al-Jardjarai

Ali ibn Ahmad al-Jardjarai († March 27, 1045 ; Arabic علي بن أحمد الجرجرائي, DMG ʿAlī b. Aḥmad al-Ǧarǧarāʾī ) was vizier of the Fatimids from 1028 to 1045 .

Al-Jardjarai came from a small Iraqi town south of Baghdad . He came to Egypt and entered the service of Sitt al-Mulk before becoming secretary to the chief of police in Cairo . As such, he was convicted of infidelity when he opened letters from the secret service, which is why his hands were cut off in 1013. However, Caliph al-Hakim soon regretted this severe punishment, took al-Jardjarai back into the palace and reassigned him to high offices. After the death of al-Hakim he took over the administration of the private assets of the regent Sitt al-Mulk and after her death in 1023 he gained control of the imperial finances.

In the following years al-Jardjarai exercised power under Caliph al- Zahir with other favorites. However, al-Jardjarai was able to eliminate his competitors by 1028 and take over the office of vizier . During this time the empire was shaken by a severe famine and Bedouin revolts in Syria and Palestine .

After the pacification of Syria by Anuschtegin ad-Duzbiri, he tried to improve relations with Byzantium . After an armistice had already been concluded in 1027, after renewed fighting in 1036, peace was concluded. Above all, the supremacy over the emirate of the Mirdasids in Aleppo , which was claimed by both powers, was controversial . In fact, this competition subsequently led to dual rule over Aleppo.

Even under Caliph al-Mustansir ( 1036 - 1094 ) al-Dschardscharai forwarded the business of government during the minority of the sovereign. He died on March 27, 1045.

literature

• Heinz Halm : The Caliphs of Cairo. The Fatimids in Egypt 973-1074. CH Beck, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-406-48654-1 .