Inside the Immaculate Portal: A History from Early Fatimid Archives 9780755607891, 9781780762685

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The Institute of Ismaili Studies

The Institute of Ismaili Studies was established in 1977 with the object of promoting scholarship and learning on Islam, in the historical as well as contemporary contexts, and a better understanding of its relationship with other societies and faiths. The Institute’s programmes encourage a perspective which is not confined to the theological and religious heritage of Islam, but seeks to explore the relationship of religious ideas to broader dimensions of society and culture. The programmes thus encourage an interdisciplinary approach to the materials of Islamic history and thought. Particular attention is also given to issues of modernity that arise as Muslims seek to relate their heritage to the contemporary situation. Within the Islamic tradition, the Institute’s programmes promote research on those areas which have, to date, received relatively little attention from scholars. These include the intellectual and literary expressions of Shi‘ism in general, and Ismailism in particular. In the context of Islamic societies, the Institute’s programmes are informed by the full range and diversity of cultures in which Islam is practised today, from the Middle East, South and Central Asia, and Africa to the industrialized societies of the West, thus taking into consideration the variety of contexts which shape the ideals, beliefs and practices of the faith. These objectives are realized through concrete programmes and activities organized and implemented by various departments of the Institute. The Institute also collaborates periodically, on a programme-specific basis, with other institutions of learning in the United Kingdom and abroad.

The Institute’s academic publications fall into a number of interrelated categories: 1. Occasional papers or essays addressing broad themes of the relationship between religion and society, with special reference to Islam. 2. Monographs exploring specific aspects of Islamic faith and culture, or the contributions of individual Muslim thinkers or writers. 3. Editions or translations of significant primary or secondary texts. 4. Translations of poetic or literary texts which illustrate the rich heritage of spiritual, devotional and symbolic expressions in Muslim history. 5. Works on Ismaili history and thought, and the relationship of the Ismailis to other traditions, communities and schools of thought in Islam. 6. Proceedings of conferences and seminars sponsored by the Institute. 7. Bibliographical works and catalogues which document manuscripts, printed texts and other source materials. This book falls into category three listed above. In facilitating these and other publications, the Institute’s sole aim is to encourage original research and analysis of relevant issues. While every effort is made to ensure that the publications are of a high academic standard, there is naturally bound to be a diversity of views, ideas and interpretations. As such, the opinions expressed in these publications must be understood as belonging to their authors alone.

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my gratitude to Dr Farhad Daftary, Co-Director and Head of the Department of Academic Research and Publications at The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, for inviting me to undertake this project as well as for his support during the course of my work. I am grateful to the staff of the library of the Institute for providing access to its rich collections of manuscripts and printed materials indispensable for the project. I am particularly indebted to Professor Wilferd Madelung for meticulously going through the entire manuscript of my Arabic edition and translation. His invaluable comments have ameliorated the quality of my work. Finally, I would like to thank Kutub Kassam for his painstaking editorial review of my manuscript.

xvii

Chronology

297/910 297/910 297/910 298/911

301/914 301/914 303/916 306/919 306/919 307/920

308/921 312/924 313/925

(20 Rabīʿ II/6 January) al-Mahdī enters Raqqāda triumphantly. (21 Rabīʿ II/7 January) al-Mahdī proclaimed caliph at Raqqāda, al-Qayrawān and al-Qaṣr al-Qadīm. Jawdhar retained by al-Mahdī to serve his heir apparent. al-Qāʾim’s expedition against the Kutāma who had rebelled following the killing of Abū ‘Abd Allāh al-Shīʿī. al-Qāʾim’s first expedition to Egypt. Birth of al-Manṣūr at Raqqāda. (Dhū al-Qaʿda/May) Beginning of the construction of al-Mahdiyya. al-Qāʾim’s second expedition to Egypt. Completion of al-Mahdiyya. Sulaymān al-Khādim and Yaʿqūb al-Kutāmī command a naval squadron sent by al-Mahdī as reinforcement to al-Qāʾim during his second expedition to Egypt. (8 Shawwāl/20 February) al-Mahdī moves to his new capital al-Mahdiyya. Birth of commander Jawhar. Sālim b. Abī Rāshid, governor of Sicily (313–325/925– 936), reinforced by troops from Ifrīqiya, makes an incursion in southern Italy.

xix

xx 315/927

316/928

319/931 322/934 322/934

323/935 325/936 326/938 328/940

332/943 334/946 335/947

336/947 336/947 336/948 337/948

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(Ṣafar/April–May) al-Mahdī dispatches al-Qāʾim on an expedition to the Maghrib. On his return, he founds the town of al-Masīla, which becomes the residence of the Banū Ḥamdūn. al-Qāʾim, while conducting operations against Berber tribes in the Maghrib, learns from a letter he receives from his son Qāsim of rumours that al-Mahdī has designated Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad as heir apparent. (19 Ramaḍān/5 October) Birth of al-Muʿizz. (14 Rabīʿ I/4 March) Death of al-Mahdī. (10 Jumādā II/27 May) al-Mahdī’s death announced. His successor al-Qāʾim entrusts to Jawdhar the affairs of the Treasury. Maysūr al-Ṣaqlabī’s expedition to the Maghrib to restore Fatimid rule. Khalīl b. Isḥāq appointed governor of Sicily (325– 329/936–940) by al-Qāʾim. ʿAlī b. Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī is killed during the siege of Jirjent. Muḥammad b. Rumāḥis, commander of the Umayyad fleet at Almeria, is appointed governor of Bajjāna (Pechina). Beginning of Abū Yazīd’s revolt. (13 Shawwāl/18 May) Death of al-Qāʾim. (1 Shawwāl/25 April) Rebellion in Sicily; the Banū al-Ṭabarī attack the governor ʿAṭṭāf and kill some of his men. Rebellion in Sicily quelled by al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī. (22 al-Muḥarram/13 August) Defeat and death of Abū Yazīd. (Ramaḍān/March–April) al-Manṣūr returns to al-Mahdiyya after his victory over Abū Yazīd. (Rabīʿ I/September): al-Manṣūriyya becomes Fatimid capital.

chronology

337/949 341/953 341/953 341/953 342/953 347/958 349/960 350/961

351/962

353/964 354/965 357/968 358/969 358/969 358/968 358/969 359/970

xxi

(Rajab/January) Birth of Tamīm, eldest son of al-Muʿizz. Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus sends an ambassador to the court of al-Manṣūr. (29 Shawwāl/19 March) Death of al-Manṣūr. Beginning of the reign of al-Muʿizz. (10 Dhū al-Ḥijja/28 April) al-Muʿizz announces the passing of al-Manṣūr. al-Muʿizz’s expedition in the Awrās to establish Fatimid authority over the former allies of Abū Yazīd. Jawhar’s campaign to re-establish Fatimid authority in the Maghrib. Qayṣar and Muẓaffar executed. Rashīq, Jawdhar’s secretary, dies. Abū ʿAlī Manṣūr al-ʿAzīzī al-Jawdharī, the author of Sīrat al-Ustādh Jawdhar, enters the service of Jawdhar as his copyist. Taormina taken by Muslim forces under the command of Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan after a siege lasting seven and a half months. (Dhū al-Qaʿda/November) Death of al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī. Rametta, the last remaining Christian stronghold in Sicily, falls. Death of Kāfūr. (Rabīʿ I/February) Jawhar sets out for Egypt from al-Qayrawan. (17 Shaʿbān/6 July) Jawhar enters al-Fuṣṭāṭ, the capital of Ikhshīdid Egypt. al-Muʿizz orders the razing of Taormina and Rametta. (Shawwāl/September) al-Muʿizz’s expedition against Abū Khazar. (Jumādā I/April) Jawhar lays the foundations of al-Azhar in Cairo.

xxii 359/970

360/971 361/972 362/973

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Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan appointed commander of the Fatimid fleet which participated in the conquest of Egypt. On arrival at Tripoli, he becomes ill and dies at the end of Dhū al-Ḥijja/end of October. Jaʿfar b. ʿAlī b. Ḥamdūn switches allegiance to the Umayyad caliph of Spain. (22 Shawwāl/6 August) al-Muʿizz departs from al-Manṣūriyya for Egypt. Death of Jawdhar in Barqa.

Miknās

Tangier

Sijilmāsa

Fās

Ceuta

Tlemcen

Melilla Oran

Almeria

Gafsa Gabès

Jerba

Sfax

M

Tripoli

al-Mahdiyya

Sousse

ED

Sicily

Palermo

IT ER

Syracuse

RA

NEAN

Map1: North Africa (4th/10th Map 1: North Africa (4th/10thcentury) century)

Wargla

Biskra

Tunis

Banzart

al-Qayrawān

Constantine

al-Masīla Qalʿat Kiyāna Ṭubna

Ashīr

Sétif

Būna

Ajdābiya

Barqa

SEA

Crete

Alexandria

Cairo

Māzar Mazara del Vallo

Marsā ʿAlī Marsala

Jabal Ḥ āmid Erice Aṭrābinush Trápani

Qarīnash Balarm mo Carini Paler

Shikla Scicli

Map 2: Sicily (4th/10th century) Map 2: Sicily (4th/10th century)

Raghūṣ Ragusa

ṭus Nū to No

a niy ārūia Nāṣū Baqṭush Libīrī dh ū Q fl n Oliveri l Barṭinīq a Naso Patti Ju falù a aro irmini e ʿAlqam Q Partinico C C San Marco Th erm al-T Alcam a Calʿat Aw T a Qalʿat al-Qawārib o alat Trabrbīʿa ubo bī Qalʿat al-Ṣirāṭ Sto Stephano di ía Qalʿat Fīmī al-Randāj Collesano Camastra Vecchio Calatafimi Randazzo Ṭabarm Qurliyūn Taorminīn Corleone Qalʿat Abī Thawr Jabal al-Nār a Baṭarliyya Caltavuturo Petralia Barṭanna Balja Mt Etna Qaṣr Nūbū Partanna Sta Margherita di Belice Castronuovo Liyāj Qalʿat al-Ballūṭ Qaṣryānnih Acireale Caltabellotta Castrogiovanni/ Baṭarnū Enna Paternò Qaṭāniya a q Qalʿat al-Nisāʾ āq Catánia al-Shciacca Caltanissetta S al-Ḥajar al-Mathqūb al-Qaṭṭāʿ Pietraperzia Canicatti Jirjant/Kirkant Nārū Lantīnī Girgenti/Agrigento Buthīra Naro Lentini Ḥiṣn al-Janūb/ Butera Qalʿat al-Khinzāriyya Caltagirone Qalʿat Abī Shāma Siraqūsa Buscemi Syracuse Linbiyādha Licata

ās hy si Ak ini C

lāṣ Mī ilazzo M Massīna Messina Ramṭa Rametta

(4) Abū Tamīm Maʿadd al-Muʿizz li-dīn Allāh (d. 365/975)

Abū al-Ḥusayn ʿĪsā Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn Abū Sulaymān Dāwūd (seven daughters) (d. Raqqāda, 382 or 362) (d. al-Maghrib in the reign of al-Qāʾim) (d. al-Maghrib, 341/952)

Table 1: The Fatimids of Ifrīqiya

Table 1: The Fatimids of Ifrīqiya

five daughters: Hāshim Ḥaydara Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn Abū Jaʿfar Ṭāhir (d. al-Maghrib 357 or 359) (Hiba, Arwā, Asmāʾ, Umm Salma, Manṣūra) (d. Egypt, 368/978) (d. Egypt, 382 or Jum. 372) (d. al-Maghrib)

Abū al-Fūrāt ʿAbd al-Jabbār (four daughters) Yūsuf Ḥamza ʿAdnān Abū Kināna (d. Barqa, 362/973) (d. Egypt, 337/949 or 367/978) (all three d. al-Maghrib)

Mūsā Abū Ṭālib (d. Egypt, 360/971)

Qāsim (3) Abū al-Ṭāhir Ismāʿil Abū ʿAbd Allāh Jaʿfar al-Manṣūr bi-llāh (d. during al-Muʿizz’s reign) (d. 341/953)

(2) Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Muḥammad Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh (d. Egypt, 382/993) (d. 334/946)

(1) al-Mahdī bi-llāh (d. 322/934)

(5) Jaʿfar (d. 375/985)

(6) ʿAbd Allāh (d. 379/989)

(9) Aḥmad al-Akḥal (410-427/1019-1036)

Table 2: The Kalbids of Sicily

Table 2: The Kalbids of Sicily

(8) Jaʿfar (388-410/998-1019)

(4) Jābir (372-373/982-983)

(3) Abū al-Qāsim ʿAlī (d. 372/982)

Jaʿfar

Abū al-Futūḥ Mūsā

(7) Abū al-Futūḥ Yūsuf (379-388/990-998)

Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad (d. 363/974)

ʿAlī (10) al-Ḥasan Ṣamṣām al-Dawla (d. 405/1014-1015) (431-445/1040-1053)

Ṭāhir

(2) Abū al-Ḥusayn Aḥmad (d. 359/970)

(1) Abū al-Ghanāʾim al-Ḥasan (336-353/947-964)

ʿAlī (d. 326/938)

Abū al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī

Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan (d. 390/1000)

ʿAmmār (d. 345/956)

Introduction

In the year following the flight of the last Aghlabid emir, Ziyādat Allāh III (r. 290–296/903–909), to the East, the first Fatimid caliphimam al-Mahdī bi-llāh (r. 297–322/909–934) entered Raqqāda triumphantly on 20 Rabīʿ II 297/6 January 910, and settled in his palace in the former Aghlabid capital. The military exploits of his dāʿī, Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Shīʿī (d. 298/911), had subdued for him vast regions of the Maghrib as well as the former Aghlabid domains in Sicily. He inherited everything that belonged to the Aghlabids, including their slaves. Among them was al-Ustādh1 Jawdhar, a eunuch of Slavic (Ṣaqlabī, pl. Ṣaqāliba) origin, who subsequently served all four Fatimid caliph-imams in Ifrīqiya and rose to become one of the most eminent statesmen of the early Fatimid period. Ṣaqāliba eunuchs, who had gained prominence in Ifrīqiya during the Aghlabid period, originated mostly from the Balkans, especially the Dalmatian coast. They were supplied by Venice or captured during raids or fighting with the Byzantines whose ranks included Slavs. Being cut off from their land of origin, without any relatives in their new abode, made them very dependent on their patrons and loyal to them. Jawdhar’s life in the service of the Fatimids for over sixty years and his exemplary loyalty to his patrons is well documented in his Sīra or biography compiled by his private secretary, Abū ʿAlī Manṣūr al-ʿAzīzī al-Jawdharī, who served him diligently for twelve years from 350/961 until Jawdhar’s death in 362/973. His work in Arabic, edited and translated here, brings together oral state1. The term ustādh has a wide range of meanings. It designates a highly esteemed person, a master and, euphemistically, a eunuch. On eunuchs and terms used for them in the sources, see David Ayalon, ‘On the Eunuchs in Islam’, Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, I (1979), pp. 67–124, and reprinted in his Outsiders in the Lands of Islam: Mamluks, Mongols and Eunuchs (London, 1988), article III.

1

2

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ments and archival material from the reigns of the first four Fatimid caliph-imams which allow us to follow the stages of Jawdhar’s life, from his entering the service of the Fatimids until the final days of his life under the reign of al-Muʿizz li-dīn Allāh (r. 341–365/953– 975), the last Fatimid caliph-imam to rule in Ifrīqiya, and the first one of the dynasty to rule in Egypt. Jawdhar was still a boy when al-Mahdī entered Raqqāda. He was among slaves of the old order assembled before al-Mahdī, who apportioned them to their tasks in the new administration. Jawdhar was selected by al-Mahdī to serve his heir apparent al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh (r. 322–334/934–946). He impressed al-Mahdī with his simplicity and enjoyed, from the very beginning, the favour of al-Mahdī, who predicted that he would be pious and diligent in his service. Jawdhar began to serve as head servant of al-Qāʾim’s palace during al-Mahdī’s reign, and he was left in charge of al-Qāʾim’s palace while the latter was away on a military expedition. Upon his return from the expedition, al-Qāʾim praised his services and increased his favours to him. Subsequently, Jawdhar also accompanied al-Qāʾim on at least one of his expeditions to the East, for the Sīra relates that al-Qāʾim, annoyed at the behaviour of his soldiers who frequently pillaged the belongings of those who had sought protection, instructed Jawdhar to eat only meat provided from his own kitchen so that it would not contain anything impermissible.2 After al-Mahdī’s death, his successor, al-Qāʾim, entrusted to Jawdhar the affairs of the Treasury, as well as the warehouses of cloths and garments. He made him an intermediary between himself and his followers and all his slaves. The extent to which Jawdhar had won the confidence of his master was such that when al-Qāʾim was about to bury al-Mahdī, he called Jawdhar aside and made him privy to the designation of his son Ismāʿīl, the future caliph-imam al-Manṣūr bi-llāh (r. 334–341/946–953), as his heir apparent. He exacted a promise from Jawdhar to pledge allegiance to the heir apparent and observe complete secrecy about it until he himself made the appointment public. Accordingly, Jawdhar kept the matter secret for seven years.3 Already during the reign of al-Qāʾim, al-Manṣūr had great sympa2. See Part One, Section 8 below. 3. See Part One, Section 5 below.

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thy and concern for Jawdhar. He would often stop by Jawdhar’s house to visit him. The Sīra has preserved an interesting letter addressed to Jawdhar from al-Manṣūr, who was then heir apparent, on the subject of controlling one’s anger, in which he cites Galen’s advice. Jawdhar had the authority to punish those under him. It happened one day that he punished and imprisoned some young Slav eunuchs for a crime they had committed and for which they deserved to be disciplined. They implored the heir apparent and sought his intercession on their behalf. Jawdhar was unaware of this until he received the letter in which al-Manṣūr conveyed to him that he had somewhat exceeded the limit and that he should be compassionate towards those whom he punished.4 These Slav eunuchs subsequently provided outstanding services to the Fatimids under al-Manṣūr and his successor, al-Muʿizz, when they had already been set free. Subsequently, two of them, Qayṣar and Muẓaffar, were executed in 349/960 under al-Muʿizz when they had become too powerful and abused their authority.5 During the last two years of al-Qāʾim’s reign and the early part of the reign of al-Manṣūr, the Kharijite rebel Abū Yazīd (d. 336/947) acquired a large following among the Ibāḍī Berbers of the Awrās mountain region and began his rebellion against the Fatimid state in 332/943. He conquered all of southern Ifrīqiya, including al-Qayrawān, and laid siege to the capital al-Mahdiyya. Such was the extent of his rebellion that Fatimid writers identify him with the Deceiver (al-dajjāl), an apocalyptic figure similar to the Antichrist.6 When al-Qāʾim was on his deathbed, during the course of the rebellion, he summoned al-Manṣūr and made special recommendations to protect Jawdhar.7 With the beginning of the reign of al-Manṣūr, Jawdhar assumed greater eminence. When al-Manṣūr set out in pursuit of Abū Yazīd, he invested Jawdhar with authority over the palace and the entire country and left him in charge of the safes of the Treasury. Jawdhar thus became, with regard to rank, the third most important 4. See Part One, Section 6 below. 5. See note 53 and Document 48 below. 6. See, for example, al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad, Iftitāḥ al-daʿwa, ed. Wadād al-Qāḍī (Beirut, 1970), p. 275; tr. Hamid Haji as Founding the Fatimid State: The Rise of an Early Islamic Empire (London, 2006), p. 225. 7. See Part One, Section 9 below.

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person of the Fatimid state after the imam and the heir apparent. Abū Yazīd was eventually defeated by al-Manṣūr in 336/947, who had kept secret the news of his father’s death till then. After this victory, al-Manṣūr manumitted Jawdhar and, to honour him, he designated him as ‘Client of the Commander of the Faithful’ (mawlā amīr al-muʾminīn), and instructed him on the protocol to follow in his correspondence, which confirmed his highest rank after the heir apparent.8 He honoured Jawdhar by having his name and designation inscribed on bands of embroidered fabrics and carpets manufactured in al-Mahdiyya; he clad him in robes of honour and gave him mounts to ride. On his return to his palace after his victory, when food was served, al-Manṣūr ordered Jawdhar to sit at the table with him. This was the first time that he had the honour to sit at the table with the imam.9 Al-Manṣūr founded, near al-Qayrawān, his new residential capital al-Manṣūriyya to mark his victory. When he was presented with the first mintage of the coins bearing his name, he sent from these, as a blessing, 1,000 dinars to Jawdhar who continued to operate for some time from al-Mahdiyya. Al-Manṣūr used to collect the finest treasures of all kinds. He considered the books of his ancestors to be his richest treasure. One day he sent to Jawdhar a selection of books of his ancestors for safekeeping and transcribing. Among these books was Kitāb al-Īḍāḥ (The Book of Elucidation) by al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān (d. 363/974), and al-Qāʾim’s and his own sermons.10 On another occasion, when an envoy from the Byzantine emperor brought a gift to al-Manṣūr, he wished to send in return more beautiful and lavish gifts. Therefore, he wrote to Jawdhar, ordering him to bring, from the treasure stores which were in his custody, items which he described to him and which were suitable to be sent to kings.11 During his last illness, al-Manṣūr instructed his heir apparent, al-Muʿizz, to respond to Jawdhar’s letters. Then, sometime after his accession to the imamate, al-Muʿizz summoned Jawdhar to al-Manṣūriyya and lodged him beside him in his palace complex. Jawdhar needed exquisite mats to furnish his new home and, even 8. See Part One, Section 16 below. 9. See Part One, Section 18 below. 10. See Part One, Section 19 below. 11. See Part One, Section 23 below.

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though the mat makers were under his authority, he asked the imam that he be allowed to have mats made and that he would bear the expenses incurred on them. The imam instructed him to have the best mats of finest craftsmanship made, which he offered him graciously as a personal gift.12 After he moved to al-Manṣūriyya, Jawdhar became responsible for conveying to the imam letters and pleas addressed to him, and he received from the imam replies indicating the decision to implement, the advice to give to the correspondent and the manner in which he should write to him. Jawdhar would receive letters from his subordinates whom he left behind in al-Mahdiyya as well as others in the service of the state. They corresponded with him to let him know what they needed, consulted him for advice and kept him informed. He extracted from their letters passages containing points on which advice was sought, leaving a blank on the roll of paper between every two extracts. Then under each extract al-Muʿizz wrote the reply in his own hand, advising what action to take. Letters and directives of al-Muʿizz addressed to Jawdhar and preserved in his biography reveal with what care the imam attended to matters addressed to him and how closely Jawdhar was involved in dealing with all matters. These included the defence of the realm, financial administration, the affairs of Sicily, the construction and equipping of the Fatimid fleet, and preparations for the final departure for Egypt. Among matters referred to al-Muʿizz included disputes relating to land and grazing pastures, complaints against officials, drunkenness of a secretary, apostasy of slaves, and rivalries between his allies in the Maghrib. He personally ordered a prayer mat for a Slav prisoner and a shroud for an official’s son who had died. Al-Muʿizz was caring towards those who served him and gave orders to look into the welfare and education of children of officials to prepare them to serve the Fatimid state. When Jawdhar made him aware of the dire financial situation of the eminent dāʿī Jaʿfar b. Manṣūr al-Yaman, he promptly rescued him from his predicament.13 Among al-Muʿizz’s greatest personal concerns was the conduct of his relatives, and in particular his eldest son, Tamīm (d. 374/985). Indeed, the imam also received letters from individuals directly, 12. See Document 21 below. 13. See Document 66 below.

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without being channelled through Jawdhar. The latter, on the other hand, often took the initiative to write to the imam to inform him or seek an opinion from him or an order, without reference to anyone else’s letter. He also wrote to the imam to inquire about his health and well-being. Similarly, the imam himself also wrote to Jawdhar on his own initiative to express his concern for his health and wellbeing or to send him a memento. Once, when Jawdhar became ill, al-Muʿizz wrote to him to recommend a theriac produced by his physician, and sent him some with instructions on how to use it. On another occasion he sent him a pair of leggings which were worn by al-Manṣūr and then by himself, because Jawdhar liked to wear leggings. Jawdhar knew well the family of Banū Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī which provided outstanding military services to the Fatimids and ruled Sicily on their behalf. This family adopted early the Fatimid cause and was in favour from the reign of al-Mahdī. ʿAlī b. Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī, son-in-law of Sālim b. Abī Rāshid, governor of Sicily (313–325/925–936), was killed in 326/938 during the siege of Jirjent (Agrigentum) fighting for the Fatimids. While ʿAlī was away fighting, Jawdhar had the care of two of his sons on the orders of al-Qāʾim. One of them, Abū al-Ghanāʾim al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī (d. 353/964), then played a leading role in the military campaigns waged by al-Qāʾim and al-Manṣūr against Abū Yazīd, and he was sent in 336/948 to Sicily as governor to restore order and reassert Fatimid authority on the island following a rebellion there. He became the first of a succession of governors of Sicily from the Banū Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī family. A document in the Sīra yields details on the rebellion, quelled by al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī, which complements the account of Ibn al-Athīr on these events. Jawdhar had domains, including one granted to him by al-Mahdī in Jazīrat Sharīk, a fertile peninsula to the east of Tunis, whose farthest point in the north is the nearest point of Africa to Sicily. His chief source of income, however, was not from his domains but from his business enterprise in Sicily. He owned ships and conducted business in his private capacity with the island, notably the importation of wood which he offered sometimes generously to the imam for his naval shipyard for the construction of warships. Once, when his ship brought him a large consignment of wood from Sicily and the

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imam’s arsenal needed wood, he offered it respectfully to the imam and wished that he would accept it. Jawdhar’s close ties with the ruling family of Sicily allowed him, with the approval of al-Muʿizz, to borrow funds from the Treasury in Sicily for his business transactions, and reimburse the sum to the Treasury in al-Manṣūriyya. The imam considered his own wealth to belong to Jawdhar as well.14 Shipping was not without its hazards and Jawdhar did suffer losses at sea. Once, when al-Muʿizz learnt that one of Jawdhar’s ships had perished with all its cargo while coming from Sicily, he wrote to him, on his own initiative, to express his grief at the loss.15 On another occasion when Jawdhar’s ship perished and he could not find any that he could buy to transport his cargo to the East, he requested al-Muʿizz to grant him one of the two ships that had been purchased for the imam from the Byzantines. He feared out of respect to make this request, but the imam asked him to take any ships that he needed, for he did not consider his own goods to be other than Jawdhar’s.16 Jawdhar was well aware of confidential matters within the Fatimid family, including disputes on which general historical sources remain silent. In fact al-Muʿizz considered him to be part of his family and allowed him to visit him whenever he wanted. He was informed of salaries and allowances of the inhabitants of the palace in general and of the imam’s entourage in particular. We learn from his biography that the sons of al-Mahdī and al-Qāʾim who resided in al-Mahdiyya in the palaces of their fathers had refused to acknowledge al-Manṣūr’s excellence and denied his right to the imamate. They were also making false accusations against Jawdhar. They demanded to be able to go freely in the markets with the common people, whereas Jawdhar forbade them and prevented them from doing so because of their shameful behaviour. In this connection al-Manṣūr wrote a letter to his heir apparent, al-Muʿizz, in which he calls certain sons of al-Mahdī and al-Qāʾim ‘the Cursed Tree in the Qurʾan’ (17:60), because, like the Umayyads of yesterday, they had refused to recognise him.17 The imam promised to send him a 14. See Document 67 below. 15. See Document 77 below. 16. See Document 67 below. 17. See Part One, Section 25 below.

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book composed by himself on the matter to guide the believers and put an end to doubt in their minds. The origin of all disputes within the family is traced back to Qāsim, al-Qāʾim’s son, who is blamed in particular by al-Manṣūr for instigating a dispute between al-Mahdī and al-Qāʾim. The Sīra does not elaborate on what Qāsim did, but Ibn ʿIdhārī reports that in 316/928, while al-Qāʾim was conducting operations against Berber tribes in the Maghrib, he learnt from a letter he received from Qāsim that there were widespread rumours about al-Mahdī having designated as heir apparent his son Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad, and that the latter had led the prayers of the feast of breaking the fast (al-fiṭr) and the feast of sacrifice (al-aḍḥā). This troubled al-Qāʾim who returned promptly to al-Mahdiyya without engaging the enemy.18 Then Qāsim’s sons, who resided in al-Mahdiyya, continued to display their ill will towards al-Manṣūr and al-Muʿizz. The threat posed by them was such that Jawdhar had previously submitted to al-Muʿizz the idea of intercepting correspondence exchanged between the two palaces in al-Mahdiyya and the house of Tamīm, al-Muʿizz’s son, but al-Muʿizz had been reluctant to do so. Eventually, he himself wrote to Jawdhar expressing his agreement with his suggestion and authorised the interception of mail. Jawdhar’s deputy in al-Mahdiyya also wrote to him enclosing notes of two of Qāsim’s sons which he had intercepted and which contained offensive material which Jawdhar relayed to the imam to keep him informed. Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad himself was still alive when al-Muʿizz was preparing to leave Ifrīqiya permanently to move to Egypt. He was accused of making slanderous remarks. It was said of him that he intended to remain behind and delay his departure with al-Muʿizz. Jawdhar sought information about Aḥmad from his deputy Nuṣayr, governor of al-Mahdiyya, and reported back to the imam what was being said.19 Some time after the conquest of Egypt, just as al-Qāʾim had previously made Jawdhar privy to the designation of al-Manṣūr as heir apparent, al-Muʿizz made him privy to the designation of his second son ʿAbd Allāh as his heir apparent, at a time when it was generally believed that al-Muʿizz’s eldest son Tamīm already 18. See note 261 below. 19. See Document 31 below.

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held that status. Jawdhar kept ʿAbd Allāh’s appointment secret for seven months. ʿAbd Allāh was designated heir apparent, rather than Tamīm, because the latter was in touch with his cousins, the sons of Qāsim, who intrigued against the imam. Moreover, Tamīm, it seems, led a dissolute life. Jawdhar paid his due respects to Prince ʿAbd Allāh, and the prince visited Jawdhar when the latter was ill. After the prince’s visit, he wrote a note to al-Muʿizz expressing how honoured he felt by the visit of the heir apparent. He followed up this note by dispatching a precious rug, and asked the imam to allow the prince to accept it. When al-Muʿizz decided to leave for Egypt, there was an exchange of letters between Jawdhar and Prince ʿAbd Allāh in which the prince expressed his concern for Jawdhar. When preparations were being made to leave for Egypt, it was even rumoured that Jawdhar would be left behind to govern Ifrīqiya. When he heard what was being said, he wrote to al-Muʿizz requesting him not to leave him behind because his happiness lay beside the imam. The imam replied to him, assuring him not to worry about these unfounded rumours, for he had not thought of leaving him behind for several reasons. Besides, he had to try to reconcile his two ambitious allies in the Maghrib, Bulukkīn b. Zīrī, chief of the Ṣanhāja, and his bitter rival Jaʿfar b. ʿAlī b. Ḥamdūn, who sided with their enemies the Zanāta.20 Subsequently, Bulukkīn b. Zīrī was appointed by al-Muʿizz to govern Ifrīqiya, while Jaʿfar b. ʿAlī, who was governor of the province of al-Masīla, switched allegiance to the Umayyads. Jaʿfar and his brother Yaḥyā were raised at the Fatimid court, and their father ʿAlī played an important part in 315/927 with the foundation of the town of al-Masīla which al-Qāʾim had charged him to construct. Jaʿfar was particularly close to Jawdhar. When provincial governors were seeking to outbid Jaʿfar for his governorship by offering to raise more revenue for the Treasury, al-Muʿizz turned down their bids in consideration for Jawdhar’s friendship with Jaʿfar. Jawdhar was troubled that the imam had favoured him to the detriment of the Treasury. He beseeched the imam to disregard his friendship for Jaʿfar and dismiss him from governorship and accept a rival bid so as not to deprive the Treasury of higher revenues, but the imam would not withdraw a favour once it was granted. 20. See Document 22 below.

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Jawdhar himself was actively engaged in making preparations for the Fatimid departure to Egypt. Members of the Kalbī family had arrived in Ifrīqiya to depart with al-Muʿizz and his entourage. Jawdhar became aware of disputes between some members of the Kalbī family. He refrained from appearing to take sides so as not to expose himself to blame, and he informed the imam about his decision. On al-Muʿizz’s instructions, he helped them to secure their travel permits from the Fatimid commander Jawhar. At that time al-Muʿizz was engaged actively in dispatching troops to the East and had to incur considerable expenses. Jawdhar mentioned that he had gathered some money following his successful venture to sell something from the state warehouses and by securing the outstanding tax to which he added some of his own fortune which he offered as a gift to al-Muʿizz. Jawdhar had previously dealt with Jawhar regarding a share in a property that Jawhar had asked to be granted and a share in a domain he wished to purchase. Correspondence was exchanged between the two after Jawhar conquered Egypt and was manumitted by al-Muʿizz. When Jawdhar sought al-Muʿizz’s advice on how to address Jawhar after the latter was manumitted, the imam established a pact of brotherhood between the two former slaves, invoking the pact established by the Prophet between his companions, and he advised Jawdhar on the protocol to follow in his correspondence with Jawhar to reflect this special bond between them. When al-Muʿizz left for Egypt, Jawdhar, who was frail, departed at the same time. Anxious about his condition, Jawdhar wrote a note to the imam, asking for an item of his clothing which could serve him as a shroud and a blessing when he died. In response al-Muʿizz wished him a long life so that he would witness further bounties, and he sent him items from his own wardrobe as well as from the wardrobes of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather. When Jawdhar and his party arrived at Ajdābiya, in Cyrenaica (present-day Libya), he wanted to see al-Muʿizz. As he was too weak, he was brought to al-Muʿizz’s tent in a litter. The imam leaned into the litter and hugged him and comforted him. This was the last time that they said farewell. Then, as Jawdhar was approaching Barqa, his weakness increased. The following morning he began to be in agony and died at the time of the midday prayer. In the night, his body

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was carried from the town of Barqa to the palace where al-Muʿizz was staying, at a place called Mayāsir. The imam ordered the body to be washed. This ritual was carried out by the illustrious al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, Muḥammad b. ʿUthmān the secretary and Manṣūr al-ʿAzīzī al-Jawdharī, the author of the Sīra. The imam performed the prayer for him the following day and he was buried in a local mosque. Jawdhar’s name is still preserved in a quarter of Cairo, al-Jūdariyya (al-Jawdhariyya), established by a group of individuals who bore the nisba al-Jawdharī, among them the author of the Sīra.21 The author The author of Sīrat al-Ustādh Jawdhar, Abū ʿAlī Manṣūr al-ʿAzīzī al-Jawdharī, was a private secretary of Jawdhar who took him in his service after the death of his former secretary Rashīq in 350/961. Manṣūr served Jawdhar from that year until Jawdhar’s death in Barqa in 362/973 while he was on his way to Egypt at the same time as al-Muʿizz’s definitive departure from Ifrīqiya. During the course of Manṣūr’s service, Jawdhar made him an intermediary between himself and the servants who were under his command. Jawdhar treated him kindly and with familiarity. He often confided secrets to him and showed him letters he received from the imams. After Jawdhar’s death, al-Muʿizz appointed Manṣūr to succeed Jawdhar. He had easy access to archives held by Jawdhar. He cherished the memory of his mentor and benefactor, and wished to preserve his memory. He wanted to convey how virtuous Jawdhar was and how highly he was regarded by the imams. With this end in view, he compiled the Sīra as a memento to Jawdhar, occasionally relating accounts of his own personal experiences with him. His compilation is extremely interesting and precious because it not only gives a biographical account of an outstanding statesman of the early Fatimid period, but more importantly it also brings together oral statements and archival material from the period which spans over sixty years from the reign of al-Mahdī up to Jawdhar’s death in 362/973 during al-Muʿizz’s reign. The bulk of the archival mate21. Muḥyī al-Dīn Abū al-Faḍl ʿAbd Allāh Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir, al-Rawḍa al-bahiyya al-zāhira fī khiṭaṭ al-Muʿizziyya al-Qāhira, ed. Ayman Fuʾād Sayyid (Cairo, 1996), p. 54.

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rial, however, is from the reign of al-Muʿizz. Manṣūr wrote his work during the time of al-Muʿizz’s successor, al-ʿAzīz bi-llāh (r. 365–386/975–996), and he lived up to the time of al-Ḥākim bi-amr Allāh (r. 386–411/996–1021), during which he held several important offices, including the office of director of endowments and market inspector. Then his son Jābir (d. after 390/1000) also held some of these functions during the reign of al-Ḥākim.22 The work The Sīra is divided into two parts. The first part contains an account of the stages of the life of Jawdhar from his entering the service of the Fatimids under al-Mahdī until his installation at al-Manṣūriyya, during the reign of al-Muʿizz. Documents in the first part include sermons of the Fatimid caliph-imams and their letters to Jawdhar on different subjects. The author introduces each item with a brief explanatory note. Documents quoted in the work, including the preamble which accompanies them, are of variable length. Some are quite short. The longest are sermons. The second part contains replies of al-Muʿizz to letters of Jawdhar or his replies to letters transmitted to him by Jawdhar on behalf of others. The compiler gives only a summary of the letters to which al-Muʿizz replied; hence it is not always possible to follow allusions made to the details of these letters in al-Muʿizz’s replies. Editions and manuscripts The integral text of the Sīra was first established by Muḥammad Kāmil Ḥusayn and Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Hādī Shaʿīra.23 Their edition is based on two manuscripts. The first is a manuscript from the collection of the Ismaili Society, Bombay. This manuscript has 191 pages and was copied apparently in India in the late 13th/19th century. It ends with Document 67, leaving a lacuna. The other manuscript is from the Fyzee Collection. This manuscript, which is 22. Taqī al-Dīn Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-Maqrīzī, Kitāb al-Muqaffā al-kabīr, ed. Muḥammad al-Yaʿlāwī (Beirut, 1991), vol. 3, p. 9. 23. Abū ʿAlī Manṣūr al-ʿAzīzī al-Jawdharī, Sīrat al-Ustādh Jawdhar, ed. Muḥammad Kāmil Ḥusayn and Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Hādī Shaʿīra (Cairo, 1954).

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not dated, is slightly older than the first manuscript. It contains 76 folios with 15 lines of text per page.24 Several valuable notes provided by the editors deal with the peculiarity of the language of the Sīra. An annotated French translation, based on the edition was produced by Marius Canard,25 who in his previous study on Sicily under the early Fatimids highlighted the significance of the work, particularly with reference to the importation of wood from Sicily.26 Two more studies based on the Sīra are worth mentioning here. They are Umberto Rizzitano’s study of new Arabic sources relating to the history of Islam in Sicily in which relevant excerpts from the Sīra were translated into Italian,27 and Takashi Uhara’s study in Japanese on the early Fatimid court.28 More recently, while working on this edition and translation of the Sīra, I contributed a study on Jawdhar in a collective volume in honour of Farhad Daftary.29 Besides the manuscripts used by the editors, several other manuscripts of the Sīra are held in private libraries of Ismaili communities in India and Pakistan.30 The Institute of Ismaili Studies in London has two manuscript copies in its collection, as well as a photocopy of the manuscript of the Sīra in the Fyzee Collection. This new edition is based on the following three manuscripts:

24. Muʿizz Goriawala, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Fyzee Collection of Ismaili Manuscripts (Bombay, 1965), pp. 35–36. 25. Marius Canard, Vie de l’Ustadh Jaudhar (Algiers, 1958). 26. Marius Canard, ‘Quelques notes relatives à la Sicile sous les premiers califes fatimites’, in Studi Medievali in onore di Antonino De Stefano (Palermo, 1956), pp. 571–573, reprinted in his L’expansion arabo-islamique et ses répercussions (London, 1974), article IV. 27. Umberto Rizzitano, ‘Nuove fonti arabe per la storia dei Musulmani di Sicilia’, Rivista degli Studi Orientali, 32 (1957); being Scritti in onore di Giuseppe Furlani, pp. 531–555. 28. Takashi Uhara, ‘The Inside Affairs of the Early Fatimid Court according to the Sira al-Ustadh Jawdhar’, Bulletin of the Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan, 31, no. 2 (1988), pp. 18–33. 29. Hamid Haji, ‘A Distinguished Slav Eunuch of the Early Fatimid Period: al-Ustādh Jawdhar’, in Fortresses of the Intellect: Ismaili and other Islamic Studies in Honour of Farhad Daftary, ed. Omar Alí-de-Unzaga (London and New York, 2011), pp. 261–273. 30. Ismail K. Poonawala, Biobibliography of Ismāʿīlī Literature (Malibu, CA, 1977), p. 91.

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1. A manuscript previously owned by the Ismaili Society (abbreviated as alif in the edition). It has 191 pages of Arabic text and 12 lines per page. The manuscript is incomplete at the end, just like the manuscript of the Society used by the editors in the Sīra. Page size measures 20.5 x 13 cm, and text area measures 14.5 x 8 cm. It is not dated, but is estimated to have been copied in the late 13/19th century.31 There are two additional cover pages preceding the Arabic text. The first cover page bears the stamp ‘Property of the Ismaili Society’. The second cover page bears the same stamp and another marked ‘Private Library of President, Recreation Club Institute. No. 44’, with the number inserted in handwriting. The Recreation Club Institute was the precursor of the Ismaili Society. 2. A photocopy of manuscript 48 of the Fyzee Collection (abbreviated as fāʾ in the edition). 3. A manuscript from the Zāhid ʿAlī Collection (abbreviated as zāʾ in the edition). The Zāhid ʿAlī Collection is now part of the collection of The Institute of Ismaili Studies, where the manuscript bears the reference Ms. 1193 (ArI, ZA). The manuscript was copied in 1341/1923. It has 92 leaves and 17 lines per page. Folio size measures 20.2 x 12.5 cm, and text area measures 15 x 8.5 cm.32 The title of the work and the name of its author appear clearly in all the manuscripts, but rubrics to separate all the individual sections and documents cited are seldom marked in the manuscripts. The headings and numbering introduced by the previous editors of the work have been largely preserved in this edition to make the text more readable and accessible. Several quotations from the Sīra are to be found in the ʿUyūn al-akhbār of the Yemenite dāʿī Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn (d. 872/1468). I have compared these quotations with the manuscripts while establishing this new edition together with the first integral English translation of the work. 31. Adam Gacek, Catalogue of Arabic Manuscripts in the Library of The Institute of Ismaili Studies (London, 1984–1985), vol. 1, p. 121. 32. For details see Delia Cortese, Arabic Ismaili Manuscripts: The Zāhid ʿAlī Collection in the Library of The Institute of Ismaili Studies (London, 2003), pp. 174–175.

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The translation of the Sīra allows non-Arabist readers to access this interesting primary source of inestimable value for our understanding of the early Fatimid period. I have attempted to be as close to the original Arabic text as possible, but at the same time made allowance for modern English idiom and expressions. The translation of verses from the Qurʾan draws upon Yusuf Ali’s and Pickthall’s translations with some adaptation. I have explained in the footnotes several toponyms, names of individuals and tribes and events, and also supplied ample references wherever necessary for further reading. The publication includes genealogical charts of the Fatimids in Ifrīqiya and the Banū Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī, maps of North Africa and Sicily, as well as a chronology summarising relevant events.

Translation of the Sīrat al-Ustādh Jawdhar The Biography of al-Ustādh Jawdhar

part one: biography

The Biography of al-Ustādh Jawdhar compiled by Manṣūr the Secretary In the name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to God who is not limited by modality, who is not defined by localisation in space, who alone is eternal and who is unrivalled in precedence. May [our] praise lead to His complete satisfaction and obtain His abundant bounties. May God bless the most noble of His messenger-prophets and the most excellent of His distinguished chosen ones, Muḥammad, His servant and His messenger, as well as the best of his pure progeny, and may He grant them salvation. Manṣūr al-Jawdharī the Secretary said: My master al-Ustādh Jawdhar, may God be satisfied with him, took me in his service as secretary after the death of his secretary Rashīq,33 which was in the 33. He was apparently Rashīq al-Rayḥānī al-Kātib who, towards the end of al-Qāʾim’s reign, commanded black slaves defending al-Mahdiyya during its siege by the Kharijite rebel Abū Yazīd. See Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār wa-funūn al-āthār fī faḍāʾil al-aʾimma al-aṭhār, partial ed. Muḥammad al-Yaʿlāwī as Taʾrīkh al-khulafāʾ al-Fāṭimiyyīn bi-al-Maghrib: al-qism al-khāṣṣ min kitāb ʿUyūn al-akhbār (Beirut, 1985), pp. 307, 343, 351–354. Then, at the beginning of his reign, al-Manṣūr sent Rashīq at the head of a naval force to relieve Sousse, which was being ravaged by Abū Yazīd. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Muḥammad Ibn Khaldūn, Taʾrīkh Ibn Khaldūn: Dīwān al-mubtadaʾ wa-al-khabar fī taʾrīkh al-ʿarab wa-al-barbar wa-man ʿāṣarahum min dhawī al-shaʾn al-akbar, ed. Khalīl Shiḥāda, rev. Suhayl Zakkār (Beirut, 2000–2001), vol. 4, p. 55, partial French trans. W. MacGuckin de Slane, Histoire des Berbères et les dynasties musulmanes de l’Afrique septentrionale (Paris, 1978), vol. 2, pp. 535–536.

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year 350/961. Ever since then, he preferred me by the considerable dignity and the noble status which he conferred upon me. He made me an intermediary between himself and the servants who were under his command. He confided to me the secrets between himself and our master and lord, the Imam al-Muʿizz li-dīn Allāh, may God bless him, contained in decrees or transpiring by word of mouth, as well as that contained in letters coming to him from all the regions. This was accompanied by his abundant generosity and considerable beneficence towards me so that whereas I was nothing, he made me bring forth important things. He opened to me the doors of benevolence and led me to the highest degrees in religion, so may God be satisfied with him and grant him satisfaction. May He, on the Day of Resurrection, gather him in the company of his masters, the pure imams and noble lords. Among the marks of his generosity, gratitude, graciousness and benevolence towards me was that he treated me kindly and with familiarity, and he ordered me to sit in his company and converse with him. Hence I was moved to ask him how he began to serve our lords the pure, righteous, noble and excellent imams, may God bless them all, what was the cause of his close association with them, and the reasons which caused him to attain this situation whereby he secured manifest worldly power, religious knowledge and pious deeds for the Hereafter, aspiring to attain the highest rank. He conveyed to me on this subject information which I have retained from him and which I cherish. Hence I praise God, the Blessed, the Exalted, for the favour which He bestowed upon me, by allowing me to hear what I heard from a mentor who is well known among the entire community for his status in his religion, his flawless integrity, his piety, his temperance and the sincerity of his loyalty. We shall mention in this book what we have heard from him successively. When he died, may God have mercy upon him, after having surrounded me with good deeds and granting me favours continuously to such an extent that I was unable to express gratitude at certain times during his lifetime, the feeling of honour and faithfulness to him obliged me, after his death, to mention in this book all his virtues and the honour bestowed upon him by his masters, the pure imams, may God bless them, the nobility that he gained during the period of each one of them, and the special favours accorded to

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him. I shall relate this and transmit it according to available decrees and oral statements, doing this as a man who believes in God, his Lord, and fulfils his trust, without changing anything to what he heard, neither adding anything to it nor subtracting anything from it, so that whoever peruses this [book] will understand the great favour that (Jawdhar) enjoyed with our masters, and thereby be considered worthy of invocation of God’s mercy upon him. Maybe by this action I shall have discharged my obligation towards him. God alone grants success. 1 [Jawdhar begins to serve al-Mahdī] Here is the first thing that he informed me when I asked him about the cause which led him to his situation: One day, as I was sitting before him, someone happened to mention the imams, may God bless them, saying that they had genuine powers of insight and real faculties of divination, and that they saw with the light of God, the Mighty, the Exalted, in all their circumstances. (Jawdhar) said: The first time that I found out the veracity of the insight of the Imam al-Mahdī bi-llāh,34 our lord and master, may God sanctify his spirit and bless him, is when for the first time his eyes fell on me, and this was the cause of my attaining the position that I hold. When God, the Mighty, the Exalted, destroyed the kingdom of the Aghlabids and rendered their dynasty powerless because of their insolence and immoral behaviour, and because they committed sinful and criminal acts, using criminal means, infringing upon the rights of God, the Mighty, the Exalted, suspending the application of penalties prescribed by God, [when] God purged the earth of their filth and impurity by the advent of the pure dynasty and radiant days, by the coming of the pious imams to the land of the Maghrib, when the Imam al-Mahdī bi-llāh, the best blessings upon him, arrived at Raqqāda,35 and I gathered before him together with all the Slavs and 34. On al-Mahdī (r. 297–322/909–934) see al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 4, pp. 523–570; Farhat Dachraoui, ‘al-Mahdī ʿUbayd Allāh’, Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed. (Leiden, 1960–2006), hereafter cited as EI2, vol. 5, pp. 1242–1244; and Heinz Halm, The Empire of the Mahdi: The Rise of the Fatimids, tr. M. Bonner (Leiden, 1996). 35. Raqqāda, about six miles south of al-Qayrawān, was founded in 263/876 by the Aghlabid emir Ibrāhīm b. Aḥmad. It became the centre

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others. He apportioned us in the service of his warehouses. Then he looked at me and said, ‘This boy is graceful; it may be that there is some goodness in him. Take him to Abū al-Qāsim, may God protect him’, meaning al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh,36 our lord and master, who at that time was heir apparent of the Muslims. Subsequently each one of us remained in the place assigned to him. After a few days, al-Mahdī bi-llāh ordered us to be gathered before him and clothes to be brought, which he distributed to us to wear. The clothes were diverse, of various colours and different kinds. When we appeared before him, he told us, ‘Let each one of you choose a garment for himself according to his taste.’ All this happened because God created him with a natural disposition for compassion and mercy of which he was worthy. My companions chose tustarī garments.37 I, for my part, stretched my hand and took an ʿattābī garment,38 saying that it was the one I liked. The Imam al-Mahdī bi-llāh looked at a Slav who was before him, one of the chiefs of his Slav slaves called Sulaymān,39 and told him, ‘This is a of Aghlabid dominion, replacing al-ʿAbbāsiyya. See Georges Marçais, ‘Raḳḳāda’, EI2, vol. 8, pp. 414–415; and Yāqūt, Muʿ jam, vol. 3, pp. 55–56. 36. On al-Qāʾim (r. 322–334/934–946) see al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 6, pp. 169–186; and Farhat Dachraoui, ‘al-Ḳāʾim bi-amr Allāh’, EI2, vol. 4, pp. 458–460. 37. Tustarī, from Tustar (Shushtar), a town in south-western Persia in the medieval province of Ahwāz, now in Khūzistān, where the fabric was manufactured. The term was then applied to similar types of fabric manufactured elsewhere, particularly in Maḥallat al-Tustariyyīn, a quarter of Baghdad, and residence of merchants and notables of Khūzistān. Tustar was particularly renowned for the manufacture of brocade (dībāj). Abū al-Qāsim Muḥammad Ibn Ḥawqal, Ṣūrat al-arḍ (Beirut, 1979), p. 231. 38. The name of this fabric is derived from a quarter of Baghdad inhabited by descendants of ʿAttāb b. Asīd (d. 23/644), great-grandson of Umayya, who was appointed governor of Makka by the Prophet. Fabrics called ʿattābī in silk and cotton of various colours were manufactured in that quarter. The term ʿattābī was particularly applied to striped fabrics. On ʿattābī fabrics, see Reinhart Dozy, Supplément aux dictionnaires arabes (Leiden-Paris, 1967), vol. 2, p. 93; and E. Sims, ‘ʿAttābī’, Encyclopaedia Iranica (London-New York, 1982–), vol. 3, p. 20. 39. He was Sulaymān al-Khādim (the eunuch), also known as Sulaymān al-Ṣaqlabī, who, together with Yaʿqūb al-Kutāmī, commanded a naval squadron sent by al-Mahdī in 307/920 as reinforcement to the future al-Qāʾim during his second expedition in Egypt. This naval force was defeated by the Abbasid fleet before Rashīd (Rosetta) on 20 Shawwāl 307/14 March 920. Sulaymān and Yaʿqūb were taken prisoners and exhibited in

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graceful servant, diligent in his service. Advise him to take a tustarī garment for it will be more hard-wearing for him and more useful’. Sulaymān advised me to take another (garment), but I said, ‘I do not like other than this one’. Al-Mahdī bi-llāh looked at me and at his companions and said, ‘This one will be a pious slave. Do you not see that he did not go beyond the garment of the pious and chose the one which most closely resembles shrouds? [My] insight about him will not fail. Indeed, he will be a slave who prefers the things of the Hereafter to the things of this world.’ Then he added, ‘Cut for him the cloth that he has chosen and another cloth like the one chosen by his companions.’ So they cut for me two cloths. My companions retired one by one. This was the first time that I became aware of the veracity of the insight of the imam and the blessing conferred by his glance and his favour that I had gained.

Let it be known to anyone who peruses my book, or to whomever it is read, that the speech of the rightly-guided imams, may the blessings of God be upon them all, in everything that they express, be it by indication, clear statement or allusion, there is profound wisdom, refinement and usefulness for those who are steadfast in their devotion to them and who are sincere in their affection for them with veracity of conscience and pure intention. Indeed, this is [like] the glorious Book of God: ‘No falsehood can approach it from before or behind it: It is sent down by One full of wisdom, worthy of all praise’ (41:42). Heretics deviated from it, misguided negators doubted in it, and disbelievers rejected its favour. ‘Truly it is not their eyes that are blind, but their hearts which are in their breasts’ (22:46). God, the Mighty, the Exalted, says: ‘So they rejected (the Message) and turned away. But God can do without (them): and God is free of all needs, worthy of all praise’ (64:6). O God, let not our hearts swerve from the truth after having guided us. Help us by giving us sound faith in the preceding [imams] and in their successor, the master of the age, the holder of the commandment, the servant of God and His friend, chains in Egypt. See al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, pp. 646–647, vol. 6, p. 173. According to Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, p. 234, Sulaymān was later executed in Baghdad. However, according to ʿIzz al-Dīn Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī b. Muḥammad Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil fī al-taʾrīkh (Beirut, 1967), vol. 6, p. 161, and Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ al-ḥunafā bi-akhbār al-aʾimma al-Fāṭimiyyīn al-khulafā, ed. J. al-Shayyāl and Muḥammad Ḥ. M. Aḥmad (Cairo, 1967–1973), vol. 1, p. 71, Sulaymān died in captivity in Egypt.

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the best of His creatures, Nizār Abū al-Manṣūr, the Imam al-ʿAzīz bi-llāh,40 Commander of the Faithful, our lord and master, may God bless him and his ancestors and noble sons. O God, You do as You will and You are omnipotent. 2 [Jawdhar acquires al-Mahdī’s blessing] (Jawdhar) related to me on this subject something which all believers who hear it will find extraordinary, and which will increase their understanding of loyalty to the imams, the rightly-guided guides. He said: When the Imam al-Mahdī bi-llāh moved from Raqqāda to al-Mahdiyya41 which he named after himself—and it happened as ʿAlī b. Muḥammad al-Iyādī42 said: ‘The capital of a kingdom called Mahdiyya and thus it will be known as long as eternity lasts’— there occurred between some of his Kutāma followers43 dissension, inequity and quarrels because of the allotment of irrigated lands which (al-Mahdī) had granted them as fiefs. They presented their grievance and case before him. Having learnt of their complaining about each other, he considered dispatching one of the trusted Slavs to investigate the matter and to report back to him the truth of what he learnt and what became apparent to him. The Slav left and arrived at the place and investigated the matter with the judge and the trusted elders of the region. He became aware of the facts of 40. The Fatimid caliph-imam al-ʿAzīz bi-llāh (r. 365–386/975–996). Marius Canard, ‘al-ʿAzīz Bi’llāh Nizār Abū Manṣūr’, EI2, vol. 1, pp. 823–825. 41. al-Mahdī moved to his new capital, al-Mahdiyya, in Shawwāl 308/ February–March 921, two years after its completion. See Mohamed Talbi, ‘al-Mahdiyya’, EI2, vol. 5, pp. 1246–1247; and Lucien Golvin, ‘Mahdiya à l’époque fātimide’, Revue de l’Occident musulman et de la Méditerranée, 27 (1979), pp. 75–98. 42. ʿAlī b. Muḥammad al-Tūnisī al-Iyādī was the most famous poet of Ifrīqiya at the time of al-Qāʾim and al-Manṣūr. He joined al-Muʿizz in Egypt and died during his reign. On him see M. Yalaoui, ‘ʿAlī b. Muḥammad al-Tūnisī al-Iyādī’, EI2 Supplement (Leiden, 1980), pp. 62–63. See also Part One, Section 15 below for his poem on the capture of the rebel Abū Yazīd. 43. The Kutāma Berbers played a central role in the establishment of Fatimid dominion in North Africa. On them see al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, Iftitāḥ, Index; Ibn Khaldūn, Taʾrīkh, vol. 6, pp. 195–200 (trans. Berbères, vol. 1, pp. 291–299); and René Basset, ‘Kutāma’, EI2, vol. 5, p. 540.

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the matter and returned to the Immaculate Portal.44 He communicated what he had learnt to the Imam al-Mahdī bi-llāh. The imam summoned the complainants in the presence of an assembly of their elders and their cousins and calmed the matter between them. They retired from him most gracefully, thanking and praising him for having favoured them by settling their affairs and bringing to an end all inequity among them. Then turning towards the Slav, who had been away to conduct the investigation, he said, ‘You have discharged the task entrusted to you. Retire. May God bless you.’ When the Slav came out, gloomy and agitated, I was sitting near the blessed palace. I had never met him before his coming to our lord. I rose to pay my respects and greeted him, but I found out from what he said that he was annoyed, so I asked him, ‘How is it that I see you coming out agitated even though the imam blessed you and dismissed you, thanking you for your endeavour?’ He replied, ‘I would have preferred that instead of this blessing he would have given me something which I would enjoy on my return to my house.’ I told him, ‘Beware, for the blessing of our lord, peace be upon him, is better for you than this world and everything it contains if it were given to you.’ I made him understand this as a believer ought to do towards his fellow believer, but he did not agree and said, ‘O master (ustādh), I informed you what I had in mind and what I wanted.’ When I saw that he preferred the ephemeral things of this transitory world to such blessing through which one gains access to the eternal abode, I resolved to do something in which God caused me to see its fine benefits which I could gain. He prompted me to ask him, ‘Would you like to sell me this blessing with a sincere conviction on your part to sell it and a sincere conviction on my part to buy it from you?’ He said, ‘How will that be?’ I replied to him, ‘I will give you something that you can enjoy, provided that the blessing intended by the imam for you will belong to me and not you.’ So he said, ‘Give me ten dinars. May God bless you with this blessing which he intended for me.’ I paid him twenty dinars and he left. I said, ‘O our Lord! truly Thou dost know what we conceal and what we reveal, for nothing whatever is hidden from God (14:38). Bless me for that which I have bought from him and make me among those who are thankful.’ 45 Then (the Slav) returned to his house and I remained in my place in the blessed palace. Three days later, what 44. The expression ‘the Immaculate Portal’ (al-bāb al-ṭāhir) is used here and elsewhere in the work for the imam’s palace. 45. Cf. Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, Zahr al-maʿānī, excerpts edited and translated by Wladimir Ivanow in his Ismaili Tradition Concerning the Rise of the Fatimids (London, etc., 1942), pp. 70–71 (trans. p. 264).

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happened between us came to the attention of the Imam al-Mahdī bi-llāh, our lord and master, through someone who had probably heard us without us seeing him, for news does not remain hidden, and as it has been said that the most hidden thing is that which has not taken place. (The imam) ordered me to be summoned. I appeared before him, after the departure of his companions, and he asked me, ‘O Jawdhar, is it true what I have heard regarding what happened between you and so-and-so’—he meant the Slav—‘that you bought from him for yourself the blessing which we granted to him, because he was not satisfied with it and preferred to it the ephemeral things of this world, and that he asked to exchange the best thing for the meanest thing?’ I replied, ‘The matter is as my lord and master has learnt.’ (The imam) said, ‘I ask God, Creator of the heavens and the earth, that He bless you for what you have bought and that He bless you until you meet God, the Mighty, the Exalted, for devotion to us.’ He ordered that I be awarded 100 dinars and a precious robe of honour, which I accepted. I joined this (favour) to the blessing of his insight and the good fortune of his divination.

3 [Jawdhar left in charge of al-Qāʾim’s palace] (Jawdhar) related to me that his circumstances continued to advance and his rank continued to rise until the day when al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh set out for the Maghrib at the head of the army,46 and he left Jawdhar in charge of his palace and all members of his harem and his family who resided therein. He accomplished the task assigned to him commendably. Upon his return from the expedition, al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh thanked him for his effort and praised his services and increased his generosity and favours towards him. All this happened during the lifetime of our lord the Imam al-Mahdī bi-llāh.

46. The first time al-Qāʾim led an expedition to the Maghrib, after al-Mahdī assumed power in Raqqāda, was when al-Mahdī dispatched him at the head of troops to fight those Kutāma who had rebelled following the killing of the Ismaili dāʿī Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Shīʿī in 298/911. See al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, Iftitāḥ al-daʿwa, p. 273 (trans. p. 227); and al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 4, p. 561.

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4 [Jawdhar becomes official at the Treasury] When God took the Imam al-Mahdī bi-llāh to the abode of His generosity and the place of His mercy47 and entrusted the authority after him to his proof (ḥujja),48 the Imam al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh, (Jawdhar) said: (The imam) entrusted to me the affairs of the Treasury as well as the warehouses of cloths and garments, and he made me an intermediary between himself and his followers and all his slaves. Whenever he wanted to investigate any matter in his presence he conveyed the matter to me.

5 [Jawdhar made privy to al-Manṣūr’s designation as heir apparent] Then he bestowed upon me a favour whereby he preferred me to everybody and singled me out from among all the missionaries and believers. Indeed, when he wanted to bury al-Mahdī bi-llāh, he summoned me to the exclusion of everybody and said to me, while I was alone with him on the edge of the grave in which he wanted to lower al-Mahdī bi-llāh, ‘O Jawdhar, it is not permissible to the ḥujja succeeding the imam to bury the imam until he has appointed his own ḥujja. Thus it is not permissible for me to do so until I have appointed my ḥujja. I am satisfied with you to confide you this trust to the exclusion of everybody.’ He recited the following verse from the word of God, the Mighty, the Exalted: ‘We did indeed offer the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to undertake it, being afraid thereof; but man undertook it; he was indeed unjust and foolish’ (33:72). Then he told me, ‘Come near me!’ I went near him, and he said, ‘Give your hand.’ I extended my hand, filled with fear and awe because of the reverence for him which God, the Mighty, the Exalted, had put in my heart, so that 47. al-Mahdī died on 14 Rabīʿ I 322/4 March 934. His death was announced on the morning of Tuesday 10 Jumādā II 322/27 May 934. See al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, Iftitāḥ al-daʿwa, p. 276 (trans. p. 230). 48. Ḥujja, a rank in the spiritual hierarchy (ḥudūd al-dīn), is applied here to the heir apparent designated by the imam. On the meaning of ḥujja in Shīʿī terminology see M. G. S. Hodgson, ‘Ḥudjdja’, EI2, vol. 3, pp. 544–545.

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he no longer appeared to me to be the master with whom I behaved informally while addressing him and in other situations during the lifetime of al-Mahdī bi-llāh. Then he said to me, ‘I am exacting before God a promise from you and a solemn pledge from you that you will keep secret whatever I will make plain and reveal to you.’ I said, ‘Yes, my lord.’ He continued, ‘My son Ismāʿīl49 is my ḥujja and my heir apparent, so recognise his rights and observe complete secrecy about his status until I myself make it public when God wills and at the time He will chose.’ 50 Then he buried al-Mahdī bi-llāh and covered him with earth in his grave and offered a prayer for him. I kept the secret concerning al-Manṣūr bi-llāh, and nobody received any information from me regarding the matter for seven years.

Abū al-Ḥasan Jawhar51 the secretary related to me that he had heard this account from the very mouth of al-Manṣūr bi-llāh in exactly the same terms. 6 [A letter from al-Manṣūr, heir apparent, to Jawdhar] (Jawdhar), my master, related to me that al-Manṣūr bi-llāh, during the lifetime of al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh, had great sympathy for him to the exclusion of others, and that he often stopped by him at his house. At that time, said (Jawdhar), the people were overwhelmed with confusion, for each one adhered, without a valid reason, to one 49. Abū al-Ṭāhir Ismāʿīl who succeeded al-Qāʾim as al-Manṣūr bi-llāh (r. 334–341/946–953). On him see al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, pp. 129–180; Georges Marçais, ‘al-Manṣūr Ismāʿīl’, E. J. Brill’s First Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913–1936, hereafter cited as EI1 (Leiden, 1987), vol. 5, p. 257; and Farhat Dachraoui, ‘al-Manṣūr bi’llāh’, EI2, vol. 6, pp. 434–435. 50. Cf. Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, Zahr al-maʿānī, p. 72 (trans. p. 265). 51. Jawhar (d. 381/992) was born in 312/924 in Byzantine territory and brought as a slave to Ifrīqiya. He served al-Manṣūr as his personal attendant and distinguished himself as one of the great Fatimid commanders during the reign of al-Muʿizz. He died during the reign of al-ʿAzīz. See al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 3, pp. 83–111; Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-Maqrīzī, al-Mawāʿiẓ wa-al-iʿtibār fī dhikr al-khiṭaṭ wa-al-āthār, ed. Ayman Fuʾād Sayyid (London, 2002), vol. 2, pp. 255–260; Shams al-Dīn Aḥmad b. Muḥammad Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt al-aʿyān wa-anbāʼ abnāʼ al-zamān, ed. Iḥsān ʿAbbās (Beirut, 1968–1972), vol. 1, pp. 375–380; H. Monès, ‘Djawhar’, EI2, vol. 2, pp. 494–495.

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of the sons of our lord,52 whereas (Jawdhar) was certain about the purport of the promise that he had made. He said: One day I punished some Slavs under my authority for a crime they had committed and for which they deserved to be disciplined. They were Qayṣar, Muẓaffar,53 Ṭāriq54 and other Slavs of the group. I punished them and imprisoned them. This happened during the reign of al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh while al-Manṣūr bi-llāh was veiled (mastūr) and nobody was aware of his status. When al-Manṣūr bi-llāh passed through the place in which they had been detained, they implored him and sought his intercession on their behalf. I had no knowledge of this until I received a letter from him in his hand.

My master informed me about the letter and I saw clearly from it what great concern (al-Manṣūr) had for (Jawdhar), as well as his wish for his welfare, before his assuming office. Here is the text of the letter: 52. al-Qāʾim had eight sons of whom the sources list seven: Abū al-Ṭāhir Ismāʿīl who succeeded him as al-Manṣūr bi-llāh; Abū ʿAbd Allāh Jaʿfar who died in Egypt during the reign of al-Muʿizz; Ḥamza, ʿAdnān and Abū Kināna (d. 340/951–952) who all died in the Maghrib; Yūsuf who died in 362/973 in Barqa; and Abū al-Furāt ʿAbd al-Jabbār who died in Egypt. See Jamāl al-Dīn ʿAlī Ibn Ẓāfir, Akhbār al-duwal al-munqaṭiʿa, ed. A. Ferré (Cairo, 1972), p. 16; al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, pp. 646–647, vol. 6, p. 179; and al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, vol. 1, p. 86. Qāsim, son of al-Qāʾim, omitted from the list, is mentioned in the Sīra. See Document 17 below and note 261 below. 53. Subsequently, these Slavs became prominent under al-Manṣūr and al-Muʿizz. Qayṣar fought alongside Zīrī b. Manād against the Berbers who had rallied around Abū Yazīd. He was appointed governor of Bāghāya and its dependencies. He and Muẓaffar shared between themselves authority over Fatimid provinces in the Maghrib. See Ibn Khaldūn, Taʾrīkh, vol. 4, pp. 57, 59–60 (trans. Berbères, vol. 2, pp. 539, 542, 544); and Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 416, 424, 434–435, 462. Both Qayṣar and Muẓaffar were put to death in 349/960 under al-Muʿizz because they had become too powerful. (Ibn Ẓāfir, Akhbār, p. 22, and al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, vol. 1, p. 101.) They are reviled in a passage in al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, al-Majālis wa-almusāyarāt, 2nd rev. ed. Muḥammad al-Yaʿlāwī (Tunis, 1997), pp. 401–403. On Muẓaffar see also Document 48 below, relating to his domains. 54. Ṭāriq participated in fighting Abū Yazīd’s forces under al-Manṣūr. Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 424–426. He was one of the notables present at the bedside of al-Muʿizz during his last illness together with Jawhar. See al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, vol. 1, p. 229.

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May God forgive you. May He be benevolent towards you and complete His grace to you. God knows that I avoid things and I loathe speaking about any matter. However, when I remembered your righteousness, your affection and my closeness to you, I considered that endearment erases bashfulness and requires that I be not stingy with you in giving sincere advice. Regarding the matter of these young eunuchs, even though you wished by your action to punish them and discipline them, you have somewhat exceeded the limit. The believer has an obligation, like the duty to observe the prayer and the fast, that he should be compassionate towards the lowly as well as the noble; that he should be kind towards believers as well as disbelievers; that he should be kind to those who are near him as well as those who are far, for anger is a dreadful force and rarely can one master it when it is aroused, or break it when it boils over. Galen, speaking of one of his compatriots, said, ‘He was a noble, intelligent and cultured man whose only shortcoming was his intense anger. He could not control his anger when it was aroused.’ Speaking of this man, with whom he had travelled a long way, he said, ‘I saw him getting angry with one of his slaves and strike him a blow with his sword with which he almost killed him. Then he regretted his action and said, “O Galen, be kind to me and treat this temperament which affects me. Perhaps it will diminish my anger.”’ (Galen) said to him, ‘This ailment cannot be treated by drugs and medicines. It can only be treated by the tongue and goodly exhortation.’ He admonished him and made him aware that there was nothing more harmful to the intellect and no worse enemy of the soul than anger. (The man) accepted his advice and benefited from it.55 I also want you to accept my exhortation just as this man accepted Galen’s exhortation, and that you abate your anger little by little, so that there be no trait of blameable character in you. Let the first gesture to show that you have accepted [my exhortation] be that you release these young slaves whom you have imprisoned, and that you do so of your own accord, without their knowing that I have implored you on their behalf, because they requested me to intervene in the matter and complained to me of injustice. However, 55. The passage of Galen alluded to here is found in his work Περὶ διαγνώσεως καὶ θεραπείας τῶν ἐν τῇ ἑκάστου ψυχῇ ἰδίων παθῶν [= De Propriorum Animi Cuiuslibet Affectuum Dignotione et Curatione], ed. Wilko de Boer, Corpus Medicorum Graecorum (Leipzig and Berlin, 1937), vol. 5, 4,1,1, pp. 13–15; trans. as The Diagnosis and Cure of the Soul’s Passions in Paul W. Harkins, tr., On the Passions and Errors of the Soul (Columbus, OH, 1963), pp. 39–41.

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I swear that I have not promised them that I would speak to you about them and I would not like them to know that I have intervened. By God, if I did not recognise the familiarity which exists between you and me, I would not have mentioned to you anything about the matter, regardless of the good that I wish for you and in spite of my desire that you be characterised only as having compassion and kindness, not rigour and harshness, God willing.56

7 [The first written directive from al-Qāʾim to Jawdhar] (Jawdhar) related to me that the first written directive (tawqīʿ)57 by which God honoured him was a directive which was addressed to him, written in the hand of al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh, which he showed to me and made me read. It was sent in the following circumstances: al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh was sitting in his reception chamber when he heard loud yelling, crying and wailing. He asked, ‘What is this crying?’ He was told that it was from the house of a Muslim. ‘Call Jawdhar,’ he ordered. The courier was sent to him and found him alone in the Treasury arranging a sum of money which was spread in front of him and he could not leave this task. So the courier returned to al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh and informed him of this situation. He said, ‘Leave him to his work and bring me the inkwell!’ God wanted to honour him and elevate him, for (al-Qāʾim) sent him a written directive whose text is as follows: O Jawdhar, we inquired about the crying and were told that it emanated from the house of a Muslim man. May God forgive this poor man. I have been informed that they cry for him in the street. It is not befitting that such should happen for anyone at a time when one is mourning the Commander of the Faithful and master of all creatures. May the blessings of God be upon that pure and sinless 56. Cf. the long quotation from the Sīra in Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 252–255, which includes events from the death of al-Mahdī, al-Qāʾim entrusting to Jawdhar the affairs of the Treasury, Jawdhar being made privy to al-Manṣūr’s appointment as heir apparent, and his letter to Jawdhar on the treatment of the Slavs. 57. Here tawqīʿ (plural tawqīʿāt) is used in the sense of a written order or directive from a sovereign, bearing his signature, and often containing his formal reply to a written request made to him, as is the case in the second part of the book.

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soul! Express condolences to (the man’s) poor son and to his family and command them to stop mourning tomorrow, God willing.58

8 [al-Qāʾim shuns forbidden goods] (Jawdhar) related to me that when he travelled to the East with al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh, the soldiers frequently pillaged the belongings of the subjects who had sought protection through submission and that al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh censured their acts. He punished them for their deeds and carried out executions. When this matter overwhelmed him, he instructed the person responsible for buying meat for his kitchen to proceed in such a way that the meat he bought in the towns during his passage through them should come only from trustworthy individuals. (Jawdhar) said: He looked at me and said to me, ‘O Jawdhar, do not eat any meat other than the permissible meat that we provide for you from our kitchen, for all that is sold in the markets of the army is foul, because the soldiers commit impermissible acts and have found ways to perpetrate plunder.’ 59

9 Our lord al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allah’s advice to our lord al-Manṣūr bi-llāh regarding Jawdhar A trustworthy person reported to me that when al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh was on his deathbed, he summoned al-Manṣūr bi-llāh and said to him, ‘O my dear son! Receive what God has commanded me 58. The practice of excessive lamenting of the dead, considered to be a legacy of paganism, was condemned by the Prophet. See T. Fahd, ‘Niyāḥa’, EI2, vol. 8, pp. 64–65. According to al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, al-Majālis wa-almusāyarāt, pp. 95–96, it is related from al-Muʿizz that al-Manṣūr, on his deathbed, seeing him cry, reminded him of this interdiction. Among the exceptions to the rule, al-Nuʿmān mentions the cases of Ḥamza, uncle of the Prophet, the Imam al-Ḥusayn, and the Fatimid caliph-imam al-Mahdī. As al-Mahdī’s death was announced on 10 Jumādā II 322/27 May 934, al-Qāʾim’s letter must date from that year. 59. al-Qāʾim conducted two expeditions to Egypt, in 301/914 and in 306/919, during al-Mahdī’s reign. Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 6, pp. 147, 149–150, 161, and al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, vol. 1, pp. 68–69, 71–72.

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to deliver to you. May God help you to accomplish what pleases Him and what brings near to Him. May He facilitate for you [the affairs of] the country. May He unite the hearts of believers in submission to you and affection for you. However, O my dear son, I am entrusting to you a trust which I would like you not to lose after me.’ (Al-Manṣūr) said to him, ‘Say, my lord; I hope that God will delay your term and will give us and to all the community of your ancestor the gift of your health.’ (Al-Qāʾim) replied, ‘No! The book has come to its term. The trust I want to confide to you is poor Jawdhar. Protect him. May he not be humiliated after me.’ Al-Manṣūr bi-llāh said, ‘O my lord, is not Jawdhar one of us?’ (Al-Qāʾim) replied, ‘Indeed, he is one of us because I am happy with him.’ 60 10 [Jawdhar left to govern the entire country] When al-Manṣūr bi-llāh resolved to set out in pursuit of the cursed Deceiver61 Makhlad b. Kaydād,62 he invested the ustādh with author60. Cf. Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 343–344. 61. On the Deceiver (al-dajjāl), an apocalyptic figure similar to the Antichrist, see Armand Abel, ‘al-Dadjdjāl’, EI2, vol. 2, pp. 76–77. Fatimid writers identify the Kharijite rebel Abū Yazīd Makhlad b. Kaydād as the Deceiver. 62. Abū Yazīd Makhlad b. Kaydād acquired a large following among the Ibāḍī Berbers of the Awrās and began his rebellion in 332/943 during the reign of al-Qāʾim. He conquered all of southern Ifrīqiya, including al-Qayrawān, and laid siege to al-Mahdiyya. He was eventually defeated by al-Manṣūr in 336/947. On this Kharijite rebel, see Samuel M. Stern, ‘Abū Yazīd al-Nukkārī’, EI2, vol. 1, pp. 163–164; Roger Le Tourneau, ‘La révolte d’Abû Yazîd au Xme siècle’, Les cahiers de Tunisie, 1 (1953), pp. 103–125; H. Halm, ‘Der Mann auf dem Esel. Der Aufstand des Abū Yazīd gegen die Fatimiden nach einem Augenzeugenbericht’, Die Welt des Orients, 15 (1984), pp. 144–204; Abū Zakarīyā Yaḥyā b. Abī Bakr al-Warjalānī, Kitāb Siyar al-aʾimma wa-akhbārihim, ed. Ismāʿīl al-ʿArabī (Algiers, 1979), pp. 116–123; Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 6, pp. 302–311; Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad b. ʿAlī Ibn Ḥammād, Akhbār mulūk Banī ʿUbayd wa-sīratuhum, ed. and French tr. M. Vonderheyden (Algiers-Paris, 1927), pp. 18–37 (trans. pp. 33–58); al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, pp. 131–161, vol. 6, pp. 176–179; al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, al-Majālis wa-al-musāyarāt, Index; and

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ity over the royal palace and the entire country and gave him the keys of the safes of the Treasury. Letters of al-Manṣūr bi-llāh would come to him from the city of al-Qayrawān. These letters, detailing all the events and battles which took place during the terrible wars, after the death of the Commander of the Faithful al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh, were [still] drawn up in the name of al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh.63 11 [Letter of al-Manṣūr proclaiming his victory over Abū Yazīd] Among the letters which (Jawdhar) made me read is a letter [of al-Manṣūr] in the name of al-Qāʾim which elucidates the news of the battle of Friday in the city of al-Qayrawān, describing the difficulties and terror of that battle until God granted to His friend His fine benefits, and gave him a manifest victory over his misguided, straying enemies, the confederates of the devils. It was a clear, eloquent letter written in his hand from the beginning to the end. Here is the text of the letter as I mentioned before, word for word, after the basmala and the invocation of blessings on the Prophet Muḥammad: God is great. God is great. There is no god but God. God is great. God is great. To God all praise is due. All praise is due to God for His countless favours and unparalleled kindness. There is no god but God. God is great. This is the glorification pronounced by the heir apparent of the Muslims, sword of the Commander of the Faithful, helper of religion, to express gratitude for the favour accorded to him by the Lord of the worlds. O heir of the prophets! O master of the Muslims! O caliph of the Lord of the worlds! O the best of all creation!64 O friend of the Lord of the worlds! Today Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, Index. 63. al-Qāʾim died on 13 Shawwāl 334/18 May 946. Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad b. Muḥammad Ibn ʿIdhārī al-Marrākushī, Kitāb al-Bayān al-mughrib fī akhbār al-Andalus wa-al-Maghrib, ed. G. S. Colin and E. Lévi-Provençal (Leiden, 1948–1951), vol. 1, p. 208. However, al-Manṣūr kept his death secret for a year and three months and did not style himself ‘Commander of the Faithful’ until al-Muḥarram 336/August 947, after his victory over Abū Yazīd. See al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, pp. 130, 148, 159, vol. 6, p. 179; al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, vol. 1, pp. 82, 86; Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 6, p. 317; and Ibn Ḥammād, Akhbār, pp. 21, 36 (trans., pp. 37, 57). 64. The expression ‘the best of all creation’ (khayr al-khalq ajmaʿīn) generally refers to the Prophet.

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God has glorified the religion of your ancestor Muḥammad, His Messenger, the Chosen. May God bless him and his family. [God has glorified] his sunna and his community. He has reinforced the pillars of religion and has made manifest the decisive proof (burhān) of the Commander of the Faithful. He has granted victory to His proof (ḥujja). He has raised His word and has helped His supporters. Today the whole world has been conquered. Today the light, the brilliance and the nobility of the truth has increased. All praise is due to God, Lord of the worlds, who helped His servant and strengthened his army and who alone defeated the confederates. By God, O Commander of the Faithful, our master and our lord, never since the time of your ancestor, the Chosen, the Messenger of God, has one heard of a day more glorious in terms of God’s help, assistance, victory and conquest following the rebellion of the impious, the vicious, the disbelievers who were sure to die, who invited death, declared hostilities and rebelled. But God, the Mighty, the Exalted, willed that His light be completed and His word be promoted to the dislike of the disbelievers and to the aversion of the humiliated. On the whole, the good news that I want to convey to our master and our lord, the Commander of the Faithful, is that their dead covered the earth and the victorious army as well as the city of al-Qayrawān were satiated with booty seized from them. Everything that the followers (awliyāʾ)65 could not carry and found to be heavy was set on fire and burnt. We captured the camp of the cursed one, including whatever it contained in small or large quantity. Therein we killed countless (enemies) apart from those who were killed in battle. There is no way to count their dead, so large was their number. The cursed one defended himself with determination, but I confronted him by myself. Assailed before me by swords and lances, the cursed one was left with only a tunic on. May God clothe him with the garments of hell. It is said that he fell in the battle. I ordered a search for him and I hope he did fall. However, if he fled with his last breath, then he is a prisoner by today or tomorrow. I am leaving this very night, after midnight or before dawn, to scour the whole country. I will trample the houses of the impious and by your sword I will obliterate their trace by the might, the power, the glory and the help of God. I sent this letter of mine to the Commander of the Faithful, our

65. The term awliyāʾ here refers to fighters loyal to the Fatimids. The translation of awliyāʾ as ‘followers’ renders only one of the meanings of the word which generally also means protectors, patrons, clients, defenders, partisans, officers, companions and friends.

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lord,66 may the blessings of God be upon him and his pure ancestors, with three of his slaves who witnessed the fortunate battle under my stirrup so that they may report personally to the Commander of the Faithful what they saw with their own eyes, however difficult it may be to describe the favour and however helpless one may be to express thanks. All praise is due to God, Lord of the worlds. May God bless Muḥammad His prophet, the best of messengers, and his excellent and pure family. Written on Thursday 13 of al-Muḥarram of the year 335/14 August 946.67

12 [Letter of al-Manṣūr announcing the death of al-Qāʾim] Al-Manṣūr bi-llāh left at daybreak on that day in pursuit of the cursed one. His letters brought news to the ustādh from time to time. A letter from al-Manṣūr bi-llāh, which the ustādh received, contained directives, decisions and exigencies. I read in this letter a passage in which al-Manṣūr bi-llāh announced the death of al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh.68 Specifically, he recommended in the letter to provide maintenance for individuals whom al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh left behind and to pay their wages as usual. Here is the text of the passage: Having expressed patience and anticipation of reward, I say that all praise is due to God in all circumstances. You know, O God, that often in the dark of the nights I have confided in You, seeking Your help and beseeching You, praying to You not to make me witness his loss and not to make me live after him. Your accomplished decree and effective judgement did not grant [me my request]. Give me the strength to bear my pain and accept that which You have decreed. May the blessings of God, His mercy and His grace be on his purified body and his sanctified spirit in this world and the Hereafter.69

Thereupon the people learnt that al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh had died. 66. The text of the letter, with some omissions, is quoted up to here in Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 381–382. 67. The battle began on Thursday 5 al-Muḥarram 335/6 August 946 and lasted several days. It resulted in Abū Yazīd retreating from besieging al-Qayrawān. See al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, pp. 136–138. 68. On the timing of the announcement of al-Qāʾim’s death see note 63 above. 69. Cf. Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, p. 422.

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13 [Letter of al-Manṣūr concerning money that Jawdhar had offered to him] I read in a passage from the letters of al-Manṣūr bi-llāh in reply to what the ustādh had written to him concerning money which he had offered him and some (charitable) act that he had performed, for every time the ustādh had collected some money he would offer it to his masters the imams. This sum of money amounted to 10,000 dinars. The reply to him is contained in this passage: O Jawdhar, the money which you sent has arrived. May God purify (zakkā) your endeavour70 and perfect your reward. However, you have burdened yourself with a heavy load, while God, the Mighty, the Exalted, says: ‘God tasketh not a soul beyond its ability’ (2:286). Ability (wusʿ) is beneath capacity (ṭāqa). I accept 1,000 dinars from it, which is a lot. I am returning them to you. With this 1,000 dinars have manufactured for us light, gilded travel lamps for less than 1,000 dirhams. Choose for them wide wood of excellent quality. With the rest of (the money), have manufactured swords together with baldrics, having blades forged in al-Mahdiyya bearing its impress, not those of Frankish, Yemenite or any other. Indeed, these swords in use are sharper than all the swords that we have seen. We have tested them and tried them several times. Let the ornamentation of each sword be worth fifty dinars, so that you may have a twofold reward: a reward for what you offered to God, the Mighty, the Exalted, and a reward for participating with those who fight in the way of God before me with these swords, God willing. As for the rest of your money, spend it for your benefit. May God increase it for you and make you satisfied with it.

14 [Letter of al-Manṣūr to Jawdhar] This happened while the Imam al-Manṣūr bi-llāh was in the city of al-Qayrawān and had not yet left in pursuit of the cursed one.71 70. The money offered here by Jawdhar to the imam includes probably the fifth (khums) on any gain (kasb) which is due to the imam according to Shiʿi and Fatimid jurisprudence. al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, Kitāb al-Himma fī ādāb atbāʿ al-aʾimma, ed. Muḥammad Kāmil Ḥusayn (Cairo, [1948]), pp. 68–70. 71. After his victory in al-Muḥarram 335/August 946, al-Manṣūr

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When the ustādh read the letter he was filled with a sense of loneliness and distress at the thought of the imam’s departure. Al-Manṣūr bi-llāh learnt of this and wrote to him: O Jawdhar, may God be kind to you. May He complete and bestow abundantly His favours upon you. What I know of your firmness, perseverance and competence gives me the best opinion of you and the best hope in you. I have been informed that our departure has filled you with undue loneliness and distress. Let not your heart suffer the least because of our being away from you. Indeed, you are with me, from me and towards me as long as you observe the divine prescriptions and work for your Lord and wish to be sincere to His covenant. Abraham, upon whom be peace, said: ‘He who follows me is truly of me’ (14:36). We pray to God that He may help you and grant you success in achieving that which pleases Him and which brings near to Him.

15 [The defeat of Abū Yazīd Makhlad b. Kaydād] The Imam al-Manṣūr bi-llāh left in pursuit of the cursed one, with stopover after stopover until he penetrated deeper into the land of the Maghrib. Occasionally (Jawdhar) received letters from him containing his directives and the good news of success that God bestowed upon him and gained by him. He supported him by granting him victory and triumph over his enemies, the Azraqī72 dissenters, the heretics, the enemies of this household since the very beginning of this religion during the lifetime of the Messenger of God, the murderers of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib. Eventually the cursed one established himself in a fortress on a well-defended rugged mountain, where it was almost impossible to reach those who occupied it. This fortress remained in al-Qayrawān for some time, and then left in pursuit of Abū Yazīd in the last days of Rabīʿ I 335/October 946. See al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, p. 139. 72. The Azraqīs (al-Azāriqa) formed one of the main branches of the Kharijites and owe their name to Nāfiʿ b. al-Azraq (d. 65/685). On them see R. Rubinacci, ‘Azāriḳa’, EI2, vol. 1, pp. 810–811. The Azraqīs were known as the most extreme Kharijites, and it is probably because of this that the author uses this name. Abū Yazīd belonged to the Nukkārī branch of the Ibāḍī Kharijite sect. See Tadeusz Lewicki, ‘al-Nukkār’, EI1, vol. 9 (Supplement), pp. 172–174.

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is known by the name of Kiyāna73 and is as described by the poet ʿAlī b. Muḥammad al-Iyādī74 in the poem describing the fortress where he mentions Abū Yazīd, the cursed one, and his descent from it: The cursed one ascended for fear of him on peaks, high, elevated and steep. On that high mountain among smooth, desolate peaks there is no journey’s end. A mountain above which there is God and under which was al-Manṣūr with an army well equipped. Al-Manṣūr ascended [it] with the sword and it was for him a day of stabbing like the downpouring of hail. Confident in God of his departure from the Banū Aḥmad,75 he journeyed alone in a land faraway. Suddenly Makhlad was in the reach of destruction, with (his) neck tied with a rope of twisted strands.76 War threw him from its peak, tottering at the base having meagre support. Like a new born delivered by its mother, being only the throbbing of vein and body. Out of generosity al-Manṣūr extended hospitality [to him] in a spacious shelter in ease and comfort. Seeking to preserve his spirit, for the lingering of the spirit is more 73. Kiyāna denotes the citadel and also the massif about seven leagues to the north-east of al-Masīla where Abū Yazīd made his last stand (Ibn Ḥammād, Akhbār, pp. 30ff, trans. pp. 50ff). Later it became Qalʿat Abī Ṭāwil (Abū ʿUbayd ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Bakrī, al-Masālik wa-almamālik, ed. and French tr. W. MacGuckin de Slane (Paris, 1965), p. 49, trans. p. 105). Then, on the same massif, Qalʿat Banī Ḥammād was built (Lucien Golvin, ‘Ḳalʿat Banī Ḥammād’, EI2, vol. 4, pp. 478–481.) After his victory over Abū Yazīd near al-Qayrawān in al-Muḥarram 335/August 946, al-Manṣūr remained in al-Qayrawān for some time. Then, in Rabīʿ I 335/ October 946, he left the city in pursuit of Abū Yazīd. After several battles in the Jabal Sāllāt near Bū Saʿāda, where Abū Yazīd had sought refuge, and then in the region of al-Masīla, the fortress of Kiyāna was taken on 22 al-Muḥarram 336/13 August 947. 74. On al-Iyādī see note 42 above. 75. The sons of Aḥmad, meaning the descendants of the Prophet, here refers to the family of al-Manṣūr. 76. Cf. Qurʾan 111:5, where the expression is used in connection with Abū Lahab (d. 2/623), the Prophet’s uncle and one of his staunchest opponents.

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effective for distressing.77 But God willed to hasten his term, for God’s punishment inflicted upon the body was yet more shattering. (al-Manṣūr) stripped off from him his filthy skin in which he had been immoderate and rebellious. Like the skin of the male goat when its odour is foul, it is stripped and set aside. The skinners stuffed (his skin) with dry palm leaves78 filling it from the heels to the shoulder blades. Then he raised him on a thoroughbred horse, high and steady; there was no strain on it.79

Al-Manṣūr bi-llāh attacked the cursed one when he sought refuge in this mountain with his army in autumn. He besieged him for sometime. There were fierce battles and terrible wars the likes of which had not been seen in Islam and nothing similar had taken place since time immemorial. A reliable person related to me that he was present on one of these battle days at a battle known as the battle of Quṣūr al-Ḥītān (Castles of the Whales), in the territory of the Zāb.80 He reports: ‘When the army departed and the troops set out on foot on the same day, I saw all of a sudden that the vanguard was retreating and the army was in disarray. “What is happening?” I asked. I was told that the enemy had appeared just in front of us. The troops sought refuge with the Commander of the Faithful. He ordered: “Set up camp and let each platoon go to its position.” Hardly had the men taken their battle gear when I saw a valley surrounded by troops on all sides, except the side where the enemy was facing us. By God, we had not planned this. The battle was fierce and it was a painful day. Then God granted victory to His friend and the descendant of His prophet, and the immoral Azraqīs were routed. Al-Manṣūr bi-llāh 77. al-Manṣūr wanted to capture Abū Yazīd alive to parade him in al-Qayrawān, but the rebel died from his wounds four days after his capture, on 22 al-Muḥarram 336/13 August 947. 78. Elsewhere cotton is mentioned: Ibn Ḥammād, Akhbār, p. 35 (trans. p. 56); Ibn ʿIdhārī, al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 220; Ibn Ẓāfir, Akhbār, p. 18; or straw, as in al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, p. 159, and Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 6, p. 311. 79. Cf. the quotation of the poem in Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 453–454. 80. This refers to the fighting in the region of al-Masīla. al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, pp. 140–142.

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ordered to decapitate [them]. The number of them decapitated is indescribable and beyond limit and description.’ (The narrator) said: Regarding this day al-Manṣūr bi-llāh said: I received in exchange for saffron and its perfume the rust of the armour plate firmly secured. Do you not see that I bartered the life of quiet stay for travelling by night, and the softness of padding for lean horses?81 Excellent heroes who know no malice among them assail [the enemy] impetuously like lions from dens. Show me a hero able to take my place and confront battle like me, when the stamping of hooves raises the dust of the valley! I am the pure, the victorious (al-manṣūr) of the lineage of Aḥmad. With my sword I chop off the heads under the helmets.82

He sent these verses to the sublime presence [of al-Qāʾim] in a letter from him. There were great battles after this. He wrote these other verses in a letter. The verses were addressed to al-Muʿizz li-dīn-illāh: I send you this letter from the farthest westward land, filled with deep and earnest longing [to see you]. I roam across deserts and cross the sands and I place myself in every danger. Thereby I wish to gain the satisfaction of God and glorify the reign of the family of the Prophet. Until the journey has exhausted our bodies, spent our mounts and the guide is lost. O painful exile, O painful solitude! But with regard to God this is just little. I never felt anxious, but I left with a patient, enduring heart. And the Possessor of the Throne by His grace granted a manifest victory and sublime glory. Every day God grants me a new gift and a splendid favour. God be praised for what He has decreed. My Lord suffices me and how excellent a guardian is He!83

81. Cf. the lines of al-Manṣūr b. Abī ʿĀmir (d. 392/1002) in Abū Manṣūr ʿAbd al-Malik al-Thaʿālibī, Yatīmat al-dahr, ed. ʿAlī Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Laṭīf ([Cairo], 1934), vol. 2, p. 54. 82. Cf. the quotation of the poem in Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, p. 402. 83. Cf. the quotation of the poem in Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 402–403

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16 [Jawdhar is freed from bondage and receives his honorific title] After the cursed Deceiver was routed and the [imam’s] followers had taken possession of most of his supplies, the siege was tightened on the impious Azraqīs and there was a battle in which the cursed one was taken prisoner and God caused His friend and the descendant of His prophet to triumph over him, as has been mentioned by ʿAlī b. Muḥammad [al-Iyādī] in his poem that we have cited before. Then al-Manṣūr bi-llāh ordered his slave Jawhar the secretary to send by post official letters to all the regions announcing the victory.84 He (also) wrote to the ustādh a significant document in which was enclosed a letter in the hand of al-Manṣūr bi-llāh expressing the following: O Jawdhar, may God help you to be obedient to Him and may He grant you His protection. As a mark of our thankfulness to God, the Mighty, the Exalted, for the favour He has granted us by giving us this great victory of sublime value and of considerable importance, we have imposed on ourselves the obligation of manumitting, almsgiving and doing charitable deeds. Therefore, we have commanded all provincial governors to take such measures within their jurisdictions according to our instructions to them. Our directive to you, may God protect you, is to comply with disbursing to the poor of al-Mahdiyya and its surrounding region the alms that we have determined. However, with regard to manumitting we did not find a deed more pious and more pleasing to God, the Mighty, the Exalted, than manumitting a pure, virtuous, believing slave such as you. Hence you are free for the sake of God, the Magnificent. In anticipation of His immense reward, I free your body and your spirit in this world and the Hereafter, and to honour you we will designate you as ‘Client of the Commander of the Faithful’. Begin your correspondence to everyone, high or low in rank, thus: ‘From Jawdhar, Client of the Commander of the Faithful, to so-and-so son of so-and-so.’ Do not designate anyone by their filionymic (kunya). Your name should not be preceded by anyone else’s name other than the name of your master Abū Tamīm,85 may God take him 84. These letters as well as the one addressed to Jawdhar are most likely to be dated from al-Muḥarram 336/August 947. For an account of the decisive battle and Abū Yazīd’s capture, see al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, pp. 150–152. 85. ‘Abū Tamīm’ refers to al-Muʿizz, who by this time, 336/947, had

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as shepherd (for His flock) and may He bless him with longevity.86

(Jawdhar) continued to adhere to this protocol in his correspondence with everyone throughout his days until he returned to the mercy of God. 17 [Jawdhar’s name is inscribed on embroidered garments and carpets] Subsequently (al-Manṣūr) instructed (Jawdhar) to have his name inscribed on bands of embroidered fabrics (ṭirāz) in gold thread executed by slave embroiderers, which adorn the garments worn by the imams, as well as on those manufactured by mat weavers, who produce wonderful articles and who are of unrivalled craftsmanship. He told him, ‘Write to them that they should inscribe on embroidered fabrics and carpets: “Manufactured through Jawdhar, Client of the Commander of the Faithful, at al-Mahdiyya the Pleasing [to God]”.’ All this was done to honour him and to enhance his position. May the blessings of God be upon our lord and master the Commander of the Faithful, the Imam al-Manṣūr bi-llāh. (The imam) admired the artefacts made by these slaves and often ordered to look after them saying: ‘Their artefacts are exquisite gardens.’ 18 [al-Manṣūr honours Jawdhar] When the Imam al-Manṣūr bi-llāh arrived at his capital, al-Mahdiyya,87 al-Ustādh Jawdhar received him in the finest attire and most complete outfit, at the valley known as al-Māliḥ.88 When already been designated heir apparent. Regarding this filionymic of al-Muʿizz see note 157 below. 86. Cf. the quotation of the letter in Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, p. 444. 87. al-Manṣūr returned to al-Mahdiyya after his victory over Abū Yazīd in Ramaḍān 336/March–April 948. See al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, vol. 1, p. 86, and Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 6, p. 311. 88. al-Wādī al-Māliḥ lies between Tumājir and al-Mahdiyya. It was the scene of a fierce battle in which the forces of al-Qāʾim were routed by the

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his eyes fell upon (Jawdhar), he was delighted with him and was filled with joy at his sight. Thereupon he said, ‘I do not know how to conceal Jawdhar from death. If youthfulness could be bought, we would expend for it the priceless from what we possess.’ Then he greeted him perfectly and advanced towards him most gracefully, and clad him promptly with robes of honour which he had prepared for him. He gave him for a mount a piebald horse selected from among his mounts and known as Ablaq b. Nuyūṭ,89 and had other mounts with heavy saddles led before him. Then, when he arrived at his palace and food was served, he ordered (Jawdhar) to sit at the table with him. This was the first time that (Jawdhar) sat at the table with (al-Manṣūr). 19 [al-Manṣūr’s treasure stores entrusted to Jawdhar] Al-Manṣūr bi-llāh used to collect at his place the most precious things found in his dominion and the richest treasures of all types and kinds. One day he sent to (Jawdhar) several books containing various exoteric and esoteric sciences, and wrote to him at the same time a letter whose text is as follows: I am sending you my books and the books of the imams, my pure ancestors, which I have selected. Keep them with you, protected from everything. One of them has been damaged by water. I have no treasure more precious than these books. Instruct your secretary Muḥammad90 to transcribe for you a copy of three of the books which contain sciences and rules of conduct by which rebel Abū Yazīd in 333/944. On al-Wādī al-Māliḥ, see al-Bakrī, al-Masālik, p. 29 (trans. pp. 65–66); Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Munʿim al-Ḥimyarī, Kitāb al-Rawḍ al-miʿṭār fī khabar al-aqṭār, 2nd ed. Iḥsān ʿAbbās (Beirut, 1980), p. 136; Ibn ʿIdhārī, al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 218 (where it is referred to as Wādī al-Milḥ). On the battle, see Ibn Khaldūn, Taʾrīkh, vol. 4, p. 53 (trans. Berbères, vol. 2, pp. 531–532). 89. One of the Prophet’s horses was named al-Ablaq. Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-Maqrīzī, Imtāʿ al-asmāʿ bi-mā lil-nabī min al-aḥwāl wa-al-amwāl wa-al-ḥafada wa-al-matāʿ, ed. Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd al-Numaysī (Beirut, 1999), vol. 7, p. 200. 90. Abū ’Abd Allāh Muḥammad b. ʿUthmān was one of the three secretaries of Jawdhar.

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God will gladden you. They are the Kitāb al-Īḍāḥ91 and two books which contain two sermons, one composed by al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh, which he commanded al-Marwazī92 to deliver at the time of the cursed one, the Deceiver Makhlad b. Kaydād; the other was composed by ourselves and which we delivered in the year 336/947 after our return from the Maghrib.93 We announced in it the death of al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh and spoke about the great misfortune which we suffered by (his loss).

20 [Sermon of al-Qāʾim delivered by al-Marwazī] I have recorded in this book of ours that which is necessary to mention and that which God and His friend have allowed to disclose. We have left out everything else out of aversion to committing sins and going beyond what is prohibited. We have transcribed fully both the sermons one after the other. They contain life for the hearts of those who are wise. I have started with the sermon of al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh, which he ordered al-Marwazī to deliver during the days of the siege94 and in which he said, after thanking and prais91. A collection of legal traditions by al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, of which only a portion has survived: al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad, Kitāb al-Īḍāḥ, ed. Muḥammad Kāẓim Raḥmatī (Beirut, 2007). On this work see Wilferd Madelung, ‘The Sources of Ismāʿīlī Law’, Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 35 (1976), pp. 29–40, reprinted in his Religious Schools and Sects in Medieval Islam (London, 1985), article XVIII. 92. He is Abū Ja’far Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Marwazī (al-Marwarrūdhī in some sources), a qāḍī and poet of the first three Fatimids. He accompanied al-Manṣūr during the campaign against Abū Yazīd (Ibn Ẓāfir, Akhbār, p. 19; al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, pp. 179–180; al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, vol. 1, pp. 88–89; al-Bakrī, al-Masālik, pp. 51–52, 59, trans. pp. 110, 112, 125). Aḥmad’s father, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar (d. 303/915–916), was appointed qāḍī of al-Qayrawān in 296/909 by the dāʿī Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Shīʿī (al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, Iftitāḥ, p. 215, trans. p. 177). On the nisba al-Marwarrūdhī (which is contracted to al-Marrūdhī) and the nisba al-Marwazī, see Abū Saʿd ʿAbd al-Karīm b. Muḥammad b. Manṣūr al-Tamīmī al-Samʿānī, al-Ansāb, ed. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Yaḥyā al-Muʿallimī al-Yamānī et al. (Cairo, 1980–1984), vol. 11, pp. 253–258, 260–261. 93. This was the year in which al-Manṣūr defeated Abū Yazīd. He delivered the sermon in that year on the feast of breaking the fast (ʿīd al-fiṭr). 94. This refers to the siege of al-Mahdiyya by Abū Yazīd in 333/945. Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 6, pp. 305–308.

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ing God and invoking blessings upon the Prophet Muḥammad, may God bless him and his pure posterity: O people! Truly this accursed Nukkārī95 persists in his insolence. His pasture is unwholesome. His deceptive hopes and the self which incites to evil have induced him to despise the bounty of God to him. The devil, who is his companion, has suggested to him that no one will vanquish him; but the Commander of the Faithful has loosened his bridle only so that it may cause him to stumble in the loose end of his halter. May God curse him dreadfully and may He put him to shame for a long time. May He consign him to a raging fire ‘which only the most wretched must endure, who deny the truth and turn away’ (92:14–16). You know, O assembly of Kutāma, that your fathers and your ancestors always observed faithfully the obligation to obedience. They held fast to its rope96 and sought shelter under its shade, and truly strove in battle for the sake of God. You are the hidden force of God for this rightly-guided Muḥammadan, Fatimid truth, until God caused it to triumph and exalted it, and granted to you its glory and brilliance. You are like the disciples of Jesus, peace be upon him, and the helpers of Muḥammad, may God bless him and his family. O sons of the first, early emigrants and helpers who have drawn near [unto God], was it not through you that God put an end to the reigns of oppressors who had persisted for long years until God caused them to become as a field mown down, still and silent as ashes (21:15)? Did He not cause you to inherit their land and dwellings, and thus you became conquerors after having been conquered? The cursed Deceiver has set up camp facing you with a misguided band who lead others astray. They have not sought enlightenment from the light of guidance. They are like abandoned livestock, phantoms, (hollow) pieces of timber propped up97 and frightened 95. On Nukkārī see note 72 above. 96. Cf. the expression ḥabl Allāh (Rope of God) in Qurʾan 3:103. The word ḥabl is used here in the sense of ‘covenant’ (ʿahd) (Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. al-Qāsim al-Anbārī, al-Ẓāhir fī maʿānī kalimāt al-nās, ed. Ḥātim Ṣāliḥ al-Ḍāmin, 2nd ed. (Baghdad, 1987–1989), vol. 2, pp. 306–307). It is worth noting that the Fatimid dāʿī Jaʿfar b. Manṣūr al-Yaman interprets holding fast to the ‘Rope of God’ in Qurʾan 3:103 as loyalty and obedience to the Fatimid imam, in his al-Shawāhid wa-al-bayān, IIS Library, MS 734, pp. 12, 50, 177, and al-Riḍāʿ fī al-bāṭin, IIS Library, MS 1143, pp. 140, 170. 97. Meaning ‘unable to stand on their own’. Cf. the expression khushub musannada used for the hypocrites in Qurʾan 63:4. See, for example, Abū

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asses.98 If they linger they will perish and if they are pursued they will be caught. Do not retreat after having advanced, for you are the party of God, while they are the party of the devil. Your fallen will be in paradise, while their fallen will go to hellfire. Which truth could you seek apart from this truth and with which imam other than your imam shall you fight? Fight, may God be merciful to you, the party of error, wolves of greed, moths that fly into the flame. Pursue them in the regions of the land, in the farthest countries and all horizons, until God causes the truth to prevail and abolishes falsehood, however hateful this might be to the polytheists.99

When the followers heard the sermon, they said, ‘We are at your command.’ Voices were raised, mingled with weeping and commotion. Then they departed from their place of prayers to the battle and gained their first victory over the Ḥarūriyya,100 over the cursed Makhlad and his misguided companions. All praise is due to God, Lord of the worlds. 21 Sermon of the Imam al-Manṣūr bi-llāh announcing the death of al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh Praise be to God from one who thanks for His limitless bounties, seeking to receive more from His inexhaustible generosity. [I declare that] there is no deity except God, proclaiming sincerely His oneness, and that there is no deity except God, glorifying His sublime and glorious name. Glory be to the One who takes as witness of His power His signs, the One whose essence is incompatible with any attribute, whose sight is inaccessible and which intellects are incapable of defining. The One who possesses greatness, glory, majesty, might, praise and magnificence. To Him belong the Jaʿfar Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān fī taʾwīl āy al-Qurʾān (Beirut, 1405/1984), vol. 28, p. 107. 98. Cf. Qurʾan 74:50, where the expression ‘frightened asses’ (ḥumur mustanfira) is used of those who turn away from all admonition. 99. Cf. the text of the sermon as quoted in Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 311–312, and its translation in Paul E. Walker, ed. and tr. Orations of the Fatimid Caliphs: Festival Sermons of the Ismaili Imams (London, 2009), pp. 93–94. 100. A name applied to the early Kharijites and derived from Ḥarūrāʾ, a locality near al-Kūfa. L. Veccia Vaglieri, ‘Ḥarūrāʾ’, EI2, vol. 3, pp. 235–236.

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­ ighest heavens and the lowest earths, that which is beyond the heavh ens and the earths and that which is beneath the soil. Everything bows before His greatness, is humbled before His might, submits to His will and falls under His power. I bear witness that there is no deity except God, the One without associate, and I bear witness that Muḥammad is His servant and messenger, whom He has chosen, distinguished, honoured and elected, to whom He has given His preference and approbation, whom He has sent with right guidance, the religion of the truth professed by the angels brought near [to God] who are in the heavens and those of the jinns and humans who are on earth. The Prophet assumed the mission given to him and conveyed the message with which he was sent. He carried out his task and bore misfortune and adversity with patience for His cause, until such time when God caused His religion to triumph over others and when His truth completely annihilated the falsehood of idolatry. May God bless him and grant him salvation, may He ennoble and honour him. Servants of God! I commend you to fear God, obey Him, hold Him in awe, dread His anger and carry out what satisfies Him to gain proximity to Him. Indeed, He knows what is in your hearts and He is well aware of and perceives your actions; nothing is hidden from Him; not even an atom’s weight in the heavens and the earth escapes Him. Nothing saves from His wrath and gains His mercy except obedience to Him. ‘Whosoever obeys God and His messenger, he verily has gained a signal victory’ (33:71). Indeed, God has made this day for you a greater day of celebration than all other days. He has completed on this day a month more honoured than the others and He has opened the days of the months of pilgrimage to the revered House of God, which He has magnified and honoured, making it the direction of the prayer, the seat of blessings, the sojourn of mercy, a place of refuge and security, and a beacon and a signpost for the people. Draw near unto God on this day by paying your fiṭra, which is the alms of your fast and the sunna of your Prophet, the master of the prophets. Every man among you (must pay) for himself and for every member of his family, male or female, child or adult, one ṣāʿ of wheat or one ṣāʿ of dates or one ṣāʿ of raisins or one ṣāʿ of barley from your food and that of your family, and not from anything else.101 Only this 101. Ṣāʿ is a measure of grain. On it see Alfred Bel, ‘Ṣāʿ’, EI2, vol. 8, p. 654. On details of zakāt al-fiṭr in Fatimid jurisprudence see al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad, Daʿāʾim al-islām, ed. A. A. A. Fyzee (Cairo, 1963), vol. 1, pp. 266–267; tr. A. A. A. Fyzee, rev. I. K. H. Poonawala, The Pillars of Islam (New Delhi, 2002–2004), vol. 1, pp. 331–332.

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will be accepted from you. Increase invocations and be fearful and hopeful. ‘O ye who believe! Fear God, and let every soul look to what (provision) he has sent forth for the morrow’ (59:18). (That day) is near; by God, it is as if it has already come. Indeed, God the Exalted has not abandoned you like a herd without a shepherd. He has imposed no difficulties on you in religion and you have no excuse after the path has been clearly charted and the arguments have been reinforced through His prophet and the imams of right guidance from his descendants. May God’s peace and mercy be upon them. May God grant us as well as you success in accomplishing what satisfies Him and brings near unto Him. May He bring us and you unto Him, for we are by Him and to Him. May God bless the master of the messengers and the rightly-guided imams, who have judged and judge according to the truth, and by it have been and are just.

Then he sat and rose again for the second sermon102 and said: Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds. Reward is for those who fear Him. May His continuous, increasing, growing and permanent blessings be upon Muḥammad and upon the excellent members of his family, the rightly-guided imams, the noble masters, the pure, the pious. Praise, praise! Thanks, thanks! You have fulfilled Your promise and helped Your servant in spite of the disbelievers, the miserable heretics, those who have gone astray, the perverts, the companions of the cursed Deceiver. He and his companions are in error; they are the object of God’s anger. They are the abhorrent, the impure, the wicked, the unfortunate, the miserable and the humiliated. They are the accursed on earth and in heaven. Praise, praise! Thanks, thanks! repeated ceaselessly, amply and at length, cannot requite Your bounties or repay Your favours, (for we are) aware of our incapacity to thank You, even if every tongue did so all the time. May the peace of God, His benedictions, His mercy, His blessings and His salutations descend upon you two, O Commanders of the Faithful, O vicegerents of the Lord of the worlds, O sons of the guiding and rightly-guided imams, O you my father and my grandfather, O sons of Muḥammad, Messenger of God! Greetings from the one who surrenders to God in what He has decreed to 102. The khuṭba consists of two sermons which the khaṭīb delivers while standing; at the end of the first sermon, he sits for a moment, and then rises to deliver the second sermon. See a description of the ceremonial on the ʿīd al-fiṭr under the Fatimids in al-Maqrīzī, al-Khiṭaṭ, vol. 2, pp. 478–494, and al-Qalqashandī, Ṣubḥ al-aʿshā fī ṣināʿat al-inshā (Cairo, 1383 [1963]), vol. 3, pp. 508–511.

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befall upon him by the loss of you both. He bears with steadfastness the trial which He has sent upon him after (the departure of) you two, at a time when distress afflicted you, and when tears choked you, O my father, O Muḥammad, O Abū al-Qāsim, O Master! O Sovereign!103 O my longing! O my suffering! By the Creator of the heaven and the earth, who resurrects the dead and causes the living to die, I have not the slightest doubt that God chose you and that He transported you to the abode of His generosity, to the sojourn of His mercy, the abode which He prepared for Muḥammad, His messenger, peace be upon him, your ancestor; for the Commander of the Faithful ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, peace be upon him, your father; for Fāṭima the Resplendent, the Chaste (al-batūl),104 your mother; for your rightly-guided and noble fathers, the pious. But the suffering of the one afflicted is a cause of grief and makes the eyes weep. ‘We belong to God and to Him is our return’ (2:156). We submit to Him. We praise Him whatever our circumstances. We thank Him for His favours, for God, the Mighty, the Exalted, has bestowed considerable favours and doubled blessings by granting me patience and by honouring me by the power and help which have established the basis of Islam, and have illuminated the hearts of the believers which had sunk into darkness and despair because of the prolonged misery brought about by the terrible rebellion, with its horrors and agitation, this blind, deaf, ignorant revolt of the Deceiver of hypocrisy and of his renegade supporters, enemies of religion and helpers of the accursed devil. God has granted them respite only to punish them by degrees105 and has tolerated their misdeeds for long, and they have become even more stubborn in their illusions. This is ‘in order that God may separate the impure from the pure’ (8:37), so that people of understanding see the confirmation of God’s promise: ‘Alif Lām Mīm. Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, “We believe”, and that they will not be tested? We did test those before them, and God will certainly know those who are true from those who are false’ (29:1–3). This is a promise of God which He will never fail 103. On the use of the expression ‘O Sovereign!’ (yā jabalāh, also wājabalāh) see al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, Daʿāʾim, vol. 1, p. 226 (trans. Pillars, vol. 1, p. 280), and Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, tr. M. M. Khan (New Delhi, 1987), vol. 5, p. 395. 104. The term al-batūl is applied to the Prophet’s daughter Fāṭima, meaning that she was distinct from the other women of her age by her chastity and piety, or that she was detached from things of this world. Muḥammad b. Mukarram Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿarab (Beirut, 1955–1957), s.v. BTL. 105. Cf. Qurʾan 7:182, 68:44.

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to keep, and a decree for the ancients as well as the moderns which He will never change until the Day of Judgement. By the grace of God and His favour, it was a rebellion which turned against our enemies, making them blind and deaf. It caused their ruin and loss, and it upset them, humiliated them and shamed them. Whereas for us and our followers it was a trial which made us gain a reward and a reserve, and whose result for us was power and glory. Its face was ugly, but its outcome was excellent, because God, the Mighty, the Exalted, wished thereby to restore our reign and strengthen us, to show us His favour to us, to give us the guarantee of His support for us, wipe out the sins of our followers and eradicate our enemies. Therefore, when this (rebellion) was at its height and reached its utmost point, and when Satan, having been confused retreated, having talked in vain, having kindled his fire, having persisted for long in his enterprise and enraged God, God allowed vengeance to be inflicted upon him by giving supremacy to His servant and friend. He dissipated the obscurity of (this rebellion), illuminated its darkness, unveiled its blindness, and by me and my intermediary, He removed its adversity, as a mark of generosity from God, a distinctive favour which He granted me, a bounty which He had set aside for me and with which He gratified me only, granting me yet more favours added to the ones that He had already granted to my pure forefathers and favours that He had already granted my ancestors, the rightly-guided imams. Swords were drawn to prevent that [victory], and He broke them; enemy lines were advancing upon me and He overwhelmed them; the armies of the infidels helped each other against me and He left them in the lurch. [Their] eyes rose in my direction and He made them blind. He abased their heads which they had raised, He abased their noses which they had raised arrogantly, and He humbled their puffed-up faces. God, the Mighty, the Exalted, refused everything but to perfect my authority, strengthen [His] help to me, to grant me victory and triumph, to support me and elevate me, keeping the promise made to Muḥammad, His messenger, to strengthen his community, to raise its proof, and to help the rightly-guided imams of his posterity. God in His omnipotence accomplished His decision and overturned the enemies victoriously. No judgement can come after His. No one can oppose His command. No one can be associated with Him in the praise due to Him. O supporters of our mission! O defenders of our reign! O Kutāma! Praise God and be thankful to Him for His favour through which He has distinguished you and for the immensity of His bounty. Through this He has given you superiority over all mankind, in the East and the West. He gratified you first of all with the greatest

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favour, then He granted you the greatest bounty, and between the two He showered upon you countless bounties. He gave you sight while others were blind. He gave you knowledge while others were ignorant. While others were in error, He guided you to His religion, to the defence of His truth, to obedience to His friend, who is the signpost of the right path and the torch in the midst of darkness, the strong Rope of God.106 He made you the first ones to help him and to be firm in obeying him, placing yourselves under the shelter of his reign, to draw illumination from the light of his wisdom. Therefore, when God decreed to unsettle the country and test the people, and when darkness became widespread, when feet faltered, when the situation became dangerous, when afflictions became acute, when hearts became corrupted, God protected you, guided your hearts and affirmed your steps, until He removed (all these afflictions) from you particularly, and from other people generally, through us and by our intervention. This was a bounty for you, a proof for the people, and by God, your faces brightened up and radiated, you who had been faithful to the pact of God and who held fast to His covenant. O God, I am satisfied with the Kutāma, because they held fast to Your covenant, because they bore patiently suffering and adversity for Your cause, by devotion to us, recognising our excellence, discharging the obligation which God enjoined on mankind with regard to us, for seeking Your favour by obeying us. O God, be satisfied with them, double the merit of their good deeds, wipe out their bad deeds, assemble them in the company of Your prophet to whom they have been loyal, and (in the company) of Your friend whose helpers they have been. Make Your favour endure for them and make it complete for them; perfect for them Your bounties; let the power abide in their descendants for ever; reward them generously; guide them on the right path and make their hearts pure. You are the one who hears the prayer, who is ever near and ready to answer.107

(Manṣūr the secretary) said: I said to the ustādh my master, ‘I have already read sermons of preachers, and I know the eloquence of orators, but, by God, I have not seen anything comparable to the eloquence of the imams.’ (Jawdhar) replied to me, ‘Have you then 106. On the expression ‘Rope of God’ see note 96 above. 107. Cf. the sermon of al-Manṣūr as quoted in Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 480–486, and its translation in Walker, Orations, pp. 112–119. The text of the sermon is largely preserved in al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, pp. 163–168.

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forgotten the saying of the Messenger of God, “God has sent the lamps of wisdom or the keys of wisdom through the speech of the members of the family.” 108 By God, the Prophet meant to designate thus only the pure imams, descendants of ʿAlī and Fāṭima and of al-Ḥusayn, whose souls come from his soul, whose blood comes from his blood. Obedience to them is linked to obedience to God and obedience to the Prophet,109 may God shower His blessings upon him and upon the good, excellent, noble members of his family, and grant them salvation!’ 22 [al-Manṣūr gifts newly minted coins to Jawdhar] Among the letters of al-Manṣūr bi-llāh to the ustādh there are various items. For example, when al-Manṣūr bi-llāh ordered the minting of Manṣūrī coins bearing his pure name,110 and when the first mintage of the coins was presented to him, he sent from these to the ustādh, in al-Mahdiyya, 1,000 dinars and wrote to him at the same time in his hand the following letter: O Jawdhar, may God protect you and preserve you. We send you 1,000 Manṣūrī quarter dinars minted in our name. Accept these for yourself as a blessing for you. Avoid sending them back to the Treasury, for I know you and I know how thrifty you are with our money. No wealth is as pure as the money which we place with our own hands where we wish on our own initiative. No blessing is more worthy for the one to whom it is given with the best of our heart, because we deem you deserving kindness and we would not like to consider this to be too much for someone 108. Abū al-ʿAbbas ʿAbd Allāh b. Jaʿfar al-Ḥimyarī al-Qummī, Qurb al-isnād (Qum, 1413/[1993]), p. 158. 109. This doctrine linking obedience to Fatimid imams to obedience to God and the Prophet, based on an interpretation of Qurʾan 4:59, is elaborated in Fatimid texts. See, for example, al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, Daʿāʾim, vol. 1, pp. 20–25 (trans. vol. 1, pp. 27–33). 110. After the death of al-Qāʾim on 13 Shawwāl 334/18 May 946, al-Manṣūr made no change in the coinage until after the end of Abū Yazīd’s revolt in 336/948 (Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 6, p. 317, and al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, vol. 1, p. 80). See specimens of dinars minted in al-Qāʾim’s name after his death in J. Farrugia de Candia, ‘Monnaies fatimites du Musée du Bardo’, Revue tunisienne, 27–28 (1936), pp. 354–355.

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under your ­authority. Know this well! 111

23 [Letter of al-Manṣūr concerning a gift for the Byzantine emperor] Al-Manṣūr bi-llāh wrote to the ustādh upon the arrival of an ambassador from the Byzantine emperor,112 bringing a gift, in return for which al-Manṣūr bi-llāh wished to send more beautiful and lavish gifts. Therefore, he wrote to the ustādh, ordering him to bring, from the treasure stores which were in his custody, items which he described to him and which were suitable to be sent to kings. I read what he said in a passage of this letter: I know how much you wish that there should not be in the world anything beautiful which is not found with us and in our treasure stores. I imagine that this makes you stingy towards Christians with items such as those that we have ordered you to be sent to us. Do not be like that, because the treasures of this world remain in this world. We accumulate them only to rival our enemies in splendour, and to show our own nobility, the grandeur of our intention and the generosity of our hearts with gift of things which are jealously coveted and with which everyone is stingy.

Such was the outlook of (al-Manṣūr bi-llāh) towards this world. His generosity was a well-known fact, manifest and widely known. May God bless his soul and grant him His blessings!113 111. Cf. the same letter as quoted in Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, p. 470. 112. In the year 341/953, the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (r. 945–959) sent a monk as ambassador to the court of al-Manṣūr, in al-Manṣūriyya, bearing precious gifts. The purpose of the embassy was to establish friendly and peaceful relations with the Fatimid sovereign, following a truce after Byzantine forces suffered a humiliating defeat in Sicily and southern Italy. The ambassador was impressed by the majesty of the Fatimid sovereign and the pomp surrounding him, the like of which he had not seen in his own land. See Alexander Alexandrovich Vasiliev, Byzance et les Arabes (Brussels, 1935–1968), vol. 2, pt. 1, pp. 369–370, and vol. 2, pt. 2, pp. 159–160; Jules Gay, L’Italie méridionale et l’empire byzantin (Paris, 1904), pp. 213–214; and Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 6, p. 339. 113. Cf. Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 498–499.

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24 [Letter of al-Manṣūr concerning the inhabitants of the palace] Al-Manṣūr bi-llāh sent to ustādh Jawdhar a letter in which he set the salaries and allowances of the inhabitants of the palace in general and of his harem in particular, and he gave preferably to all the inhabitants of the palace an increment above that which he had set for his harem and his immediate entourage. Here it is: O Jawdhar, may God protect you and preserve you. It is certain that these people of our house are incapable of providing for their maintenance themselves, let alone other people, and that they are in need of our generosity which they cannot do without and which cannot be replaced by anything else for them. Let them accept what is allotted to them with the duty which it entails by being thankful for it and recognising its extent, so that they might be convinced that the riches of this world and the Hereafter are combined only in the hands of the master of the truth. Their recognition of this fact will complete for them happiness in this world and the Hereafter. Everyone knows well that since my youth, I have shunned worldly possessions and abstained from them like a monk until when I had a family and children. Then I turned to trading in permissible and lawful things. Ask my family and children how kind, generous and considerate I have been towards them. By God, they were not sufficiently, or more, satisfied with me until they received (gifts) from me without measure and surpassing all limits. However, when the imamate and the caliphate came to me, they felt lost after me and were deprived of the generosity and the favour to which I had accustomed them, because I was busy with the burdens placed on me of governing the people. This did not allow me to continue trading or to continue with the practice to which I had accustomed my family and my children. Thereafter, by God, other than whom there is no god and no master other than Him, I have never accepted a dirham or more as gift from anyone except Jawdhar, because he used to give me presents while I kept forbidding him, but he did not stop. So I accepted this from him because of what I hoped from him, since al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh had honoured him by making him privy to my status and had exacted a promise from him to recognise me as heir apparent and to pledge allegiance to me.114 At that time, people were immersed in the darkness of erring, surging like waves on one another.115 All followed their passions and preferred the riches of 114. See Part One, Section 5 above. 115. The expression ‘to surge like waves on one another’ comes from

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this world. I have not claimed to be better than you at conducting trading, nor have I impelled you to conduct trading. However, I would like you to know that the friends of God are helped by Him in all their actions, and that for them are gathered the best of this world and the Hereafter.

Upon reading this passage, I asked the ustādh and sought to know from him about the promise which al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh had extracted from him with regard to al-Manṣūr bi-llāh to the exclusion of all others. He told me, ‘Indeed, it was so’.116 25 [Another letter concerning the inhabitants of the palace] The inhabitants of the two palaces117 were jointly making false accusations against the ustādh after the decision taken by al-Manṣūr bi-llāh and the sermon which he had addressed them. They increased their criticisms of him and demanded to be able to go freely in the markets with the common people, whereas the ustādh forbade them and prevented them from doing so. They wrote to al-Manṣūr bi-llāh to complain about the ustādh and to criticise him, saying that he was brutal and biased in his actions. The ustādh, having made certain of this and having learnt that they had written to the Imam al-Manṣūr bi-llāh, himself wrote a letter to al-Muʿizz li-dīn Allāh, who was then heir apparent, to show him their shame and disgrace and to inform him of their disgusting behaviour. When the letter reached him and he had read it, he submitted it to the Imam al-Manṣūr bi-llāh who also received at the same time their letter. The Imam al-Manṣūr bi-llāh noted the contents of both the letters and sent to his heir apparent, al-Muʿizz li-dīn Allāh, a reply whose text, after the basmala, is as follows: Qurʾan 18:99. 116. Jawdhar was made privy to al-Manṣūr’s appointment as heir apparent, as mentioned in Part One, Section 5 above. 117. These were the two royal palaces in al-Mahdiyya: the palace of al-Mahdī, whose gate faced westwards, and facing it on the other side that of al-Qāʾim, whose gate faced eastwards. There was a large courtyard between the two palaces (al-Bakrī, al-Masālik, p. 30, trans. pp. 67–68). The inhabitants mentioned above are those sons and relatives of al-Mahdī and al-Qāʾim who disputed al-Manṣūr’s right to the succession.

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I commend you to God, and I ask Him to bestow upon you His complete favour as well as upon me, in you, and by you and by your descendants. You are not unaware of the place which Jawdhar holds with me, and what a high opinion I have of him. How could he be in my eyes brutal and biased? Nevertheless, that is how they have described him in their letter, because he prevents them from behaving impudently, watches resolutely over their security and forbids any shameful act on their part. Upon my life, the one who grants his favours to the one who does not deserve them is like the one who sows in salt-marshes. Inform Jawdhar how satisfied I am with him and what compassion and affection I have for him. Confirm him in his function of opening to them the doors and raising the curtain, so that their shame and their disgrace become yet more manifest, because this will be better for the empire and an adornment for the dynasty, a proof for the one who seeks the truth, (a means) to wipe out shameful behaviour which formerly separated them from your grandfather. It is a shame which is spread far and wide and whose echo has filled various regions. (Their attitude) is only a result of the wish that he had to protect their modesty and impose discipline upon them. Therefore, they became hostile to him and hated him. They have accused him of lying and have defamed him. Your grandfather had been the object of people’s conversation, because they were unaware of his motives for taking these measures. Today, I act with full knowledge of the facts, so that their shame and disgrace become manifest, that my motives become clear, and that my excellence, may God be praised for it, becomes obvious. Know, O my son, that the Cursed Tree in the Qurʾan118 applies to 118. Most commentators agree that ‘the Cursed Tree in the Qurʾan’ (17:60) applies to the tree of deadly fruit (shajarat al-zaqqūm) in Hell spoken of in 37:62, 44:43 and 56:52 (al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 15, pp. 113–115; vol. 23, pp. 63–64; vol. 25, pp. 130–133; vol. 27, pp. 194–195). In his commentary of the verse which mentions ‘the Cursed Tree in the Qurʾan’, al-Māwardī summarises four different views held by commentators (Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī b. Muḥammad al-Māwardī, al-Nukat wa-al-ʿuyūn: tafsīr al-Māwardī, ed. al-Sayyid b. ʿAbd al-Maqṣūd b. ʿAbd al-Raḥīm (Beirut, [1992]), vol. 3, pp. 253–254). The fourth view speaks of a dream of the Prophet in which he saw people mounting the pulpits. The people in question are the Umayyads and ‘the Cursed Tree’ refers specifically to them, as in Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-manthūr fī al-tafsīr bi-almaʾthūr, ed. ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAbd al-Muḥsin al-Turkī (Cairo, 2003), vol. 9, pp. 391–392. This view is most widespread in Shīʿī literature. See, for example, al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, al-Majālis wa-al-musāyarāt, p. 106, where al-Muʿizz applies it to the Umayyads.

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the Umayyads yesterday, and that today it applies to the sons of your two ancestors, al-Mahdī bi-llāh and al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh.119 The Umayyads deserved this appellation only because of their hostility to your ancestor, the Messenger of God, and to his legatee, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, may God’s blessings be upon them both. Similarly (the sons of your two ancestors) deserve this appellation because of their hostility towards God and the friends of God, and because they have refused to acknowledge our excellence and denied our right. Know this and act accordingly. I will send you a book which I have composed about this matter, which no one else has composed before me and which I have not yet made public.120 I wished, by writing this book, to guide the believers and strengthen their hearts by putting an end to doubt in their minds. I have filled it with exoteric as well as esoteric knowledge and conclusive proofs which will please you and delight you and will be useful for you without ever coming to an end, because most calamities which afflict the weak and unfortunate believers proceed only from the likes of these apes and swine. Tell Jawdhar to have for them in his heart the same feelings as theirs of hatred, contempt and disrespect towards them which he has for Jews and Christians, because by God, they have never exercised supreme power; they never had even two dogs, let alone two human beings, who followed them, because when goodness is manifest, it captures the hearts and souls of people, takes possession of their ears and eyes. But God has forsaken them. Praise be to Him for all goodness. As for shame and disgrace which the hearts and souls loathe, they are garbed in them and wrapped up in them. What crime has poor Jawdhar committed against them? He has only prevented them from behaving impudently and dishonourably. He only wished to protect their modesty by leaving this magnificent edifice. This was his only crime.

119. One of al-Qāʾim’s sons, Yūsuf (d. 362/973), is specifically mentioned as opposing Fatimid doctrines. ʿAbd al-Jabbār b. Aḥmad al-Hamadhānī, Tathbīt dalāʾil al-nubuwwa, ed. ʿAbd al-Karīm ʿUthmān (Beirut, 1966), vol. 2, p. 603. 120. The book seems to be lost. See, however, Tathbīt al-imāma, cited in Poonawala, Biobibliography, pp. 44–45, and Delia Cortese, Arabic Ismaili Manuscripts, p. 180. For a detailed description of the work see Wilferd Madelung, ‘A Treatise on the Imamate of the Fatimid Caliph al-Manṣūr Bi-Allāh’, in Texts, Documents and Artefacts: Islamic Studies in Honour of D. S. Richards, ed. Chase F. Robinson (Leiden, 2003), pp. 69–77.

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26 [Letter from al-Manṣūr concerning his uncles and brothers] When the ustādh became acquainted with this letter he praised and thanked God profusely. He began to treat them according to instructions he had received. However, they did not abstain from complaining and reproaching the imam. They began to write to him that had they been from among the clients of the Messenger of God, they would have been entitled to protection, the more so because they were members of the family of the Messenger of God.121 When the imam came to know about these remarks of theirs, he wrote to the ustādh a letter with the following passage: It is indeed astonishing to hear them say, ‘We are the family of the Messenger of God, and the sons of al-Mahdī bi-llāh and the sons of al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh.’ Tell them, ‘O donkeys, is there any human being on earth who is not of the sons of Adam, messenger of God? The Blacks, are they not descendants of Ham, son of Noah, messenger of God? The Slavs, are they not descendants of Japheth, son of Noah, messenger of God?122 The apes and swine metamorphosed from Christians and Jews,123 were they not descendants of Abraham, friend of God, His chosen, His prophet, His messenger, father of the prophets, the legatees and the friends of God? Were they not of the same category, those who denied Muḥammad and what was revealed to him when they denied his excellence and the special distinction which God had bestowed upon him? (God) made their eyes incapable of seeing his excellence, and made them incapable of understanding the gift which He bestowed upon him, just like you are ignorant and blind, O donkeys!’ Concerning their reference to the clients of the Messenger of God, the clients of the Messenger of God are better than them. Tell them, ‘Do you know, O donkeys, who the clients of the Messenger of God are? One of the clients of the Messenger of God is Salmān

121. al-Hamadhānī, Tathbīt, vol. 2, p. 603. 122. According to Genesis 10, the present population of the world was descended from Noah’s three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, and their wives. 123. Cf. Qurʾan 5:60, where God transformed human beings into apes and swine for worshipping evil; cf. also 2:65 and 7:166. To liken a person to an ape or swine was a most degrading insult. F. Viré, ‘Ḳird’, EI2, vol. 5, pp. 131–134.

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al-Fārisī,124 the imam to whom obedience is due after the supreme imam. One accedes to obedience to God, to His messenger and to ʿAlī, his legatee, only through obedience to Salmān, Master of the Faithful of his time. Who are you then, O you dim brutes, to dare to compare yourselves to Salmān, client of the Messenger of God, whom both the Messenger of God and ʿAlī liberated in body and spirit from the fire and its chastisement in this world and the Hereafter. By God, if Salmān were alive today, he would not greet you; nor would he command others to greet you or to approach you, so that you don’t burn them with your fire and your disgrace. He would be several times more severe towards you and worse for you than Jawdhar. I don’t think you have ever heard what Jesus said to the Jews, “O brood of vipers!” You say, “We are the children of Abraham, friend of God!” You lie! Were you the children of Abraham you would follow the law of Abraham and would observe his religion. You would allow yourselves to be guided under his guidance. Do you imagine that God has no power to create from this stone the children of Abraham?125 Know, O brood of vipers, that the one who was not born twice, once his body and once his spirit,126 is not of the sons of Abraham.’ Nor have you heard the word of God, the Most High: ‘O mankind! We created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other. Verily, the most honoured of you in the sight of God is the most righteous of you’ (49:13). Have you not heard these innumerable verses? Have you not heard the Messenger of God: ‘O ʿAlī, O Fāṭima! Mankind will not come to me with their deeds on the Day of Judgement; you will come to me with your own merit,127 for I will not be able to be of any 124. On Salmān, client of the Prophet, and the well-known tradition Salmān minnā ahl al-bayt (Salmān is from our household), see Louis Massignon, Salmān Pāk et les prémices spirituelles de l’Islam iranien (Paris, 1934), p. 16 ff., reprinted in his Opera Minora, ed. Y. Moubarac (Damascus, 1957), vol. 1, pp. 443–483. 125. Cf. Luke 3:7–8, where it is John the Baptist addressing the multitude who came out to be baptised by him. 126. Cf. John 3:3–5. 127. All three manuscripts have ‘your own merit’ (aḥsābikum) with the second person plural rather than the dual as expected. Here al-Manṣūr sets out the distinction between filiation as generally understood and spiritual filiation. Compare texts of the tradition where instead of aḥsābikum the texts have ansābikum, ‘your filiation [to me]’, and the second person plural in the tradition refers to the Banū Hāshim, as in Rasāʾil Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ (Beirut, 1957), vol. 4, p. 53, and Maḥmūd b. ʿUmar al-Zamakhsharī,

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help before God.’ He said this to the most noble of creatures of God, Fāṭima, daughter of the Messenger of God, the pure, the purified, whose body He created from his body, spirit from his spirit, and the Commander of the Faithful ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, prince of legatees, the most noble of the begotten, custodian of the science of the heavens, the supreme proof of God for His creation after the Messenger of God, the signpost of right guidance, the torch of this world and the Hereafter. How then, O people of disgrace and shame, have you wished to compare yourselves to Fāṭima the Resplendent, ʿAlī, Commander of the Faithful and the rightly-guided imams, and associate yourselves with them! Consider before that your deeds and their deeds. Consider the departure of Fāṭima the Resplendent from this world. How it was and in what situation it happened. Did she depart blamed or praised? Look at her house with which she remained satisfied until her death. Look at your intentions and your disgrace. Look at all the deeds of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib and compare your deeds to them. Consider these two imams whose period is near to us and place their actions as a mirror before you so that you see your faces in it. It will then be clear to you that (your faces) are the faces of apes. By God, there will be no doubt about it. By God, al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh spoke truthfully, and he has ever remained truthful, when he affirmed under oath, ‘By God! They are not sons for us, for in them Iblīs128 has associated himself with us.’ Or at some other time he said ‘Satan’. Therefore, tell them, ‘O faces of shame! O the worst evil ones! You claim to descend from Fāṭima the Resplendent, whereas you are her enemies. You oppose her; you consider her words to be lies; you have deviated from her path and you violate her manners. You accuse her of lying. You accuse her husband, the Commander of the Faithful, of lying. You accuse the Messenger of God of lying, because the rightly-guided imams have related that the Commander of the Faithful said: “I was sitting in the company of the Messenger of God when he asked, O ʿAlī, what is a woman?”

al-Kashshāf ʿan ḥaqāʾiq ghawāmiḍ al-tanzīl wa-ʿuyūn al-aqāwīl fī wujūh al-taʾwīl, ed. ʿĀdil Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Mawjūd et al. (Riyadh, 1998), vol. 1 p. 333, commenting on Qurʾan 2:134, and where the second person plural refers to the Banū ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib as in al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, Kitāb al-Himma, p. 122, and his al-Manāqib wa-al-mathālib, ed. Mājid b. Aḥmad ʿAṭīya (Beirut, 2002), p. 16. 128. Jaʿfar b. Manṣūr al-Yaman likens Iblīs to all those who consider themselves to be superior to the Friends of God or refuse obedience to them, as in his al-Shawāhid wa-al-bayān, IIS Library, MS 734, p. 24, and al-Riḍāʿ fī al-bāṭin, IIS Library, MS 1143, pp. 102, 173.

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I replied, “O Messenger of God, she is ʿawra.”129 He said, “You are right, and when is she nearest to her Lord?” I did not know what to say. The Messenger of God remained silent and I left. I went to Fāṭima who said to me, “O Abū al-Ḥasan, why do I see you despondent?” I told her, “Today the Messenger of God asked me a question to which I did not know the answer.” She asked, “What was it?” I related it to her and she said to me, “O Abū al-Ḥasan, why did you not tell him, ‘O Messenger of God, the time when she is nearest to her Lord is when she remains within the precincts of her house.’” I went to the Messenger of God and reported this to him. He told me, “O ʿAlī, does this come from you?” I said, “No, O Messenger of God. It is from Fāṭima.” He said, “Fāṭima has spoken the truth. She is devout. Indeed she is a part of me.”’130 As for me, one day I was sitting in front of al-Mahdī bi-llāh alone. He was dictating to me and I was recording, when suddenly one of his female servants entered and said to him, ‘Your son so-and-so has begotten a girl.’ He remained silent for a moment and then told her, ‘Withdraw, O miserable one!’ Thereupon she withdrew and he came near me and recited the following verse: ‘She wishes that I live [to provide for her], but I wish out of pity that she die [before me], For [without me] death is the noblest suitor for a daughter under [my] care.’ 131 129. Apart from meaning ‘woman’, the word also refers to the pudendum or parts of the body which must be concealed out of modesty. 130. For the tradition ‘Fāṭima is a part of me’ and similar traditions see al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 4, p. 220, vol. 5, pp. 56–57, vol. 7, pp. 115–116; Muslim b. al-Ḥajjāj al-Qushayrī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, ed. Muḥammad Fuʾād ʿAbd al-Bāqī (Cairo, 1955), vol. 4, pp. 1902–1904, trans. Abdul Hamid Siddiqi (Lahore, 1976), vol. 4, pp. 1304–1305; and L. Veccia Vaglieri, ‘Fāṭima’, EI2, vol. 2, p. 843. 131. Here, al-Mahdī quotes a verse of Isḥāq b. Khalaf (d. ca. 230/845) in which the poet, who is struggling with extreme poverty, wishes that his adopted daughter Umayma may die before him rather than face humiliation and starvation after his death (Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Marzūqī, Sarḥ Dīwān al-Ḥamāsa li-Abī Tammām, ed. Gharīd al-Shaykh, Beirut, 2003, p. 206). The following paragraph makes apparent that al-Mahdī does not take his good fortune for granted and is similarly concerned about the future well-being of his grand-daughter if

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Then his eyes began to weep and I said to him, ‘O our master and our lord. Rather, God will prolong your glory, and the glory by you. He will fulfil your hopes, and will make of us devoted to you until death.’ He did not say anything. Then he continued with what he had been dictating. This, by God, moved me profoundly and I remained reflecting on it. I said to myself the Commander of the Faithful is afraid of the vicissitudes of fortune, for who then would feel secure with it. This increased my wish to abstain from the things of this world.’ ‘If you have not seen anything on you through observing this magnificent structure132 which you reveal to others, remember the saying of the Messenger of God related by the rightly-guided imams: “The eyes commit adultery, and their adultery is looking. The hands commit adultery, and their adultery is touching. The feet commit adultery, and their adultery is walking towards depravity.” 133 Such is the saying of the Messenger of God, Master of the ancients and the moderns, which you have not heard and which you have not grasped. May God not make you hear anything good and may He not guide you towards Him. Go to the curses of God. To you be your way and to me mine (109:6). May God curse all those who harm us and who have evil intentions towards us. By God, we have never been people of hatred. There has never been among us an imam who did not wish that God should preserve all the creatures from hellfire and forgive the wrongdoers, doing good to those who had done him harm. And it is through this that God, the Mighty, the Exalted, helps us and abandons our enemies and destroys those who rebel against us. Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds!’

When (the inhabitants of the palace) learnt of this letter they desisted and feared what they saw was Jawdhar’s strictness and little regard for them, his making them carry out the obligations which they and their slaves had, his dealing with them severely and his forbidding traders from mixing with them. One day he arrested a group of traders who had mingled with them, among them was Ziyād the secretary, Ibn al-Khaṭīb known under the name of Ibn Kulayb the dāʿī and others. As for Ibn Kulayb, when he learnt who he was, he political circumstances were to turn against the Fatimids. 132. ‘Magnificent structure’ here refers to the body. 133. Aḥmad b. Muḥammad Ibn Ḥanbal, Musnad al-Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, ed. Shuʿayb al-Arnaʾūṭ and ʿĀdil Murshid (Beirut, 1997–2001), vol. 7, pp. 28–29; vol. 14, pp. 210–211, 218, 437–438; vol. 15, pp. 191–192; vol. 16, pp. 483–484, 531; al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ, vol. 8, pp. 171–172.

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set him free out of respect for his parents. As for Ziyād, he whipped him. He beat others as well. Then order was restored. What had prompted them to commit the actions which they had done was that the ustādh had failed to keep an eye on them after the arrival of the Imam al-Manṣūr bi-llāh at his residence and his capital after capturing the accursed Makhlad b. Kaydād.134 27 [Letter of al-Manṣūr concerning certain troublemakers] The ustādh, of his own accord, had refrained from punishing the misdeeds which he would punish normally and dealing severely with people who deserved to die or were liable to punishment. He said that he had done so during the absence of the imam and that when (the imam) returned, (the ustādh) would have no alternative but to remain silent. But the country was in turmoil, troublemakers were increasing and robberies were being committed on the roads. While a caravan had departed from al-Mahdiyya with a cargo of pottery and other goods sent by the ustādh to the Commander of the Faithful, it was attacked by criminals of the region who pillaged it near a place called Tumājir.135 They seized everything belonging to the Commander of the Faithful. This news reached al-Manṣūr bi-llāh who wrote to Jawdhar, ‘How could such a thing happen near to you?’ The ustādh, excusing himself, replied to this saying, ‘The provincial governors in the regions do not want anyone to keep an eye on the affairs of the provinces which are under their control. They say that any orders they receive about this matter cause a delay [in the collection] of taxes’. The imam, when he became acquainted with what (Jawdhar) had written to him, wrote back to him: 134. This letter can be dated from Ramaḍān 336/March–April 948, when al-Manṣūr returned to al-Mahdiyya after defeating Abū Yazīd. See note 87 above. 135. Tumājir was located on a route between al-Qayrawān and al-Mahdiyya. It was one day’s march from al-Qayrawān, and al-Mahdiyya could be reached from Tumājir at the end of the second day. See al-Bakrī, al-Masālik, p. 29 (trans. pp. 65–66), and al-Ḥimyarī, al-Rawḍ al-miʿṭār, p. 136.

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O Jawdhar, may God protect you and preserve you, and may He be beneficent towards you. Know that during my absence I praised you more than I do today, for your example, in my eyes, is like a deputy appointed by his master and to whom he had entrusted, before his departure, a small quantity of goods. The deputy engaged in trading in these goods and managed the proceeds. He looked after the needs of himself, his family, his children, his master, his family and his entourage, and was left with a handsome profit. On his return form the journey, the master thanked him for his effort and praised his work and gave him more. Then the deputy, confiding in his master, leaves everything to him and himself prefers to rest and thereby neglects his first work. Is it not astonishing that you wrote to me about grievances against the men of the lookout posts stationed at al-Wādī al-Māliḥ136 by Ibn al-Danhājī137 and others among those who are around you? However, in reality, who is Ibn al-Danhājī and who are the others? What is preventing you from sending someone to pursue him and them, whipping their backs and stomachs,138 covering their necks with chains, and their feet and their knees with heavy fetters so that each one of them sticks to his business and devotes himself to his work and the task assigned to him, so that those near or far, notable or commoner, be with regard to you on their guard and in fear? Do you think that I have simply placed you as a keeper of the gate of the palace? Glory be to God! It is not the case, by God, there will be control! There should not be in the whole of al-Mahdiyya and all the provinces around you the smallest matter of which you are unaware, with which you do not concern yourself and about which you do not decide.

After these directives were received, the state of affairs of the region was redressed for the ustādh in a manner which pleased the imam.

136. On al-Wādī al-Māliḥ, see note 88 above. 137. The nisba al-Danhājī is from Danhāja, a branch of the Kutāma. See Ibn Khaldūn, Taʾrīkh, vol. 6, p. 196 (trans. Berbères, vol. 1, p. 291); and al-Bakrī, al-Masālik, p. 110 (trans. p. 216). 138. Literally: ‘watering the whip from their backs and stomachs’. Cf. the expression ‘washing someone with the whip’, meaning ‘inflicting painful whipping’ in Abū al-Qāsim Maḥmūd b. ʿUmar al-Zamakhsharī, Asās al-balāgha, ed. Muḥammad Bāsil ʿUyūn al-Sūd (Beirut, 1998), vol. 1, p. 702.

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28 [Letter of al-Manṣūr regarding the rebels of Sicily] The Imam al-Manṣūr had sent al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī139 to the inhabitants of Sicily, at a time when they would seize by force every ship, they would frequently appear armed in the mosques and would not refrain from reprehensible acts. Among them were the Banū Māḍūḍ, the sons of (Māḍūḍ’s) brother, the Banū al-Ṭabarī140 and others. When al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī arrived, he wrote to the ustādh to ask him to plead with the Commander of the Faithful al-Manṣūr bi-llāh for a man named Muḥammad b. ʿAbdūn. This man had departed from Sicily together with others who departed from it.141 The ustādh 139. He is Abū al-Ghanāʾim al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī (d. 353/964), the first of a succession of governors of Sicily from the Banū Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī. He was appointed governor in 336/948 to restore order and reassert Fatimid authority on the island. He remained in Sicily until shortly after the advent of al-Muʿizz, when he returned to Ifrīqiya, leaving his son Aḥmad as governor. He fought against the Umayyads in 344/955–956, and then in 345–346/956–958 he commanded a naval expedition against the Byzantines. He returned to Sicily in 353/964 and died after an illness at the age of fifty-three. See Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 6, p. 326; al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, pp. 172–174, vol. 3, p. 60, and ʿImād al-Dīn Ismāʿīl b. ʿAlī Abū al-Fidāʾ, al-Mukhtaṣar fī akhbār al-bashar (Beirut, n.d.), vol. 2, pp. 96–97. See also Document 68 below in which al-Muʿizz praises al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī after his death, and Document 37 relating to his sons. 140. Disorder reigned in Sicily shortly before the appointment of al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī. The Banū al-Ṭabarī were among the notables there who had a large following. On the day of the Feast of the breaking of the fast of 335/25 April 947, they attacked the governor ʿAṭṭāf and killed some of his men. ʿAṭṭāf sought al-Manṣūr’s help. When al-Manṣūr learnt of the seriousness of the situation on the island, he appointed al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī governor of the island and instructed him to proceed there. On Banū al-Ṭabarī and these events see Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 6, pp. 326–327. 141. When al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī arrived in Sicily he anchored at the port of Mazara, to the south-west of the island, without being noticed that day. Then at night he was met secretly by Fatimid supporters who informed him that ʿAlī b. al-Ṭabarī, Muḥammad b. ʿAbdūn and others had left Sicily for Ifrīqiya, and that they had advised their supporters to prevent al-Ḥasan from reaching the island. This is because they wanted to ask al-Manṣūr to appoint another governor instead, but al-Manṣūr had them arrested. On these events see Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 6, pp. 326–328.

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presented his letter to the Commander of the Faithful who, after having read it, appended the following reply to him: As regards al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī’s plea for Muḥammad b. ʿAbdūn, I have not seen any mention of it in the letter that he wrote to me.142 I understand that he feared me, so he turned to you to ask you to intervene on his behalf in favour of (Muḥammad b. ʿAbdūn). I have imprisoned him to leave Ḥasan no excuse and not to place on him any worry in the country. If he trusts the sincerity and faithfulness of (Muḥammad) and also gives a pledge, I will release him. Otherwise, not! Because if (Ḥasan) has asked to intercede for him only because the inhabitants of the country vouch for his peaceful temperament and uprightness, then if the inhabitants of the country had been asked also about al-Ṭabarī, they would have given an even better testimony in his favour. As regards Khabbāb, Ibn al-Ṭabarī al-Ashtarī, and Rajāʾ b. Akhī Ḥaya,143 be reassured about them and make them return what they stole and appropriated from our goods. Then send them back after that clasped in irons. I have sent to (Ḥasan) a reply to his letter at the same time as this letter that I am sending you. However, I have not informed him of your request regarding Muḥammad b. ʿAbdūn. Notify him yourself in your letter what I have written to you and urge him insistently to be strict, steadfast and tough. This is because the well-being there has intoxicated the people of the country and the kindness shown towards them has made them insolent. With Khalīl144 they got used 142. It appears that al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī wrote to al-Manṣūr after his arrival in Palermo and the events which took place there, and also that he did not write to Jawdhar immediately after his arrival in Sicily. 143. Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 6, p. 326, has Janā instead of Ḥaya. 144. He is Abū al-ʿAbbās Khalīl b. Isḥāq b. Ward, poet and Fatimid general who was born in Tripoli. He devoted himself to the service of the Fatimids from al-Mahdī’s reign during al-Qāʾim’s conquest of Tripoli. Later he accompanied al-Qāʾim on the second expedition to Egypt of 306/919. He was governor of Sicily during 325–329/936–940, having been sent there by al-Qāʾim with reinforcements to support the then governor Sālim b. Abī Rāshid (r. 313–325/925–936) against whom Palermo and Jirjent had revolted. Khalīl b. Isḥāq was noted for his excesses in Sicily. He set right the complaints of the inhabitants, built a citadel on the port of Palermo, al-Khāliṣa, and inspired fear, but he could not end the revolt until 329/940. Subsequently, al-Qāʾim charged him to defend al-Qayrawān from the rebel Abū Yazīd, but he was defeated by Abū Yazīd in 333/944, captured and executed. Ibn ʿIdhārī, al-Bayān, vol. 1, pp. 181, 215; Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 6, pp. 261–262; and Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh Ibn al-Abbār, Kitāb

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to ideas which one can only remove from their heads by the sword. Let him be hard and relentless towards scoundrels and transgressors, and instead of striking them with the whip, use the sword against them, because the [example of just] one affects thousands (of others). Let him not lend ear to those who seek to alarm him by spreading false rumours, because if he does so, he will not be firm; nor will he succeed. Sālim b. Abī Rāshid145 had maintained order everywhere to the extent that the Greeks feared him in their most distant (regions),146 and yet he was only a two-legged jackass. (Al-Ḥasan) is more intelligent, more determined, more sensible and cleverer than (Sālim). He will bring good fortune to our dynasty, and will be the blessing of our reign, God willing.

When I became acquainted with this passage of the letter of al-Manṣūr bi-llāh to my master the ustādh Jawdhar, I understood that, by these words, he had aroused al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī’s enthusiasm, although he already had the energy. 29 [Last letter of al-Manṣūr to Jawdhar] We have mentioned many letters of al-Manṣūr bi-llāh written in his own hand, noble to God. If I examined in detail each one of them, it would unduly lengthen this book. The last letter of his that I read was a reply to many letters which the ustādh had written when it happened that the imam had become seriously ill and replies were delayed for some time. Once he recovered from his illness, he wrote a letter in his own hand. Here is the text of it, after the invocation of the name God: O Jawdhar, may God protect you. Your letters arrived, and I have taken note of what they contained. I have understood what you said in each of them. I have taken long to reply to them, once because I al-Ḥulla al-siyarāʾ, ed. Ḥusayn Muʾnis (Cairo, 1963), vol. 1, pp. 302–304. 145. Sālim b. Abī Rāshid was governor of Sicily during 313–325/925– 936. Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 6, p. 182; Shihāb al-Dīn Aḥmad b. ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat al-arab fī funūn al-adab, vol. 24, ed. Ḥusayn Naṣṣār (Cairo, 1983), pp. 368–369; and Ibn ʿIdhārī, al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 175. 146. Sālim b. Abī Rāshid, reinforced by troops from Ifrīqiya, made an incursion in southern Italy in 313/925. Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 6, p. 182; al-Nuwayrī, Nihāya, vol. 24, p. 368.

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was busy, another time because of [my] illness and a general weakness of the entire body. Praise be to God in all circumstances! Everything that Abū Tamīm147 wrote to you comes from what I told him in person. I commend him to God.148

Then his illness worsened and God chose for him to enjoy (the happiness which lies) beside Him and called him back to Him in the year 341/953.149 God caused the imamate and the caliphate to fall to the share of our lord al-Muʿizz li-dīn Allāh. Now I will mention a part of the correspondence exchanged between (al-Muʿizz) and his servant the ustādh, and the decrees that he sent to him, to show how highly he honoured him during his reign. I will comment on that faithfully, if it pleases God, the Most High. Success depends on Him. 30 Letters of the Imam al-Muʿizz li-dīn Allāh, Commander of the Faithful, to his servant al-Ustādh Jawdhar informing him of the death of al-Manṣūr bi-llāh The first letter that I will mention is the one which the ustādh received from al-Muʿizz li-dīn Allāh, our lord and our master, in which he styled himself ‘the Commander of the Faithful’. In it he mentioned the death of al-Manṣūr bi-llāh and ordered him to keep it secret. Here is its transcript: In the name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. Abundant praise be to God, Lord of the worlds, for the favours that He grants and trials that He sends. May God keep you in good health, O Jawdhar. You know what bonds link you to us, how much you adhere to loyalty to us and what place you hold in our thoughts. All this is sufficiently well established in your mind and there is no need to repeat it and elaborate on it. I think that this is well known to these maniacs and these contemptible monkeys,150 and even more 147. Abū Tamīm refers to al-Muʿizz, who was then heir apparent. 148. Cf. the letter as quoted in Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, p. 502. 149. al-Manṣūr died on 29 Shawwāl 341/19 March 953. See al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, p. 177. 150. These were the members of the Fatimid family referred to above. See Part One, Section 25 above.

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so to those who are devoted to us and obey us, and yet more so to those with whom the devotion is coupled with seniority and (testimonies of) approval of all the rightly-guided and excellent imams. May the blessings of God be upon them all, those of former days as well as the latest posterity! God, may He be praised, has created the created beings to show His generosity and His excellence. He has granted them His favour and bounties and has compelled them to undergo death to make the created beings know that He alone, in His sublime majesty, possesses permanence and uniqueness. There has not remained in this vile world either a prophet who was sent [with a mission], or an angel close (to Him), or a noble imam, or any low vile man who has not been subjected to (His) just law. God, possessor of majesty and honour, is most exalted. For those whose position in our eyes is like yours, it is necessary that we share with them our joys and our sorrows and all the vicissitudes of our fortunes. God had foreordained and decreed irrevocably that our lord and master, the Commander of the Faithful, undergo the same law and the same decision that He made undergo his pure, rightly-guided forefathers, and his ancestor Muḥammad, seal of the prophets. Peace be upon them all. He has tested me by (al-Manṣūr’s) loss, leaving me alone after him in sorrowful residences and empty palaces, while the country remains torn apart, vulnerable to enemies and the impious who have gathered from all the regions of the earth, to the East and to the West, on land and on sea. I am in their midst isolated, foreigner, alone, confiding myself to the Lord of the glorious might. ‘We belong to God and to Him is our return’ (2:156). There is no force and power except with God, the Exalted and Mighty. How great is the test that I undergo and how hard is the misfortune that afflicts me! How severe is the calamity that strikes me! But I put my confidence in God and it is to Him that I entrust myself. It is up to you, for what is under your control, to be vigilant as far as possible, to maintain order as much as you can, and you will be able to do it and prevent these monkeys from reaching me and to go out from the doors of their residences, in addition to your other tasks. Let this death be strictly held secret and hidden from the family, from the great as well as from the common people. If any rumour about it reaches their ears, deny it as much as you can. Inspire in them the greatest possible fear. Do not give in to show that you feel any anxiety or grief and that you are overwhelmed. Let it be known that if it were useful to show grief, I would have ordered you to do so, as well as to all others, and I would have been overwhelmed (with grief) before this day. But nobody can oppose God’s decree or reject His decision. Nobody dies before his term.

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(God), be He exalted, says: ‘When their term is reached, not an hour can they cause delay, nor (an hour) can they advance (it in anticipation)’ (7:34). Help me, God, in the terrible grief which has stricken us. Help me, God, in our great misfortune. May God hasten for us the meeting with Him and gather [us] among His flock. May He make us arrive with him to the basin (ḥawḍ) of his ancestor.151 O happiness [for him], he has joined al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh, al-Mahdī bi-llāh and his pious forefathers, of the same and noble essence. What great misfortune for the descendants of Fāṭima who come after him. I beg for forgiveness of God for myself from all fault. I put my trust in Him so that He may help me and inspire in me deeds that will give Him satisfaction and will draw me near to Him. Peace be with you and may God bestow His blessings on Muḥammad, seal of the prophets, and on the Imam al-Manṣūr bi-llāh, lord of the heirs. And praise be to God, Lord of the worlds.152

31 [Letter of al-Muʿizz in reply to a request that Jawdhar had made to him] Then the ustādh dispatched Muḥammad the secretary to the Commander of the Faithful with the reply to this letter. He requested (the imam) to grant him a wish of a religious nature which he had already made to the imams before him and whose fulfilment he had always sought until the reign of al-Muʿizz li-din Allāh. Muḥammad the secretary arrived [before the imam] and accomplished what the ustādh had advised him to do. Then Muḥammad the secretary returned to al-Mahdiyya.153 Then, after that, he wrote to inform [him] of his request. The reply came to him, while al-Muʿizz was on the march towards a place called the mountain of Awrās.154 Here it is: 151. In tradition ḥawḍ is the basin at which on the Day of Judgement the Prophet will meet his community. A. J. Wensinck. ‘Ḥawḍ’, in EI2, vol. 3, p. 286. 152. Cf. the letter as quoted in Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 512, 514. 153. Jawdhar was still based in al-Mahdiyya which had been abandoned for al-Manṣūriyya as capital by al-Manṣūr in Rabīʿ I 337/September 948. See al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, p. 172. 154. This was the expedition of 342/953, on which see note 170 below.

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O Jawdhar, may God protect you and keep you in good health. I have read your letter and acquainted myself with what you mentioned: your joy at Muḥammad the secretary accomplishing (the task) for which you had sent him, your happiness at the news regarding the matter that you received, your renewed desire [to obtain what you wish]. I will mention to you only one thing to call [your] attention to what is going to follow and confirm what has been said about it previously, even though you already know what I am going to mention. ʿAlī b. Ḥamdūn,155 may God have mercy upon him, and you had petitioned al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh and asked him to give satisfaction to the request that you know. He continually promised you both [to grant it] and raised your hopes. This situation continued for long. In the meantime, almost every day, a letter would arrive from ʿAlī b. Ḥamdūn, requesting the fulfilment of the promise and asking the request to be granted. This happened until the day (al-Qāʾim) died, when I found him to be contented. He told me, ‘Give Jawdhar the glad tidings of the success of his request.’ Then, after having brought out the thing requested,156 he told me, ‘Take it!’ When I drew near him to take it, he pulled me by the hand, kissed me on the forehead and told me, ‘You are Abū Tamīm! Nothing will happen through you that is not complete (tāmm)’.157 You have come and I have informed you of what he graciously bestowed upon you. 155. ʿAlī b. Ḥamdūn b. Simāk b. Masʿūd b. Manṣūr al-Judhāmī Ibn al-Andalusī came from the family of Banū Ḥamdūn which held important functions in the Fatimid and Spanish Umayyad administrations. ʿAlī played a major part in 315/927 in the foundation of the town of al-Masīla which al-Qāʾim charged him to construct, and he became the governor of al-Zāb. He fought against the rebel Abū Yazīd and died during an operation in 326/938, according to Ibn ʿIdhārī. According to Ibn Khaldūn, he died during an operation against Ayyūb, son of Abū Yazīd, probably in 334/945– 946. Ibn Khaldūn, Taʾrīkh, vol. 4, pp. 107–110 (trans. Berbères, vol. 2, pp. 553–557); Ibn ʿIdhārī, al-Bayān, vol. 1, pp. 190, 214–215; and Marius Canard, ‘Une famille de partisans, puis d’adversaires, des Fatimides en Afrique du Nord’, in Mélanges d’histoire et d’archéologie de l’Occident musulman II: Hommage à Georges Marçais (Algiers, 1957), pp. 33–49, reprinted in his L’expansion, article V. On ʿAlī’s son Jaʿfar see note 223 below. 156. There is no further information on the thing requested by Jawdhar other than that it was of ‘a religious nature’. 157. This shows that al-Qāʾim gave to al-Muʿizz the filionymic ‘Abū Tamīm’ when he was a child and well before the birth of his son Tamīm, in Rajab 337/January 949. In this connection, al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, al-Majālis wa-al-musāyarāt, pp. 86–87, relates from al-Muʿizz that while he was a child al-Qāʾim would often say to him, ‘Indeed, you are Abū Tamīm’.

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The thing requested has been sent to you through Abū al-Furāt,158 for you, for ʿAlī and for Nāṣir.159 By saying this, I wanted only to make you know that the holder of authority who precedes another has always been informed by God about the term of the one who will succeed [him], even if he has not completed (his term). Do not consider this to be a filionymic without significance. Rather, by God, it is full of significance. And, by God, He has inspired me of His bounty in accordance with what I have continued to get to know of it, in the past and the present, that I would derive joy from the deeds of our master al-Manṣūr bi-llāh, amply and effectively. I have assumed the responsibility of carrying on his task with determination and abundant aspiration. I hope that God will unite us and you in the state of well-being and good health, and that you will attain happiness and bliss, by God, beyond your expectations, as the one, may God bless him and grant his soul again blessings and peace, has told you. May God not make you leave this low world without bestowing upon you, during our reign, good health, and having marked you with the seal of happiness and forgiveness. In the least of these things resides contentment and satisfaction. May God make you attain them. We have resolved to undertake this blessed journey, and I hope that by it God will bring the ruin of our enemies and abate the anger in our hearts. Amen! Lord of the worlds!

32 [Sermon of al-Muʿizz announcing the death of al-Manṣūr] Then (al-Muʿizz) remained in al-Manṣūriyya where he delivered before the congregation the sermon of the feast of sacrifice (ʿīd al-aḍḥā) in the year 341/953. In it he announced the news of the passing of al-Manṣūr bi-llāh, may God sanctify his spirit and bless him, making public his death. (His sermon) contained wisdom of which he was worthy, may the blessings of God be upon him and his pure fathers and his noble sons! The first sermon that our lord al-Muʿizz li-dīn Allāh delivered in al-Manṣūriyya, in which he made public the death of al-Manṣūr bi-llāh, may God sanctify his spirit and bless him, was the sermon of the feast of sacrifice. We have established its correct text in this book 158. Apparently al-Qāʾim’s son Abū al-Furāt ʿAbd al-Jabbār. On al-Qāʾim’s sons see note 52 above. 159. The identity of this Nāṣir cannot be established.

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from beginning to end as it was pronounced by al-Muʿizz li-dīn Allāh because of the profound wisdom and precious advice that it contains. Success depends on God. (The sermon) begins thus: God is great! God is great! There is no god except God! God is great! The most powerful and mighty, creator and regulator [of everything], possessor of majesty, omnipotence, power and dominion, the One, the Eternal, without parallel and without equal, sublime and imperious, hidden and manifest, first and last, Originator of the heavens and the earth by [His] power, and their Sovereign by [His] might and their Regulator by [His] wisdom, their Creator with the wonders of nature and the marvels of construction and craftsmanship which they contain! [God] whom all beings, animate or inanimate, invoke, indicating His existence, and bearing witness to His uniqueness, magnitude and glory. His creation of all things from nothingness bears witness to the fact that nothing precedes Him. Their attaining their final term indicates that He has no term. His (power) to encompass the limits of (all things) shows that He has no limit. Weakness, powerlessness, deprivation and degeneration that inevitably affect a created being are the most eloquent affirmation and the most truthful testimony that the creator alone, exalted be His praise, bears divinity, uniqueness, power, sovereignty, completeness, perfection, eternity and continuity. God, the Blessed, Lord of worlds! He fashioned well everything that He has created. He has guaranteed to every living being its sustenance. Then He guided through the Intellect, which is His established proof (ḥujja) and which must be obeyed. His wisdom was completed through the [revealed] books and messengers. May God bestow His blessings upon them all, and upon Muḥammad, master of the messengers, whose name He has exalted and whose power He has raised. Hence He honoured him by granting [him] the power of intercession (wasīla) and conferred on him the privilege of all excellence. He sent him as a guide for humanity, as a light in the world. He taught through him the ignorant, and guided through him the erring. Through him He turned dearth into abundance and made the meek powerful. Through him He united the dispersed and illuminated the darkness of obscurity. May the blessings of God be on him and the rightly-guided, the elect and blessed progeny. O people! God has not created you in vain. He has not left you on earth without accountability. He has not imposed upon you in religion any difficulty. Nor has He taken away from you the admonition (al-dhikr).160 He has created you to worship Him. He has 160. Cf. Qurʾan 43:5. According to commentators, the word al-dhikr

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commanded you to obey Him and His messenger. He has established for obedience clear signs and written laws. Among the best of its signs and the noblest of its days is the day of the great pilgrimage to the Ancient House, abode of Abraham, Friend of God and the direction of prayer (qibla) of Muḥammad, Messenger of God. Draw near to God by accomplishing what He has commanded you to do and by [sacrificing] animals from your livestock which He has provided you,161 imitating the sunna of Muḥammad, prophet of mercy and right guidance, being filled with piety, because God, the Mighty, the Glorious, says: ‘It is not their meat nor their blood that reaches God; it is your piety that reaches Him’ (22:37). Piety causes works to be accepted and hopes to be realised. Proclaim the greatness of God for having guided you, and thank Him for the benevolence that He has bestowed upon you. Is it not true that the best offering is the camel, and the best among camels is the she-camel, and similarly for cattle; then the ram among sheep. The intactness of animals offered as sacrifice is [confirmed by] the absence of blemish in the eyes and in the ears. Also, they must be from herds lawfully acquired.162 We ask God, for you and for us, to accept our deed by His grace, and fulfil the wishes [that we make] to obtain His satisfaction, mercy and favours.

Then he sat down for the second time.163 Then he rose and said: God is great! God is great! There is no god but God! God is great! God is great in grandeur. He is immense with regard to dominion. He is too evident in miraculous signs and proofs for intellects to deny His uniqueness, or want to define Him. [He is] the creator of the heavens and the earth, their Master and their Regulator, the Alone, the Eternal, the One and the Unique. He that has no associate or equal. The omnipotent Creator, the Compassionate and the Much-forgiving, whose decrees are irrevocable. What He wills exists. He has built solidly every thing. He has provided generously to every being its subsistence. His knowledge encompasses everything. I praise Him and ask Him to help me, forgive me and guide me. I trust Him entirely and confide in Him in all circumstances. I bear witness that there is no god but God alone without associate, in the context of the verse 43:5 refers to the Qurʾan as admonition which warns of divine punishment. See, for example, al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 25, pp. 49–50. 161. Qurʾan 22:28, 22:34. 162. On animals suitable for sacrificial offering, see al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, Daʿāʾim, vol. 1, pp. 324–329 (trans. vol. 1, pp. 405–410). 163. See note 102 on the khuṭba above.

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and I bear witness that Muḥammad is the best of His servants, the noblest of His creatures, His chosen among those that have been cleansed, His messenger sent to all the worlds, His messenger sent with the imamate to the jinns and humans so as to bring them the proof of the Lord and illuminate the path of the truth. (The Messenger) accomplished the mission of God. He was full of mercy and compassion towards the servants of God. He bore patiently the immense treachery of the infidels until God gave victory to truth over falsehood and caused right guidance to triumph over error, Muḥammad. May God bestow upon him and his progeny, the best, the purest, the most perfect, the most growing, the most abiding and the most continuous blessings. [May He bestow blessings] upon the rightly-guided, noble and pious imams of his family, whom He has chosen for the caliphate and approved for the imamate. He strengthened their proof by the testament of the Messenger, and made obligatory in the revelation to obey them, after having placed them above all others by filiation to Muḥammad, lord of messengers, and ʿAlī, noblest of legatees; those whose mother is [Fāṭima], mistress of women of the worlds, the fifth [person] of the Companions of the Cloak.164 [May He bestow blessings] upon the two Commanders of the Faithful al-Mahdī bi-llāh and al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh, lords of the human race and imams of the right path. By them God made public the call of truth. By them He gave speech to the faith and the believers. By them He established the call of religion. By asserting their right, He annihilated the futile claims of pretenders and the lies of calumniators. By their swords He eradicated the oppressors. May the blessings of God, His mercy, His benedictions, His satisfaction and His salutations be granted to them both! O God! Distinguish the noble imam, the equitable legatee, the eminent righteous, the abundant rain, the owner of miraculous signs, the man of efficient resolutions, who has committed his generous soul at the time of misfortune and afflictions. He endured patiently misfortunes and adversity until the day when he purified the earth of tyrannical enemies. Your servant, Your friend, the object of Your choice, Your sincere friend, Abū al-Ṭāhir al-Manṣūr (the Victorious) through You, who confided in You entirely and trusted You. He accomplished deeds which seek to satisfy You, gain proximity to You and bring near to You. You have overwhelmed us by his loss. You have left us alone by his death. You have separated us from him and afflicted us, but You have accepted his supplication and granted his appeal. You have united him with his loved ones in 164. On ‘the Companions of the Cloak’ see A. S. Tritton, ‘Ahl al-Kisāʾ’, EI2, vol. 1, p. 264, and W. Schmucker, ‘Mubāhala’, EI2, vol. 7, pp. 276–277.

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the abode of Your paradise and Your infinite mercy. Anguish grips us and we feel a burning grief for you. O father, O master, O Ismāʿīl, O Abū al-Ṭāhir! O sea of knowledge of the pure imams, the rightlyguided guides! O most excellent of the descendants of the messenger and the descendants of the legatee and the Immaculate, the Chaste (al-batūl)!165 O leader of the imams and key to the door of mercy! O lamp of right guidance, sun of the human race and illuminator of darkness! O you whom God has distinguished by the promptness of His favours, by God, it is unbearable for us to be afflicted with the misfortune of losing you. (We find) no consolation for losing you. Language is inadequate to enumerate your excellent qualities and count your virtues. By the One who distinguished you by His generosity, who gifted to you abundantly, who honoured you by filiation to His messenger, if you had not directed me and confirmed it to me to watch over the right of God and defend the community of your ancestor, the Messenger of God, to pull them from the depths of ignorance and the seas of error, from the precipices of dissension, from the dangers of distressing tribulations; if I did not have the conviction firmly established in my heart to be rewarded in proportion to my faithfulness to God, His Messenger and the imams of right guidance, indeed I would strike my face, wandering through the land, forsaking the resting place, being satisfied with a morsel of provisions, until death makes me rejoin you soon to enjoy your proximity and the mercy of your Lord; but I have reflected, considered and thought of the consequences, and I did not find for myself any way to deserve your rank and attain your eminence except through patience and anticipation for (God’s) reward. So I have been steadfast. My Lord has granted me patience, and I have been patient. I was filled with conviction and controlled myself. I say: ‘We belong to God and to Him is our return’ (2:156). There is no might or power save with God, the Most High, the Mighty, the Compassionate, the Merciful. To Him be all praise for the trials that He sends, and recognition for His bounties. Assembly of our followers, who profess obedience to us, and who are staunch in their devotion to us! These, by God, are the severe trials that roast the entrails; these are the great cataclysms in which feet cannot remain firm; these are the places of martyrdom against which your imams have not failed to strengthen you, and have not ceased beseeching God that He may make firm your feet and protect your hearts when (calamities) descend upon you and their trials afflict you. Therefore, be firm! You will be saved; do not deviate from the straight path, for you will regret it. God will not leave 165. The term al-batūl is applied to Fāṭima. See note 104 above.

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His earth and His epoch at each period of time without someone charged to watch over His rights, who bears witness to the creation, whom the believers will recognise, and whom the disbelievers, the erring and the losers will deny. God, in His glory, created creatures without His having any need of them, but for worshipping Him and to show His beneficence and generosity towards them. He has made life for them an active force, death a cup going round, and what comes after death a reward for deeds. He has traced for you clearly the way to follow between these two stages by His chosen messengers and the elect imams of right guidance. He has fixed their reward and their share in proportion to their effort and their zeal, and their capacity to accomplish His task and guide His creatures. He has established among them degrees in merit and He has said, may He be highly praised: ‘Then We have given the Book for inheritance to such of Our servants as We have chosen; but there are among them some who wrong their own souls, some who follow a middle course, and some who are, by God’s leave, foremost in good deeds—that is the highest grace’ (35:32). God the Blessed, Lord of the worlds, He who did not content Himself with this world to reward therein the believers and to punish the disbelievers. O people! Every living being, without exception, must experience death; death is always followed by resurrection, and no resurrection is without reckoning, followed either by reward or punishment. Happy are those who meet God, holding firmly the belt of His friends, seeking the protection of their impeccability, observing the obligations of obedience imposed on them by His proofs and His chosen ones. They will be under the shade of the banners of the family of our lord Muḥammad, Messenger of God and master of messengers, on the day when nothing other than piety will be useful, when nothing else will save other than sincere conviction. ‘On the Day when every soul will be confronted with all the good it has done, and all the evil it has done, it will wish there were a great distance between it and its evil. But God cautions you (To remember) Himself. And God is full of kindness to those that serve Him’ (3:30). O people, the (reward for one’s) deeds depends upon one’s last actions,166 and the reward that God grants is in accordance with 166. The expression al-aʿmāl bi-al-khawātīm and its variant forms are used in several prophetic traditions. See examples which illustrate the meaning of the expression in al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ, vol. 8, pp. 330–331, 392–395; for variant forms of the expression, see Shams al-Dīn Abū al-Khayr Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sakhāwī, al-Maqāṣid al-ḥasanah fī bayān kathīr min al-aḥādīth al-mushtahira ʿalā al-alsina, ed. ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad al-Ṣiddīq (Beirut, 1979), pp. 67–68.

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devotion to God, His messenger and the imams of the right guidance, from among the descendants of the messenger. You have seen with your own eyes the master of the imams, the shepherd of the community, the torch in the darkness, on the scenes of combats and battlefields, fulfilling the obligation which His Lord imposed upon him. He discharged the mission confided to him by his forefather Muḥammad. He has proclaimed to you clearly his norms of conduct. As long as you follow them, you will not be in error, your hands will not be cut off from the mercy of God, and your eyes will not be blind and incapable to lead you to the most straight path and to adhere to the supreme guide. A preceding holder of authority has always after him a legatee who succeeds him, who defends the rights of God, who strives to obtain His reward, who accomplishes deeds to satisfy Him as much as he can to the utmost limit of his capacity. ‘God tasketh not a soul beyond its ability’ (2:286). He accepts to watch over His religion, to guide His creatures and to take care of the community of His prophet, only the most deserving, the noblest, incomparable and unique men who have sublime intentions, impeccable morality, who are of a noble nature and who are of pure descent.167 Such is the law of God in His creation. He has made an irrevocable ruling, which cannot be negated and which must be affirmed without objection, that the succession of messengers is continuous to elucidate the way in every period of time, to proclaim His religion according to the possibilities. He has assigned for human beings reward if they obey (His messengers), acknowledge their mission and accept their guidance; and punishment if they irritate them, deny them and disavow them. One cannot have faith in the first among them and reject the last among them; it is futile for the one who rejects the first among them to declare as truthful the last of them to obtain the reward and the mercy (of God) and avoid painful punishment and prolonged misfortune. God has associated obedience to the imams of the right guidance to obedience to the messenger, and obedience to the messenger to obedience to Himself. He says: ‘O ye who believe! Obey God, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you’ (4:59). Such has been His usual rule concerning prophets and messengers. ‘And no change wilt thou find in the custom of God’ (33:62). ‘And no turning off wilt thou find in God’s way’ (35:43). The one who acknowledges the prophecy of Moses and the mission of Jesus, peace be upon them, does he need to proclaim the preeminence of Muḥammad, seal of the prophets and master of the 167. ‘Of pure descent’ here means descending from Ismāʿīl b. Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, from whom the Fatimids traced their lineage.

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messengers, if he denies his prophecy? Will his deeds avail him and will his devotion be rewarded? The Light, O people, is preserved fully in us. Gifts that your Lord bestows upon us are uninterrupted. Where will you go? In what land will you wander? ‘Far, very far is that which ye are promised’ (23:36). Obey us and you will be rightly guided. Hold fast to our rope and you will be guided on the right path. Accomplish deeds that will bring you happiness in the Hereafter and you will be fortunate. Do not let the greatest of your concerns be your worldly matters, because the Commander of the Faithful ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, father of the rightly-guided imams, may the blessings of God be upon him and them all, has said: ‘God has made permissible things permissible and helped to acquire them, and He has proscribed forbidden things and made them dispensable. Therefore, give up what is insignificant for that which is plentiful, and what is limited for that which is immense. You have been commanded to accomplish (righteous) deeds and sustenance has been guaranteed to you. Therefore, let not the pursuit of what is guaranteed to you be more important than pursuing that which is enjoined upon you.’ 168 O God, inspire me to be thankful for Your bounties and help me to accomplish what pleases You, draws near unto You, brings necessarily an increase of Your favour and amass with You the treasure of the completion of your bounties for me in this world and in the Hereafter, God of the creation, Lord of the worlds. O God, support me with Your assistance, open to me the door of victory over Your enemies, to invigorate religion, strengthen the community of Muḥammad, lord of the messengers. Allow us to visit his tomb, ascend his pulpit, stop at his house, and accomplish the pilgrimage to Your Sacred House, stopping with our flags at those illustrious sites. You granted us and our followers new strength, You sustained us and them with Your help. You honoured us with victory, You caused us to triumph over the unjust, You humiliated before us the necks of those who rebel. Already the promise You made previously to our forefathers and ancestors has been fulfilled. Your promise cannot fail. Your command is irrevocable. Sooner or later one must accept what You have decreed and resign to it. 168. In the original text of ʿAlī’s sermon, which is quoted here, ‘insignificant’ refers to the small number of things which are prohibited (ḥarām), while ‘plentiful’ refers to the vast number of things which are permitted (ḥalāl). ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd b. Hibat Allāh Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha, ed. Muḥammad Abū al-Faḍl Ibrāhīm (Cairo, 1959–1964), vol. 7, pp. 251, 259–261.

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O God, let Your favours be granted to me by Your benevolence. Let Your generosity and Your bounties that You granted us again, to me and to other servants, be a testimony of Your mercy. O God, with every new power that you grant me, grant me humility. Let it reside in my heart before Your magnitude, Your majesty and the awe that You inspire. Because there is no power except in submission and servitude to You; there is no wealth except in poverty that has recourse to You; there is no security except in fear of You, (nor) happiness in this world and in the Hereafter except by Your approval, O Lord of worlds. O God, forgive the believing men and the believing women, Muslim men and Muslim women, those who are alive and those who are dead. Distinguish the loyal supporters of our reign, helpers of our mission, those who fight, those who are firm, those who are grateful to Your mercy which they have deserved for obeying You, for accomplishing the obligations that You have prescribed, by being allies of Your friends and enemies of Your enemies. May God bestow His blessings on His messenger Muḥammad, lord of the messengers, for previous generations and for posterity. Remember God the Mighty, He will remember you.169

33 [A note from Jawdhar to al-Muʿizz and the latter’s reply] The imam left for the Awrās where God granted him a great ­victory.170 Nobody stood against him and no obstacle stood in his way. With him arrived at the Immaculate Portal the leading digni169. Cf. the text of the sermon as quoted in Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 541–548, and its translation in Walker, Orations, pp. 126–134. 170. The objective of the expedition to the Awrās of 342/953 was to establish Fatimid authority over the former allies of Abū Yazīd, the Banū Kamlān and the Malīla of the Hawwāra, who had gathered near Bāghāya at the foot of the Awrās. When al-Muʿizz arrived at al-Urbus (Laribus), to the north-west of al-Qayrawān, he sent Bulukkīn b. Zīrī b. Manād against the rebels and returned to al-Qayrawān. Bulukkīn dispersed the rebels who then escaped to al-Zāb and beyond. (Ibn Ḥammād, Akhbār, p. 40 (trans. p. 62); cf. al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, vol. 1, p. 93, and Ibn al-Athīr, vol. 6, p. 341.) Ibn Khaldūn, Taʾrīkh, vol. 4, p. 58 (trans. Berbères, vol. 2, pp. 541–542), relates that al-Muʿizz set out for the Awrās and subjugated these tribes. Subsequently, he confided the command of the troops to his freed slave Qayṣar, governor of Bāghāya, who continued to subdue the rebels and brought their chiefs to al-Qayrawān where al-Muʿizz gave them abundant presents.

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taries of the Berbers, their military commanders and those among them who were renowned. Among them were Ayyūb b. al-Simāk,171 Abū al-ʿIzza172 and Masnūyah173 and others. (They arrived), obedient and humble to his orders, submitting to his authority and falling under his ruling, seeking pardon. He forgave them and bestowed ample bounties upon them. He returned from his journey, victorious, triumphant, glorious and powerful. He arrived at his blessed capital [al-Manṣūriyya], safe and sound and loaded with booty. Then he proceeded to al-Mahdiyya the Pleasing [to God], where he remained for some days. He received the ustādh with a warm welcome and granted him many favours. Then the ustādh remembered what previously the Imam al-Muʿizz li-dīn Allāh, Commander of the Faithful, had promised him regarding his request, mentioned above,174 which he had made to him. (Jawdhar) wrote [to him] a note in which, after the opening expressions, he said: The heart of your slave, O lord and master, is waiting and continues to hope. He has the firm hope that the Commander of the Faithful will fulfil the promise which, out of his tenderness and compassion for him, he made to him to satisfy the wish that he expressed to him to obtain a preferential and particular mark of favour in the order of degrees in the Hereafter, just like that which he granted him and by which he honoured him in this world. Because this world, O lord, is the sojourn of what passes, while the Hereafter is the abode of what is lasting. Whatever our lord and master does for his slave, it will be out of his kindness, piety and grace, not because his slave is considered to be worthy to obtain it.

171. Ayyūb b. al-Simāk, also mentioned in Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, p. 550, as one of the Berber commanders, is not otherwise known. Among Abū Yazīd’s commanders, Idrīs, ibid., pp. 273, 281ff., mentions Ayyūb b. Khayrān al-Zawīlī. 172. Instead of Abū al-ʿIzza, Idrīs, ibid., p. 550, has ‘Abū al-Ghazw’ without the following ‘and’ (wāw), making it a kunya of Masnūyah which follows it. 173. Masnūyah b. Bakr al-Hawwārī was one of the commanders of Abū Yazīd, mentioned in al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 3, p. 435, and Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 325–327, 389, 550, where he is referred to as Masnūyah b. Bakr al-Kamlānī. The nisba ‘al-Kamlānī’ is from Banū Kamlān, a branch of the Hawwāra. 174. See Part One, Section 31 above and Documents 5, 14 and 39 below.

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When the imam had read his note, he replied to it with the following words written in his noble hand: O Jawdhar, may God protect you. By God, I have never failed to keep my promise to you when I gave you a promise. Indeed, you are deserving in my eyes of every favour. By God, we have not retained with us any goods that were reserved for you to give them to someone else. There is in your intentions towards us and in your devotion to us no confusion which needs to be clarified. There remains no obligation which we have to fulfil towards you other than to grant you the request that you have presented. We came to al-Mahdiyya only with a light load. It is only possible to give you that from my hand to your hand. When we arrive in al-Manṣūriyya safe and sound and in good health, God willing, for what you seek there and which no other than us can grant, wait for two or three days. If you can pretend that you are ill and hide from the view of the people, once their175 animosity against us is pacified, sneak out of the palace by night, letting only those in whom you have full confidence know of your (departure). You will come to see us. Then you will obtain what you hope for. You will visit the grave of al-Manṣūr bi-llāh and return from there quickly, because, from now until the time of spring, it will be impossible for [you] to reach us from al-Mahdiyya. Now death is in God’s hands, for He says: ‘No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die’ (31:34). I will send you an exquisite book, written in the hand of al-Manṣūr bi-llāh, containing pronouncements and exhortations of the imams. You will examine it during these two days. We shall fulfil what you hope. You can rest assured of that, God willing.176

The imam left, returning to al-Manṣūriyya the Blessed. After some days, the ustādh arrived according to the order that he had received and his hopes of obtaining what he had requested were fulfilled. Then he returned from there feeling happy, without anyone knowing anything about (his visit). After that, he remained in al-Mahdiyya the Pleasing only a short time before the imam transferred him to

175. ‘Their’ refers to members of the Fatimid family in al-Mahdiyya who were hostile to al-Muʿizz. 176. Cf. the letter of al-Muʿizz as quoted in Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, p. 551. The book mentioned by al-Muʿizz has apparently not survived.

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al-Manṣūriyya and lodged him beside himself in the Dār al-Baḥr177 inside his blessed palace, in accordance with his custom to reside with his freed slaves, wherever they were, may the noblest of prayers be on (the imams)!178 There (Jawdhar) would receive letters from those who had been left behind in al-Mahdiyya in the service, such as Nuṣayr,179 deputy of Jawdhar, Naẓīf, director of the Treasury,180 Ibn Ḥassūn, Ṣāfī,181 Ḥusayn b. Yaʿqūb,182 chief of the navy and others who corresponded with him. Each of them wrote to him to let him know what he needed in his service and would consult him for advice. The ustādh extracted from their letters passages containing points on which advice was sought. He would leave a blank on the roll of paper between every two extracts, and under each of them the Imam al-Muʿizz li-dīn Allāh wrote the reply in his hand, advising what was necessary to do. This continued until the day he left for the East. We shall now quote these extracts with the replies given by mentioning each time the name of the one who wrote the letter, and the reply to this letter in accordance with what we specified. It is in God that lies help. He is the one who inspires just decisions, God willing.

177. Dār al-Baḥr (the Lake Palace), also Qaṣr al-Baḥr, was a part of the palace complex in al-Manṣūriyya with an artificial lake. This feat of construction was accomplished under al-Muʿizz. On it see al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, al-Majālis wa-al-musāyarāt, pp. 296–298, 510, 515. See also note 311 below on the Dār al-Baḥr in al-Mahdiyya. 178. Cf. the passage as quoted in Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 551–552. 179. Nuṣayr is mentioned again several times as Jawdhar’s deputy in al-Mahdiyya. He was a Slav, as stated in Document 17 below. He is apparently the same Nuṣayr the treasurer, mentioned in Documents 51 and 86 below, who subsequently became governor of Tripoli. 180. He is Naẓīf al-Rayḥānī who is again mentioned below in Document 4, relating to the standard of coinage; in Document 53, where his death is recorded; and Document 55 where his death was foretold in a dream. 181. Ṣāfī was director of the storehouses of the navy in al-Mahdiyya, as reported in Document 23 below. 182. Ḥusayn b. Yaʿqūb is mentioned below in Document 1, relating to the transportation of barley to Sicily, as director of the navy; and again in Document 16 relating to shipbuilding.

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Here ends the first part. Favours depend on God. Praise be to Him first and finally. May His blessings be on the Prophet Muḥammad and the chosen of his family, the blissful, the pure.

part two: documents

This part contains testimonials of our lords the pure, noble and excellent imams, honouring their slave Jawdhar, may God be satisfied with him; it contains written directives issued by each one of them in his time and in his period, as well as conversations and correspondence which they had with him, gathered by the care of his slave Manṣūr al-ʿAzīzī al-Jawdharī.183 In the name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. 1 Ḥusayn b. Yaʿqūb,184 director of the navy at al-Mahdiyya, had written to say that he had learnt that a man by the name of Ibn Wasīm al-Aṭrābulusī, one of the commanders of the fleet, would harm him before the imam, accusing him of fraud over supplies of barley for the ghazis185 which (the imam) had instructed him to transport to Sicily on board merchant ships. Ibn Yaʿqūb implored the ustādh to present his letter containing his explanation to our lord the imam so that he should become aware of it. The ustādh did so, and when the imam had read this letter, he replied on the back (of the letter), giving the following directive: O Jawdhar, inform (Ḥusayn b. Yaʿqūb) that we have heard what he mentioned in his letter, because we hear from him and others. We do not reject anybody’s assertions unless truth itself rejects them; we accept only what is correct and free from ambiguity. Observing the norms of God is fine for us together with being patient and 183. In fact al-Muʿizz is the only imam whose letters are contained in this second part. 184. On Ḥusayn b. Yaʿqūb see also Document 16 below. 185. A ghazi is a Muslim fighter against non-Muslims.

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forbearing. The place which we have assigned to (Ḥusayn b. Yaʿqūb), and for which we have judged him deserving, demands commendable diligence and pure intentions. He himself knows better than anyone else. If he knows something good, then let him be calm and have confidence in God our Lord; but if it is otherwise, let him not be assailed by any doubt that God will tear the veils which cover the unjust and will inform us of their ignominy. He has nothing to fear from us unless what Ibn Wasīm and others allege against him proves to be true. If someone assigns to himself something which we have not assigned to him, then it is he who incurs the blame, not us. Thanks to the favour that God grants us, and the community through us, our generosity is not hidden. Whoever is grateful for (God’s) favour, God will continue it to him permanently, but whoever is ungrateful, God will deprive him of all the favour that He has granted him. If he wants to come to meet us at the Sūq al-Aḥad,186 let him do so, even though it would be more right and appropriate that he as well as the other (officials) of the same rank be with Nuṣayr for duties assigned to them, God willing.

2 The ustādh received instructions from the imam to write to Nuṣayr, his deputy in al-Mahdiyya, stating that he should order mat makers to make a prayer mat for the Slav captured in the battle, known as (the battle of) the pit, by al-Ḥasan b. ʿAmmār b. Abī al-Ḥusayn.187 He 186. Sūq al-Aḥad was located near al-Mahdiyya. It was the site of a battle between the troops of al-Qāʾim and the rebel Abū Yazīd who had set up camp near Sūq al-Aḥad from where he blockaded the city and its surroundings. See al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, Iftitāḥ, p. 278 (trans. p. 231); and Djelloul, ‘Histoire topographique de Mahdia et de ses environs au Moyen Âge’, Les cahiers de Tunisie, 162–163 (1992–1993), pp. 72, 94. 187. The battle of the pit (al-ḥufra) refers to the battle of Rametta (Ramṭa) in 353/964. The pit refers to a ravine in which Byzantine troops sent to Sicily tumbled and were killed. The Byzantine army which suffered this disaster included Russians who were taken prisoner. Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan b. ʿAmmār b. ʿAlī b. Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī, who commanded the Fatimid troops, distinguished himself in this battle. He was a cousin of the then governor of Sicily, Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī. See al-Nuwayrī, Nihāya, vol. 24, pp. 370–374; Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 7, pp. 11–12; and al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 3, pp. 433–440. On al-Ḥasan b. ʿAmmār’s role in Egypt, where he continued to serve the imams al-ʿAzīz and al-Ḥākim, see also Abū al-Qāsim ʿAlī b. Munjib Ibn

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instructed them what to inscribe in the embroidered band. It was customary to inscribe in those embroidered bands, made by embroiderers and mat makers: ‘Made under the office of Jawdhar, Client of the Commander of the Faithful’. Now, in the instructions which the imam gave to execute the embroidery, he did not mention to inscribe the name of Jawdhar, because he presumed that there would not be enough space to do it. He, therefore, limited himself to what was absolutely necessary to include in the embroidered band. When Nuṣayr received the order, the ustādh instructed him in his letter not to mention his name in (the embroidery) and not to go beyond what the imam had instructed. So (Nuṣayr) gave orders to the slaves accordingly. When they spread before them the material, there was enough space for them to mention the name as they had been doing, so they embroidered it and the mat was completed. When (the mat) reached the ustādh for him to present it to the imam, he noticed his name embroidered on it. He was annoyed and troubled at this, because the mat had been made with gold [thread] and the artisans had executed the work with utmost diligence. He did not dare to present it as coming from his own initiative, so he attached to it a note in which he swore by God and by our lord the imam that he had not given the order to mention his name on (the band). He expressed his fear of the [imam’s] anger against him because of that. When the imam had acquainted himself with (Jawdhar’s) note, he wrote on its back, in his own hand, the following passage: By God, O Jawdhar, you blame yourself for something for which you are not to blame, and you imagine things that we do not suppose of you at all. The mat is extremely beautiful and of excellent craftsmanship. We ordered not to mention your name in the inscription only out of fear that there would not be enough space for it because of too many words; but since there was enough space, then this will establish better and more firmly among everybody that this work was executed by our slaves, may God be praised as He is worthy and deserving, under the office of our slave. al-Ṣayrafī, al-Ishāra ilā man nāla al-wizāra, ed. ʿAbd Allāh Mukhliṣ (Cairo, 1924), pp. 26–27; Ibn Muyassar, Akhbār Miṣr, ed. Ayman Fuʾād Sayyid (Cairo, 1981), pp. 176–180; and al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, vol. 1, p. 277, vol. 2, pp. 5, 9–13, 36. See also Document 6 below regarding a request by him and his cousin to obtain horses from Jawdhar, and Document 80 below relating to a house built for him.

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3 The ustādh presented [to the imam] a letter from Maymūn b. Futūḥ al-Niqāwusī and Ghānim188 the secretary his companion, detailing torments that they suffered at the hands of Rayyān al-Ṣaqlabī,189 when he left in pursuit of criminals and to re-establish order in the country, and trials and insults that he made them suffer. The ustādh sent at the same time with the letter a note as follows: The confidence that he has in the benevolence of our lord has prompted his slave to speak to him in this note about misfortunes inflicted as a result of abuses of power by officials and others, and about which he has repeatedly been informed. He has brought to his knowledge the conduct of Balakh al-Ṣaqlabī at Funduq Rayḥān,190 and the conduct of the slave of Kannūn towards the secretary residing in the domains of Ṣaṭfūra.191 [He informs him] now about the conduct of Rayyān towards these two slaves. Our lord is aware from their letter of matters which, I do not doubt, he will not be pleased with in what concerns his slave.

When our lord had acquainted himself with the letter and the note, he wrote the following passage on the back of (the note): 188. See also Document 43 below relating to Maymūn and Ghānim in which Jawdhar asks Maymūn’s pay to be at the same rate as that of Ghānim. 189. Also known as Rayyān al-Khādim, a eunuch of al-Muʿizz, who subsequently, in 363/974, led Fatimid forces to defend Egypt from a Qarmatian incursion. In Rabīʿ II 364/January 975, Rayyān conquered Tripoli (of Syria) and then was its governor when al-Muʿizz wrote to him, in the middle of Shaʿbān 364/30 April 975, to proceed to Damascus to re-establish order there and to remove the commander Abū Maḥmūd Ibrāhīm b. Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ al-Kutāmī from office. By the time al-Muʿizz died in the following year, however, Aftakīn had seized Damascus and dislodged Rayyān from there. On these events see al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 1, pp. 134–135, vol. 3, pp. 118, 297; al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, vol. 1, pp. 202–214, 220–222, 230; Abū Yaʿlā Ḥamza b. Asad Ibn al-Qalānisī, Dhayl taʾrīkh Dimashq, ed. H. F. Amedroz (Leyden, 1908), pp. 10–11; and Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 7, p. 55. 190. Funduq Rayḥān lies in the region of Cap Bon to the east of Tunis. See al-Bakrī, al-Masālik, p. 45 (trans. p. 97). 191. The coastal province of Ṣaṭfūra (Saṭfūra), also called the province of Banzart (Bizerte) after its chief town, lies to the north of Tunis. Ibn Ḥawqal, Ṣūrat al-arḍ, p. 75; and al-Ḥimyarī, al-Rawḍ al-miʿṭār, pp. 104, 147, 165.

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O Jawdhar, may God protect you. We have acquainted ourselves with what you mentioned in your note and the letter enclosed in it. By God, besides whom there is no god, we did not know anything of what you have disclosed to us and we have come to know of it only through your note. Until now we have not received any letter from Rayyān concerning these circumstances. Fearing such matters and others things, we had avoided sending someone to re-establish order in the country until we found ourselves in an awkward situation while disorder arose from all directions, the like of which never before had God, may He be praised, caused to happen in our reign, and which we had never thought could happen. When the situation became unbearable and the matter became serious—while it would have been easy for us, by God, to kill children, let alone others, if by doing so people would improve and order restored in the country—we dispatched this slave and sought to obtain through him a good outcome. But we did not content ourselves with that, so we took the precaution to provide him the assistance of the chiefs of our partisans and defenders among the Kutāma and people from the East, most of whom could be considered as judges. We have informed him, and them, that we will allow them to bear testimony only on the perpetrators and victims of injustices. Until now nothing has reached us concerning them which would call for praise or blame. However, we must have a detailed and exact report on the facts, containing a record of what truth demands. By God, you are not unaware of the good opinion that we have of you and the predilection that we have for you; [you know that] we honour all those who know you. What I had presumed made me choose Rayyān, although others were more deserving to be placed at the head of troops gathered to fight the inhabitants of Tadās,192 may God curse them and other bloodthirsty criminals. He considered it proper to disperse their groups so that, when he withdrew from their [country] and left them, the disorder against him would not happen again afterwards, and criminals in future would not think little of him. This is what we had supposed without having certitude. It is absolutely impossible and completely absurd to think that he would commit openly this awful indignity to Jawdhar’s men to 192. Tadās, here in the region of Ṣaṭfūra, is not mentioned in other Arabic sources. It is most probably a transcription of Roman Theudalis, located on the shore of Lake Sisara (Lake Ichkeul), in present Tunisia and whose modern name is Henchir Aouan. On it see Charles J. Tissot, Géographie comparée de la province romaine d’Afrique (Paris, 1884–1888), vol. 2, pp. 92–93; Richard J. A. Talbert, ed., Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World (Princeton, 2000), Map 32.

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the exclusion of all others, given our concern to protect the weak, as well as others, which we had expressed in instructions contained in our letter of appointment to him, and the precaution that we had taken by dispatching the followers193 with him. Therefore, whenever a matter of this sort becomes evident to us, we shall let you dispense on it the highest justice. As for disengaging from these domains and others, it is a thought that you will find us considering only when we move from them to places which are better for us by the might and power of God. This [situation] is drawing near, may God facilitate it and combine it with blessings, God willing. As for accepting any other way, no! By God, the Compassionate, the Merciful, besides whom there is no god! By the truth of our ancestor Muḥammad, His messenger, by the truth of the imams from his family, our forefathers, and by the truth of ourselves, by showing you our satisfaction and our esteem, we have never had in our heart of hearts any opposite feelings; far from it, by God, our inner feelings for you are yet more warm-hearted than those that we show openly. Through your agency there have come about in our reign decisions that you know well. Have you found a way to establish a truth other than by wading through seas of falsehood? What obliged us to seek the services of this (man) and the likes of him, as we did, was only because there were no other men and we needed these [individuals] of frivolous disposition whom kindness spoils and whom prosperity makes insolent. May God spare us from their wrongdoing and dispel from us the harm which they cause. However, we shall write a letter to him in which we shall shame him and make him return to equity. The one whom you love194 has intended the purpose which he will attain, God willing, to maintain his situation and his status.

4 The ustādh presented to our lord al-Muʿizz a letter from Naẓīf195 the secretary, director of the Treasury in al-Mahdiyya, in which he spoke of the dispute that had arisen between ʿAllūsh the money changer and him about the striking of coins at the mint of al-Mahdiyya, and what ʿAllūsh was being accused of regarding the standard of coinage. Naẓīf said that ʿAllūsh wished that the standard of clipped coins [withdrawn from circulation] should be inspected.196 Our lord 193. On the followers (awliyāʾ) see note 65 above. 194. Meaning the imam. 195. On Naẓīf see note 180 above. 196. On debased currency see R. E. Darley-Doran, ‘Tazyīf’, EI2, vol. 10,

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appended the reply to this passage with clear eloquence as follows: O Jawdhar, (ʿAllūsh’s) proposal about inspecting the standard of clipped coins is unacceptable, because he knows what he pares in the clipped coins and for which he does not leave any witness who could accuse him. Rather, inspection should be of (coins) that circulate among the people, because it is there that corruption exists. Indeed, the trader agrees to receive clipped coins as if they were genuine and he is tolerated in other matters, because the benefit is shared between the two. Let him therefore know that, and warn him against the error [that he commits]. Send for Badr,197 and listen to what he tells you regarding this matter. Then inform us of what you learn from their statements, God willing.

5 The ustādh wrote a personal note in which he requested our lord to grant him the request that he had addressed to him previously. He implored humbly the pity of our lord in this matter. Our lord replied to him thus: O Jawdhar, by God, we have not forgotten you, but matters have successively overwhelmed us, keeping us busy, and concerns have intervened between us and everything that you wished. By God, I come out of my residence only to escape from it, because of the heavy burden that weighs upon me when I am alone there. There is no helper other than God, the One and the Omnipotent. I go out to seek relief from a part of my sorrows, but the only thing I do is increase my fatigue and torments. May God lighten all our difficulties, and facilitate for us all hardships. As for what you wish, you will obtain it as it should be, by the might and the power of God, God willing.

pp. 409–410. 197. Badr is apparently the trader colluding with ʿAllūsh.

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6 (Jawdhar) wrote a note in which he mentioned the request made to him by Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan198 and al-Ḥasan b. ʿAmmār199 to gift them two of his horses, according to his custom with both of them as well as previously with their fathers. He requested our lord to grant him the permission to do so, because he never took the initiative of anything he did before having consulted the imam. Our lord appended the reply to him thus: O Jawdhar, do in this regard as you wish. We have already set aside two excellent blessed horses which you will receive in return for those that you send them. You will not have to do without the best of your horses and you will not be deprived of them with us, God willing.200

7 (Jawdhar) wrote a note to our lord when our lord was engaged actively in dispatching troops to the East and had to incur expenses for that.201 The ustādh’s feelings and piety drove him to mention that 198. Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan was appointed governor of Sicily at the beginning of the reign of al-Muʿizz. See note 139 above. He took Taormina in 351/962 and prepared forces which, supported by troops from Ifrīqiya, achieved the land victory in the battle of Rametta (353/964) and the naval victory in the Battle of the Straits (waqʿat al-majāz) in 354/965. He remained governor of Sicily until 358/969. (Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 7, p. 5 and pp. 11–12; al-Nuwayrī, Nihāya, vol. 24, pp. 370–374.) In 359/970, Aḥmad was appointed commander of the fleet which participated in the conquest of Egypt. On arrival at Tripoli, he became ill and died at the end of Dhū al-Ḥijja 359/end October 970. 199. On al-Ḥasan b. ʿAmmār, cousin of Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan, see note 187 above. At the same time that Aḥmad was placed at the head of the fleet bound for Egypt, al-Ḥasan b. ʿAmmār received the command of troops sent to reinforce Jawhar’s overland expedition to Egypt. 200. This letter can be dated from the year 358/969 when the two cousins returned from Sicily on the orders of al-Muʿizz. The letter attests to the close relations which Jawdhar had with the Banū Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī. In this connection see also Document 72 below. 201. al-Muʿizz sent to Jawhar 1,500 loads of money to cover expenses of the conquest. Aḥmad b. al-Rashīd Ibn al-Zubayr, Kitāb al-Dhakhāʾir wa-al-tuḥaf, ed. Muḥammad Ḥamīd Allāh (Kuwait, 1959), p. 232; tr. Ghāda

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he had gathered some money following his successful venture to sell something from the state warehouses and by securing the outstanding tax, to which he added what he offered of his own fortune as a charitable deed and to gain nearness (to God). The amount of this sum was 100,000 dinars and 22,000 dirhams. He sent this to our lord al-Muʿizz li-dīn Allāh. Our lord responded to him about this note with a reply as follows: O Jawdhar, we have acquainted ourselves with what you mentioned. I implore God to grant you marks of His satisfaction, compassion and forgiveness that will fulfil all your hopes. May He reward you well on our behalf and alleviate your pain so that you accompany us on the pilgrimage to the Sacred House of God outwardly just as you have already done it inwardly.202 May there be in our warehouses (only) lawful wealth whose accumulation brings us reward from God and disgrace to our enemies in this world. People worship only the material, and what we need for spending is, by God, something which it would be amazing if it came from the water of the sea. Nevertheless, no one saves us money. Rather, everybody helps to squander and spend. We are stuck in an enterprise which we cannot relinquish before attaining its objective. I ask God to accept that from us, and that He accepts it for His sake, free from all stain. As for the remaining sums that you said you have with you, and with which you made an offering to God, may He accept your devotion and grant you abundantly the share that is due to you of His most complete satisfaction. You will watch better than anyone else over this money, so keep it with you, God willing.203

8 (Jawdhar) wrote a note in which he mentioned the matter of the request about which it has been reported above. He implored the mercy of the imam by beseeching him humbly. He mentioned that he was frail following his illness. Our lord appended the reply to him: al-Ḥijjāwī al-Qaddūmī as Book of Gifts and Rarities: Kitāb al-Hadāyā wa-al-Tuḥaf (Cambridge, Mass., 1996), p. 218. 202. In Ismaili doctrine every religious obligation has an exoteric (ẓāhir) and esoteric (bāṭin) aspect. The Kaʿba is the symbol of the imam; performing the pilgrimage inwardly means to face the imam and recognise him. Jaʿfar b. Manṣūr al-Yaman, al-Riḍāʿ fī al-bāṭin, IIS Library, MS 1143, pp. 189–190. 203. Cf. Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 666–667.

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I implore God, O Jawdhar, that He grant us your recovery and that He deliver you from pain so that you accompany us in witnessing the realisation of your hopes, with the grace of God. We grant you your request fully together with magnificent presents. Rejoice, because, by God, you will enjoy happiness and peace by the grace of God and His immense mercy.

9 The ustādh presented [to the imam] a letter which he had received from Ṣāfī al-Ikrīkī, during the latter’s governorship of Qaṣr al-Ifrīqī,204 in which he mentioned that the Berbers had joined forces and leagued against him, and that he feared that they would kill him. He sought help of the imam our lord. The ustādh sent a note [from himself] together with this letter. When our lord had acquainted himself with that, he appended at the back of the note the reply as follows: O Jawdhar, we have learnt from the letters of Ṣāfī of similar things to those that he has mentioned to you and even more. We are thankful to Ṣāfī for his dedication, his firmness and the exercise of economy which he demonstrates in his administration. However, he is too inquisitive. He listens eagerly to all information, good or bad, that he gets. If from the outset he has some suspicion, he does not abandon it. What he imputes to the judge who is in his district is one of the things to which we are alluding. This is because (the judge’s) letters constantly brought confirmation of what Ṣāfī was relating, whereas he was explaining what had brought about this situation. (The Berbers) have some excuse in this matter. Some tax collectors wrote to us complaining that he had arrested one of them because he had complained before us against an injustice, that he had imposed a fine on him and had him put in prison. We asked him about his case. His report did not correspond to what they had described to us. We ordered him to release the prisoner and to exercise benevolence towards these people so that they would come back to him with the attitude that they should have. But he 204. Qaṣr al-Ifrīqī was located on the route from al-Qayrawān to al-Masīla between Tīfāsh, not far from the source of the Medjerda, and Tījis. Ibn Ḥawqal, Ṣūrat al-arḍ, p. 87; al-Bakrī, al-Masālik, p. 53 (trans. p. 114); and Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad b. Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Idrīs al-Ḥammūdī al-Ḥasanī al-Idrīsī, Kitāb Nuzhat al-mushtāq fī ikhtirāq al-āfāq (Beirut, 1989), p. 295.

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refused to carry out our orders. The inhabitants then took this as a pretext against him to show him their aversion. His duty, as well as that of all those willed by God to be blissful, is to obey immediately our commands and our prohibitions, because in doing so lies their spiritual and material well-being. By God, none of them has more affection towards himself than us; none of them knows better than us where his own well-being lies. We have already sent (Ṣāfī) written instructions. If he follows them, he will find happiness, and will put an end to these abhorrent circumstances and bring back prosperity in the country. We have ordered Ḥusayn205 to go to the palace. If he responds to this order, God will restore the matter according to the Book. Otherwise, [our] cavalry and force will reach him promptly. We are waiting only to see what happens after he receives our letter. But for your part, you will write to (Ṣāfī) a reply to the letter that he has written to you; you will warn him and let him know the measures of softness, gentleness and sound resolutions that he must take according to the needs of the situation. Anyone who does not commit himself to acting in matters of this sort, and from whom people cannot tolerate that he persists in the same attitude, will not be forgiven by them, even if such a person does not exercise any functions over them, and more so if he continues to exercise his jurisdiction over them. May God, by His grace, improve all this situation, God willing.

10 Aflaḥ al-Nāshib,206 governor of Barqa, had presented to the ustādh a gift of approximately twenty beasts of burden. The ustādh rarely accepted gifts, but this is explained by the fact that the ustādh had himself sent to Aflaḥ a present consisting of ten camels. Now when he learnt of this addition in the number of animals, it displeased 205. Ḥusayn here is apparently someone who rebelled with the local Berbers against the governor. 206. Aflaḥ al-Nāshib was a Slav and a client of al-Muʿizz. He rendered great services to al-Muʿizz by fighting hostile Arab and Berber tribes and making expeditions against islands of the eastern Mediterranean. He was a very wealthy and generous man but also proud. When Jawhar passed by Barqa on his way to Egypt, al-Muʿizz ordered all governors to dismount to receive him. Aflaḥ offered to pay 50,000 dinars to Jawhar to be excused from dismounting before him, but his offer was turned down and he had to dismount. See al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, p. 229, and Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 671–672.

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him. Then, out of consideration for Aflaḥ, he accepted from him the twenty beasts. However, he felt the need to explain the matter to the Commander of the Faithful and inform him that he would reciprocate in equal measure to Aflaḥ by giving him another gift in exchange for his gift. He specified that in his letter and described (the intended gift). (The imam) sent to him in his own hand the following reply: O Jawdhar, may God grant you happiness. We see only the good in everything that you mentioned. Act therefore accordingly. May you continue to be glorious and illustrious during our reign, recompensing those that you wish with precious gifts from the favour of God and our favour to you. Generosity is a natural quality of the nobility of the heart and magnanimity. Many are those whose wealth is considerable, but whose heart is stingy; they do not benefit from their considerable wealth when the heart is stingy. God, the Mighty, the Glorious, has never ceased to make you know that He grants you His blessing in everything that you have, and He will not cease, God willing.

11 (Jawdhar) mentioned, after this paragraph of his note, another paragraph in which he mentioned that camels caused [him] heavy expenditure, for it was necessary to pay tolls at the gates, in the markets and other (places). He asked for a pass to be handed to the official authorised (to collect those taxes) until the time of departure [for Egypt]. Our lord the imam replied to him: O Jawdhar, by God, we wanted to take on our own this initiative towards you, because we know the heavy expenditure of (these camels for you). However, matters that cropped up prevented us from doing so. Speak of this matter to Jawhar on our behalf, in order that he write for you a document indicating the sum of money that you require to bear all the expenses of those that you bear, and at the gate of al-Manṣūriyya or another (place) anywhere you go, God willing.207

207. According to al-Bakrī, al-Masālik, p. 25 (trans. p. 58), al-Manṣūriyya had five gates, and the tolls collected in one day at just one of its gates amounted to 26,000 dirhams.

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12 (Jawdhar) wrote to our lord a note in which he mentioned what Shafīʿ al-Ṣaqlabī208 had pledged to pay for the houses which belonged to Maysūr209 at Tunis, and whose administration had fallen to the ustādh. The following reply came to him on the back (of the note): Accept from him what he has given for (these houses) on the condition that he pays off what he owes for them each year, and that he is not left to delay payment for a year until the following year, because this is one of the tricks to which our attention has been drawn. Hence we have ordered the directors of the departments to demand from the governors the payment of dues for each year on its elapsing. Anyone who is unable to pay in the first year will be still more so the following year. It is better to put right the (bad) administration in the beginning than to deal with its consequences.

13 A slave called Raṣīf, slave of Prince Tamīm,210 may God prolong his life, had filed a complaint before the ustādh about a domain which 208. Shafīʿ was a client of al-Manṣūr and continued to serve under al-Muʿizz. After the capture of the rebel Abū Yazīd, al-Manṣūr summoned Shafīʿ, Qayṣar, and Zīrī b. Manād from al-Masīla to fight the rebel’s son Faḍl and his ally Maʿbad b. Khazar al-Nukkārī of the Zanāta. Ibn Khaldūn, Taʾrīkh, vol. 4, p. 57 (trans. Berbères, vol. 2, p. 539); al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, p. 160; Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 424, 434–435, 462. 209. Maysūr al-Ṣaqlabī (d. 333/945), also known as Maysūr al-Fatā, was a eunuch of al-Qāʾim. He commanded an expedition in 323/935 against Mūsā b. Abī al-ʿĀfīya al-Miknāsī, governor of Fās, to restore Fatimid rule. Subsequently, he commanded Fatimid forces against Abū Yazīd. He was defeated and killed by the Banū Kamlān, a branch of the Hawwāra, who defected from his ranks and joined the forces of Abū Yazīd. It appears that after Maysūr’s death his estate reverted to his master al-Muʿizz, and that Jawdhar was charged with its administration. See Ibn ʿIdhārī, al-Bayān, vol. 2, p. 209; al-Bakrī, al-Masālik, pp. 31, 97–98, 128, 142, 155 (trans. pp. 70, 194, 249, 272, 295); Ibn Khaldūn, Taʾrīkh, vol. 4, pp. 51–53 (trans. Berbères, vol. 2, pp. 529, 531–532), vol. 6, pp. 160, 178, 191 (trans. Berbères, vol. 1, p. 244, 269, 284); al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, p. 149; al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, Iftitāḥ, p. 278 (trans. p. 231); and Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 263, 276–277, 279, 284, 286, 288, 295–299, 302, 304. 210. Tamīm was the eldest son of al-Muʿizz. On him see note 219 below.

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was in the hands of Raṣīf, against a man called Ibn Suhayl, a close relation of Ḥusayn b. Rashīq al-Rayḥānī.211 This man wanted to expropriate some land of (this domain). The ustādh explained to our lord what the department deemed necessary and asked the imam to issue the instructions to be carried out. He received the following reply, written on the back of his note: O Jawdhar, this Raṣīf has addressed to us his complaint against the injustice done to him. On the other hand, Ḥusayn b. Rashīq has addressed to us a similar petition, in which he states that the pastures in question are common to all the residents of the houses which surround (the pastures), that the one who borders them totally is Ḥasnūn b. Kannūn, and that the Slavs have no one to present evidence for that in their favour since they had not exceeded their rights as was being said.212 I would like him to be reconciled with Raṣīf, agreeing to leave him the part of these pastures which he claims and which has given rise to their mutual claims. I would not like either of them to suffer a loss in his pastures by attributing the piece of land of one to the other, which would ruin someone having an established right on this land among the residents of these houses who have no one to defend them and uphold their rights. We would be committing a grave sin and would be accused of injustice. We are therefore of the opinion we submit the matter to the judge who will examine this case before men of confidence and honest individuals. If the pastures turn out to be common as has been mentioned, each man will take from it the extent of the share that is due to him; if, on the contrary, they belong exclusively to one party and not others, (that party) will take (the pastures) according to the requirements of the law. The responsibility which they will take upon themselves will lie upon them alone. As for us, we shall be freed from any obligation in this regard, God willing. If (our) subjects claimed against us something which was held in our hands, we would have no recourse in this (matter) to another procedure than the one we have described. The one who accepts to commit an injustice, may God make for him a necklace from it.

211. He is apparently the son of Rashīq al-Rayḥānī al-Kātib and the same as Ḥasan b. Rashīq mentioned in Document 30 below. 212. The Slavs here are apparently under the supervision of Raṣīf.

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14 The ustādh wrote on his own initiative a note in which he mentioned the request that he had previously addressed. Our lord replied to him: By God, O Jawdhar, we do not cease in our heart to have for you lasting feelings of benevolence and compassion. May God let you attain (what you wish) by His immense favour, because we know the place that we have always held in your thoughts. We will satisfy your request, as you want, God willing.

15 The secretary Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad b. ʿUthmān had already served the ustādh for some forty years. He had become for him like a companion who must be protected. He had a son called Jaʿfar213 whose candidacy the ustādh wished to present to our lord the imam so that he allowed him to join the officials [of the palace] and be entitled to administer according to the function. He wrote a note regarding this matter and asked that the favour he wanted be granted to him and that his request be fulfilled. He received the following reply, in the very hand of the imam, appended at the back of the note: O Jawdhar, we do not distinguish you from our own selves, and we do not consider those who bear you excellent friendship other than like children in whom we do not want to impose a fearful respect of ourselves in any way. Do therefore with Jaʿfar what you have asked for him. I hope that he will be like his father who was indeed an excellent servant, sincere, by God, in his love for us, in private as well as in public. May God bless us in his son so that he will be even better than his father, God willing.

16 The ustādh presented [to the imam] a note of Ḥusayn b. Yaʿqūb214 in which he mentioned what material he needed for the construction of 213. On Muḥammad b. ʿUthmān and his son Jaʿfar see also Document 64 below. 214. On Ḥusayn b. Yaʿqūb, director of the navy at al-Mahdiyya, see also Document 1 above.

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ships, as well as the money for the expense and maritime equipment. Our lord sent to him the following reply in his hand, on the back of the note: O Jawdhar, may God preserve you in good health. We send you the list provided by Ibn Yaʿqūb enclosed in this note of yours that you conveyed to us, after having acquainted ourselves with it. We have given up (travelling by) sea. If we had not endured its terrible dangers, other than those during this trip to al-Mahdiyya, it would not have been necessary that we ever speak of them. By God, we will never forgive those who helped (our enemies) in whatever it may be, openly or secretly. May God avenge them with His knowledge, because no hidden thing escapes Him. We have no doubt that our enterprise of building warships at the arsenal has great significance, and will be useful to strengthen (our) friends and abase our enemies. If Ibn Yaʿqūb is certain that it will meet our satisfaction, let him hasten to build ten safety boats of large size;215 but if the situation is as we know it, it is more appropriate to abandon [this enterprise] immediately. We do not choose to endure the terrible dangers of the sea, after those that we have already endured, together with those that we shall face on the journey by land, for which may God combine success with the strength of resolution, out of His benevolence and His generosity, God willing.

17 The ustādh presented [to the imam] a letter that he had received from Nuṣayr al-Ṣaqlabī, his deputy in al-Mahdiyya, in which were contained two notes of the two sons of Qāsim b. al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh.216 In these two notes there were expressions of unspeakable insolence. (The imam) became aware of the matter and sent the following reply: O Jawdhar, I pray to God that he grant you protection and remove from you adversity. We have read the two notes and return them to you. We say: God is enough for us, and how excellent a guardian is He! (3:173). May God be praised abundantly for the favour that He 215. The arsenal of al-Mahdiyya, situated to the east of al-Mahdī’s palace, had the capacity to contain over 200 ships. It had two large arched galleries to shelter equipment and supplies. See al-Bakrī, al-Masālik, p. 30 (trans. p. 68). 216. On al-Qāʾim’s sons, see note 52 above.

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has granted us and for the humiliation and contempt with which He has branded our enemy. They will have punishment and affliction from which God will not deliver them. Praise be to God.

18 The ustādh possessed a domain from a concession granted by al-Mahdī bi-llāh in the district of al-Jazīra.217 His abstinence from goods of this world meant that he derived little profit from the domains and income from property, being satisfied with what he gained from trading which he conducted. Ḥamza b. Ṣalūk, governor of the district, caused him difficulties and sought to harm the citizens under his jurisdiction by all sorts of dirty tricks. The ustādh presented to al-Muʿizz a note on this matter, and the imam appended on the back of the note the following instructions to [the commander] Jawhar: O Jawhar, write to Ḥamza that he should not cause difficulties to the domains of Jawdhar under any pretext whatsoever. Oh! If only we could find among all those upon whom we have bestowed our bounties as much equity as we find in Jawdhar. Let him collect from the residents, with justice and equity, the rights which belong to us. Write out for him a decree to this effect. If (Ḥamza) has no confidence in (Jawdhar’s) representative and would like to send al-Ḥasan b. Ṣaqlabī to the place in question, or write to the district judge to inspect his representative concerning this matter, reply to him whatever (course of action) he prefers and chooses, once you will have known the good opinion that we have of him. No doubt weighs on Jawdhar, either outwardly or inwardly. May God grant him the benefit of the praiseworthy intentions that he cherishes towards His friends, God willing.

217. al-Jazīra here refers to Jazīrat Sharīk, the peninsula of Cap Bon (Raʾs Maddār), a fertile region to the east of Tunis. (Ibn Ḥawqal, Ṣūrat al-arḍ, p. 75; al-Bakrī, al-Masālik, p. 45, trans. p. 96; al-Idrīsī, Nuzha, pp. 293, 302, where the peninsula is referred to as Jazīrat Bāshshū; Hussain Monès, ‘Djazīrat Sharīk’, EI2, vol. 2, pp. 525–526; and N. Elisséef, ‘Manzil Bashshū’, EI2, vol. 6, p. 457). Jawdhar also had other domains. See Documents 30 and 57 below.

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19 The ustādh Jawdhar was very circumspect. He never took any decision in a matter however small or great without careful examination and seeking counsel [from the imam]. One of the instances where he sought counsel is the following: He submitted a report to our lord stating that the couriers who were toing and froing between al-Manṣūriyya and al-Mahdiyya conveyed letters from the inhabitants of the two palaces218 to those residing in the palace of the Commander of the Faithful. (Jawdhar) said: ‘I am of the opinion that the letters should be seized from the hands of the couriers and that our lord should acquaint himself with them’. (The imam) sent him the order not to obstruct them. Then, after some days, the ustādh received the following note: O Jawdhar, you reported to us about the matter of letters [sent by the inhabitants] of the two palaces to the house of Tamīm219 and others. We ordered you then to refrain from obstructing them. However, since God had inspired in your thinking an idea in which His support is manifest, while we have no prejudice against anyone among those who are strangers, let alone [our] close relatives; and as there appears to us things that we disapprove of, attempt to convey to us any such letter or other things. However, do not execute this order before having warned us of it and don’t let anyone whosoever have any knowledge of your action, God willing.

20 A note from Abū ʿAbd Allāh,220 son of al-Qāʾim, arrived, in which he asked permission to wail over the death of one of his sons. Here is the reply given to that: 218. The two palaces were in al-Mahdiyya. See note 117 above. The residence of al-Muʿizz was in al-Manṣūriyya. 219. Tamīm (d. 374/985) was the eldest son of al-Muʿizz and an accomplished poet. He was born in Rajab 337/January 949 in the Maghrib. He was dragged into the party of his cousins, the sons of al-Qāʾim, and corresponded with them secretly. This was one of the reasons for which he was not nominated heir to his father’s office. On him see al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, pp. 588–600, and note 320 below. 220. He is Abū ʿAbd Allāh Jaʿfar who died in Egypt during the reign of al-Muʿizz. On al-Qāʾim’s sons see note 52 above.

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O Jawdhar, May God keep you in good health! We have acquainted ourselves with the request made by this fool to be allowed to engage in wailing over his son. This is something inadmissible and impossible, because we only forbid them what God and His prophet have ordered us to forbid.221 If he wants to wail over him by his slaves and his eunuchs, let him do so as he wants, God willing.

21 When the ustādh constructed the house into which he moved after leaving al-Mahdiyya, and which was in a part of the palace of our lord, he needed exquisite mats to furnish it. The mat makers were then under his authority. He asked that he be allowed to have (mats) made and that he would bear the expenses incurred on them. He received the following reply: Have made for yourself the best sāmān mats222 of the finest craftsmanship, as a favour from us. God does not forbid you that. Praise be to God.

22 As we have recorded here everything which has been mentioned previously, we considered it appropriate to mention directives, replies and correspondence relating to Jaʿfar b. ʿAlī b. Ḥamdūn.223 221. On lamenting the dead, see note 58 above. 222. Reading al-sāmān, instead of al-sāmāt of the manuscripts, which was applied originally to a kind of bulrush found in the region of Baysān in Palestine, and from which fine mats were manufactured. Then the term was applied to fine mats manufactured elsewhere. See al-Idrīsī, Nuzha, p. 356, and al-Ḥimyarī, al-Rawḍ al-miʿṭār, p. 119. 223. Jaʿfar was from the family of Banū Ḥamdūn. On them and his father ʿAlī see note 155 above. Jaʿfar and his brother Yaḥyā were raised at the Fatimid court. Jaʿfar eventually abandoned the Fatimid cause and switched his allegiance to the Umayyads of Spain. Subsequently, Jaʿfar and Yaḥyā were granted functions in Umayyad North Africa. Jaʿfar defended Ceuta against Bulukkīn b. Zīrī. Later he was recalled to Spain and put to death in 372/983. Yaḥyā returned to Fatimid allegiance while passing through Egypt where he was received by the caliph-imam al-ʿAzīz. See Ibn al-Abbār, al-Ḥulla al-siyarāʾ, vol. 1, pp. 305–308; Ibn Khallikān, Wafayāt al-aʿyān, vol. 1, p. 360; and Ibn ʿIdhārī, al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 231, vol. 2, pp. 280–281.

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There were many disagreements between him and Yūsuf b. Zīrī.224 Eventually, our lord summoned them both to the Immaculate Portal and took upon himself the trouble to hold a [special] session for them both, to listen to what each of them had to say and to settle the dispute with justice and equity. (The imam) did so in such manner that (the hearing) took place in a hall where they were alone without the presence of his guards or the notables of the state. However, he asked the ustādh to be present at (the hearing), but (the ustādh) excused himself by giving the reason that prevented him from attending. Afterwards, when our lord had reconciled the two [men] and they left him, the ustādh wrote a note in which he expressed his joy at seeing that our lord had re-established peace and harmony between the two. He said that it settled the dispute between them and that that would bring about happy consequences. When the imam had acquainted himself with his note, he sent to him the following reply: O Jawdhar, what you have learnt has indeed happened. God be praised! Indeed, every friend will rejoice at this and every straying wretch will be filled with sadness at this. We tolerated from them things which, if they had happened in front of the lowest of our slaves, it would have been awful for them. However, the wish that we had to bring peace made us tolerate that and show patience, especially as it happened before us in private, away from the gaze of our followers or our slaves. God knows that this was not because we had the need of either of them, far from it. If we had wanted to seek others to replace them both, we would have found many ready to offer considerable money for this [position]. You must insist upon 224. He is Bulukkīn b. Zīrī b. Manād. The Berber name Buluggīn is transcribed in Arabic sources as Bulukkīn and Buluqqīn. His Arabic name Yūsuf, the kunya Abū al-Futūḥ and the laqab Sayf al-ʿAzīz bi-llāh were given to him by the Fatimid caliph-imam al-Muʿizz. Bulukkīn’s father was the chief of the Ṣanhāja Berbers and founder and ruler of the city of Ashīr in the central Maghrib. Jaʿfar b. ʿAlī b. Ḥamdūn was Bulukkīn’s rival and sided with the Zanāta Berbers, clients of the Umayyads of Spain, who were enemies of the Ṣanhāja. On Bulukkīn b. Zīrī and the Zīrīds see Lisān al-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad Ibn al-Khaṭīb, Aʿmāl al-aʿlām, part 3 ed. Aḥmad Mukhtār al-ʿAbbādī and Muḥammad Ibrāhīm al-Kattānī as Taʾrīkh al-Maghrib al-ʿArabī fī al-ʿaṣr al-wasīṭ: al-qism al-thālith min kitāb Aʿmāl al-aʿlām (Casablanca, 1964), pp. 61–100; al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 1, p. 656, vol. 2, p. 385, vol. 3, p. 762, vol. 5, pp. 638, 730; Hady Roger Idris, La Berbérie orientale sous les Zīrīdes, Xe-XIIe siècles (Paris, 1962), pp. 41–61.

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Jaʿfar to affirm his personal loyalty and ask him to respect (this loyalty) in everything which pertains to his obligation towards us to obey our orders. If he dies while executing our orders, it is the least that God enjoins upon him, even if we had dismissed him. Even more so, he must obey us, since we are the imams who must be obeyed; we are those whose pure hearts are full of mercy, pity, generosity and patience. May God be abundantly praised for that! Acting according to our orders is obligatory in all circumstances. If he finds appropriate what we have explained to him, then he will be fortunate; it will hasten the return to calm and will soothe us. If he dies by sacrificing his life for something that satisfies us, he will have accomplished his duty and will have delivered us from distrust. Urge him therefore in this matter what you know will achieve with him what we wish. By God, it is not every time that hearts can show forbearance like what we have shown. This attitude is the favour that has been granted to us and to them by the power of God; that is, it has been granted to us, while the opposite is [the case] for those who stray from our will. We say this only because of certain things which we saw yesterday. (Sometimes) it appeared to us that the desperation of restoring peace between them would overwhelm us, and sometimes we returned to the hope to which God has accustomed us, until what we had in mind and what you have come to know was accomplished. Even if a part of it is realised, the reward from God to us is handsome and the grace that He grants us is immense. May He grant us the greatest of those favours to which He has accustomed us, God willing.

23 The ustādh sent to our lord a note in which he informed him that he had received a letter from Ṣāfī, director of the storehouses of the navy in al-Mahdiyya. (Ṣāfī) had stated his decision to store supplies dispatched to him in the mosque near the house of Abū al-Shāma. When the imam came to know about this, he found it shocking that the mosque was being used as a storehouse; so he sent to (Jawdhar) the following directive: O Jawdhar, may God grant you peace in this world and in the Hereafter! We have learnt what you mentioned about Ṣāfī. Write to him that he should not approach mosques and that he should not store (anything) in them, because the advantage gained from doing so would not compensate the harm resulting from it. Respecting mosques brings great merit and an immense reward, while disre-

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specting them brings the opposite. May God, by His mercy, preserve us from sinning, God willing.

24 (The ustādh) wrote a note to our lord in which he stated that he had not neglected to stir the officials responsible for supervising the purchase of provisions necessary for the fleet. This happened following the displeasure shown by our lord because of the delay in the receipt of these provisions, and the laziness of those who had the responsibility of supervising (the purchases) and their negligence in this respect. (The imam) sent to him the following reply: We do not doubt, by God, O Jawdhar, the excellence of your intentions, just as we do not doubt ourselves. May God grant you a handsome reward and grant you the benefit for what you have already done and what you are doing. It is not you that we meant in the statements that we made. We only meant those who delayed obeying our order and executing it promptly. As for you, one cannot find any shortcoming in you, God be praised.

25 (The ustādh) wrote to (the imam) to remind him of his request and said in the note: O strong Rope of God225 and His Straight Path,226 your slave who needs your mercy requests from you a favour, by invoking the nobility of your self and your extraordinary generosity to whoever appealed to you and whoever has not appealed to you. Have pity of your slave. May the blessings of God be upon you.

(The imam) replied: The means that you have to approach us are the greatest available, because they consist in the excellent intentions and the good feelings that you have and which God has made known to us. If He 225. On the expression ‘Rope of God’ see note 96 above. 226. Qurʾan 1:6. According to Jaʿfar b. Manṣūr al-Yaman (in his al-Riḍāʿ fī al-bāṭin, IIS Library, MS 1143, p. 111, and al-Shawāhid wa-al-bayān, IIS Library, MS 734, p. 286) the ‘Straight Path’ refers to the legatee (waṣī), ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, and after him the imams from his progeny who hold his place, i.e. the Fatimid imams.

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had not accepted your efforts, He would not have granted to you the place that you hold in the hearts of His friends, or a long life in their service which will bring you additional reward, or cause you to live until our reign only to perfect your happiness in this world and in the Hereafter. We will grant you the request that you have made. Have confidence in God and in our promise. We shall fulfil it soon, God willing.

26 (Jawdhar) wrote a note in which he mentioned the death of Ṣāfī’s son Ḥusayn and requested for him a shroud. Here is the reply that he received: Get for him from Ibn Ḥusayn a shroud of good quality and send it to his family, because he was an excellent servant. May God have mercy upon him and may He be satisfied with him! Put his two children in his place. I hope that God will grant them both His blessing, God willing.

27 (Jawdhar) wrote a note that he submitted to our lord in which he mentioned the death of al-Kirshī. Here is the reply that he received: May God have mercy upon him. He was an excellent servant in everything that he was assigned.

28 Order had been given by our lord to detain ships and prevent them from travelling to Sicily, because he wanted to convey [in them] equipment, arms and supplies to Sicily to help the troops after Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan’s227 departure from (Sicily) and the entrustment of the government of (the island) to his brother Abū al-Qāsim ʿAlī b. al-Ḥasan.228 However, ships paid no heed; their captains 227. On Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan al-Kalbī see note 198 above. 228. After Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan’s departure from Sicily, his freed slave Yaʿīsh assumed the government of the island. Then, from Shaʿbān 359/June 970, Aḥmad’s brother Abū al-Qāsim ʿAlī, first as deputy of Aḥmad and then, after the latter’s death in Dhū al-Ḥijja 359/October 970, assumed full control. He was engaged in military operations from 366/976 until 372/982,

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diverted them from the routes and made them depart for (Sicily) from another port.229 (The imam) was very angry because of this and sent to Abū al-Qāsim a written order to set fire to those ships and put their captains to death. Abū al-Qāsim executed the order of the Commander of the Faithful and wrote to the ustādh to inform him about that and how he had complied with (the order). The ustādh conveyed his letter to the imam. When our lord had acquainted himself with it, he sent the following reply at the back of the letter: O Jawdhar, we have acquainted ourselves with this letter. Write to him that we approve his action and that we are satisfied with what we have learnt of his admirable conduct. Let him continue in this way, God will grant him the benefit for it, God willing.

29 (Jawdhar) wrote a note in which he mentioned his appeal regarding his request which has been mentioned previously, after having made the point of his old age and his physical weakness and the like. (The imam) replied to him: May God prolong your life in the best feelings of affection that you have [for us] and the feelings of affection we have for you, until you witness with us everything that will rejoice you: our attainment of our right, and the return to us of what the enemies of God have stolen from us to humiliate them, by our Lord’s favour to us. We praise Him and thank Him for the happy outcome that He has decreed for us. As for your request, by God, everything is fine for you. Do not worry. What we have already granted you is the ultimate, after which there is no more except what you can attain of the satisfaction of God in the Hereafter and which we have promised you. Seeking more than that would be to do as the one who always wants to add some wealth to what he already possesses. You will obtain what we have promised you, God willing.

and died in battle in al-Muḥarram 372/July 982. After his death, his son Jābir succeeded as governor without being formally appointed by al-Muʿizz. 229. Apparently ships had been ordered to stop at al-Mahdiyya to load supplies bound for Sicily.

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30 (The imam) had sent a Slav under the command of Ḥasan b. Rashīq230 to convey Zawīla black slaves231 to the Immaculate Portal. This Slav had committed inappropriate acts in the domains belonging to the ustādh. (The ustādh) wrote to our lord to inform him about that and complained bitterly. He received the following reply: O Jawdhar, we have acquainted ourselves with your note. As for the feelings of satisfaction that we have towards you and the excellent opinion that we have of you, we have no need to inform you about them; and by reiterating them to you we cannot add further to what you already know about them. Regarding what the official said about acts committed by the Slav on the men that he mentioned, these are inappropriate acts. However, such behaviour is not non-existent among individuals from whom we expect good and of whom we have the best opinion, and more so from individuals known particularly for their stupidity and rudeness. We have instructed Ḥasan b. Rashīq to write to release the movable goods to the men that (the official) mentioned and we disapprove with regard to them what you complained about, since everything that you yourself see is for us as if we had seen it ourselves with our own eyes. Fear comes only from what one hides from us. If things happened as we wish for human beings, ‘they would indeed partake of all the blessings of heaven and earth’ (5:66),232 and they would have happiness both in this world and in the Hereafter. I hope that God will improve for us 230. This is apparently the same person as Ḥusayn b. Rashīq mentioned in Document 13 above. 231. These were black slaves from Zawīla, the medieval capital of the Fazzān, now in south-western Libya. The basis of its economy was the transSaharan trade. It exported Sudanese slaves which formed an important basis of this trade. (al-Bakrī, al-Masālik, pp. 10–12, trans. p. 26–30; K. S. Vikør, ‘Zawīla’, EI2, vol. 11, p. 466.) The Fatimids recruited Zawīla slaves for both the palace and the army. There was a contingent of Zawīla sailors in the squadron, commanded by Sulaymān al-Khādim and Yaʿqūb al-Kutāmī, during the expedition to Egypt in 307/920. (al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, p. 646.) Jawhar’s army which conquered Egypt also included some Zawīla, and a quarter in Cairo was named after them. (al-Maqrīzī, al-Khiṭaṭ, vol. 3, p. 10.) Zawīla is also the name of a locality on the outskirts of al-Mahdiyya. On it see note 250 below. 232. Literally: ‘they would eat what is above them and what is under their feet’. For an explanation of this verse see al-Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, pp. 268–269.

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and through us everything that is corrupted, and that He will help us as well as all those who submit to His obedience to accomplish deeds that will satisfy Him and draw us near to Him. Indeed, He is generous and kind.

31 On several occasions Aḥmad b. al-Mahdī233 was accused of making slanderous remarks when our lord left [Ifrīqiya] to go to the East. It was said of him that he often behaved shamefully, that he intended to remain behind and delayed his departure with the Commander of the Faithful. The ustādh wrote a note in which he reported rumours that had reached him, and submitted it to our lord the imam to inform him that he had questioned Nuṣayr, governor of al-Mahdiyya,234 about this matter, and that (the governor) had confirmed to him that these rumours were widespread in the country. (The imam) wrote back to him: O Jawdhar, may God complete the favours that He bestows upon you. We have acquainted ourselves with what you stated. The Lord of Majesty has willed to grant us His benevolence in full measure, just as He promised. He has made us whatever is appropriate. He has unveiled to us secrets of these human beings which they were hiding. The One to whom alone are addressed all our praises and thanks. All those who enjoy well-being find unbearable what God has granted us, while they find it difficult to come out of the situation in which they find themselves. If they could find with their heads a way to provoke the greatest and most abominable evil, may God dispel [from us] their mischief, they would do so, intending to ‘extinguish the light of God with their mouths, but God will not allow but that His light should be perfected, however much the disbelievers are averse’ (9:32). By God, most of those with bad intentions are in the same state. But God, the Most High, glory be to Him, says: ‘If God were to enlarge the provision for His servants, they would be inso233. He is Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad, son of al-Mahdī, who subsequently accompanied al-Muʿizz to Egypt, and died there on 15 Dhū al-Qaʿda 382/12 January 993. (Ibn Ẓāfir, Akhbār, p. 12; al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 1, p. 522; Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 717–718.) On him see also note 261 below. 234. After leaving al-Mahdiyya for al-Manṣūriyya, Jawdhar maintained correspondence with his deputy Nuṣayr and other officials whom he left behind. See p. 84 above.

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lent on earth’ (42:27). He has associated insolence with the extent of gain, while poverty is not associated with insolence. We have seen it with our own eyes that those who enjoy the most well-being are the most sluggish, while the poor are more quick at getting something. This wretched Aḥmad has been habitually an evil omen. The one who is misled by his trick will return to the ustādh to tell him so. I pray to the One in whose hands lies sovereignty over all things to cause to perish all seducers who go astray, be they near or distant, who hide their intentions or show them. God suffices us and He is an excellent guarantor.

32 (The ustādh) wrote a note in which he asked the Commander of the Faithful insistently to grant his request which has been mentioned previously. (The imam) wrote back to him: We do not doubt, O Jawdhar, that God will make you obtain what you hope, and more than what you hope, of His satisfaction and our satisfaction, owing to your intention, excellent conviction, and your services past and present. You are, God be praised, on the way of happiness in all your matters. When we are able to give satisfaction to your request, we will do so without delay, God willing.

33 (The ustādh) also wrote another note to have this request granted. He said that he feared that he would die before the fulfilment of his hopes. (The imam) replied to him: O Jawdhar, death and life are in the hands of God, the Mighty, the Exalted. God, the Mighty, the Glorious, says: ‘All that is on earth will perish’ (55:26), but we ask God, may His name be glorified, and supplicate to Him to grant you good health, and prolong your term so that you can see with your own eyes the favours that God bestows upon us and the fulfilment of our hopes, and that you can perform with us the pilgrimage outwardly just as you have already performed it inwardly. Do not feel any anxiety which could weaken you. God does only what He deems befitting. As for your request, we shall strive promptly to ensure its success, God willing.

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34 (The ustādh) wrote a note in which he mentioned matters relating to maritime supplies and asked prompt expedition of the order. He feared that his frequent requests would be considered importunate because our lord was preoccupied with matters which needed his attention. The imam replied to him thus: O Jawdhar, may God protect you and keep you in good health. No, by God, we do not find you importunate in any way, knowing that your zeal (in whatever you do) comes from seeking to satisfy us. But if a soul could be burnt with its own flame and the heat felt by the body which is its abode, then that soul would be mine, because of what I suffer from all sides. Then I do not see anything that can help, rather I find everything contributes to impairment. And when I am distressed, I go out from my reclusion, longing to find relief, and I occupy myself with matters which have no usefulness for religion or this world. I look at myself and I see myself as a madman among reasonable people, and a reasonable man among madmen. I console myself with what I have heard al-Manṣūr bi-llāh relate from al-Mahdī bi-llāh, may they both be blessed, as well as their predecessors and their descendants. He would say frequently while walking: ‘Thou wilt see them looking at thee, but they see not’ (7:198). Then I knew that he felt what I myself feel now. He found relief in what he said and he found in that for him some consolation, because they235 did not change their ways. In spite of these bad temperaments inherent to these barbarous savages, the light of God which is in the hands of His friends will not be extinguished and weakened, and the lies of the enemies of God will neither increase nor spread. However, as (the imams) did not find capable people to carry their burdens, they became withdrawn in themselves and hid their feelings from those who did not feel pain for them. ‘We belong to God and to Him is our return’ (2:156). As for the written directives, we shall send them to you. May God grant you through us a handsome reward in this world and in the Hereafter. Indeed, He is generous and liberal.

235. The pronoun apparently refers to the inhabitants of Ifrīqiya who were hostile to the Fatimids.

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35 The ustādh having become ill was prevented from appearing at the [imam’s] dining table and to attend to business.236 The Commander of the Faithful wrote to him on his own initiative after he asked about him and learnt the cause of this impediment: May God preserve you in good health, O Jawdhar, and may He complete the favours that He grants you. God knows how much we are concerned about your illness. May He end it and grant you good health. If recovery could be obtained at the price of goods of this world, we would not skimp to buy it for you with the most precious and considerable goods which God’s benevolence has bestowed upon us. But, we will not deprive you of prayers, beseeching God to accept them from us for you, and grant you, out of His boundless generosity, that which He deems befitting. We have a theriac produced by Mūsā 237 for just the kind of ailment as yours. We have tried it and we observed its wonderful effects. We did not want to force you to use it before knowing the exact nature of your illness. Now Mūsā has told us that it is a most effective remedy for you and that if we gave some of it to you to take, its effectiveness would become apparent and its beneficial effect would become clear. Therefore, we have sent you a bit of it in a silver phial. Take the weight of a mithqāl of it with a decoction of roots of sumbul238 in which it will have been cooked, 236. The first time that Jawdhar sat at the imam’s table was with al-Manṣūr, as recounted in Part One, Section 18. 237. Mūsā b. al-ʿĀzār (or al-ʿAyzār) (d. 364/974) was a physician of al-Manṣūr and al-Muʿizz. He originated from a Jewish family settled in Oria in southern Italy, and began to serve the Fatimids in Ifrīqiya. His sons Isḥāq and Ismāʿīl as well as his grandson Yaʿqūb served al-Muʿizz as physicians during Mūsā’s lifetime. Mūsā and his sons accompanied al-Muʿizz to Egypt. See al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, pp. 57, 149–150; Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-Yamānī, Sīrat al-Ḥājib Jaʿ far b. ʿAlī, ed. Wladimir Ivanow, in Bulletin of the Faculty of Arts, University of Egypt, vol. 4 (1936), p. 110; trans. Wladimir Ivanow, Ismaili Tradition Concerning the Rise of the Fatimids (London, etc., 1942), p. 190. Bernard Lewis has identified Mūsā with Palṭiel ben Shefaṭyah of medieval Jewish sources, who was captured in the Fatimid raids on southern Italy in 313/925. Bernard Lewis, ‘Palṭiel: A Note’, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, vol. 30 (1967), pp. 177–181. On Mūsā’s sons see note 338 below. 238. Conjectural reading amzāḥ, apparently an unattested plural of mazḥ. Muḥammad Murtaḍā al-Zabīdī, Tāj al-ʿarūs min jawāhir al-Qāmūs, ed. ʿAbd al-Sattār Aḥmad Farrāj et al. (Kuwait, 1965–2001), vol. 7, p. 118,

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in order to extract from it its essence. When it has been prepared thus, one must take of this decoction half a raṭl, and the weight of an ounce239 of thickened grape juice, with which God will grant you recovery and good health, God willing. He is immensely generous. Peace and mercy of God be on you.

36 When our lord decided to set out in pursuit of the rebel called Abū Khazar,240 he ordered the ustādh to go to al-Mahdiyya to put in order the contents of the warehouses there and to load supplies for the East. The people engaged in making remarks and rumoured that the ustādh would be appointed deputy to govern Ifrīqiya.241 He wrote to gives sunbul as a meaning of mazḥ. The word ‘sumbul’ (from Arabic sunbul) is applied to the roots of certain plants which are used medicinally. On the types of sunbul and their therapeutic uses, see Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh b. Muḥammad al-Azdī al-Ṣaḥārī, Kitāb al-Māʾ: awwal muʿ jam ṭibbī lughawī fī al-taʾrīkh, ed. Hādī Ḥasan Ḥammūdī ([Musqat], 1996), pp. 297–298. 239. On units of weights and measures see E. Ashtor, ‘Makāyīl’, EI2, vol. 6, pp. 117–120, the section on Arabic, Persian and Turkish lands. 240. On 22 Shawwāl 358/8 September 969, al-Muʿizz set out in pursuit of the rebel Abū Khazar of the Zanāta Berbers who had a large following of Nukkārī Kharijites. He pursued him up to Bāghāya, at the foot of the Awrās, and then returned to his capital, instructing Bulukkīn b. Zīrī to continue the pursuit. It was only in the following year, in Rabīʿ II 359/ February 970, that Abū Khazar was subdued. See Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 7, p. 35; Ibn Khaldūn, Taʾrīkh, vol. 4, p. 62 (trans. Berbères, vol. 2, p. 548); Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, p. 705; and also Document 38 below, where the same expedition is referred to. It took place after Jawhar’s conquest of Egypt (Shaʿbān 358/June–July 969) and the minting of new coinage in Egypt bearing the name of al-Muʿizz. 241. It was not until 22 Shawwāl 361/6 August 972 that al-Muʿizz left al-Manṣūriyya. He then spent four months at a base in Sardāniyya, near al-Qayrawān, preparing for his final departure from Ifrīqiya. After long stops on his journey, he entered Cairo on 15 Ramaḍān 362/11 June 973 (al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, vol. 1, pp. 100, 134; Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 7, pp. 45–46). Bulukkīn b. Zīrī was appointed deputy to govern Ifrīqiya. He accompanied al-Muʿizz up to Cairo and then returned to al-Manṣūriyya to take up his post. Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 7, p. 46. See also Mohamed Yalaoui, ‘Sur une possible régence du prince fatimide ʿAbdallah b. Muʿizz en Ifriqiya au IVè/Xè siècle’, Les cahiers de Tunisie, 22, nos. 85–86 (1974),

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our lord to inform [him] what had reached his ears about this matter and requested him not to part from him, because for him happiness was associated with being able to look at the face of the Commander of the Faithful. (The imam) replied to him on the back of the letter: O Jawdhar, we have acquainted ourselves with your note. This is a thing said by ignorant people and those who do not know what we intend to do. No, by God, we have not thought of doing that to you for several reasons. The first is that we would not like to keep away from you the favours that God grants us and we want you yourself to be witness to it. The second is that you are not of those that we find importunate who must be got rid of. The third is that you have matured in obedience to God and to us. The fourth is that you will not find anyone who will help you sincerely to deal with current disorders caused by ambitions of individuals and their temperament; you would find neither support nor backing, nor anybody who would stand by you, let alone do other things as well. Do not worry about these rumours; keep intact your strength of spirit. By God, we have left you here only out of compassion and pity for you. Nevertheless, we know well that if you were not by our side for such an endeavour, it is because you would not be among the living today. Do not worry; you will not part from us until you accomplish the pilgrimage and make the pious visit to the tomb of our ancestor Muḥammad, may God bless him and his progeny, by the grace of God for us and for you. I swear to you that the wishes which we form for you in our heart of hearts are not other than those that we have expressed, and we wish for you still more well-being and happiness. We shall try to find for the people of this time someone we want for them and with whom they will be in agreement, until we have reached our purpose. May God show us the right way. May we find in the one whom we leave behind intentions like yours and a commitment to our reign similar to yours. May God be favourable and propitious to us, by His power and His force, God willing.242

37 (The ustādh) wrote a note in which he mentioned the matter of the route of the journey [to Egypt] and other matters relating to observation posts along the route. He said that many men in the service of the state did not have passes or permission to travel and abandoned pp. 7–22. 242. Cf. Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 705–706.

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[their] resolve [to travel]. He feared that disagreements would arise between them and the slaves responsible for observation posts. He said that among those that did not have permits there were the heirs of al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī.243 He asked our lord and master, the Commander of the Faithful, what was his decision on this matter. (The imam) replied to him: Only issue permission to those who have a pass. As for the sons of al-Ḥasan, we have not been sparing in our benevolence towards them, granting them the most esteemed place in our thoughts. Then how can we be mean [towards them] with the least of our material favours? God forbid! Instruct, therefore, Muḥammad b. Ḥasan244 to record all mounts that belong to him, so that Jawhar can write for them a pass to this effect and grant them free passage wherever they go on these or other routes. You know that the bond that Ḥasan had with you is the consequence of the favour of God and His friends. He departed happy to his Lord at the time of his happiness. We would not like it to be upon anyone other than us the care to show them benevolence, so that God completes the happiness for him and for those that he has left behind. If Muḥammad avoids out of respect to speak to us of such circumstances, then it will happen to them what we do not wish for them. Therefore, examine yourself their situation and say what must be said about it. Take care of them like you took care of their father before. Choose those whom you look after and those whom you must take care of, those whose fathers have always had the good fortune under the reign of the rightful, under the banners of our loyal followers. May God grant us to achieve through them what He granted us through their forefathers, God willing.

243. On al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī see note 139 above. 244. He is Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī who returned to Ifrīqiya from Sicily together with the other members of his family in 358/968–969, in accordance with al-Muʿizz’s instructions to his brother Aḥmad who was then governor of Sicily. While Aḥmad was placed at the head of a naval expedition, Muḥammad accompanied al-Muʿizz to Egypt and remained with him. Al-Muʿizz was particularly fond of him. During Muḥammad’s last illness, al-Muʿizz paid him a visit, and when he died in Cairo in 363/974, his body was washed by the distinguished jurist al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān. Al-Muʿizz invoked a prayer upon him and he and his son prince ʿAbd Allāh placed him in the coffin. See al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 3, p. 60, vol. 5, pp. 534–535.

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38 When our lord left on his expedition to Biskra 245 and the ustādh went to al-Mahdiyya, the Commander of the Faithful passed near a spring called ʿAyn Kisrā (Spring of Chosroes). He stopped there, remembered the ustādh and said, ‘May God remember Jawdhar graciously, because he would be happy to stop by this water and drink from it. Bring green pitchers.’ 246 They were brought to him and filled in front of him and sealed. He dispatched them together with a note for Muḥammad the secretary,247 whose text is as follows: O Muḥammad, send to Jawdhar, may God keep him in good health, what we send him under our seal. Let him know that we thought of him at ʿAyn Kisrā. God has had for him a thought of mercy and protection. We ordered two containers of water to be filled for him in front of us at the very source of the spring, which we send to him. We send him also five dinars of the blessed coinage struck in Miṣr in our name,248 by the grace of God and His immense favour, so that he sees them and that they bring him blessings. I hope that God will prolong his life so that he makes the pilgrimage with us, and we will give him (dinars) struck for us in Baghdad. God has realised our hopes. Let him know that we are in good health, that (God’s) bounties to us follow in succession, and that we have with us troops which God uses for deeds that satisfy Him to the indignation of our enemies wherever they may be. Let him be restful, we have said every good thing by which God will make him rejoice. May God be praised abundantly as He deserves.249

245. An oasis town in the province of al-Zāb at the foot of the Awrās. On it see J. Despois, ‘Biskra’, EI2, vol. 1, pp. 1246–1247. The expedition, also referred to in Document 36 above, was against Abū Khazar. Both Documents 36 and 38 can be dated from 358/969, since the latter refers to Jawhar’s conquest of Egypt. 246. These pitchers were perhaps made from green clay (ghaḍār), like those made particularly in Tunis (Ibn Ḥawqal, Ṣūrat al-arḍ, p. 75). 247. He is Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad b. ʿUthmān, Jawdhar’s secretary. See Document 15 above. 248. These dinars were struck in 358/969 by Jawhar after the conquest of Egypt (al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, vol. 1, pp. 115–116). Jawhar also sent sumptuous gifts to al-Muʿizz after the conquest. Ibn al-Zubayr, Kitāb al-Dhakhāʾir wa-al-tuḥaf, pp. 67–68 (trans. pp. 103–104). 249. Cf. Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 706–707.

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39 The illness from which the ustādh suffered worsened from time to time to such an extent that he feared for his life. He wrote to our lord a note in which he explained to him his condition and beseeched him to fulfil his request so that he would be gladdened by it during his lifetime. On that day, the imam was busy, so the note remained unread until the following day. The following morning (the imam) read it and wrote on the back of the note: O Jawdhar, may God protect you against all calamities, grant you good health and, by His grace, dispel from you all danger. Your note reached us yesterday, while we were busy and we were unable to acquaint ourselves with it until today. By God, we are saddened and grieved at what you have described of your condition. We supplicate God to deliver you from your condition. Do not be alarmed, for you will only worsen your state. How many patients have regained health, while how many healthy individuals have had their death hastened! For you, God be praised, you are completely well in your life and [after] your death also, because God has bestowed upon you the satisfaction of His friends, while He has deprived others of it. Do not worry. Put your trust in God, for God will not cause your enemies or those envious of you to find in you any reason to rejoice. By God’s grace, your request will be granted to you and God will keep you alive until you make with us the pilgrimage to the Sacred House of God and visit the tomb of our ancestor Muḥammad, peace be upon him. ‘That is not difficult for God’ (14:20). We send you a potion that we prepared for an illness similar to what you have described to us about yours. We have found it effective. Drink it before or after meals, whichever. I hope that God will bring you by it recovery and blessing. Let us know after that your condition, may God improve it, and how you are after having drunk this potion. I hope that it will do you good, God willing, just as God granted us joy with it.

40 The imam decided to have a wall built around Zawīla,250 like the one that surrounded al-Mahdiyya. He ordered (the circumference 250. Zawīla was a large suburb on the outskirts of al-Mahdiyya where the bulk of the population of the area resided and which was also the commercial sector of the town. On it see al-Bakrī, al-Masālik, pp. 29–30

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of Zawīla) to be measured. The letter of the ustādh, in the name of the Commander of the Faithful, was sent to Nuṣayr, his deputy in al-Mahdiyya. The reply arrived with the total measurements and an estimate of the sum of money required to cover the cost of the project. When the Commander of the Faithful had acquainted himself with (the contents of the letter), he gave the following reply: This is a construction that we consider imperative. The name of al-Mahdiyya is great. It is the excellent foundation and the seat of the kingdom. Any harm that reaches it will cause suffering to ourselves and be painful to our hearts. May God protect it. We do not find excessive the expense that you have mentioned, God willing.

41 The ustādh reminded (the imam) regarding the request (that he had addressed to him). The following reply came back to him: We shall fulfil it, O Jawdhar, and we will cast on your request a glance of our eyes. By God, we wish your happiness and would like it just as you would like our own happiness, because God has granted you to make us satisfied with you and has placed you in favour with us. Do not worry. You will obtain what you wish, God willing.

42 (The imam) addressed to him on his own initiative a note in which he said: O Jawdhar, we know that you like to wear leggings.251 Therefore, we send you a pair of leggings made of khazz252 which were worn by (trans. pp. 66, 68). 251. Reading al-rānāt instead of al-zānāt as in the manuscripts. Besides protecting against cold, such leggings afforded some protection from injury in battle. Abū al-Faḍl Naṣr b. Muzāḥim al-Minqarī, Waqʿat Ṣiffīn, ed. ʿAbd al-Salām Muḥammad Hārūn (Qum, 1382), p. 329. 252. The original meaning of khazz was a kind of rabbit, whose hair was used in textile production and that was called ṣemer arnāvīm, ‘wool of rabbits’, in medieval Hebrew sources (Moshe Gil, ‘References to Silk in Geniza Documents of the Eleventh Century A. D.’, Journal of Near Eastern

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al-Manṣūr bi-llāh. Then we ourselves used them when we needed them. Use them yourself, recognising the blessing and bliss from God, God willing.

43 The ustādh was very concerned with the situation of those who sought his protection. He wrote a note in which he requested that Maymūn b. Futūḥ al-Niqāwusī be granted pay at the same rate as Ghānim the secretary.253 He received the following reply: May Maymūn be looked after, for his father Futūḥ and for his dedication to our cause. How would he not make an excellent servant since he is better than his father? What an excellent offspring! Let his pay and the pay of Ghānim be the same. Inform Khalaf the secretary on our behalf, since both receive their pay from him, God willing.

44 The imam attended the (congregational) prayer every Friday of the month of Ramaḍān.254 On one Friday of this month he did not attend. The heat was terrible. The ustādh was concerned and wished to inquire to find out [the reason for] this. He wrote a note in which he described the anxiety and the fear that he felt and asked how (the imam) was. He received the following reply: O Jawdhar, may God protect you. We read your note in which you said that your mind was concerned [about us]. Everything is fine, God be praised. We beseech God to grant that this revered month sees us in a state that will please Him, in the glory of His friends, the humiliation of His enemies and the victory that He will give to truth over falsehood. He will not fail to keep His promise. What Studies, 61 (2002), p. 37). The term khazz is also used for fabrics made from a mixture of wool or camel hair and silk; and it is also rendered as ‘beaver skins’. R. B. Serjeant, Islamic Textiles: Material for a History up to the Mongol Conquest (Beirut, 1972), pp. 211, 219. 253. On Maymūn and Ghānim see Document 3 above relating to their complaint against Rayyān al-Ṣaqlabī. 254. Subsequently in Fatimid Egypt, the Friday prayer during the month of Ramaḍān was accompanied by an elaborate ceremonial. On it see al-Qalqashandī, Ṣubḥ, vol. 3, pp. 505–508.

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prevented us from coming out on that day was the terrible heat that reminded the heedless of the heat of hellfire, which is the abode of the impious. I ask God for us and for our loyal followers who are brought near to Him through obedience to us, protection and deliverance from His punishment. May He grant us our wish for His mercy and the happiness of His paradise. He is munificent and generous.

45 ʿAbd Allāh b. Rafīq had asked to be invested with the functions of head of the municipality and commissioner of police of al-Mahdiyya. He offered an increase of revenues of a kind so that (his offer) would be acceptable because of the extra money that it raised.255 The ustādh consulted our lord on this matter, who sent him his exalted order to invest him with (these functions). When he was in charge, he committed excesses on the population. He apportioned fertile lands unjustly and resorted to false criminal accusations against honourable people, so that complaints became frequent; people complained about injustice and implored (God’s) help against him. There came a letter from Nuṣayr in which he mentioned all that. Then came a letter from Ibn Rafīq in which he mentioned that Nuṣayr was obstructing him. (The ustādh) conveyed the two letters together to our lord and, at the same time, sent him a note in which he asked him to define for him what he should do about this matter. When our lord had acquainted himself with the case, he gave him the following reply: O Jawdhar, may God keep you in good health. What Ibn Rafīq blames in the behaviour of Nuṣayr is something for which one must thank Nuṣayr. You know that al-Mahdiyya is the sacred territory of ours and our pure forefathers. It is the city that deserves the most that justice should reign therein and bounties should spread therein, for reasons which would be too long to explain. God knows that we do not accept this oppression and injustice for any people who are under our obedience, even if they happen to be far from us 255. Here it appears that the head of the municipality of al-Mahdiyya, who was also its police commissioner, collected taxes, market tolls and other dues for the Treasury. A candidate presented an estimate that he could raise for the Treasury for consideration, and a rival candidate would offer to raise more.

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and if their abode is distanced from ours. We have endeavoured to stop that and remove (injustice) from them; then how can we allow such practices among the inhabitants of al-Mahdiyya? If there is no other way than this to increase funds [for the Treasury], may God not gather them and may He not increase them. You know that in al-Mahdiyya and elsewhere there are people who wish us misfortunes which we pray to God to turn back on their heads. If we unleash against ourselves hostility, make ourselves hateful to the population, and expose ourselves to the abomination of God, the Glorious, the Mighty, we shall have only fulfilled the hopes of our enemies regarding ourselves. May God forbid that we should not have in our heart of hearts, for the community on which God has ordered us to watch, such good intentions as those that we demonstrate publicly. Thereby we shall cause to trickle upon us the satisfaction of God. By doing its contrary, we shall hasten His abomination and His wrath. May God guard us and our followers from that. Inform Ibn Rafīq (what we think); tell him that we do not allow him such behaviour, that we are dissatisfied to see him act in this manner, and that we prefer that he make himself liked by the people, rather than increase the sums that he collects. Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds.

46 When Aḥmad b. [al-]Ḥasan b. ʿAlī256 arrived from Sicily, there had been a disagreement between him and his brothers, namely, Muḥammad257 and Mūsā,258 sons of Ḥasan b. ʿAlī. Since Aḥmad corresponded with the ustādh, in accordance with a habit that was established long ago, the ustādh feared lest Muḥammad b. Ḥasan suspect him of having more sympathy for his brother than him. He felt the need to inform our lord about it and state that he would refrain from intervening between them in any of their matters, so as not to expose himself to blame in this matter. The imam gave him the following reply: O Jawdhar, you mentioned the matter of Aḥmad and your refraining from intervening between him and his brothers, fearing lest a squabble break out between you and them. What you decided is 256. On Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan see note 198 above. 257. On Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan see note 244 above. 258. On Mūsā b. al-Ḥasan see Document 73 below in which he is blamed for a misunderstanding between Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan and Jawdhar.

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right, even though you only wish each of them well individually. May God help you. But, by God, we are embarrassed at their situation, because people have taken sides on (the matter) and listened to them to such an extent that it appears that they expect a battle between Arabs and non-Arabs.259 I don’t know the cause of that, nor the meaning of it. We have received no sign to give us any indication. As God knows, we have not heard anything reprehensible, either from the one who is here about the one who is not here, or from the one who is not here about the one who is here, so we do not know the cause of the horrible rumours about them, as if each of them wanted to wrong the other and kill him. Most (rumours) that have reached us say that there are among them foolhardy and vile people who fear that, if their elders agree among themselves, they would restrain them and oblige them to observe the requirements of propriety; besides they prefer disagreement of the chiefs and of the one among them viewed favourably, so they exacerbate the situation between them. I can only compare this scoundrel Ṭāhir260 to Qāsim,261 may God curse him, who stirred up a dispute between al-Mahdī bi-llāh and al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh from which resulted every misfortune, while he remained aloof. May God curse him. He resembles (Qāsim). ‘We are to God and it is to Him that we return’ (2:156). If they are in such a situation, in spite of the status which they enjoy with us, then it is a concern for us which we had 259. In 359/970, after the departure of Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan, al-Muʿizz appointed al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī’s client Yaʿīsh as governor of Sicily. In that year there was an uprising in Sicily and a fierce battle between the Arab tribes of Sicily and the Kutāma clients (Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil, vol. 7, p. 39). Apart from the Kutāma Berbers, the non-Arab inhabitants of the island also included Blacks and Slavs. 260. On Ṭāhir b. Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī al-Kalbī, see Document 54 below. 261. Qāsim was al-Qāʾim’s son and heir apparent, but he predeceased his father. Then Ismāʿīl (al-Manṣūr) became his father’s heir apparent. (al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, p. 130.) Ibn ʿIdhārī reports that in 316/928, while al-Qāʾim was conducting operations against Berber tribes in the Maghrib, he learnt from a letter he received from Qāsim of rumours about al-Mahdī having designated as heir apparent his other son Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad. This troubled al-Qāʾim and he returned promptly to al-Mahdiyya without engaging the enemy (Ibn ʿIdhārī, al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 193). Qāsim is blamed here for the subsequent discord among members of the Fatimid family. It is interesting to note that subsequently, on 3 Rabīʿ I 404/12 September 1013, al-Muʿizz’s grandson al-Ḥākim appointed as his heir apparent a descendant of Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad. See al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, vol. 2, pp. 100–101.

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not expected. As for the request that Aḥmad has made to lodge Ibn ʿAmmār262 in the house that we built for him, he will reside in the place where he was during the lifetime of his paternal uncle. Then he will move into the house at the time when we order him to do so and which we shall choose for him, God willing.

47 Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Ṭallās worked under the authority of the ustādh at the storehouses of the navy. When he died, Nuṣayr wrote to inform of his death and the ustādh conveyed that (letter) to our lord the imam. When he had acquainted himself fully with it, he wrote back to him: O Jawdhar, take for him a shroud from Ḥusayn b. Muhadhdhab, similar to that which he provides for the elders of (our) Kutāma followers. Send it with a messenger to Nuṣayr so that (Aḥmad) is buried. May God have mercy upon him. He was always sincere. May God grant him the reward for his past (services), God willing.

48 The administration of the domains of Muẓaffar263 had come under the ustādh. The money that they raised was allocated to the department of al-Manṣūriyya and was separate from revenues (from properties) which the ustādh managed at al-Mahdiyya, and which served to provide for the maintenance of slaves that he had under his authority. He needed to include the money that came from these domains in the overall sum of his expenses allocated to the maintenance of slaves, because his receipts were not enough to cover the different types of expenses that he had to incur. He wrote a note [to the imam] on this matter and received the following reply: We do not doubt your good administration and (we are sure) that if you found ways to store air, not to mention anything else, you 262. Regarding the house, see Document 80 below, and on Ibn ʿAmmār see note 187 above. See also Document 2 above relating to a Slav taken prisoner by him at the battle of Rametta, and Document 6 above regarding a request by him and his cousin Aḥmad to obtain horses from Jawdhar. 263. Muẓaffar al-Ṣaqlabī was put to death in 349/960 under al-Muʿizz. On him see note 53 above.

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would do it, but without depriving it to those that have a right to it. Do therefore for these domains whatever seems good to you, and use their income for expenses that you have to incur. We are satisfied for everything that comes from you. Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds.

49 A letter came to the ustādh from Aḥmad b. [al-]Ḥasan, during the time when he was in Sicily,264 in which he mentioned that he had suffered an illness and spoke of the matter of the cutting of wood in the fortified towns where it was being cut.265 (Jawdhar) conveyed (the letter) to the Commander of the Faithful and wrote a note in which he said: O my lord, may God bestow His blessings upon you. Herewith is the letter of your servant Aḥmad b. Ḥasan who urged your slave to [write this] note, since a passage in his (letter) requested him to do so, after he disclosed the nature of the illness which he suffered, saying, ‘Speak of me to our lord; perhaps he will pray for me to be delivered from suffering that I feel, and obtain through the blessing of his prayer and pity the benefit and help of God in this world and the Hereafter.’

He received the [imam’s] reply on the back of the note: We have acquainted ourselves with the letter and we return it to you. May God preserve him in good health and grant us by him favour; may He, by improving his condition, sadden the enemies of our community by His might and power. What (Aḥmad) mentioned regarding the matter of the wood, we have already heard. However, you will insist upon him to make every effort in this matter, so that God may, by His grace and the favour of His action, remove difficulties of this task. As for the cause that you mentioned of the departure of those who were employed in this matter of the wood, 264. That is between the years 341–358/953–969. Hence, this document dates from before the end of 358/November 969, when Aḥmad was recalled. See note 198 above. 265. As indicated in Documents 52 and 56 below, the wood from the forests of the north-west of Sicily was undoubtedly meant for the construction of the fleet for the expedition to Egypt. The fortified towns in the region included Taormina and Rametta whose Christian inhabitants were employed in the cutting and transportation of the wood.

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like the inhabitants of Taormina and Rametta,266 you will inform him that we pray to God that He increase for us this cause by the departure of the remaining people of this distorted and altered religion, full of lies about our Lord, the Mighty, the Glorious, object of (God’s) anger, that will bring about for its adherents the painful punishment of God. God will bring it about and grant our wishes on this matter once and for all. Oh how great are the favours which we think to witness or obtain, but only because of the grace of the One who dispenses them, and besides whom there is no god, none to be worshipped other than Him. It is in Him that we put our trust. He suffices us, and He is an excellent guarantor.

50 Nuṣayr complained to (the ustādh) about a secretary that he had, called Aḥmad b. Rayḥānī, who was his private secretary and worked in the service under his authority. (Nuṣayr) mentioned that (Aḥmad) often engaged in drinking and was often seen drunk, and that he was not certain that (Aḥmad) would divulge his secrets while he was drunk. Therefore, the ustādh wanted to apply to him the punishment of beating with the cane.267 Then he consulted the Commander of the Faithful, who sent to him the following reply on this matter: O Jawdhar, let Nuṣayr apply to this fault of his secretary an admonition and a warning, without resorting to any force on him by beating or something else. If his situation is redressed for him, he will be fortunate. If not, he has a capacity among his colleagues to replace him, if he wants. However, he should do that only if (Aḥmad) repeats his fault, because a slave who has been beaten with a cane is not suitable to be entrusted with secrets. Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds.

266. Taormina was conquered in 351/962, and Rametta, the last remaining Christian stronghold on the island, fell in 354/965 during Aḥmad’s governorship. The departure of the Christian population is related to these events. Subsequently, in 358/968, al-Muʿizz ordered the evacuation of Taormina and Rametta and the two strongholds were razed. al-Nuwayrī, Nihāya, vol. 24, pp. 370–374. See also note 297 below. 267. Cf. punishment for drinking intoxicants in al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, Daʿāʾim, vol. 2, pp. 463–464 (trans. vol. 2, pp. 466–468).

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51 The ustādh received a letter from Nuṣayr268 the treasurer, governor of Tripoli. This happened after the arrival to him of the fleet commanded by Aḥmad b. Ḥasan.269 (Nuṣayr) expressed his longing to see the face of our lord and wished [him] to come to perform the prayer of the festival with him.270 He mentioned the total of the sums that he had collected and the amount that he had spent for this fleet and its crew. He described the stable situation of the country. The ustādh conveyed his letter. When the Commander of the Faithful had read it, he gave the following reply on the back the letter: O Jawdhar, write to him and inform him of the excellent opinion that we have of him. Tell him that we are happy with his administration. God has not deprived him of His help ever since he exists and He will not deprive him now. Let him strive devotedly to provide services and good counsel. Ever since we know him, we have not seen any shortcoming on his part. May God grant him as reward happiness and blessing. Regarding what he said about our prayer in this blessed month and his desire to have his wish fulfilled, [tell him that] anyone who serves us like he does is present with us, even if he is absent in person. How many absentees are present while those present are absent! The one who wants excellence and seeks to multiply it, God helps him to obey us and accomplish acts which satisfy us. The one who is overcome with his vileness, he will not see us, even if we entered between his eyelids. The one whom God makes blind, incapable of considering His benevolence, he has neither the vision nor the perception by which he would be able to see us. Let him praise God for what He has granted him of our satisfaction and let him thank Him. He can give thanks for this (favour) only with the help of God. As for the money that, as he says, he has distributed after having collected it, that which he spent on our order and for our important endeavours, it is as if it had been remit268. Nuṣayr the treasurer is apparently the same as Nuṣayr mentioned in the previous document. Hence he would have left his duties in al-Mahdiyya to take up the governorship of Tripoli. 269. On Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan al-Kalbī see note 198 above. 270. Nuṣayr’s letter dates from before the end of Dhū al-Ḥijja 359/end October 970 when Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan died. Aḥmad, who left Sicily at the end of Shawwāl/end August or beginning of September, had not yet arrived in Tripoli where he became ill and died. The day of the Feast of Sacrifice was on 10 Dhū al-Ḥijja 359/16 October 970.

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ted to us. Is not money meant to be spent thus? Praise be to God who has decreed that it be spent on what satisfies Him and brings us glory forever, extends our power and fulfils the hopes of [our] forefathers and ancestors. By God, if the mountains of Ifrīqiya were of gold and silver which we expended on expenses, God would replace them by the favours and the bounties which He has already granted us, and they would be quite insignificant compared to that. The blessing that God has bestowed on our wealth is one of the greatest signs and the best proof. I beseech God for help. By God, whatever we lost during the service that Nuṣayr exerted under us and his administration when he was at our residence, especially after Jawhar’s absence—may God keep him safe and sound and grant him victory—the deficit in the collection of money was compensated by savings that he made in the finances of Tripoli in a year. After the departure of (Nuṣayr) we had relied on Jawhar, and we found in him and with him everything that we wished. However, since (Jawhar’s) departure, matters have been neglected;271 everyone followed the savage nature of his passion; there was no more Treasury or guardians [of the Treasury]; there were no more slaves. There was no situation from which one could know what one wanted. Praise be to God in all circumstances.

52 When warships were being constructed in al-Mahdiyya, their external parts which are completed by masts, yards and other similar things could not be finished. As the ustādh had fine pieces of timber in his warehouse, he offered them respectfully to the Commander of the Faithful and sent him a note about the matter. When our lord had acquainted himself with what he had written, he gave him the following reply: No, by God, O Jawdhar, we would not like to deplete your warehouse of such timber. Let it remain with you as a treasure for us. Let 271. Nuṣayr, Jawdhar’s deputy in al-Mahdiyya, was summoned to al-Manṣūriyya to act as an official in the Treasury. Subsequently, he was sent to Tripoli as governor, and the savings that he made within a year on the finances of Tripoli contributed to financing the land and sea expeditions to Egypt. Jawhar had played an important role in the financial administration in Ifrīqiya after Nuṣayr left for Tripoli. Then, once Jawhar left Ifrīqiya for Egypt, there was no one capable to replace him to administer the finances, Nuṣayr being in Tripoli.

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Nuṣayr seek to buy everything for which he finds the means to buy. We have hopes which we wish that God will fulfil and make us see their realisation. May He also fulfil the hope that you have to satisfy Him and satisfy us, and to draw near to Him by your zeal. He is abounding in graciousness and His bounties are immense.

53 When Naẓīf al-Rayḥānī the Secretary died, the imam invoked God’s mercy upon him. Then the ustādh asked permission to continue to his son, who was a small child, the emoluments of his father. Our lord sent him the reply: Let Naẓīf’s son be looked after on behalf of his father. If the child is not educated, he will not be useful as an adult. Education has an importance which has no equal for a mature man who has already had accidents and recovered from them.272 He understands that this is necessary by force of circumstances. He is not like the one who thinks that he is reared for happiness and supported before he becomes suitable for a place for which he is considered worthy. Take care of him and awaken his mind. You will gain benefit from him, God willing.273

54 When Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan arrived from Sicily,274 upset by his son Ṭāhir’s companionship with Prince Tamīm275 and the awful 272. Literally: ‘that has been broken and repaired’ (kusira wa-jubira). The expression was used by al-Zubayr b. al-ʿAwwām, the Companion of the Prophet, to describe the most courageous. ʿAlī b. al-Ḥasan Ibn ʿAsākir, Taʾrīkh madīnat Dimashq, ed. ʿUmar b. Gharāma al-ʿAmrawī (Beirut, 1995–2001), vol. 18, p. 385; and Muḥammad b. Mukarram Ibn Manẓūr, Mukhtaṣar Taʾrīkh Dimashq li-Ibn ʿAsākir, vol. 9, ed. Nasīb Nashāwī (Damascus, 1985), p. 19. 273. This document is a testimony to the importance given among the Fatimids to the education of sons of chief officers and servants of the state under the supervision of the sovereign and his entourage for training future officials. 274. Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan was recalled from Sicily by al-Muʿizz at the end of 358/November 969. At that time Tamīm’s brother, ʿAbd Allāh, had been already designated heir apparent. See notes 198 above and 320 below. 275. On Tamīm see note 219 above.

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rumours which circulated about them, he wanted to kill his son Ṭāhir. Nevertheless, he consulted the ustādh on this matter and sought his advice about it. The ustādh considered it necessary to refer the matter to the Commander of the Faithful, who sent him this reply: O Jawdhar, may God increase the number of our followers like Aḥmad. By God, he has been vilified before us and defamed only by some of (Tamīm’s) supporters, who had portrayed favourably to his son this unfortunate young man, the company of the one who has been the cause of his misfortune. By God, the pain that we feel for his sake is like what we feel for the one who belongs to us; but the son of Aḥmad leaves hope for the future, while for the one who plots against us, there will never be any hope, because the path by which God, the Mighty, the Glorious, raises our children is the path of purity. One who lacks it is a burden that weighs upon his master. Praise be to God for what afflicts and what rejoices. Regarding what Aḥmad wants to do to his son, prevent that and intercede with him for (his son). Let him know that the right thing to do is to rectify all those who are depraved, without resorting to open abomination whose disgrace would extend to himself and whose memory would remain for days to come, for he is well aware that it remains attached to posterity. May he control himself and do what is appropriate for the future. His being in our presence will rectify the disorder caused by any troublemaker who strove to cause trouble between the two. We, on our part, shall treat their illnesses. One who obeys us will not be troublesome. By God, God will abase the heads of all those who rose to rejoice at their misfortune, because they saw the favour that we granted them and bestowed upon them. Thus we want that, as long as they live, [our favour] will grow and increase, that it will not decline or regress. Let him know that so that he acts accordingly and that he does not resort to any reprehensible act on the young man, God willing.

55 Ṣāliḥ b. Bahrām the secretary, son-in-law of Naẓīf the secretary, who has been mentioned above, related that a eunuch came to him from the palace to tell him that one of the slave girls of al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh, had seen in her dream that al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh told her, ‘Go to Naẓīf the secretary; if you do not go to him on Thursday before the afternoon prayer, you will not meet him. Tell him, “Rejoice, because

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you are of the members of the family of the Prophet, and you will be among the inhabitants of Paradise.”’ The slave girl told him, ‘O my lord, I will convey to him a gift so that I get the reward of it.’ ‘Do not do so,’ he said, ‘because he will not accept it from you, besides he does not need it.’ When the ustādh came to know about this dream, he related it to the Commander of the Faithful [al-Muʿizz] who sent him the following reply: There is no doubt that such is the situation of (Naẓīf), because of his intentions, his sincerity and the satisfaction that he gave to his masters. By God, when we were young nobody had for us any fearful respect or suspected that we were capable of discernment, while we knew each one and his feelings, because of the power of natural abilities that God had placed in us. We did not know of (Naẓīf) any feeling of intrigue that could be noticed in others, rather we knew him as a sincere man, aiming to follow the straight path to the satisfaction of God, his Lord. He has found in death, during our reign, the perfection of his bliss. May God’s mercy be upon him.

56 A large consignment of wood arrived from Sicily for the ustādh in his ship. The arsenal of our lord needed wood. Therefore, the ustādh offered it respectfully and wished that it would be accepted by him. (The imam) sent to him the following reply: We do not doubt that God has helped you in your intention to seek to please us and that He has given you the possibility to do so. May God be gracious to you and may He fulfil the noblest of your hopes of obtaining His mercy and His pleasure. We accept from you the spontaneous gift that you have made. Write to Nuṣayr to take delivery of it and to use it, God willing.

57 There arose between the representative of the ustādh and a man of the Kutāma of the Ishjāna276 called Rabīʿ b. Ṣuwāt a dispute about 276. Apparently Ijjāna, a branch of the Kutāma. Ibn Khaldūn, Taʾrīkh, vol. 6, p. 196 (trans. Berbères, vol. 1, p. 292).

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a plot of land in the domain of the ustādh at this place which the Kutāmī had seized by force, and from where he had evicted the representative. The ustādh had sympathy and compassion for (the Kutāma) because of their standing with this pure dynasty. The Kutāmī claimed that he had bought this land for sixty dinars. The ustādh presented the case before our lord and asked him permission to pay sixty dinars to the man and refrain from litigation, given that he was cautious about (these) things. When the Commander of the Faithful had acquainted himself with this (case), he sent him this reply: O Jawdhar, may God protect you. We have read what you say in your note. The payment of these sixty dinars is easy and quite insignificant for being relieved from worrying about any (possible) injustice towards people like (the Kutāma). If that is not enough, give (the money) as alms to those whose properties he claims to possess and relieve your mind and theirs from all worry. It is better that justice comes from you to these humble people rather than from them. God will make your money grow inasmuch as it satisfies Him, draws near to Him and is not besmirched with any prohibition that would call forth His displeasure. God has protected you from that previously and lately, and He will complete the favour that He grants you, like the gracious bounties which He lavishes upon our followers and which they recognise. There is no other god than Him; He has no associate.

58 Jawhar the secretary wrote a note to our lord the Commander of the Faithful to ask [him] to grant [him] the share of Shawdhab277 in a house which was opposite the house of al-Baghdādī, after the death of Shawdhab, and [to allow him] to buy the share of (Shawdhab) in his domain. This domain was shared between Shawdhab and the wife of Jawhar. Our lord wrote back: O Jawdhar, here is the note that Jawhar addressed to us concerning what you know. Give him the share of Shawdhab in the house as he has asked, and sell to him the share of Shawdhab in the domain, by 277. Shawdhab was apparently a slave of al-Muʿizz since, after his death, what he held reverted to his master, or he was a client of al-Muʿizz without heirs having rights of ownership.

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virtue of a right of pre-emption278 on which you agree, because he is more deserving of our benevolence than anyone else. May God give us many slaves like him, God willing.279

59 The ustādh wrote a note to the Commander of the Faithful to complain about Rabīʿ al-Ṣaqlabī regarding a village called Funduq Rayḥān.280 He said that Rabīʿ was cruel towards its residents and humiliated the agent who acted on behalf of the ustādh in this place. This Rabīʿ had set out to recruit sailors.281 When our lord became acquainted with that, he sent to him the following reply: O Jawdhar, may God keep you in good health. By God, we do not accept to hear about you, or about the lowest of those of your company, any bad words, and even less so to learn that anything unpleasant befalls you. If we inquired about the acts of these scoundrels, we would find that they are contemptuous of God and ourselves to such an extent that it cannot be described. May the troubles that they cause you by their acts be eased, but we find only these people or others who are worse than them. With none of those on whom we have lavished our bounties and whom we have invited to come to our assistance have we found anyone responding to our wishes. It is as if treason and ingratitude were innate in them. We say, ‘Praise be to God in all circumstances!’ May God not reward 278. Pre-emption (shuf ʿa) is the right of the co-owner to buy out his partner’s share of the property which is for sale. On details of this right in Fatimid jurisprudence see al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, Daʿāʾim, vol. 2, pp. 87–92 (trans. vol. 2, pp. 70–74). 279. Jawhar, who was still a slave of al-Muʿizz, being manumitted only after the expedition of Egypt, enjoyed the rights of a freeman with regard to ownership of property. In a passage relating to succession of slaves and claims of their heirs, al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān relates, in his Kitāb al-Majālis wa-al-musāyarāt, pp. 360–361, cases of slaves of al-Qāʾim and al-Muʿizz which explain the juridical status of some of their slaves. In a case al-Nuʿmān referred to al-Muʿizz, he replied: ‘All our slaves who adhere to our cause should be treated like freemen are treated in Mālikī jurisprudence with regard to their successions and testimony, their acts and their situation as a whole; those who do not adhere to our cause should be treated as ordinary slaves who can only determine what their masters allow.’ 280. On Funduq Rayḥān see note 190 above. 281. On the recruitment of slaves see note 231 above.

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the one who has put us in the necessity to take these people into our service. Do not let this contemptible individual become powerful in these domains, and do not let him attain the object of his desires. Write to the district judge to abide by our order to investigate the nature of these events and to write to us on the accuracy of what you know about it so that we give you the order to act in this matter, God willing.

60 There was in al-Masīla282 a man named ʿUthmān b. Amīn about whom the ustādh had learnt that he was corresponding with the Umayyads, that they protected him there, that they provided for his needs, and that he attacked the authenticity of the genealogy of the (Fatimid) dynasty. Jaʿfar b. ʿAlī had not taken any measures against him. Nor had he taken any apparent measures to restrain him. The ustādh submitted a report to the Commander of the Faithful on what he had learnt on this matter, out of the duty of loyalty. When our lord had acquainted himself with his note, he sent to him the following reply: O Jawdhar, the One who has been gracious to us suffices us (as protection) against that which we avoid openly and secretly. He will reward us for what He knows about us and He will reward any man for the faith that he has in us. What makes us increasingly patient is the discerning knowledge we have of the ruse, envy and insolence of most people. Even if we recompense them, we fear their misdeeds, but we strive to redress those that we can. If we succeed in achieving our aim, we get its reward and glory. If we do not succeed, the sin of perdition will weigh upon the person himself, according to God’s description of His friend, (one) of the two sons of Adam, when he said to his brother: ‘For me, I intend to let thee draw on thyself my sin as well as thine, for thou wilt be among the companions of the fire, and that is the reward of those who do wrong’ (5:29). Patience brings for us praiseworthy outcome by the grace of God. 282. al-Masīla (M’sila), a town in present Algeria founded by the future al-Qāʾim in 315/927 during the expedition which he conducted in the Zāb. He charged ʿAlī b. Ḥamdūn with laying the foundations of the town which served as a military outpost to the west of Ifrīqiya and became the residence of the Banū Ḥamdūn. See al-Bakrī, al-Masālik, pp. 59–60 (trans. pp. 123–126), and F. Dachraoui, ‘Masīla’, EI2, vol. 6, pp. 727–728.

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Regarding this man whom you mentioned, we have received similar reports to those that have reached you. It is said that Jaʿfar has for him the greatest respect and that Ibn Rumāḥis283 does not hesitate to satisfy his needs; he takes the utmost care of his interests, his domains and his properties. Write, therefore, to Jaʿfar as if you were asking him about him and to have his news; inform him that this is what has come to your knowledge of the fact relating to him, but without elaborating what you have learnt so that he himself tells you what is the nature of the facts concerning (ʿUthmān), according to him, and that you can draw some indication from his words what he knows, God willing.

61 One day, the builder ʿAbd Allāh b. Ḥajjūn was sitting beside the ustādh and conversing with him. He was one of his close friends to whom formerly the ustādh had rendered services. He was a faithful man. Their conversation took place at a time when our lord would seclude himself because of matters that had piled up on him, so much so that only his brothers and his paternal uncles approached him. The ustādh preferred not to importune him by his presence; he came to see him only at the time when the table was served, with the officers of the service. Ibn Ḥajjūn asked him, ‘How is it that I see that the ustādh does not come in the morning and evening to see the Commander of the Faithful, when he is in session?’ (The ustādh) told him, ‘I prefer not to bother the Commander of the Faithful.’ Ibn Ḥajjūn, having heard this, related the matter to the Commander of the Faithful when he had an audience with him. (The imam) said, ‘Glory be to God! [How can] Jawdhar be bothersome?’ Then, pointing with his hand at his brothers, his paternal uncles and his sons, he said, ‘What difference is there between him and them?’ When he returned to his palace, he wrote to (Jawdhar) a 283. He is Muḥammad b. Rumāḥis, commander of the Umayyad fleet at Almeria during the reign of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Nāṣir. He was appointed governor of Bajjāna (Pechina) in 328/940 (Ibn Ḥayyān al-Qurṭubī, al-Muqtabas, ed. P. Chalmeta et al. (Madrid, 1979), vol. 5, pp. 313, 462). Ibn Rumāḥis was sent by the Umayyad caliph in 334/945–946 with weapons and supplies to support Abū Yazīd in his rebellion, but on reaching Būna (ʿAnnāba), Ibn Rumāḥis learnt of Abū Yazīd’s defeat and turned back. Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 385–386.

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note in which he said: O Jawdhar, may God keep you in good health. Ibn Ḥajjūn informed us today what you said. No, by God the Mighty, we do not find you bothersome and we do not impose upon you in any way a fearful respect of ourselves, because we know well the feelings that you have for us and what you think. Whenever you want to come to see us, at any time it may be, do come. It will bring you relief, God willing.

62 The Commander of the Faithful had no news from Sicily. No letter or messenger had come to him from (the island). This preoccupied the mind of our lord as well as of his entourage. Now while the ustādh was sitting in his quarters, suddenly he received a note written in the hand of the Commander of the Faithful by which he wanted to bring joy to him, and which said: O Jawdhar, may God keep you safe and sound. We announce to you good news, God willing. The Commander of the Faithful [ʿAlī] has said: ‘When a rope is subjected to much tightening, it snaps.’ God has just delivered us from the greatest concern caused to us today regarding the polytheists. Messengers have reached us announcing the arrival of Rabāḥ,284 slave of Ḥasan b. ʿAlī, and saying that they left him as he disembarked. They related that they sought information from some of those who arrived with him and they reported to them that the polytheist had sent fifteen vessels loaded with Muslim prisoners, presents and other things, and that they left them when they arrived immediately after them. When that is accomplished by the favour of God, the East will be attained, and its attainment will bring about the death of every idol of the polytheists and other worshippers of idols, God willing.285 284. Rabāḥ was apparently sent to Byzantine territory, probably to southern Italy, to negotiate the release of prisoners. In the report of his arrival, no place is mentioned, but it appears that the flotilla bringing the prisoners was to stop at Sicily before reaching Ifrīqiya. 285. It appears that the release of prisoners was followed by a Byzantine embassy to al-Manṣūriyya. The embassy in question may well be that of the year 346/957, described by al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān in his al-Majālis wa-alMusāyarāt, pp. 155, 334–338. See also Samuel M. Stern, ‘An Embassy of the Byzantine Emperor to the Fāṭimid Caliph al-Muʿizz’, Byzantion, 20 (1950), pp. 242–243, reprinted in his History and Culture in the Medieval Muslim

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63 The ustādh wrote a note in which he said that, despite his preference not to bother our lord, he feared that he had to do so in a matter, among those he remembered and about which he would ask an order, relating to maritime supplies and other questions relating to the warehouses. He feared that (the imam) would find this bothersome. When our lord learnt that, he wrote to him: O Jawdhar, may God keep you safe and sound. We have acquainted ourselves with what you say in your note. No, by God, the position which you enjoy with us is not that of someone whom one finds bothersome. On the contrary, we pray to God and we ask Him to give us in our entourage many like you. Everything that comes from you we consider as coming from the person to himself. Do not consider yourself anything else, and thank God for the privilege that He has granted you. Regarding our concerns, they are made overwhelming by all sorts of things. I hope always that God will give us a helper to deal with them, while the absence of this helper makes our work heavier, and this is to our disadvantage, not to our advantage. May God deliver us from the evil of those who do not acknowledge the extent of benevolence, and may He fulfil (our) wish in the one from whom we expect help, God willing.

64 The ustādh wrote a note to our lord to remind him of the plea made by Muḥammad the secretary286 for his son Jaʿfar, to obtain a domain from which he could gain his livelihood. He received the following reply: We have acquainted ourselves with your note. The place of Muḥammad is like those whose intentions are sincere and whose company already provided us with good services. We wish that God extend our bounties to those who do not know us, and even more so to those who know only us. We will fulfil Jaʿfar’s request because you have appealed in favour of his plea, God willing.

World (London, 1984), article IX. 286. On Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad b. ʿUthmān, Jawdhar’s secretary, and his son Jaʿfar, see Document 15 above. Muḥammad b. ʿUthmān accompanied Jawdhar on his final journey.

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65 (Jawdhar) submitted a report to our lord stating that some young slaves among the embroiderers had apostatised after having embraced Islam. He explained what he had learnt of their case. (The imam) sent him the following directive: O Jawdhar, may God help you. Write to Nuṣayr to arrest these apostates, imprison them, have them castigated and call upon legal witnesses as witnesses for them. Then, if they return to Islam, record the declarations of the witnesses and set them free. If they continue to adhere to Christianity, caution them and warn them again repeatedly on different days. If they return to their error, let him have them brought out [from the prison] and have them severed member after member in full view of everybody so that they are an abomination for others. Let him inform them, when he warns them during the three times, that if they persist, such will be their punishment. Then carry out what we have said, unless they repent, God willing.287

66 Jaʿfar, the son of al-Manṣūr the master of the Yemen,288 was held in high regard by the (Fatimid) dynasty, and his bonds with our lord were close kinship bonds. His standing with the ustādh was of someone whose rank in religion was the closest and firmly established. (Jaʿfar) resided in al-Manṣūriyya in a house which was in the neighbourhood of ʿAlī b. al-Jannān’s house. ʿAlī asked him to sell him his 287. On apostasy in Islam see W. Heffening, ‘Murtadd’, EI2, vol. 7, pp. 635–636. On the Fatimid law of apostasy see al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, Daʿāʾim, vol. 2, pp. 479–481 (trans. vol. 2, pp. 482–484). There is no mention of severing member after member as punishment for apostasy in works of Islamic jurisprudence. 288. Jaʿfar b. Manṣūr al-Yaman was a most prolific and high-ranking Ismaili author. His father Ibn Ḥawshab (d. 302/914), also known as Manṣūr al-Yaman, pioneered the Ismaili daʿwa in the Yemen. Sometime after his father’s death Jaʿfar emigrated to Ifrīqiya where he arrived during the reign of al-Qāʾim. He died at an unknown date in the early part of al-Muʿizz’s reign. Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 78, 570–571; Poonawala, Biobibliography, pp. 71–75, 144, 150, 317, 323; Ismāʿīl b. ʿAbd al-Rasūl al-Majdūʿ, Fahrasat al-kutub wa-al-rasāʾil, ed. Alinaqi Monzavi (Tehran, 1966), pp. 138–139, 153, 187–188, 190–191, 260, 280.

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house, but he refused. Then (Jaʿfar) needed to borrow money and (ʿAlī) gave him a mortgage on his house for a fixed term. When the term was due, and as (Jaʿfar) had not found the money (to repay), ʿAlī demanded that he vacate the house. The ustādh, having learnt of this, submitted the matter to our lord who sent him the following reply: By God, O Jawdhar, we are very much astonished at this, because ʿAlī informed us two days ago of the legal document committing (Jaʿfar). This gives us an impression which is far from what we had considered preferable and ideal. Indeed, (Jaʿfar) deserves what has happened to him and he deserves even the double of that, because he behaved as someone who places his security in the hands of a pitiless man. If by hiding from us this fact he had the thought of not bothering us with this matter, he should have, nevertheless, considered the situation in which he was putting himself. The burden which he now lays upon us is heavier than if he had appealed to our generosity, because we would not have skimped with him the double of this cursed sum. Furthermore, he would not have placed himself in an annoying situation. He would have avoided that it become known to those, close to us or far from us, that our follower—son of our most splendid follower, the fortunate one by the satisfaction of God and the satisfaction of his masters, the one who was foremost in accomplishing charitable deeds among all those around him— has been obliged, while he was at our court and enjoyed the greatest favour with us, to mortgage his house in which he is neighbour to us, even though this is the finest of dwellings. We shall save him from this predicament and rescue him. May he not fall in a similar situation, because then he would be delivered to the might and power (of God). Confirm this with him, God willing.

67 The ustādh wrote to our lord a note in which he mentioned that his ship had perished. He requested our lord to grant him one of the two ships that had been bought from the Byzantines for our lord, so that he could make use of it to transport his cargo by sea to the East. He said that what had prompted him to do so was that he could not find any that he could buy, and that he feared out of respect to make this request. The imam sent to him the following reply: O Jawdhar, may God keep you in good health. We do not consider our goods to be other than your own. God has granted you our

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satisfaction and our familiarity so that, if we knew that your wealth consisted only in what you possess of our favour, we would not be satisfied to grant you the double of it, just as we have done for others who are less deserving than you; but we know that your wealth is far more considerable than theirs and that your standing is greater than theirs, because God has granted you our satisfaction which He will complete with happiness in the Hereafter. Take, therefore, any of the ships that you want. May God bless it for you and make you know His blessing. The request that you have submitted to me will be granted. You have obtained, by God, everything in your spiritual and worldly life that you would like, by the favour which He has granted you to enjoy near us. Have faith in God and thank [Him]; He will increase His generosity and bounties towards you. We shall hasten the success of your request, God willing.

68 After the death of al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī,289 our lord continued to invoke God’s mercy upon him and spoke appreciatively of him every time he was mentioned. One day he spoke of him at great length and praised his zeal and the sacrifices he had made for the cause of God. The ustādh was present during that. When he left the meeting, there came a letter from Sicily from Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan,290 in which he described the great misfortune that had struck him with the loss of his father and the turmoil into which the calamity of his sudden loss had thrown the country. Then [he mentioned in his letter that] he spoke to the people and informed them that all misfortune was insignificant as long as the Commander of the Faithful lived. The population was calmed and he took over the direction of all matters with a firm resolution so that it seemed that the country had not suffered any misfortune.291 He wrote to ask the ustādh the blessing of the Commander of the Faithful and to thank him for favours that he had granted him. The ustādh conveyed that (letter) to our lord the Commander of the Faithful. He received the following reply: O Jawdhar, may God bestow upon you bounties in your spiritual and worldly life. We have acquainted ourselves with the letter of 289. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī died in 353/964. On him see note 139 above. 290. On Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan see note 198 above. 291. It seems that since his father left Sicily, Aḥmad already considered himself independent.

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Aḥmad and we return it to you. Send him a reply encouraging him and approving the fine attitude that he has adopted by showing patience and rejecting grief. Convey to him our feelings of sympathy for them all.292 May God never deprive them of the bounties which they enjoy there as long as they live. May He have mercy upon Ḥasan; may He be satisfied with him and grant him satisfaction. He is blissful in his death as he was in his life. If his death has saddened us, we are rejoiced and our grief at his loss is consoled by the certainty which we have that God has reserved for him a handsome reward and a noble place of return. May God grant an end as happy as his to those who obey us and have sincere intentions towards us. He has in Muḥammad293 and Aḥmad his successors, and even more. May God give us His blessing in them both. You know that Ḥasan did not achieve during our reign what they have achieved, until he sought to satisfy us throughout his life. But he has left to his posterity a glory and an honour of which the least bit is worth the greatest of what he obtained from us. May God help them to raise the construction on the bases laid down by their father, so that He makes them realise the hopes that we have placed in them, by His might and His power, God willing.

69 When provincial governors were seeking to outbid Jaʿfar b. ʿAlī294 for his governorship, because he was governor with full powers, without being bound by a contract,295 according to the rule followed until 292. The plural apparently refers to the members of the Banū Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī family. 293. On Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan see note 244 above. 294. He is Jaʿfar b. ʿAlī b. Ḥamdūn, governor of the province of al-Zāb with al-Masīla as its capital. On him see note 223 above. 295. This means that, as governor, Jaʿfar had the right to exercise full powers delegated by the caliph within his province. With the revenue that he raised, Jaʿfar had to cover the military and administrative expenditure; any residue left after these expenses had been met had to be paid to the Fatimid Treasury. This gave Jaʿfar financial independence, without being obliged to pay a predetermined guaranteed sum to the Treasury, which would have been the case if he had been bound by a contract. The Treasury could receive a lesser sum than had been expected from Jaʿfar, but which it had to accept. This situation prompted some administrators, envious of Jaʿfar’s position, to offer to pay a greater sum to the Treasury if they could be appointed governor instead of Jaʿfar. In spite of his closeness to Jaʿfar and concerned that Jaʿfar’s continued tenure meant less revenue for

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then by (the Fatimids),296 the ustādh wrote a note about the matter to the Commander of the Faithful in which he said: O my lord, this is a province about which much is being said and many rival bidders ask to lease. Its lease must be granted by contract to those who want it. Thus, the revenues of our lord will not incur any loss. For its good administration, it will be granted to Jaʿfar a salary ensuring his subsistence and which he will enjoy for the rest of his life.

70 The ustādh submitted a letter received from Jaʿfar in which he detailed the revenue of the province. He stated that it had been spent and that only a small sum would be added in addition to what he had remitted. When our lord had acquainted himself with this, he sent the following reply: O Jawdhar, we have acquainted ourselves with the letter of Jaʿfar. By God, I do not know what to say about that, but the status that you hold in our esteem and the position which you enjoy with us prevents us from hiding from you what we think openly and secretly. For Jaʿfar, God knows how much we wish that his matters should be in a better state, that they should be conducted honestly and that the favour which he enjoys continues and remains with him. First, for your sake and because he is affiliated to you; secondly, because of his father and the position that he enjoyed with his masters, may the blessings of God be upon them all; thirdly, for his own sake, because we have commended him and raised him in dignity over others. Then our friend or our enemy does not have the position of a governor, but the position he holds by the favour of God and our own favour. For the province in which (Jaʿfar) is based—by God, there is no other god than Him—some of [our] followers and slaves have already offered to pay us for it more or less 70,000 dinars per year. We declined their offers and we did not withdraw our favour from him, in due consideration of him, notwithstanding that he would redeem less than that. If we had known that the amount of the Treasury, Jawdhar recommends dismissing Jaʿfar and consider rival bidders for the position if they could be bound by a contract to pay a greater sum to the Treasury. See also Documents 70, 71 and 83 below. 296. Granting governorship with full powers, rather than a binding contract, was the general practice in the Maghrib under the Fatimids, according to Ibn Ḥawqal, Ṣūrat al-arḍ, p. 94.

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revenue of the province were such as he has stated in his letter, if we had questioned him on this matter and had called him to account and that God had not given us any other means to live than that, by God we would have found that still an inadequate present for him, because of his position with the dynasty. However, write to him; warn him and urge him in the matter so that you recover what he owes, and inform us about the outcome, God willing.

71 When the ustādh read this reply, he became troubled and distressed. He said, ‘If this province can be taxed to this large sum and if our lord needs to say, “I leave it to you”, what is the correct way for me to follow if I give my help and accept this situation?’ So he wrote an eloquent note in which he said, after the invocation: As regards the order that our lord has given to write to Jaʿfar and notify him what he has indicated, his slave will execute this order in a manner that, he hopes, will have the agreement of the Commander of the Faithful, God willing. However, what bothers the mind of his slave is that our lord leaves such a sum to Jaʿfar, in this province, for the dignity of his slave. Our lord, may God shower His blessings on him and on his family, has never ceased to show an immense generosity towards his slave and all his followers and slaves, spiritually and materially, and his bounties have always been lavished upon them. If his slave wished to thank him for only a part of the favours that he has granted to his slaves, he would not be able to discharge even a fraction of the obligation that this imposes upon him. Although the slave of our lord accepts that a part of this amount is lost for our lord for the dignity of his slave, he seeks refuge with God from it. Therefore, may our lord dismiss (Jaʿfar) from the governorship of this province today, if he so wills. His slave will give praise and be grateful for this as long as he lives, because he only sees advantage in what enters the Treasury of his lord.

After having read that, our lord sent to him a reply whose text is as follows: O Jawdhar, we have acquainted ourselves with what you mentioned. We have never seen anyone more amazing than you. You do not wish to accept anything that raises your dignity at the expense of a grain of our wealth. It is a wish which one hardly meets in this

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world, because a favour is considered as such only if the one who grants it frees [the one to whom it is granted] from an obligation or turns a blind eye [to a shortcoming] which can be there. In any other case, this is only a just treatment and recompense. By God, we have no doubt about the hopes that we place in you and about your wish to do everything that satisfies us, just as we do not doubt about that for ourselves. It is because we know about you that God has granted you the favour and approval which you enjoy near us and of which you are deserving. As for what you suggested [to us] concerning Jaʿfar, to dismiss him, that would fulfil the best hopes of those who envy him, and satisfy to the utmost degree their desire, if we did it. Rather, we prefer to exercise patience and take upon ourselves not to change a favour which we granted to our followers and our slaves. If they demanded of themselves for us as much as what we demand of ourselves for them, they would be blissful in this world and in the Hereafter. God suffices us and He is an excellent guarantor.

72 The ustādh had concern for Jaʿfar b. ʿAlī 297 and [his brother] Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī al-Ḥusayn298 which we have already mentioned before. The standing which both enjoyed with the dynasty, because of outstanding services rendered by their father and by the role they both played in the holy war, was well known to everyone. There were many rumours about the great concern of the ustādh for them, and someone even went so far as to say that al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī was devoted to Jawdhar as a slave to a master and that he never passed by the house of the ustādh to go to the palace of our lord, the Commander of the Faithful, without visiting (the ustādh), or other similar things. The ustādh feared idle gossip. He took against it the greatest precau297. Jaʿfar b. ʿAlī b. Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī (not to be confused with Jaʿfar b. ʿAlī b. Ḥamdūn of Documents 69, 70 and 71) is mentioned in the sources in connection with the destruction of the fortifications of Taormina and Rametta, where he is referred to as the paternal uncle of the Kalbid emir Aḥmad. In 358/968, following instructions from al-Muʿizz, Aḥmad ordered his brother Abū al-Qāsim ʿAlī (d. 372/982) and his paternal uncle Jaʿfar to raze the two strongholds. See al-Nuwayrī, Nihāya, vol. 24, p. 374. This Jaʿfar is mentioned also in Document 73 below, where a reference is made to a disagreement between him and his nephew Abū al-Futūḥ Mūsā. 298. On al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī see note 139 above.

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tion and protection, wishing that his name remain in obscurity. When he learnt what was being said, he wrote to the Commander of the Faithful, expressing the grief that he felt at this malicious gossip, saying: He299 is just a foreigner, a Slav, without kinship and without children. He keeps company of these two men only on the order of al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh at a time when their father was absent, conducting the holy war.300 Since such remarks are being made about him and (the two brothers), his slave asks (his lord) to release him of all responsibility towards them.

Such were more or less his words. Having read his note, the Commander of the Faithful gave him the following reply: O Jawdhar, may God, the Most High, keep you in good health and be benevolent to you spiritually and materially. We have read your note. By God, beside whom there is no god, the position that you hold with us is not that of someone about whom we would suspect what you fear, because you have been long enough in our company for time to reveal to us things that would have remained hidden from us previously. We have not brought you from al-Mahdiyya to cause you misery, and leave that place without someone like you, given the severity with which you acted against those who wish that fortune turn against us, causing us misfortune which may God make fall upon their heads. By granting you proximity to us, we have not wanted anything else than to bring back your happiness during the rest of your life. But because of God’s help to you, you suspect yourself what your enemy suspects about you. One who fears (God) is safe. Never did a man behave informally with the one who is beneath him, without this familiarity having been his loss, especially if he acts so with the one that is above him. Concerning what you say regarding Jaʿfar, your situation with his father is a situation that I believe I know better than you. May God be satisfied with ʿAlī and grant him what satisfies him. May He amend Jaʿfar for us as we would like and wish, and may He grant him instead of his corrupt opinions that which will be more useful to him. God knows well that we suffer because of him like a father suffers because of a bad son. As for the thought that we could call you to account for your friendship for him, may God forbid! (I swear 299. Jawdhar is referring to himself in the third person. 300. ʿAlī b. Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī fought for the Fatimids in Sicily and was killed in 326/938 during the siege of Jirjent.

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it) by the sacred month, because if you do not remain in friendship with him, he will perish with his bad judgement. For you, by God, no doubt comes to disturb our mind about the uprightness of your conscience and the fine feelings that you cherish for us. Concerning the behaviour that we disapprove in Jaʿfar and others, what we want is the well-being of all and to cause the proof of God to reign, as He has imposed upon us (this task). One who sees clearly the right path and hastens to what we approve will draw benefit from it and will be fortunate; one who is blind will err and go astray. If he knew the benefit of amendment, he would be grateful for it; he would repudiate the acts that we disapprove, remove his certainty and our doubts, for how can he rely on his doubts against our certainty? Concerning Ḥasan, what you said of his situation and what is being said about him, by God, we have heard all sorts of things of this kind, but that has not penetrated our ears; nor have we retained it, since, whether you both be in agreement or disagreement, the absolute confidence that we have in you two would not have changed. Never would we have been disturbed by the suspicion that your coming together could lead to anything other than advantage for us and bring together the hearts of the followers. God, the Mighty, the Glorious, says: ‘If thou hadst spent all that is in the earth, thou couldst not have brought their hearts together, but God hath done it’ (8:63). God has rightly inspired to you both this idea. One who fears God is successful; one who fears the friends of God has already discharged the obligation that He has towards them; one who fears the friends of Satan (al-Ṭāgūt) is already protected from them. There is nothing in the company of those that you have mentioned that is dishonourable for you or diminishes you, God be praised. You can, therefore, continue to be with them as you are. If I disapproved of you the least thing, I would forbid you it and would guide you to what is right. But what God inclined you to do by adhering to what satisfies your masters in your acts, formerly and today, is a situation for which you must praise God and thank Him to the utmost limit of your strength. By God, there is nothing above the situation that you enjoy near us other than obtaining the mercy of God which you hope, for which you strive and which you aspire to earn. May God grant you the most handsome share of it, after having made you witness with us the realisation of the hope to see the fulfilment of the promise that God made to us and the triumph of our cause, in spite of our adversaries, by the favour of God, Lord of the worlds.

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73 There was alienation between the ustādh and Muḥammad b. [al-] Ḥasan [b. ʿAlī al-Kalbī],301 whose origin was jesting that resulted in a break-up. He had learnt that this came from his brother Abū al-Futūḥ Mūsā b. [al-]Ḥasan302 and that it was he who prompted his brother to backbite the ustādh and tried to sow discord between them. The ustādh decided to break with the entire family of Banū Abī al-Ḥusayn and stop corresponding with Aḥmad in Sicily, despite the confidence that he had in the ustādh and which he expressed in the letters that he sent to him as well as to all his relations. (The ustādh) wrote to our lord a note in which he mentioned what had happened, what had befallen him, and what he had decided to do. When our lord had read (the note), he sent him the following reply: O Jawdhar, may God keep you in good health, be benevolent to you and complete His favours upon you. We have acquainted ourselves with everything that you mentioned in your note. By God, besides whom there is no god, we have not heard anything about this matter except from you. We do not doubt that there is in the individuals some resentment ever since what happened between Jaʿfar b. ʿAlī and Mūsā b. Ḥasan. Indeed, it did not appear to us otherwise, by God the Mighty. With regard to your bantering with them, to which you referred, it should not have led to what has happened. Your open rupture with them will bring about in this (matter) a good thing which God would not have brought about. Most people today like to engage in slander and calumnies which are not based on anything, even more so when they have some basis. Indeed, you are able to do what you want, without that becoming apparent to anyone. However, do not break with Aḥmad, for you would be committing an injustice towards him. Sometimes one feels a pain in a limb; do you then cut it off? This and similar cases, where the opposites confront each other, have never ceased and will never cease to be met with in the world. Health succeeds illness; life succeeds death; what is murky today will be clear tomorrow. Act in such a way as to protect yourself from what a man like you ought to 301. On Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan see note 244 above. See also Document 68 above in which al-Muʿizz expresses sympathy for the death of his father, and Document 82 below where al-Muʿizz confides in him and other notables the designation of his son ʿAbd Allāh as heir apparent. 302. Document 46 above relates to a disagreement between Muḥammad, Mūsā and their brother Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī.

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protect himself, and display familiarity where, by the grace of God, it will suit you, out of respect of our honour which participates in everything that you like, serious or amusing. Hide your intimate thoughts, so that they do not appear to people who could make tales and fables out of them. There has been formerly between you and their ancestors bonds so that nothing can separate you from them or them from you. You know that when arrows of their enemies hit them, when they had almost perished by the anger of their imam, you appealed to us and we appealed to al-Manṣūr bi-llāh [to spare them], and he acted towards them in a way which is worthy of him. Since you did not abandon them at that time, you must [not] abandon them today, considering the marks of favour and satisfaction that we have shown them. Perhaps they will retain their share and return to an attitude more appropriate for them. Man is more able to hide something that he has not yet shown than to hide it when he has already shown it. For us, no, by God, neither they nor others have acquainted us with anything that you have told us, but we will endeavour, as much as possible, to put an end to what could result from it, God willing.

74 Correspondence was exchanged between the ustādh and Jawhar after the latter went to Egypt, and letters from Jawhar came [bearing the superscription]: ‘To the ustādh Jawdhar, may God prolong his life and perpetuate his honour. From Jawhar the Secretary, slave of the Commander of the Faithful.’ 303 The ustādh, when he wrote to all his correspondents, would draw up his letters thus: ‘From Jawdhar, Client of the Commander of the Faithful, to so-and-so.’ When the ustādh learnt that our lord had given to Jawhar the title of ‘Client of the Commander of the Faithful’, he himself did not use this title in his letters, but continued to act as he had previously the habit of doing and waited for a decision to be taken towards him in this matter. He wrote a note to the Commander of the Faithful, presenting to him the matter and asked him how he should write to (Jawhar). Our lord replied: 303. Jawdhar, who was emancipated during the reign of al-Manṣūr (see Part One, Section 16 above), is named first as a mark of respect from Jawhar while he was still a slave, being emancipated only after the conquest of Egypt. On this etiquette, in which the addressee precedes, see al-Qalqashandī, Ṣubḥ, vol. 7, p. 60.

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O Jawdhar, you have never lacked God’s help and happiness since you exist. May they never abandon you as long as you live, until God finally grants you endless bliss and eternal well-being, by His might and His power, by His favour and the immensity of His benevolence. Write to him thus: ‘From Jawdhar, Client of the Commander of the Faithful, to his brother Jawhar, Client of the Commander of the Faithful.’ There is in that a mark of honour. May God not deprive our loyal and sincere servants of the happiness that He grants in this world and the Hereafter. We bind you both by a pact of brotherhood like that which our ancestor, the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his posterity, established between his companions.304

75 The ustādh wrote a letter to Abū al-Qāsim ʿAlī b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī,305 governor of Sicily, to tell him that if there was anything lacking in the cargo of his ship, then he should pay the supplement from the money of the Commander of the Faithful and let him know the total amount so that he could record it in the Treasury at al-Manṣūriyya the Blessed.306 He received a letter from (ʿAlī) informing him that there remained for the cargo of the ship only 100 dinars and which he had paid to the agent of the person whom he had designated. The ustādh wrote to the Commander of the Faithful to inform him about this and to tell him that he had registered the sum of 100 dinars with the director of the Treasury. (The imam) replied: O Jawdhar, may God keep you in good health. Your money is our money and our money is your money. By God, you are a better guardian of our wealth than we are. If we had watched over it as you do, nobody would have drunk its water, without counting the rest. It is you who deserve these dinars the most. May God bless you for this money, and for all the favours which we have granted you and 304. The Prophet instituted brotherhood between the Emigrants (muhājirūn) and the Helpers (anṣār). ʿAbd al-Malik Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-nabawiyya, ed. Muṣṭafā al-Saqqā et al. ([Cairo], 1955), vol. 1, pp. 504–507, tr. A. Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad (Karachi, 1982), pp. 234–235. 305. On him see note 228 above. 306. Jawdhar conducted trading and imported timber from Sicily in his private capacity. See Documents 18 and 56 above. Jawdhar’s close ties with the ruling family of Sicily allowed him to borrow funds from the Treasury in Sicily, for what appears to be his personal transaction, and reimburse the sum to the Treasury in al-Manṣūriyya.

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the marks of satisfaction that He has helped you to receive from us, in this world and for the Hereafter.

76 The ustādh had remained at home for several days because of his illness.307 Prince ʿAbd Allāh,308 may God sanctify his soul, paid him a visit. After he left, the ustādh wrote to the Commander of the Faithful a note in which he described the great favour that God had bestowed upon him by honouring him with the visit of the heir apparent of the Muslims, son of the Commander of the Faithful. He followed this note by dispatching a precious rug, such as that fit for kings, that he had kept ready. He asked the Commander of the Faithful to authorise the prince to accept it. When our lord had read his note, he replied to him: O Jawdhar, may God grant you health and dispel from you, for us, all danger. By God, if we had known that we could stop the pain which you suffer by paying you a visit, we would not have refrained from doing so. We wish that you live and be in good health, not only because it is a good thing for you. God has already helped and assisted you in your endeavour to satisfy Him and satisfy His friends. I wish you happiness in all your matters; it is also so that you witness with us the favours that God will grant us, since you will participate with us in them. May God grant that and may He not allow an enemy or an envious person to rejoice at your misfortune. He is able to do whatever He wills. ʿAbd Allāh, whom I commend to God’s protection, will accept this rug and other things. May God increase your wealth and your happiness. We would not have wanted that you impose upon yourself an expenditure of this sort. The sincere dedication and affection you bear towards us have more value for us than generous gifts from your wealth. May God grant you health and protect you from all adversity by His ­benevolence 307. See Document 39 above relating to Jawdhar’s illness. 308. ʿAbd Allāh (d. 364/975), son of al-Muʿizz, was then heir apparent. See note 320 below. He led a military expedition against the Qarmatians in 363/974, and died the following year during al-Muʿizz’s reign (Ibn Muyassar, Akhbār Miṣr, pp. 165–166; Ibn Ẓāfir, Akhbār, pp. 26, 31; al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, vol. 1, p. 217). See Document 82 below relating to ʿAbd Allāh’s designation as heir apparent; Document 84 below on Jawdhar’s first letter to Prince ʿAbd Allāh and the latter’s reply; and Document 86 below, the last letter Jawdhar received from the prince.

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and His mercy. Indeed, He is bountiful and generous.

77 Our lord learnt that a ship belonging to the ustādh had perished, with all the cargo that it was carrying, while coming from Sicily.309 Our lord wrote to him on his own initiative, to express to him the grief that he felt about it, the following note: O Jawdhar, we have learnt what has happened, by the command of God, that your ship has perished. May God protect you from any further test in your belongings, and may He preserve you yourself, so that you can witness with us the accomplishment of the wishes that you form of obtaining through us the greatest honours, materially and spiritually; that you can witness with us what God will grant to us of the territories of the oppressors who have bartered error at the expense of guidance; to make the pilgrimage to the Sacred House of God, to visit the tomb of our ancestor Muḥammad, may God bless him, thereby having accomplished the pilgrimage, outwardly and inwardly, by the might and the power of God.

78 The ustādh submitted a note to the Commander of the Faithful to inform him that Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Ṭallās310 had made a request to him regarding a house adjoining Dār al-Baḥr311 to turn it into a storehouse for naval equipment that he needed to store there. Our lord had forbidden anyone to enter Dār al-Baḥr, but had allowed Nuṣayr alone, because he was the deputy of the ustādh in the position that he occupied. Our lord sent to him the following reply: Leave the house under your control as it is; neither he nor anyone else must put their hand or their foot therein. Keeping the house 309. Document 67 above relates another disaster involving Jawdhar’s ship. 310. Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Ṭallās was employed at the warehouses of the maritime administration. On him see Document 47 above relating to his death. 311. The Dār al-Baḥr, located in al-Mahdiyya, was used as a prison. See Abū Bakr al-Mālikī, Kitāb Riyāḍ al-nufūs fī ṭabaqāt ʿulamāʾ al-Qayrawān wa-Ifrīqiya, ed. Bashīr al-Bakkūsh (2nd ed., Beirut, 1994), vol. 2, pp. 227, 345–346, 498. On the Dār al-Baḥr in al-Manṣūriyya see note 177 above.

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under your control will cut short the ambitions of those who covet it. Whatever is with you and in your possession will remain as it is, under your supervision to which you devote yourself with courtesy, (sincere) intention and firm devotion, which is irreproachable. May God reward you for that by His benevolence and immense mercy, God willing.

79 (The ustādh) wrote to our lord a note stating the obligation that he had to take care of the heirs of al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī.312 His mother did not have any dwelling of her own and she had requested to be allowed to buy a house close to the palace of the Commander of the Faithful because of the blessing associated with it. Our lord replied to him: O Jawdhar, God has granted to [al-]Ḥasan b. ʿAlī, may He be satisfied with him, His most perfect favours, outwardly and inwardly, so that, if they had been depicted to him during his life, he would have wished that his death was hastened. May God grant him furthermore His forgiveness and His satisfaction. The place that his children and his family hold in our regard is such, by God, that, in our opinion, the gift of the most considerable of favours of God would not be considered too great for them. The best of those who must be honoured are those with whom lies our satisfaction, because that comes from us, and our satisfaction with them brings the highest rank. God knows how much we wish for you health and permanence of God’s favours. Give thanks profusely; God will increase your happiness and bliss. With regard to the mother of [al-]Ḥasan, may God be satisfied with him, and the request she has submitted, by God, if she had asked us to lodge her in our palace, it would have been easy and proper. We shall grant her especially the one that she has asked. She deserves one of the two houses, whichever of the two that she likes. Let us know the amount of the price so that we have the sum disbursed to you, God willing.

80 (The ustādh) wrote a note to our lord to inform him that al-Ḥasan b. ʿAmmār313 had asked him to gain the fulfilment of the pledge that 312. He was governor of Sicily who died in 353/964. On him see note 139 above. 313. See Document 46 above which mentions the house that al-Muʿizz

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our lord had made to grant the favour that he had promised, before (al-Ḥasan) moved to the house that he had built for him. Our lord replied to him: O Jawdhar, God has bestowed upon Ibn ʿAmmār the (good) intentions of his father314 and his paternal uncle.315 May God be satisfied with them both. We do not think, by God, that he will be successful by flattering his uncle until God wills his happiness by granting him the excellent merit and the praiseworthy attitude that he has had in this battle with the polytheists. We commission you to inform him of the favour that we grant him. He can move [into the house] any time that he wants after he receives [the notification of] our favour to him. We shall consider for him what you have mentioned. What God has granted him of our satisfaction is worth more for him than all his possessions. He will not be deprived of benevolence with us, God willing.

81 (Jawdhar) sent a note to our lord to ask him for an item of his clothing which could serve him as a shroud when he died, so as to be blessed with it. When (the imam) had read this note, he did what was deserving of him and sent him many clothes. He wrote the reply on the back of his note: had built for Ibn ʿAmmār. On Ibn ʿAmmār see note 187 above; Document 2 above relating to a Slav taken prisoner by him at the battle of Rametta; and Document 6 above regarding a request by him and his cousin Aḥmad to obtain horses from Jawdhar. 314. ʿAmmār b. ʿAlī, al-Ḥasan’s father, served successive Fatimid caliphimams. He was sent by al-Qāʾim at the head of Kutāma troops to Tunis to fight Abū Yazīd’s forces who, under the command of Masnūyah b. Bakr al-Hawwārī (see note 173 above), had occupied the area on 10 Ṣafar 334/21 September 945. ʿAmmār routed the rebels and returned to al-Mahdiyya. Then al-Qāʾim stationed him at Sousse. After al-Qāʾim’s death, he continued to serve al-Manṣūr and then al-Muʿizz. During al-Muʿizz’s reign, ʿAmmār was sent by his brother al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī, governor of Sicily, at the head of the fleet to Byzantine territory. On his return journey his ship capsized and he drowned in Jumādā II 345/September 956. See al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 3, pp. 434–435, and Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, p. 278. 315. The paternal uncle of al-Ḥasan b. ʿAmmār was al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī, governor of Sicily. On him see note 139 above.

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O Jawdhar, I ask God that He grant you the greatest of the marks of His satisfaction and fulfil your wishes beyond your expectations. We send you a robe of honour selected from our wardrobe and a garment that we have worn in submission to God. It is a lined coat in marwī316 fabric with a tunic underneath. From the wardrobe of al-Mahdī bi-llāh we send you a lined coat of plain colour in fākhitī317 cloth with one of its tunics. From the wardrobe of al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh we send you two tunics, trousers, a turban, a white trouserband in Armenian cloth,318 all of them were worn by him. From the wardrobe of al-Manṣūr bi-llāh, we send you a robe in marwī fabric and a tunic (worn) underneath. Receive those items containing blessings for you. Keep them with you until the time to which you have referred, after God has prolonged your term so that you accomplish with us the pilgrimage to the Sacred House of God and visit of the tomb of our ancestor Muḥammad, peace be upon him, and that this brings joy for your eyes, by the favour of God to His friends, God willing.

82 We have mentioned before in our book the honour and the distinction which al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh granted to the ustādh by choosing him alone and making him privy to the designation of al-Manṣūr bi-llāh as heir apparent. We mentioned that the ustādh kept the matter secret for seven years.319 Then the Imam al-Muʿizz li-dīn Allāh did the same with him, making him alone privy to the designation of Prince ʿAbd Allāh as heir apparent,320 at al-Mahdiyya, 316. Meaning from Marw, in the Iranian province of Khurāsān. Marwī fabric was made from cotton. See Serjeant, Islamic Textiles, pp. 87–90. 317. A kind of silk imported from Khūzistān. Dozy, Supplément, vol. 2, p. 244. 318. On trouser-bands (tikka, pl. tikak) see Reinhart Dozy, Dictionnaire détaillé des noms des vêtements chez les Arabes (Amsterdam, 1845), pp. 95–99. Trouser-bands in Armenian cloth were renowned. Ibn Ḥawqal, Ṣūrat al-arḍ, pp. 231–232; Serjeant, Islamic Textiles, pp. 61–62. 319. See Part One, Section 5 above. 320. ʿAbd Allāh (d. 364/975) was the second son of al-Muʿizz, the others being Tamīm the eldest son, Nizār, the future al-ʿAzīz, and ʿAqīl. According to al-Maqrīzī (al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, p. 588) al-Muʿizz first appointed Tamīm heir apparent. Then, after Jawhar’s conquest of Egypt, al-Muʿizz wrote to Jawdhar and confided to him that he had revoked Tamīm’s designation in favour of ʿAbd Allāh. What prompted al-Muʿizz to revoke Tamīm’s

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during the journey in which he brought the money. The ustādh kept the matter secret from (the prince), in accordance with the order that he had received, for seven months. Then our lord, at the end of the seven months, made others, such as Muḥammad b. ʿAlī,321 Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan,322 ʿUslūj323 and others, make the same commitment and asked them to keep the matter secret. The ustādh, once he knew for certain who the heir apparent was, no longer paid attention to anyone other than him after the imam, so that he would say frequently, while the imam heard him during his reign: It is only God, the Mighty, the Glorious, then our lord, and then the one among his sons whom he designates and makes his heir apparent that it is obligatory to obey; for all the remaining [members of the family], one owes them the love for the near kindred324 and nothing else.

After our lord left for al-Mahdiyya to pack the equipment contained in the warehouses and then returned to his capital [al-Manṣūriyya], and when the ustādh also had to leave al-Mahdiyya, our lord ordered his sons and his brothers as well as all the dignitaries of the state to come out to receive him. But our lord did not specify to the ustādh how he should greet the princes, his sons, or who among them had precedence over others. Our lord was anxious to know how (the ustādh) would greet them. At that time the eyes of the populace were designation was that Tamīm had no posterity and he led a dissolute life. ʿAbd Allāh died in Cairo in 364/975. Then al-Muʿizz appointed Tamīm’s younger brother Nizār, who succeeded him as al-ʿAzīz bi-llāh. See also al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, vol. 1, p. 235; Ibn Ḥammād, Akhbār, p. 47 (trans. p. 71); and Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, p. 702. On Tamīm see also Document 54, and on ʿAbd Allāh Document 76. 321. He cannot be identified in the sources. 322. He is Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī al-Kalbī, on whom see note 244 above. 323. ʿUslūj b. al-Ḥasan al-Danhājī was a notable of the Kutāma. Subsequently, in 363/973, he was appointed by al-Muʿizz together with Yaʿqūb b. Killis to administer the finances of Egypt. Ibn Muyassar, Akhbār Miṣr, pp. 163–164; al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, vol. 1, pp. 144–147, 216, 223, 229. On the nisba al-Danhājī see note 137 above. 324. Cf. the expression ‘the love for the near kindred’ (al-mawadda fī al-qurbā) in Qurʾan 42:23.

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turned to the eldest son of our lord, namely Tamīm.325 When the ustādh drew near to them, he acted according to what he thought would discharge the duty and distinguish the one for whom God had reserved it. He proceeded straight towards Prince ʿAbd Allāh, kissed the ground before him, and then kissed his stirrup. The prince’s bending sideways towards him was such that it nearly unseated him from his saddle. Then (the ustādh) mounted, without turning his face to others or greeting anyone else. They were filled with confusion and people present considered this conduct disgraceful. Some approved (Jawdhar’s) decision to act as he did, while others considered him to be wrong. When our lord learnt what he had done and how he had conducted himself, he rejoiced a lot and said, ‘Ever since Jawdhar exists, he has always been fortunate.’ Then, when they arrived [at the palace] and the ustādh left, after having greeted our lord without the latter having spoken to him about the matter, the inhabitants of the palace from among the harem became deeply disturbed by this and vented upon Jawdhar bitter reproaches which undermined his authority.326 When the ustādh came to know about their behaviour, he was very much affected, since our lord had not said anything to him regarding the matter. He wrote a note to our lord, describing what had happened and telling him that, by acting in the manner he did, he had wanted to pay his respects only to the rightful nominee to the exclusion of others, because his religion did not allow him to do anything other than what he did. He described what he suffered at the hands of the inhabitants of the palace and other persons with wicked opinions. When our lord had acquainted himself with his note, he sent him a reply. Here is the text of it: O Jawdhar, may God keep you in good health. By God, the place that you hold with us is that which you acquired yourself, by seeking the satisfaction of your masters and because you never confused them with others. Thus, God has bestowed upon you happiness in this world and in the Hereafter. You could have just kissed their hand instead of kissing the ground; that would have sufficed. As God knows, we distinguish you from them only by the privilege that God grants to those for whom He has predilection. I have replied to those whom you mentioned and I have defended you by saying 325. On Tamīm see note 219 above. 326. Literally: ‘which split his blades’.

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that you had first of all greeted everybody by kissing the ground as you described it to me. God has helped you, and you must not worry about those whom that upsets or whom that rejoices. May God complete His favours to you and grant you security and peace, God willing.327

83 There came a letter of Jaʿfar b. ʿAlī b. Ḥamdūn,328 in reply to the letter which the ustādh sent him to urge him to collect and gather the revenue from all distant or near regions, so as to have something whereby he could seek the favour of the Commander of the Faithful, may God bestow His blessings on him, on his forefathers and his immaculate sons. (The ustādh) encouraged him strongly to do so, giving him advice and relating to him what blessing his loyalty and endeavour for the friends of God would definitely bring him in this world and in the Hereafter. He informed him that the total amount of revenue that he offered for the province was not accepted by the Commander of the Faithful.329 [He wrote him thus] so that the favour [of the imam] would be preserved for (the Banū Ḥamdūn) and hoping that their loyalty would bring them advantages in this world and in the Hereafter. Jaʿfar, in his letter, described that those who had spoken on the matter had done so only out of envy and that the province could not pay what they were saying, but he would expend his efforts and use his utmost endeavour [to pay more]. When our lord had acquainted himself with (these letters), he sent (to the ustādh) the following reply: O Jawdhar, may God protect you. We have read what Jaʿfar stated in his letter that he addressed to you and likewise in his letter addressed to us. Write to him to convey to him the kind consideration and concern that we have for him. [Tell him] that the duty for the one who is in a situation similar to his is to reciprocate the favours with gratitude, and be diligent in accomplishing praiseworthy efforts and satisfactory acts which he knows will guarantee (those favours). If he aims (to this purpose), he will meet with [our] approval. He knows well about his father, may God be pleased 327. Cf. Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 702–705. 328. On Jaʿfar b. ʿAlī b. Ḥamdūn see note 223 above. 329. See also Documents 69, 70 and 71 above relating to the revenue of the province.

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with him, that his position became important, his fame spread and his masters were satisfied with him only through the effort that he made in this province and through praiseworthy conduct. The inhabitants (of this province) were then the most uncouth, the most stupid and the silliest ever. God humbled them by his praiseworthy administration. Thus, he reaped the fruits of [his] good intentions in this world and in the Hereafter. If he attained [a status] from his masters, by God, they never gave him at any time [as much favours as what] Jaʿfar [obtained] beside us and during our reign, and he did not enjoy a status as the status that his son enjoyed with us. By God, our inner thought of benevolence towards him is even stronger than its outer manifestation. Let him not lay himself open to any accusation of incompetence or wastage which would lead us to question him about it and call him to account. Let him not fall down the ladder by which his father rose up to our satisfaction and which he bequeathed him after his death. Let us hope that this is not the case, by the grace and favour that God grants us as well as all those who submit to our obedience, God, the Most High, willing.

84 When our lord resolved to leave for the East, there was between the ustādh and Prince ʿAbd Allāh, may God sanctify his soul, an exchange of letters in which (the prince) expressed his consideration for (the ustādh), just as his immaculate forefathers had done. The first letter that the ustādh sent him was a letter in which he stated his (Jawdhar’s) ordinary allocation of mules which were meant for carrying his baggage on journeys that he made with our lord. (The prince) sent him the following reply together with [his] prayers: May God keep you in good health and complete the favours that He grants you. May He increase His bounties to you and grant you His satisfaction and the satisfaction of His friend, our lord and master, which you hope and we hope for you before Him and His benevolence. May He grant you to accomplish the pilgrimage with him to the Sacred House of God and visit the tomb of our ancestor Muḥammad, peace be upon him. Indeed, (God) is generous and gracious, and His kindness and benevolence are immense. Now then! Your letter reached us, after we waited in expectation and much longing, God knows it, to hear from you. We learnt from (your letter) that you are safe and in good physical health, for which we praised God, the Mighty, the Glorious, and we thanked Him for His benevolence for us. We have implored Him, supplicating unto

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Him humbly to increase His favour and His bounties to you. We presented your letter to our lord and master. After having read it, he replied to you in his own noble and blessed hand, at the bottom of (the letter), what you will read. We send it to you herewith. God suffices us and He is an excellent guarantor.

The letter arrived with the reply at the bottom. Here is the text of it: O Jawdhar, may God keep you in good health. ʿAbd Allāh, may God protect him, made us read your letter and the request that you made to him to take note of the [number of] mules that you had previously the habit of taking from the stables. You feared not being able to obtain them because of the multiplicity of our occupations and our own need of them, [and that] we would forget you and abandon you. May God never make you know a day when we would abandon you to yourself in your material or spiritual circumstances. By God, if we had no other recourse than to give you preference to our own self, we would do so without hesitating. You may rest assured of retaining the favour which God has bestowed upon you to enjoy beside us. May God make it last.330

85 Our lord left, proceeding to the East, and granted to the ustādh mules for baggage and also mules for litters,331 including one in which he would travel himself. He preferred him to have it. He showed courtesy to him as well as to his companions and lavished gifts upon them which cannot be described. Subsequently, during the journey, letters were exchanged. If we chose to mention all of them, it would unduly lengthen the book. Now when the ustādh arrived at a locality called Ajdābiya,332 while his illness had become chronic, he told 330. Cf. Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 718–719. 331. For a description of these large litters (ʿammāriyyāt) borne by mules, horses or camels, see al-Qalqashandī, Ṣubḥ, vol. 3, p. 471. 332. A town between Barqa and Tripoli in Cyrenaica, now in the district of Benghazi in Libya. Ajdābiya was located at four days’ journey from Barqa on the main road which followed the coast from Tripoli to Alexandria. Abū al-Qāsim ʿUbayd Allāh Ibn Khurdādhbih, Kitāb al-Masālik wa-almamālik, ed. M. J. de Goeje (Lugduni Batavorum, 1889), pp. 85–86; Ibn Ḥawqal, Ṣūrat al-arḍ, pp. 69–70; al-Bakrī, al-Masālik, p. 5 (trans. pp. 16–17); al-Idrīsī, Nuzha, pp. 310–311; H. H. Abdul-Wahab, ‘Adjdābiya’, EI2, vol. 1, p. 207.

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me, ‘I would like very much to look at the face of our lord, but I am weak; I am unable to stand on my feet, because of the swelling which has affected them. How can it be done, according to your advice?’ I asked him to let me go ahead of him and meet Prince ʿAbd Allāh, heir apparent of the Muslims, on this matter. He allowed me to do so. I left and met (the prince) to whom I related (Jawdhar’s) condition and his strong wish to see our lord. He went to inform our lord and returned to me with the reply. He told me, ‘Our lord commands you to come with him up to this place,’ and he showed me the dome in which he was having his meal in the blessed tent. ‘Make him stop there,’ he continued, ‘and leave him in the litter; do not make him alight from it.’ He warned me not to make him leave his litter, and threatened me with the punishment of our lord if I disobeyed. I returned to the ustādh and informed him what had happened. He was very happy with the outcome and regained courage. Then I arrived at the place that had been indicated to me. When (Jawdhar) himself reached there, he told me, ‘Bring me down.’ I excused myself before him by saying that the place that he wanted to reach was blocked and that the best thing was to remain in the litter in the meantime until the place was cleared. He agreed and I stopped the mule bearing the litter in which he was sitting. Suddenly our lord al-Muʿizz li-dīn Allāh, Commander of the Faithful, came out, wearing a turban and his feet were shod with sandals. He leaned into the litter and hugged (the ustādh) as would do a brother to his brother or a friend to his friend. Thereupon the ustādh cast a glance at me which seemed to reproach me for having left him in the litter, but (the imam) told him, ‘He is not to blame. He was only acting on our instructions.’ Then he turned to the ustādh, asked him how he was and said, ‘Do not lose courage, because God will prolong your life and delay your term until you witness with us God’s favour that will grant us territories of the oppressors.’ (The ustādh) told him, ‘O my lord, by God, your slave is not of a rank that deserves what you have done for him, because I am just a slave, a foreigner, a Slav,333 without any merit to which I could lay a claim other than the fact that I am your slave, illuminated by the 333. ‘Aleppine’ (ḥalabī) in the manuscripts must be corrected to ṣaqlabī on the basis of Jawdhar’s own testimony (Document 72 above) and the text of the Sīra quoted in Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, p. 721.

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light of your guidance.’ (The imam) told him, ‘Have no doubt, O Jawdhar, that God, the Mighty, the Glorious, has imposed the obligation to obey us and He has caused it to come about either willingly or out of fear. You are of those who obey God through us willingly and not out of fear. Have you forgotten all the Slavs who were with you and the pleasure which each enjoyed in his house at the time of your lords, the immaculate imams? Unlike them, your sole satisfaction was to live in this room near the latrine in the palace of your lord the Imam al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh. You did not choose the comforts of this world that others chose, but God has willed happiness for you first and last.’ Then (Jawdhar) looked at Muḥammad b. ʿUthmān the Secretary, who was standing there with us, and signalled [him] to take the mount by the bridle and depart, so as to ease our lord of the fatigue that he imposed on his noble self by remaining standing. On seeing this, our lord said, ‘Stop, O Muḥammad, and leave it here, because by looking at us (Jawdhar) finds the comfort of his heart.’ Then the ustādh kissed the ground [before him],334 and we did the same and left. From that day, the ustādh never again saw our lord, as if this was the station of bidding farewell.335 86 Then, when we arrived at the place called Malītīya336 near Barqa, (the ustādh’s) weakness increased as well as the difficulty that the illness caused. Despite that his mind was sound and his reason had not been impaired in any way. He called me and said, ‘We are going to enter Barqa. It is a great city. There are Easterners there, especially [with] the coming of the sons of Nuṣayr337 to our lord, according to what is said. The standing which we enjoy with the immaculate dynasty is great, because of the esteem which our lord has for us. It is, therefore, necessary that we smarten our troops with complete 334. Here a token gesture of kissing the ground, because Jawdhar was in his litter. 335. Cf. Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 719–721. 336. The manuscripts give ‘Mathaliya’ and ‘Malīla’ which must be corrected to ‘Malītīya’, a known locality on the route from Ajdābiya at one stage, or fifteen miles, from Barqa. Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, p. 85. 337. Nuṣayr was then governor of Tripoli. See note 271 above.

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equipment and armament and with parade outfits, so that we enter [Barqa] in an irreproachable and splendid form. Write to Prince ʿAbd Allāh to inform him of that and ask him to kindly request our lord to send some arms and equipment in addition to what we have already. You will inform him that I would like to arrive at the blessed palace in this attire, but I cannot alight [from my litter] and remain on my feet, and it is hard for me to see the repeat of what our lord did at Ajdābiya. I fear that when I arrive, those who envy us for the favour our lord did should say that by my arrival I had thoughtlessly caused [the repeat of] what (the imam) did and other similar things.’ He sealed the letter and we sent it by a swift courier that we had with us. He received the following reply from Prince ʿAbd Allāh: May God keep you in good health. May He complete His favours for you and continue His blessings for you. May He prevent [us] losing you and may He decree that you accomplish the pilgrimage to the Sacred House [of God] with our lord. Your letter, may God keep you safe and sound, reached us and we acquainted ourselves with everything that it contained after our lord had read it himself, and we kissed the ground before him on your behalf. He wishes you in turn the best and the most agreeable peace of God. He has commanded, may his command be always glorious, honoured and revered, to write to you to inform you, may God keep you safe and sound, that his order has been sent to Nuṣayr the treasurer, instructing him to send [you] the camels and a large quantity of arms, which (the imam) specified to him. They will reach you, God willing. (The imam) conveys to you to prepare [your] arrival to the blessed presence on any day that you want and which suits you, and that you should arrive at the gate of the blessed palace in your litter as you did in Ajdābiya, in the most beautiful and the most magnificent attire. Do not blame yourself in the least regarding the litter. There is nothing about it that you should blame and for which anyone could blame you, as you say. ‘When we came towards you at Ajdābiya’, (the imam) conveys to you, ‘it is not you who imposed upon us [this journey], and, therefore, take the blame for it. Rather, it is we who did it of our own accord, wishing to visit you and see how you were. May God grant you the most complete recovery, full health and well-being by His grace. Do, therefore, what we have instructed you to do,’ (the imam) said. Rejoice, for what God has granted you of His satisfaction and the satisfaction of His friend, satisfaction which He has never granted to anyone else in your time, and of which you are deserving. Praise God and thank Him. You

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will deserve more of His magnificent gifts, abundant bounties and favours. I implore God that He reserve for you His favours, that He continue them to you, and make His blessings follow in succession by giving you the finest recovery and the best health that we expect and hope for you, by His benevolence and generosity. May peace be with you with the mercy and the blessing of God.

This letter was the last that he received from the imam and the heir apparent, may the best blessings be upon them both. Nuṣayr arrived bringing the equipment to (Jawdhar) at the place agreed on, and the weapons were distributed to [Jawdhar’s] men. (Jawdhar’s) weakness and illness worsened and he could not be brought to the palace. He entered the town of Barqa and went to the house that had been vacated for him and where he settled. I went to our lord and informed him that he had arrived. ‘How is he?’, he asked me. I replied to him, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, he is very weak, and therewith he longs for death; it would seem that he sees with his own eyes the place where he will depart and to which he aspires.’ (The imam) said, ‘That is the place that he will have in the mercy of (God), and near his masters, may God bestow His blessings upon them all.’ Then he turned to those who were standing before him, among them Prince ʿAbd Allāh, Isḥāq b. Mūsā338 and some black eunuchs. It was after the end of the meal and he said, ‘Maysūr the elder was rash in what he did.339 I say this, seeking forgiveness from God: al-Qāʾim bi-amr Allāh had no sin in the eyes of God, except for what Maysūr did. He would seize by force every ship and shed blood. When he died, 8,000 dinars were found at his house. See, on the contrary, poor Jawdhar! By God, I consider that everything that He has given 338. Isḥāq b. Mūsā (d. 363/973) was a personal physician of al-Muʿizz as was his father Mūsā. He also looked after al-Muʿizz’s personal and financial interests. He accompanied al-Muʿizz to Egypt where he died. After his death, his brother Ismāʿīl succeeded him as al-Muʿizz’s physician. See note 237 above; al-Maqrīzī, al-Muqaffā, vol. 2, p. 57; and al-Maqrīzī, Ittiʿāẓ, vol. 1, p. 147. 339. On Maysūr al-Ṣaqlabī, who died during al-Qāʾim’s reign, see note 209 above. The epithet ‘elder’ is used here apparently to distinguish him from his namesake who commanded Fatimid troops during al-Muʿizz’s reign. Ibn ʿIdhārī, al-Bayān, vol. 2, pp. 216–217.

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to our immaculate forefathers before us, and then to ourselves after them, to seek God’s favour and satisfaction, is worth much more than 100,000 dinars, and he has done that without any land concession or numerous domains.’ Then, (the imam) gave me apples which he had in his hand and told me, ‘Take them to (Jawdhar) and tell him, “They were sent to us from Egypt. I hope that God will make you live and restore your body to health so that you see (Egypt) with us.”’ 340 I kissed the ground [before him] and left. I conveyed to the ustādh the words that (the imam) had uttered. He kissed the ground, praised God and expressed deep gratitude. Then he began to converse with me and continued to do so, while his reason was still intact, until the end of the night, while his condition remained the same. Then, in the morning, he fell into the agony of death, and he died at the time of the midday prayer. May God have mercy upon him and may He be satisfied with him. In the night, (his body) was carried from the town of Barqa to the palace where our lord was staying, at a place called Mayāsir. (The imam) ordered the body to be washed. This was carried out by al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad,341 Muḥammad b. ʿUthmān the Secretary and myself. (The imam) performed the prayer on him the following day and he was buried on the spot in a mosque that was in the above-mentioned palace.342 Then, for having served well (the ustādh), God gave me happiness and bestowed upon me His blessings by rousing feelings of kindness and mercy for me in the heart of His friend, our lord and master, may God sanctify his soul and bless him. Hence he granted 340. It seems that al-Muʿizz recognised the therapeutic value of apples. al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān relates (in al-Majālis wa-al-musāyarāt, p. 266) that al-Muʿizz distributed to his followers apples which came to him from Syria; al-Nuʿmān relates that he was cured of stomach ache when he ate a piece of an apple given to him by al-Muʿizz. 341. He is Abū Ḥanīfa al-Nuʿmān b. Muḥammad b. Manṣūr b. Aḥmad b. Ḥayyūn al-Tamīmī, generally called al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān (d. 363/974), the most eminent exponent of Fatimid jurisprudence and an official historian of the Fatimids. On him and his works see Farhat Dachraoui, ‘al-Nuʿmān b. Abī ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad b. Manṣūr b. Ḥayyūn’, EI2, vol. 8, pp. 117–118; Ismail K. Poonawala, ‘Al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān and Ismaʿili Jurisprudence’, in F. Daftary, ed., Mediaeval Ismaʿili History and Thought (Cambridge, 1996), pp. 117–143; and Poonawala, Biobibliography, pp. 51–68. 342. Cf. Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, pp. 721–725.

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me (Jawdhar’s) place as an official in charge of his servants and all his household. I implore God, with a sincere prayer, that He make me end my days like He did with (Jawdhar) and that He help me to discharge my duty of obedience to His friend, son of His prophet, the best of His creatures and the purest of His worshippers, the Servant of God and His friend Nizār Abū al-Manṣūr, the Imam al-ʿAzīz bi-llāh, Commander of the Faithful, master of the epoch and the time. May God’s blessings be upon him, his immaculate forefathers and his most noble awaited descendants until the Day of Judgement. God, the Mighty, the Glorious, has completed my happiness, now and in the future, by making me live until his pure period, by exalting my name and raising my position. May God fulfil his hopes and grant him victory and help. May He unite all the hearts in his obedience and his affection. May He cause to perish his enemies and all those who resist him wherever they may be and reside. Amen, O Lord of worlds!

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Index

ʿAbd Allāh b. Ḥajjūn, 136–137 ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Muʿizz, 8–9, 117, 130, 148, 151, 155–157, 159–161, 163–164 ʿAbd Allāh b. Rafīq, 122–123 ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Nāṣir, Umayyad caliph, 136 Ablaq b. Nuyūṭ, 44 Abraham, 38, 59–60, 75 Abū ʿAbd Allāh Jaʿfar b. al-Qāʾim, 29, 103 Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Shīʿī, Ismaili dāʿī, 1, 26, 45 Abū al-Furāt ʿAbd al-Jabbār b. alQāʾim, 29, 73 Abū al-Futūḥ Mūsā see Mūsā b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī al-Kalbī Abū al-ʿIzza, 82 Abū Khazar, 115, 118 Abū Kināna b. al-Qāʾim, 29 Abū Lahab, 39 Abū al-Shāma, 106 Abū al-Ṭāhir Ismāʿīl see al-Manṣūr, Fatimid caliph-imam Abū Tamīm, 42, 69, 72 Abū Yazīd Makhlad b. Kaydād, Kharijite rebel, 3–4, 6, 19, 29, 33–34, 36, 38–40, 42–45, 47, 53, 64, 67, 72, 81–82, 87, 98, 136, 154 Adam, 59, 135 ʿAdnān b. al-Qāʾim, 29 Aflaḥ al-Nāshib, governor of Barqa, 96–97 Aftakīn, 89

Aghlabids, 1, 21–22 Aḥmad (the Prophet Muḥammad), 39, 41 Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī, governor of Sicily, 66, 87, 93, 108, 117, 123– 128, 130–131, 141–142, 145, 148 Aḥmad b. al-Mahdī, 8, 111–112, 124 Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Ṭallās, 125, 152 Aḥmad b. Rayḥānī, 127 Ahwāz, 22 Ajdābiya, 10, 160, 162–163 Alexandria, 160 Algeria, 135 ʿAlī b. Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī, 6, 146 ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, 38, 50, 53, 58, 60–62, 76, 80, 107, 137 ʿAlī b. Ḥamdūn, 9, 72–73, 135 ʿAlī b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī al-Kalbī, governor of Sicily, 108–109, 145, 150 ʿAlī b. al-Jannān, 139–140 ʿAlī b. Muḥammad al-Iyādī, 24, 39, 42 ʿAlī b. al-Ṭabarī, 66 ʿAllūsh, 91–92 Almeria, 136 ʿAmmār b. ʿAlī, 154 Arabs, 96, 124 Armenian cloth, 155 Ashīr, 105

177

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ʿAttāb b. Asīd, 22 ʿattābī, 22 ʿAṭṭāf, governor of Sicily, 66 Awrās, 3, 33, 71, 81, 115, 118 ʿAyn Kisrā, 118 Ayyūb, son of Abū Yazīd, 72 Ayyūb b. Khayrān al-Zawīlī, 82 Ayyūb b. al-Simāk, 82 al-ʿAzīz, Fatimid caliph-imam, 12, 24, 87, 104, 155–156, 166 al-bāb al-ṭāhir, 25 Badr, 92 Bāghāya, 29, 81, 115 Baghdad, 22, 23, 118 al-Baghdādī, 133 Bajjāna (Pechina), 136 Balakh al-Ṣaqlabī, 89 Balkans, 1 Banū ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, 61 Banū Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī, 6, 10, 66, 93, 142, 148 Banū Aḥmad, 39 Banū Ḥamdūn, 72, 104, 135, 158 Banū Hāshim, 60 Banū Kamlān, 81, 82, 98 Banū Māḍūḍ, 66 Banū al-Ṭabarī, 66 Banzart (Bizerte), 89 Barqa, 10–11, 29, 96, 160, 162–165 bāṭin, 94 al-batūl, 50, 77 Baysān, 104 Benghazi, 160 Berbers, 3, 8, 24, 29, 33, 82, 95–96, 115, 124 Biskra, 118 Bū Saʿāda, 39 Bulukkīn b. Zīrī b. Manād, 9, 81, 104–105, 115 Būna (ʿAnnāba), 136 Byzantines, 1, 4, 7, 54, 66, 87, 137, 140, 154

Cairo, 110, 115, 117, 156 Cap Bon, 89 Ceuta, 104 Christianity, 139 Christians, 54, 58–59, 126–127 Constantine VII, Byzantine emperor, 54 Cyrenaica, 10, 160 al-dajjāl (the Deceiver), 3, 33, 42, 45–46, 49–50 Damascus, 89 Danhāja, 65 al-Danhājī, 65, 156 Dār al-Baḥr, 84, 152 Egypt, 2, 5, 8–11, 22–24, 29, 32, 67, 87, 89, 93, 96–97, 103–104, 110– 111, 114–115, 117–118, 121, 126, 129, 134, 149, 155, 164–165 eunuchs, 1, 3, 22, 30, 98, 104, 131, 164 Faḍl, son of Abū Yazīd, 98 fākhitī, 155 Fās, 98 Fāṭima, daughter of the Prophet, 50, 53, 60–62, 71, 76–77 Fazzān, 110 Frankish swords, 37 Funduq Rayḥān, 89, 134 Futūḥ al-Niqāwusī, 121 Galen, 3, 30 ghaḍār, 118 Ghānim, 89, 121 Greeks, 68 al-Ḥākim, Fatimid caliph-imam, 12, 87, 124 Ham, son of Noah, 59 Ḥamza, uncle of the Prophet, 32 Ḥamza b. al-Qāʾim, 29 Ḥamza b. Ṣalūk, 102

index

al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī, governor of Sicily, 6, 66–68, 117, 123–124, 137, 141– 142, 145, 147, 153–154 al-Ḥasan b. ʿAmmār, 87, 93, 125, 153–154 Ḥasan b. Rashīq, 110 al-Ḥasan b. Ṣaqlabī, 102 Ḥasnūn b. Kannūn, 99 Hawwāra, 81–82, 98 Henchir Aouan, 90 ḥudūd al-dīn, 27 ḥujja, 27–28, 35, 74 al-Ḥusayn (imam), 53 Ḥusayn (rebel), 96 Ḥusayn b. Muhadhdhab, 125 Ḥusayn b. Rashīq al-Rayḥānī, 99, 110 Ḥusayn b. Ṣāfī, 108 Ḥusayn b. Yaʿqūb, 84, 86–87, 100–101 Ibn al-Danhājī, 65 Ibn Ḥassūn, 84 Ibn Ḥawshab see Manṣūr al-Yaman Ibn Ḥusayn, 108 Ibn al-Khaṭīb, 63 Ibn Kulayb, 63 Ibn Rumāḥis see Muḥammad b. Rumāḥis Ibn Suhayl, 99 Ibn al-Ṭabarī al-Ashtarī, 67 Ibn Wasīm al-Aṭrābulusī, 86–87 Ibrāhīm b. Aḥmad, Aghlabid emir, 21 Ibrāhīm b. Jaʿfar b. Falāḥ alKutāmī, 89 ʿīd al-aḍḥā, 8, 73 ʿīd al-fiṭr, 8, 45, 49 Idrīs ʿImād al-Dīn, 14 Ifrīqiya, 1–3, 8–11, 24, 33, 66, 68, 93, 111, 113–115, 117, 129, 135, 137, 139 Ijjāna, 132

179

Isḥāq b. Khalaf, 62 Isḥāq b. Mūsā b. al-ʿĀzār, 114, 164 Ishjāna, 132 Ismāʿīl b. Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, 79 Ismāʿīl b. Mūsā b. al-ʿĀzār, 114, 164 Italy, 54, 68, 114, 137 al-Iyādī see ʿAlī b. Muḥammad alIyādī Jabal Sāllāt, 39 Jābir b. ʿAlī b. al-Ḥasan al-Kalbī, governor of Sicily, 109 Jābir b. Manṣūr al-ʿAzīzī alJawdharī, 12 Jaʿfar b. ʿAlī b. Abī al-Ḥusayn alKalbī, 145–148 Jaʿfar b. ʿAlī b. Ḥamdūn, 9, 104– 106, 135–136, 142–145, 158–159 Jaʿfar b. Manṣūr al-Yaman, 5, 46, 61, 94, 107, 139–140 Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad b. ʿUthmān, 100, 138 Jaʿfar b. al-Qāʾim, 29, 103 Japheth, son of Noah, 59 Jawdhar passim al-Jawdhariyya, 11 Jawhar, 10, 28–29, 42, 93, 96–97, 102, 110, 115, 117–118, 129, 133– 134, 149–150, 155 Jazīrat Bāshshū, 102 Jazīrat Sharīk, 6, 102 Jesus, 46, 60, 79 Jews, 58–60, 114 Jirjent, 6, 67, 146 John the Baptist, 60 al-Jūdariyya, 11 al-Kaʿba, 94 al-Kamlānī, 82 Kannūn, 89 Khabbāb, 67 Khalaf al-Kātib, 121 Khalīl b. Isḥāq, governor of Sicily, 67

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al-Khāliṣa, 67 Kharijites, 3, 33, 38, 40, 42, 46–47, 115 khazz, 120–121 Khurāsān, 155 Khūzistān, 22, 155 al-Kirshī, 108 Kitāb al-Īḍāḥ, 4, 45 Kiyāna, 39 al-Kūfa, 47 Kutāma, 24, 26, 46, 51–52, 65, 90, 124–125, 132–133, 154, 156 Lake Ichkeul, 90 Lake Sisara, 90 Libya, 10, 110, 160 Maʿbad b. Khazar, 98 Māḍūḍ, 66 Maghrib, 1, 5, 8–9, 21, 26, 29, 38, 45, 103, 105, 124, 143 Maḥallat al-Tustariyyīn, 22 al-Mahdī, Fatimid caliph-imam, 1, 2, 6–8, 11–12, 21–28, 31–32, 56–59, 62, 67, 71, 76, 101–102, 111, 113, 124, 155 al-Mahdiyya, 3–5, 7–8, 19, 24, 33, 37, 42–43, 45, 53, 56, 64–65, 71, 82–84, 86–87, 91, 100–101, 103–104, 106, 109–111, 115, 118–120, 122–125, 128–129, 146, 152, 154–156 Malīla, 81 Malītīya, 162 al-Manṣūr, Fatimid caliph-imam, 2–4, 6–8, 24, 27–29, 31–34, 36– 45, 47, 52–56, 58–60, 64, 66–69, 71, 73, 76–77, 83, 98, 113–114, 121, 124, 149, 154–155, 166 al-Manṣūr b. Abī ʿĀmir, 41 Manṣūr al-ʿAzīzī al-Jawdharī, 1, 11–12, 19, 52, 86 Manṣūr al-Yaman, 139

al-Manṣūriyya, 4–5, 7, 12, 71, 73, 82–84, 97, 103, 111, 115, 125, 129, 137, 139, 150, 152, 156 al-Marrūdhī, 45 al-Marwarrūdhī, 45 al-Marwazī, Abū Ja’far Aḥmad b. Muḥammad, 45 al-Marwazī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar, 45 marwī, 155 al-Masīla, 9, 39–40, 72, 95, 98, 135, 142 Masnūyah b. Bakr al-Hawwārī, 82, 154 Mayāsir, 11, 165 Maymūn b. Futūḥ al-Niqāwusī, 89, 121 Maysūr, 98 Maysūr al-Ṣaqlabī, 98, 164 Mazara, 66 mazḥ, 114–115 Medjerda, 95 Moses, 79 Muḥammad, the Prophet, 10, 19, 22, 32, 34–36, 38–42, 46, 48–53, 58–63, 70–71, 74–81, 85, 91, 104, 116, 119, 130, 132, 150, 152, 155, 159, 166 Muḥammad b. ʿAbdūn, 66–67 Muḥammad b. ʿAlī, 156 Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Kalbī, 117, 123, 142, 148, 156 Muḥammad b. Rumāḥis, 136 Muḥammad b. ʿUthmān, 11, 44, 71–72, 100, 118, 138, 162, 166 al-Muʿizz, Fatimid caliph-imam, 2–12, 20, 24, 29, 32, 41–43, 56–57, 66, 69, 71–74, 81-84, 86, 89, 91, 93–94, 96, 98, 102–103, 109, 111, 114–115, 117–118, 124–125, 127, 130, 133–134, 137, 139, 145, 148, 151, 153–156, 161, 165

index

Mūsā b. Abī al-ʿĀfīya al-Miknāsī, 98 Mūsā b. al-ʿĀzār, 114, 164 Mūsā b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. Abī alḤusayn al-Kalbī, 123, 145, 148 Muẓaffar, 3, 29, 125 Nāfiʿ b. al-Azraq, 38 Nāṣir, 73 Naẓīf al-Rayḥānī, 84, 91, 130–132 Noah, 59 Nuṣayr al-Ṣaqlabī, 8, 84, 87–88, 101, 111, 120, 122, 125, 127–130, 132, 139, 152, 162–164 Oria, Italy, 114 Palermo, 67 Palṭiel ben Shefaṭyah see Mūsā b. al-ʿĀzār al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān, 11, 117, 134, 165 al-Qāʾim, Fatimid caliph-imam, 2–3, 6–9, 22, 24, 26–29, 31–34, 36, 41, 43, 45, 47, 50, 53, 55–59, 61, 67, 71–73, 76, 87, 98, 103, 124, 131, 134–135, 139, 146, 154–155, 162, 164 Qalʿat Abī Ṭāwil, 39 Qalʿat Banī Ḥammād, 39 Qarmatians, 89 Qāsim b. al-Qāʾim, 8–9, 29, 101, 124 Qaṣr al-Baḥr, 84 Qaṣr al-Ifrīqī, 95 al-Qayrawān, 3–4, 21, 33–40, 45, 64, 67, 81, 95, 115 Qayṣar, 3, 29, 81, 98 Qurʾan (citations) 1:6, 107 2:65, 59 2:134, 61 2:156, 50, 70, 77, 113, 124 2:286, 37, 79

Qurʾan (citations) (cont.) 3:30, 78 3:103, 46 3:173, 101 4:59, 53, 79 5:29, 135 5:60, 59 5:66, 110 7:34, 71 7:166, 59 7:182, 50 7:198, 113 8:37, 50 8:63, 147 9:32, 111 14:20, 119 14:36, 38 14:38, 25 17:60, 7, 57 18:99, 56 21:15, 46 22:28, 75 22:34, 75 22:37, 75 22:46, 23 23:36, 80 29:1–3, 50 31:34, 83 33:62, 79 33:71, 48 33:72, 27 35:32, 78 35:43, 79 37:62, 57 41:42, 23 42:23, 156 42:27, 112 43:5, 74 44:43, 57 49:13, 60 55:26, 112 56:52, 57 59:18, 49 63:4, 46

181

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inside the immaculate portal

Qurʾan (citations) (cont.) 64:6, 23 68:44, 50 74:50, 47 92:14–16, 46 109:6, 63 111:5, 39 Quṣūr al-Ḥītān, 40 Rabāḥ, 137 Rabīʿ al-Ṣaqlabī, 134 Rabīʿ b. Ṣuwāt, 132 Rajāʾ b. Akhī Ḥaya, 67 Ramaḍān, 121 Rametta, 87, 93, 125–127, 145, 154 Raqqāda, 1–2, 21, 24, 26 Rashīq al-Rayḥānī al-Kātib, 11, 19, 99 Raṣīf, 98–99 Raʾs Maddār, 102 Rayyān al-Ṣaqlabī, 89–90, 121 Russians, 87 Ṣāfī, 84, 106, 108 Ṣāfī al-Ikrīkī, 95–96 Ṣāliḥ b. Bahrām, 131 Sālim b. Abī Rāshid, governor of Sicily, 6, 67–68 Salmān al-Fārisī, 59–60 sāmān, 104 Ṣanhāja, 9, 105 Sardāniyya, 115 Ṣaṭfūra, 89–90 Shafīʿ al-Ṣaqlabī, 98 Shawdhab, 133 Shem, son of Noah, 59 shuf ʿa, 134 Sicily, 1, 5–7, 13, 15, 54, 66–68, 84, 86–87, 93, 108–109, 117, 123–124, 126, 128, 130, 132, 137, 141, 146, 148, 150, 152–153, 154 Slavs (Ṣaqāliba), 1, 3, 5, 21–22, 24–26, 29, 31, 59, 84, 87, 89, 96, 98–99, 101–102, 110, 124–125,

134, 146, 161–162 Sousse, 19, 154 Spring of Chosroes, 118 Sulaymān al-Khādim, 22–23, 110 Sūq al-Aḥad, 87 al-Ṭabarī, 67 Tadās, 90 Ṭāhir b. Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan alKalbī, 124, 130–131 Tamīm b. al-Muʿizz, 5, 8–9, 72, 98, 103, 130–131, 155–157 Taormina, 93, 126–127, 145 Ṭāriq, 28–29 tawqīʿ, 31 Theudalis, 90 Tīfāsh, 95 Tījis, 95 Tripoli, 67, 84, 93, 128–129, 160, 162 Tripoli (of Syria), 89 Tumājir, 43, 64 Tunis, 6, 89, 98, 102, 118, 154 Tustar, 22 tustarī, 22–23 Umayya, 22 Umayyads, 7, 9, 57–58, 66, 72, 104–105, 135–136 al-Urbus (Laribus), 81 ʿUslūj b. al-Ḥasan al-Danhājī, 156 ʿUthmān b. Amīn, 135–136 ʿUyūn al-akhbār, 14 al-Wādī al-Māliḥ, 43–44, 65 Wādī al-Milḥ, 44 waqʿat al-majāz, 93 waṣī, 107 wasīla, 74 Yaḥyā b. ʿAlī b. Ḥamdūn, 9, 104 Yaʿīsh, governor of Sicily, 108, 124 Yaʿqūb b. Isḥāq b. Mūsā b. al-ʿĀzār, 114

index

Yaʿqūb b. Killis, 156 Yaʿqūb al-Kutāmī, 22, 110 Yemen, 139 Yemenite swords, 37 Yūsuf b. al-Qāʾim, 29, 58 Yūsuf b. Zīrī see Bulukkīn b. Zīrī b. Manād

183

al-Zāb, 40, 72, 81, 118, 135, 142 ẓāhir, 94 zakāt al-fiṭr, 48 Zanāta, 9, 98, 105, 115 Zawīla, 110, 119–120 Zīrī b. Manād, 29, 98 Ziyādat Allāh III, Aghlabid ruler, 1 Ziyād al-Kātib, 63–64 al-Zubayr b. al-ʿAwwām, 130

Manṣūr al-ʿAzīzī al-Jawdharī Sīrat al-Ustādh Jawdhar Arabic Text