al-Qa'im (Fatimids)
Abu l-Qasim Muhammad ibn al-Mahdi ( Arabic أبو القاسم محمد بن المهدي, DMG Abū l-Qāsim Muḥammad b. al-Mahdī ) with the throne name al-Qa'im bi-amri llah (القائم بأمر الله, DMG al-Qāʾim bi-amri llāh 'who carries out God's command'; * March / April 893 in Salamya ; † May 17, 946 ) was the second caliph of the Fatimid dynasty from 934 to 946 .
Life
Abu l-Qasim was born in Salamya, Syria in 893 and was originally called Abd ar-Rahman ; his mother was the daughter of the Ismaili Grand Master Abu sh-Schalaghlagh . After his father Abdallah al-Mahdi (ruled 910-934) came to power in Ifrīqiya , he took the name Abu l-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abdallah (= full name of the Prophet Muhammad ).
Already designated as heir to the throne in 912, al-Qā'im undertook campaigns to Egypt in 914–915 and 919–921 , which, however, failed due to the resistance of the Abbasids with heavy losses. For several months between 914 and 915, however, he managed to hold Alexandria . From this time he received a sermon on the festival of the breaking of the fast , which reveals his great religious sense of mission:
"You guys! I came to your community of faith like the Messenger of God to the Jews and Christians with their Torah and their Gospel, with their churches and synagogues. He called them to perfect their knowledge through what is in the Torah and the Gospel, but they did not care. And so he imposed the sword, poll tax , imprisonment, pillage and expulsion on them. This is exactly how I came to this community of yours , because you made your Koran a lie, threw it behind you and traded a low price for it. "
In April 927 Abu l-Qasim embarked on a campaign against the Zanata , from which he only returned to the royal seat of al-Mahdiya in November 928 . In 934 al-Qa'im succeeded his father. After he came to power, he did not leave al-Mahdiya until his death. Nevertheless, the Fatimid Empire rose to become a major power in the Mediterranean . After the renewed submission of Sicily , Byzantine Calabria and the coasts of Italy and France were sacked (see also Islam in Italy ).
However, the empire got into a serious crisis due to the uprising of Abu Yazid (944-947). This had the ibaditischen Berber tribes in Aurèsgebirge combined and Ifriqiya overrun. Only in al-Mahdiya was al-Qa'im able to assert itself with the help of the fleet. The Fatimids were saved by the fact that the Berber tribes of Abu Yazid fell again during the siege of al-Mahdiya. Before the uprising could be suppressed, al-Qa'im died on May 17, 946. His successor as caliph was his son Ismail al-Mansur .
literature
- Ulrich Haarmann : History of the Arab World. CH Beck, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-406-47486-1 .
- Heinz Halm : The Empire of the Mahdi. The rise of the Fatimids (875–973). CH Beck, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-406-35497-1 .
- Stephan Ronart, Nandy Ronart: Lexicon of the Arab World. A historical-political reference work. Artemis Verlag, Zurich 1972, ISBN 3-406-35497-1 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Quoting from Halm: The Empire of the Mahdi. 1991, p. 186.
- ↑ Quoting from Halm: The Empire of the Mahdi. 1991, pp. 241, 244.
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Abdallah al-Mahdi | Ruler of Ifrīqiya ( Fatimid dynasty) 934–946 |
Ismail al-Mansur |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Qa'im, al- |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn al-Mahdi; Qa'im bi-amri llah, al-; Qāʾim bi-amri llāh, al-; أبو القاسم محمد بن المهدي القائم بأمر الله (Arabic); القائم بأمر الله (Arabic) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | second caliph of the Fatimids |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 893 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Salamya |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 17, 946 |