 to 975}}
{{Lowercase title}}{{Infobox royalty
|name=al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah<br>{{nobold|{{lang|ar|المعز لدين الله}}}}
|title=
|image=Fatimiden- Abu Tamim al-Muizz - Münzkabinett, Berlin - 5545286.jpg
|image_size= 300
|caption= [[Gold dinar]] of al-Mu'izz, minted in [[Cairo]], 973 AD
|succession= [[List of Isma'ili imams|Imam]]–[[List of Fatimid caliphs|Caliph]] of the [[Fatimid Caliphate]]
|reign=19 March 953 – 18 December 975
|coronation=
|predecessor=[[al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah]]
|successor=[[al-Aziz Billah]]
|birth_date=26 September 931
|birth_place=[[Mahdia]], [[Fatimid Caliphate]]
|death_date=18 December 975 (aged 44)
|death_place=
|spouse= [[Al-Sayyida al-Mu'iziyya|Durzan]]
|issue={{plainlist|
*Tamim
*[[Abdallah ibn al-Mu'izz|Abdallah]]
*[[Abu Mansur Nizar al-Aziz Billah|Nizar al-Aziz Billah]]
*Sitt al-Malik
*Rashida
*Abda
*several children}}
|full name='''[[Kunya (Arabic)|Kunya]]''': Abu Tamim<br>'''[[Given name]]''': Ma'ad<br>'''[[Laqab]]''': al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah
|house= [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimid]]
|house-type= Dynasty
|father=[[al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah]]
|mother=
|religion=[[Isma'ili]] [[Shia Islam]]
|place of burial=
|othertitles=
}}
{{Ismailis}}

'''Abu Tamim Ma'ad al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah''' ({{langx|ar|أبو تميم معد المعزّ لدين الله|Abū Tamīm Maʿad al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh|Glorifier of the Religion of God}}; 26 September 932 – 19 December 975) was the fourth [[Fatimid]] [[caliph]] and the [[List of Ismaili imams|14th Ismaili imam]], reigning from 953 to 975. It was during his caliphate that the center of power of the Fatimid dynasty was moved from [[Ifriqiya]] (modern [[Tunisia]]) to Egypt. The Fatimids founded the city of [[Cairo]] ({{Transliteration|ar|al-Qāhirah}}, "the Victorious") in 969 as the new capital of the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Langer |first=William Leonard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_KlmAAAAMAAJ&q=cairo+founded+969 |title=An Encyclopedia of World History: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern, Chronologically Arranged |date=1968 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |pages=286 |language=en}}</ref>

==Political career==
After the [[Fatimid]]s, under the third caliph, [[al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah]] ({{reign|946|953}}), had defeated the rebellion of [[Abu Yazid]], they began, under his son al-Mu'izz, to turn their attentions back to their ambition of establishing their caliphate throughout the Islamic world and overthrowing the [[Abbasids]]. Although the Fatimids were primarily concerned with Egypt and the Near East, there were nevertheless campaigns fought in the [[Maghreb]] and against the [[Caliphate of Cordoba|Umayyads]] of Spain. At the same time, Fatimid raids on Italy enabled naval superiority in the Western Mediterranean to be affirmed, at the expense of [[Byzantium]], even capturing Sicily for a period of time.

The way to Egypt was then clear for the Fatimids, the more so given the state of crisis that the incumbent [[Ikhshidid]] dynasty found itself in and the inability of the [[Abbasids]] to counterattack. The territory [[Fatimid conquest of Egypt|fell to the Fatimids]] in 969 without any great resistance. After he had secured his position, al-Mu'izz transferred the royal residence from [[Mansouria, Tunisia|Al-Mansuriya]] to the newly founded city of {{Transliteration|ar|Qāhirat al-Muʿizz}} "al-Mu'izz's Victory", ''i.e.'', [[Cairo]], thereby shifting the centre of gravity of the Fatimid realm eastwards. In Egypt, several attacks by the [[Carmathians]] had to be fought off (972–974) before the restructuring of state finances under [[Yaqub ibn Killis]] could be embarked upon. Al-Mu'izz was succeeded by his son [[Al-Aziz]] (975–996).

==Cultural achievements==
Al-Mu'izz was renowned for his tolerance of other religions, and was popular among his Jewish and Christian subjects. He is also credited for having commissioned the invention of the first [[fountain pen]], when in 953, he demanded a pen which would not stain his hands or clothes, and was provided with a pen which held ink in a reservoir. As recorded by [[Qadi]] [[Qadi al-Nu'man|al-Nu'man al-Tamimi]] (d. 974) in his {{Transliteration|ar|Kitāb al-Majālis wa 'l-musayarāt}}, al-Mu'izz commissioned the construction of the pen instructing:<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=[[Journal of Semitic Studies]]|volume=XXVI|issue=i|date=Autumn 1981|title=A Mediaeval Islamic Prototype of the Fountain Pen?|first=C. E.|last=Bosworth}}</ref>

{{blockquote|…not more than a few days passed before the craftsman, to whom the construction of this contrivance had been described, brought in the pen, fashioned from gold. He then filled it with ink and wrote with it, and it really
did write. The pen released a little more ink than was necessary. Hence al-Mu'izz ordered that it should be adjusted slightly, and he did this. He brought forward the pen and behold, it turned out to be a pen which can be turned upside down in the hand and tipped from side to side, and no trace of ink appears from it. When a secretary takes up the pen and writes with it, he is able to write in the most elegant script that could possibly be desired; then, when he lifts the pen off the sheet of writing material, it holds in the ink. I observed that it was a wonderful piece of work, the like of which I had never imagined I would ever see.}}

Fatimid literature rose to a degree of prominence in the period of al-Mu'izz with the emergence of skilled poets like [[Ibn Hani]], who was often compared to [[al-Mutanabbi]], and hailed as the Mutanabbi of the West. [[Da'a'im al-Islam]], the canon law of the Fatimid Caliphate, was completed under al-Mu'izz.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fBAhUzVHvxIC&q=ibn+hani+mutanabbi&pg=PA470|title=Biographical Encyclopaedia of Islam, Volume 3|author=M. Th. Houtsma, [[T.W. Arnold]]|year=2006|publisher=Cosmo Publications |isbn=9788130703879}}</ref>

==Relationship with Coptic Christians==
[[Coptic Christians]] were allowed a large degree of freedom under al-Mu'izz.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=West|editor1-first=Gerald O.|editor2-last=Dube Shomanah|editor2-first=Musa W.|editor2-link=Musa Dube|title=The Bible in Africa: transactions, trajectories, and trends|publisher=Brill|year=2000|page=108|isbn=978-90-04-10627-7}}</ref> Copts were among those appointed to the highest offices of the empire and were allowed to freely practice their religion.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gibb|first=H. A. R.|title=The Encyclopaedia of Islam|publisher=Brill|year=1979|page=91}}</ref> Under Al-Mu'izz, the [[viceroy]] of Syria was Quzman Ibn Nima, a Copt who remained a Christian.<ref name=TF>{{cite book|title=A History of Eastern Christianity, by [[Aziz Suryal Atiya]]|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=1968|pages=87–88}}</ref> The [[Nayrouz]] festival, the celebration of the [[Coptic calendar|Coptic New Year]], was permitted, though prohibitions on some of the activities, such as fire illumination and water splashing, were instituted.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Phillip|editor1-first=Thomas|editor2-last=Haarmann|editor2-first=Ulrich|title=The Mamluks in Egyptian politics and society|series=Cambridge studies in Islamic civilization|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1999|isbn=978-0-521-59115-7}}</ref>

The relationship between al-Mu'izz and the Copts of Egypt has been the subject of a number of legends written later by Coptic Christians. One such legend involves al-Mu'izz challenging [[Pope Abraham of Alexandria]] to move the [[Mokattam|Mokattam mountain]] in Cairo, recalling a verse in the [[Gospel of Matthew]] which says:<blockquote>If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.</blockquote> According to Coptic sources, Pope Abraham of Alexandria ordered the Coptic community to keep vigil and to pray for three days and nights. On the third night, Pope Abraham had a dream in which [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]] directed him to search for [[Simon the Tanner]]. The legend continues that with the prayers of the Coptic community, led by the Pope and Simon, the Mokattam mountain moved. This story is recounted in the book ''[[History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria]]'', written by [[Severus Ibn al-Muqaffa]].<ref name=TF />

Later Coptic sources would further claim that this miracle led al-Mu'izz to convert to Christianity, and that he was baptized at the church of Saint Mercurius in Cairo in a baptismal font that continues to exist to this day, known today as the "Sultan's Baptistry".<ref name=TF /><ref>''The Coptic Synaxarium'' Volume II. Published by Saint Mark Coptic Orthodox Church. Cleveland, OH. 2008. pp. 200–202</ref><ref>''The Coptic Synexarion'' Volume I. Published by Maktabet el Mahaba. 3rd edition. Cairo 1978. pp. 173–177</ref><ref>[http://www.coptichistory.org/new_page_550.htm كنيسة أبى سيفين ومعمودية السلطان. ما زالت هذه المعمودية الغريبة موجودة والتى تختلف عن أى معمودية أخرى فى الكنائس القبطية , وموجودة حتى الآن فى كنيسة أبى سيفين فى مصر القديمة حيث يردد الكاهن الموجود فى هذه الكنيسة لزوارها عندما يريهم معمودية السلطان أن المعز لدين الله الخليفة الفاطمى قد تعمد فى هذه المعمودية The Sultan's Baptistry at the Church of Saint Mercurius in Cairo. This strange baptistry still exists to this day, and its shape is different from that of all other baptisteries in any Coptic church. It exists to this day at the Church of Saint Mercurius in Old Cairo. The priest of the church tells the visitors that Al-Muizz Lideenilah – the Fatimid Caliph – was baptized at this baptistry.]</ref><ref>[http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/synexarion/simon-popeabraam.html Coptic Synexarion: Pope Abraham]</ref> According to this legend al-Mu'izz abdicated the throne in favor of his son, and spent the rest of his life in a monastery. This story is rejected by Muslim historians such as [[Ahmad Zaki Pasha]] and Muhammad Abdullah Enan.<ref name=TF />

==Family==
Sources differ on al-Mu'izz's consorts. According to one version, he married a cousin of his, who gave him two sons, including his successor al-Aziz.{{sfn|Cortese|Calderini|2006|p=51}} Other sources report that his main consort ([[al-Sayyida al-Mu'iziyya]]), and mother of al-Aziz, was a slave-girl (''[[jarya]]'') from [[Mahdia]] named Durzan, who due to her beautiful singing voice (although this may simply reflect a common stereotype about ''jarya''s) was nicknamed {{Transliteration|ar|taghrīd}} ("twittering").{{sfn|Cortese|Calderini|2006|pp=51, 167–169}} Al-Mu'izz had several other sons, but two are known by name: Tamim and [[Abdallah ibn al-Mu'izz|Abdallah]], who was the designated heir-apparent but died before his father.{{sfn|Cortese|Calderini|2006|p=52}} He also had seven daughters, of whom three are known with some detail: Sitt al-Malik, Rashida, and Abda. The last two died in their nineties in 1050, leaving behind enormous fortunes.{{sfn|Cortese|Calderini|2006|pp=52, 155–156}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Fatimid Caliphate}}
*[[List of rulers of Egypt]]
*[[List of Ismaili imams]]
*[[List of Shi'a Muslims]]
*[[Al-Khalifa District]]
*[[Ali ibn Muhammad al-Iyadi]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book | last = Brett | first = Michael | title = The Rise of the Fatimids: The World of the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the Fourth Century of the Hijra, Tenth Century CE | series = The Medieval Mediterranean | volume = 30 | publisher = Brill | location = Leiden, Boston, Köln | year = 2001 | isbn = 90-04-11741-5 | url = {{Google Books|BqCdfhW3nVwC|plainurl=y}} }}
* {{cite book | last1 = Cortese | first1 = Delia | last2 = Calderini | first2 = Simonetta |title=Women and the Fatimids in the World of Islam |year=2006 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press | location = Edinburgh |isbn=0-7486-1733-7 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=p8uqBgAAQBAJ }}
* {{EI2 | last = Dachraoui | first = F. | title = al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh | volume = 7 | pages = 485–489 | doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_5447}}
* {{Das Reich des Mahdi}}
* {{Die Kalifen von Kairo}}
* {{cite book | editor-last = Jiwa | editor-first = Shainool | title = Towards a Shi'i Mediterranean Empire: Fatimid Egypt and the Founding of Cairo. The Reign of Imam-Caliph al-Muʿizz, from al-Maqrīzī's Ittiʿāẓ al-ḥunafāʾ | publisher = I.B. Tauris | location = London and New York | year = 2009 | isbn = 978-0-8577-1742-9 | url = {{Google Books|sVQBAwAAQBAJ|plainurl=yes}} }}
* {{cite book | last1=Jiwa | first1=Shainool | title = The Founder of Cairo: The Fatimid Imam-Caliph al-Mu'izz and his Era | publisher = I.B. Tauris | location = London and New York | year = 2013 | isbn = 978-0-8577-2223-2 |url = {{Google books|_I8AAwAAQBAJ|plainurl=y}} }}
* Jad Hatem, ''Le Traité christologique du Calife al-Mu‘izz, le druzisme et le nusayrisme'', Paris, Éd. du Cygne, 2013

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Fatimid dynasty]]|26 September|931|21 December|975|name=al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah}}
{{s-reg|}}
{{s-bef|before=[[al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Fatimid caliphs|Fatimid Caliph]]|years=19 March 953 – 21 December 975}}
{{s-aft|after=[[al-Aziz Billah]]}}
{{s-rel|sh}}
{{s-bef|before=[[al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=14th [[Isma'ili]] [[List of Isma'ili imams|Imam]]|years=19 March 953 – 21 December 975}}
{{s-aft|after=[[al-Aziz Billah]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Fatimid caliphs}}
{{Fatimid Caliphate topics}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muizz}}
[[Category:932 births]]
[[Category:975 deaths]]
[[Category:Sons of Fatimid caliphs]]
[[Category:Ismaili imams]]
[[Category:10th-century Arab people]]
[[Category:10th-century Fatimid caliphs]]
[[Category:Fatimid people of the Arab–Byzantine wars]]
[[Category:City founders]]