Yaqub ibn Killis
Yaqub ibn Killis ( Arabic يعقوب بن كلس, DMG Yaʿqūb ibn Killis ) (* 930 in Baghdad ; † 991 ) was a Jewish vizier among the Fatimids (979–991).
Yaqub ibn Yusuf ibn Killis was born in Baghdad in 930 and was of Jewish descent. After his family moved to Syria , he came to Egypt in 943 and entered the service of the Ichshidid ruler Kafur . Soon he controlled the Egyptian state finances as property manager and asset manager. Although he converted to Ismaili Islam in 967 , he fell out of favor among Kafur's successors and was arrested. Yaqub ibn Killis was able to buy himself out and went to Ifrīqiya , where he placed himself in the service of the Fatimid caliph Abu Tamim al-Muizz . With this he returned to Egypt in 973.
Initially, he was appointed head of financial administration. He succeeded in restructuring the state finances by leasing tax revenues. After the disempowerment of Jawhar as-Siqillī , Yaqub ibn Killis was appointed vizier by al-ʿAzīz in 979 . As such, he headed the administration of the Fatimid Empire until 991. He was an important promoter of culture and science . The al-Azhar University in Cairo was founded under him (988).
literature
- Heinz Halm : The Caliphs of Cairo. The Fatimids in Egypt 973-1074. CH Beck, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-406-48654-1 .
Web links
- Literature by and about Yaqub ibn Killis in the catalog of the German National Library
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Bernd Roeck: The morning of the world . CH Beck, 2017, ISBN 978-3-406-74119-7 , pp. 165 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Yaqub ibn Killis |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Egyptian vizier among the Fatimids |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 930 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Baghdad |
| DATE OF DEATH | 991 |