Anushtegin ad-Duzbiri

Anuschtegin ad-Duzbiri († January 10, 1042 ) was governor of the Fatimids in Palestine and Syria (1023-1042).

Anuschtegin was probably of Uyghur descent and was captured and enslaved in 1007 when the Muslims conquered Hotan . Although he managed to escape, he was enslaved again in Bukhara , whereupon he came to Baghdad and, in 1010, to Damascus . There Anuschtegin was acquired by an officer Duzbiri, whose name he subsequently took on. After he was given away to the caliph al-Hakim in 1012 , he first joined the army, but soon became a page of al-Hakim. After he had proven himself as the commander of Baalbek and Caesarea in Palestine, he was appointed governor in Palestine in 1023. He kept this office under Caliph Az-Zahir (1021-1036).

In this office there were soon conflicts with the Tayyi Bedouins from the East Bank, who wanted to expand their control over the farmers in the West Bank. When Anuschtegin represented the interests of the Fatimid central authority, this led to the uprising of the Tayyi Bedouins, who also allied themselves with the Banu Kalb around Damascus and the Banu Kilab around Aleppo .

In Palestine, the insurgents were initially able to achieve some success, so that Anushtegin ad-Duzbiri had to withdraw to Askalon . The Banu Kilab also succeeded in conquering Aleppo, where they founded the Emirate of the Mirdasids . In contrast, Damascus could not be conquered by the Bedouins.

After his temporary removal and arrest, ad-Duzbiri was again commander of the Fatimids in Palestine and Syria in 1028. In the meantime, Fatimid diplomacy had succeeded in breaking up the Bedouin coalition and forging an alliance with the Banu Kalb. With these, Anuschtegin ad-Duzbiri at Tiberias in 1029 achieved a decisive victory over the rebels, with which the Fatimids were able to regain control over Syria. However, the Mirdasids were able to assert themselves in Aleppo with recognition of Fatimid suzerainty.

In the period that followed, ad-Duzbiri was able to further expand his position of power as governor in Syria and increasingly pursue an independent policy. So he came into contact with Byzantium and was able to conquer Aleppo in 1038 in an alliance with the Banu Tayyi and the Banu Kalb and drive out the Mirdasids. With his rule over all of Syria, ad-Duzbiri increasingly became a threat to the Fatimids. In 1041 they managed to instigate a revolt of his troops under the vizier al-Jardjarai in Damascus. This forced ad-Duzbiri to flee to Aleppo, where he died on January 10, 1042.

literature

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