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Al-Amir

Type Figure Region Egypt Time 1096–1130 Also known as Fatimid caliph al-Amir

Al-Amir (1096–1130), tenth Fatimid caliph, was enthroned as a child in 1101, took power in 1118, and was assassinated in 1130.

Timeline

  1. 1096–1118Cairo · CairoBorn in Cairo to the caliph al-Mustansir, he acceded in 1101 at the age of five with the regnal title al-Amir. Real power long remained with regents such as the vizier al-Afdal, leaving the caliph a figurehead.
  2. 1118–1130Cairo · CairoAfter al-Afdal was deposed in 1118, al-Amir began to rule in person, trying to revive Fatimid suzerainty over Syria and to maneuver among the Crusaders and Seljuks. Yet the dynasty's finances were strained and its armies suffered defeats, and it could not heal the Nizari Ismaili schism. Between 1111 and 1120 Fatimid influence in Syria steadily shrank.
  3. 1130Cairo · CairoIn October 1130 al-Amir was assassinated near the palace in Cairo. His son al-Tayyib was deposed less than a year after succeeding him, after which the Fatimids continued in the form of the hidden imam; secular caliphal power ended, paving the way for Saladin's later overthrow of the Fatimids.

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