← Explore on the interactive map

Fatimid caliph al-Mustansir

Type Figure Region Egypt Time 1029–1094 Also known as al-Mustansir

al-Mustansir (1029–1094), eighth Fatimid caliph, acceded at age seven in 1036 and reigned nearly sixty years, the longest-reigning Fatimid ruler;…

Timeline

  1. 1029–1050Cairo · EgyptAcceded at age seven after his father al-Zahir's death in 1036, with real power exercised as regency by queen mother al-Jadar and successive viziers; court and religious institutions kept the dynasty running.
  2. 1050–1060Cairo · EgyptWith strong ministers such as Yusuf ibn Tashfin assisting, the Fatimids controlled Egypt, the Syrian coast, North Africa and Red Sea trade, and Cairo became a Mediterranean–Indian Ocean commercial and Ismaili scholarly hub.
  3. 1060–1094Cairo · EgyptFrom the 1060s, prolonged famine, fiscal collapse and factional infighting among Turkish and Nubian mercenaries; Syrian territories lost to the Seljuks; died in 1094, ushering the dynasty into succession crisis and decline.

Sources