Al-Hafiz was the eleventh caliph of the Fatimids, ruling over Egypt from 1132 to his death in 1149. He rose to power as regent after the death of his cousin, al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah, in October 1130. His reign was troubled by constant uprisings and power struggles.
About Al-Hafiz in brief
Al-Hafiz was the eleventh caliph of the Fatimids, ruling over Egypt from 1132 to his death in 1149. He was the 21st imam of Hafizi Isma’ilism. He rose to power as regent after the death of his cousin, al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah, in October 1130. His reign was troubled by constant uprisings and power struggles. He tried to rein in his over-mighty viziers with mixed success. His life is almost unknown, but he is reported to have been an adult, almost an adult. In later life he was also called the epithet of Abu’l-Maymūn ʿAbd al-Majīd ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Mustanṣir, better known by his regnal name as al-Ḥāfiẓ li-Dīn Allāh. His father was Abu-Qasim Muhammad, a son of the reigning Fatimid caliph, Muhammad al- mustansan, a grandson of the founder of the Abbasid dynasty. He is buried at the Al-Mustansan shrine in Ascalon, in what is now the city of Al-Mansur, in southern Israel. His son Hasan was named vizier in 1134, ousting another of the Caliph’s sons from the post. Hasan’s reign proved tyrannical and he was overthrown by the army in March 1135. In 1139, Ridwan ibn Walakhshi was appointed to the vizierate. Ridwan not only instituted anti-Christian and anti-Jewish measures, but aimed to overthrow al-hafiz and replace the Fatamid dynasty with a Sunni regime headed by himself.
His successor, Ibn Masal, pervered until October 1149, but al-Hafaiz died in 1171. The future Caliph would be reduced to puppets at the hands of powerful viziers, until the end of theFatimid Caliphate in 1170. Al-Hafiiz’s reign was mostly quiet on the external front. Despite continuing hostilities with the Kingdom of Jerusalem, both powers were preoccupied elsewhere for the most part. King Roger II of Sicily began his expansion into the former FatimID domains of Ifriqiya, and adopted many of the practices of the court for his own administration. He also maintained contact with the Burids in Syria and King Roger 2 of Sicily, who at this time began his Expansion into the Former Fatimido domains of Ifriqiyah. He had no children of his own, but had a son, Hasan, who succeeded him as caliph in 1139. He died of natural causes in November 1149 at the age of 60. He left no heir to succeed him as Caliph, and was succeeded by his son Hasan, a younger son of Muhammad, who was also caliph.
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This page is based on the article Al-Hafiz published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 05, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
