List of Fatimid Caliphs
The list of Fatimid caliphs contains all the deputies ( ḫalīfa ) of the Prophet Muhammad from the Shiite dynasty of the Fatimids , who derived their descent directly from him. The caliphs themselves were also the heads ( imām ) of the Ismailis' Shia .
The first Fatimid caliph was proclaimed on January 5, 910 in Raqqada , North Africa , a few months after he stepped out of concealment ( ġaiba ) in Sidschilmasa . The Caliphate was linked to the right to rule over the entire Muslim world, but the Fatimids were in competition with the Sunni Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad ( Iraq ) and those of the Umayyads in Cordoba ( al-Andalus ). Today's Tunisia was the oldest center of their rule, where, in addition to Raqqada, they also founded the residential cities of Mahdia and al-Mansuriya . In 972 the fourth caliph finally moved the residence to the newly founded Cairo in Egypt , which now became the permanent center of power for the dynasty. After the death of the fourteenth caliph in 1171, the dynasty was deposed by the ruling Sunni vizier Salah ad-Din (Saladin) Yusuf .
Caliphs of the Fatimids
| Kunya | Ism | Laqab | Ruling time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abū Muḥammad | ʿAbdallāh |
al-Mahdī billāh ("the one guided by God") |
910-934 | 11. Imam of the Ismailis; allegedly a great-great-grandson of the seventh Imam Muhammad ibn Ismail |
| Abūʾl-Qāsim | Muḥammad |
al-Qāʾim bi-amriʾllāh ("who represents the cause of God") |
934-946 | Son; 12. Imam of the Ismailis |
| Abū ṭ-Ṭāhir | Ismāʿīl |
al-Manṣūr bi-naṣriʾllāh ("the one who is victorious with God's help") |
946-953 | Son; 13. Imam of the Ismailis |
| Abū Tamīm | Maʿadd |
al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh ("who strengthens God's religion") |
953-975 | Son; 14. Imam of the Ismailis |
| Abūʾl-Manṣūr | Nizār |
al-ʿAzīz billāh ("the one who is mighty through God") |
975-995 | Son; 15. Imam of the Ismailis |
| Abū ʿAlī | al-Manṣūr |
al-Hākim bi-amriʾllāh ("the ruler at the behest of God") |
995-1021 | Son; 16. Imam of the Ismailis |
| Abūʾl-Ḥasan | ʿAlī |
aẓ-Ẓāhir li-ʾIʿzāz Dīn Allāh ("the one who appears to exalt the religion of God") |
1021-1036 | Son; 17. Imam of the Ismailis |
| Abū Tamīm | Maʿadd |
al-Mustanṣir billāh ("who begs God for assistance") |
1036-1094 | Son; 18. Imam of the Ismailis |
| Abūʾl-Manṣūr | Nizār |
al-Muṣṭafā li-Dīn Allāh ("the one chosen for God's religion") |
1094-1095 | Son; Counter-caliph; 19. Imam of the Nizari Ismailis |
| Abūʾl-Qāsim | Aḥmad |
al-Mustaʿlī billāh ("the one exalted by God") |
1094-1101 | Brothers; 19. Imam of the Mustali Ismailis |
| Abū ʿAlī | al-Manṣūr |
al-Āmir bi-aḥkām Allaah ("who commands the counsels of God") |
1101-1130 | Son; 20. Imam of the Mustali Ismailis |
| Interregnum 1130 to 1132 : reign of Kutaifat | ||||
| Abu'l-Maimun | ʿAbd al-Maǧīd |
al-Ḥāfiẓ li-Dīn Allāh ("the keeper of the religion of God") |
1132-1149 | Grandson of al-Mustanṣir ; 21. Imam of the Hafizi Ismailis |
| Abūʾl-Manṣūr | Ismāʿīl |
aẓ-Ẓāfir bi-amriʾllāh ("the one who is victorious at God's command") |
1149-1154 | Son; 22. Imam of the Hafizi Ismailis |
| Abūʾl-Qāsim | ʿĪsā |
al-Fāʾiz bi-naṣriʾllāh ("the one who is victorious with God's help") |
1154-1160 | Son; 23. Imam of the Hafizi Ismailis |
| Abū Muḥammad | ʿAbd Allaah |
al-ʿĀḍid li-Dīn Allāh ("the strengthening of God's religion") |
1160-1171 | Grandson of al-Ḥāfiẓ ; 24. Imam of the Hafizi Ismailis |