Hassan ibn Ammar al-Kutami

Abu Muhammad Hassan ibn Ammar al-Kutami ( Arabic أبو محمد الحسن بن عمار, DMG Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAmmār ; † 1000 ) was a military leader ( qāʾid ) of the Fatimids as the leader of the Berber Kutāma and in 996/7 a short-term regent of the caliphate for the underage caliph al-Hakim .

Ibn Ammar probably already belonged to the Kutama contingent of the conquering army under General Jawhar al-Siqilli , which conquered Egypt in 969 for the Fatimid caliphate. He was first mentioned by name in 973 when he suppressed unrest in the souks of a-Fustat after the arrival of the caliph al-Muizz in al-Qahira (Cairo) . During the years of the rule of the caliph al-Aziz (975–996) he rose to become the leader of the Kutama, who saw themselves as the backbone of the caliphate and therefore claimed a privilege in the army and state. However, this exclusivity was increasingly threatened because the caliphs relied primarily on competent oriental officials in the state leadership and supplemented their army with new contingents of Sudanese and Turkish military slaves ( mamlūk ) , such as Dailamite mercenaries.

When Caliph al-Aziz died in Bilbeis on October 13, 996 while preparing for a campaign in Syria, leaving only the eleven-year-old son al-Hakim as his successor, the Kutama saw the opportunity to take over the state. Arbitrarily they proclaimed their leader Ibn Ammar to be the "mediator" (wisāṭa) between them and the caliph, which corresponded to a position similar to that of a vizier . He underlined his authority as the new de facto ruler by accepting an honorary title, "Trustee of the State" (amīn ad-daula) , with which he became a model for future military rulers. He immediately proceeded to remove unpopular people from the state and army and replace them with loyal Kutama. The former chief minister Isa ibn Nasturus , a Christian of Greek descent, was executed because he was hated by the Kutama because of his avarice in paying wages . For the Egyptian population, the Berber regime (from the Greek bárbaroi ) revealed itself as a brutal reign of terror, as the Kutama, socialized as warriors, regarded themselves as above the law and harassed the people with violence, looting and rape.

Almost a year after taking power, Ibn Ammar made the mistake of sending the bulk of the Kutama army to Syria to remove the Turkish-born governors there who refused to bow to his regime. His position in Cairo was anything but undisputed. The eunuch and guardian of the caliph Bardjawan had secretly spun a network of locals from the east ( al-mašriq ) who now took the opportunity to revolt against the hated Berbers from the west ( al-maġrib ) . On September 3, 997, the Kutama remaining in Cairo were overpowered by the numerically superior Turkish guardsmen and many of them were killed. Eventually Ibn Ammar and his remaining followers were forced to flee the city, which ended his rule. The new regent Bardjawan then showed mercy towards the numerically decimated Kutama, who were allowed to join the Fatimid army as paid warriors. However, they had now definitely lost their old position of priority and in the further course of the 11th century they were no longer to play a significant role in the Fatimid army.

Ibn Ammar was initially again accepted as a general with grace, but when al-Hakim took over personal rule after the murder of Bardjawan († March 26, 1000), he too was executed at the order of the caliph.

Comment on identity

Ibn Ammar is often identified as identical to Hassan ibn Ammar al-Kalbi , who lived almost at the same time and was a member of the calbites who ruled Sicily as the governor of the Fatimids. However, the clan of the Kalb (Banū Kalb) was of Arab descent , but the Kutama Berbers from what is now Algeria were commanded exclusively by members of the tribes.

literature

• Farhad Daftary , The Ismāʿīlīs: Their History and Doctrines. 2nd edition, London 2007.
• Heinz Halm , The Empire of the Mahdi. The rise of the Fatimids 875–973. CH Beck, Munich 1991.
• Heinz Halm, The Caliphs of Cairo. The Fatimids in Egypt 973-1074. CH Beck, Munich 2003.
• Yaccov Lev, Regime and Society in Fatimid Egypt, 358-487 / 968-1094. In: International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 19 (1987), pp. 337-365.

Remarks

1. ↑ Cf. Ibn Challikan : "The Death of Eminent Personalities and the News of the Sons of Time" (Wafayāt al-aʿyān wa-Anbāʾ abnāʾ az-zamān) , ed. by William Mac Guckin de Slane : Ibn Khallikan's biographical dictionary, Vol. 3 (1868), p. 528.
2. ↑ See Halm (2003), p. 85.
3. ↑ See Halm (2003), p. 172 f.
4. ↑ See Halm (2003), p. 174; Daftary, p. 178 f.
5. ↑ Cf. Lev, p. 344 f.
6. ↑ On him see Halm (1991), pp. 350, 259.