List of Fatimid caliphs

This is a list of an Arab dynasty, the Shi'ite caliphs of the Fatimid dynasty (909–1171). The Shi'ite caliphs were also regarded at the same time as the imams of the Isma'ili branch of Shi'a Islam.

#	Coin	Kunya	Given name	Regnal name	Reign	Birth	Death	Remarks	refs
1		Abu Muhammad أبو محمد	Abd Allah عبد الله	al-Mahdi bi'llah المهدي	27 August 909 – 4 March 934	873 Salamiyah, Syria	4 March 934	His claim to be the Mahdi caused the Qarmatian schism in 899. Fled Salamiya in 903, and settled at Sijilmasa in 905 while Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i overthrew the Aghlabids and established the Fatimid Caliphate in his name in 909. Fatimid rule over Ifriqiya was consolidated and extended to Sicily, but three attempts to invade Egypt and thence attack the Abbasids failed.
2		Abu'l-Qasim ابو القاسم	Muhammad محمد	al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah القائم بأمر الله	4 March 934 – 17 May 946	893 Salamiyah, Syria	17 May 946	Only son of al-Mahdi bi'llah, his reign was dominated by the Kharijite revolt of Abu Yazid, who reduced the Fatimids to their palace city, al-Mahdiya.
3		Abu Tahir أبو طاهر	Isma'il اسماعیل	al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah المنصور بنصر الله	17 May 946 – 18 March 953	913 Raqqada	18 March 953	Defeated the rebellion of Abu Yazid, and resumed the war against the Byzantines in southern Italy.
4		Abu Tamim أبو تميم	Ma'ad معد	al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah المعز لدين الله	19 March 953 – 18 December 975	26 September 931	18 December 975	His general Jawhar occupied most of the Maghreb for him, and proceeded to conquer Egypt in 969. In 973, al-Mu'izz moved the Fatimid court and capital to newly founded Cairo. The Zirids were left in Ifriqiya as Fatimid viceroys.
5		Abu Mansur أبو منصور	Nizar نزار	al-Aziz bi'llah العزيز بالله	18 December 975 – 13 October 996	10 May 955	14 October 996	Succeeded in expanding Fatimid control over most of Syria, where he entered into conflict with the Byzantines over Aleppo.	[1]
6		Abu Ali أبو علي	Mansur المنصور	al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah الحاكم بأمر الله	14 October 996 – 13 February 1021	13 August 985	13 February 1021 (disappeared)	Concluded a lasting peace with the Byzantines in 1000. He is a respected religious figure due to his divine knowledge and extra ordinary personality. He disappeared, and was likely murdered, during a night excursion.
7		Abu'l-Hasan ابو الحسن	Ali علي	al-Zahir li-i'zaz Din Allah الظاهر لإعزاز دين الله	13 February 1021 – 13 June 1036	20 June 1005	13 June 1036	His reign represents a return to normality after al-Hakim's turbulent final years.
8		Abu Tamim أبو تميم	Ma'ad معد	al-Mustansir bi'llah المستنصر بالله	13 June 1036[lower-alpha 1] – 29 December 1094/ 6 January 1095[6][7]	2 July 1029 Cairo	29 December 1094/ 6 January 1095[8][9] Cairo	The longest-reigning Fatimid caliph, his reign saw increasing political instability and the near collapse of the dynasty at the hands of the Sunni warlord Nasir al-Dawla ibn Hamdan. The Armenian general Badr al-Jamali restored order and saved the dynasty, but installed himself as a virtual military dictator ("vizier of the sword") independent of the caliph.
9		Abu'l-Qasim ابو القاسم	Ahmad أحمد	al-Musta'li bi'llah المستعلي بالله	29 December 1094/6 January 1095[10][11]–1101	16 September 1074 Cairo	12 December 1101	Probably the youngest son of al-Mustansir, he was raised to the throne by Badr's son and successor, al-Afdal Shahanshah. This caused the rebellion and death of his older brother Nizar, and split the Isma'ili movement into rival Musta'li and Nizari branches. A puppet of al-Afdal, his reign saw the arrival of the First Crusade.
10		Abu Ali أبو علي	Mansur منصور	al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah الآمر بأحكام الله	1101 – 8 October 1130	31 December 1096	8 October 1130	Raised to the throne as a child by al-Afdal, who was his uncle and became his father-in-law. Until al-Afdal's murder in 1021. His reign saw the progressive loss of the coastal cities of the Levant to the Crusaders.
Interregnum due to al-Amir dying without a stable succession other than the infant al-Tayyib, who died or was killed soon after. Regency of Abd al-Majid (the future al-Hafiz) and usurpation of Kutayfat.
11		Abu'l-Maymun أبو الميمون	Abd al-Majid عبد المجيد	al-Hafiz li-Din Allah الحافظ لدين الله	23 January 1132 – 8 October 1149	1074/5	8 October 1149	The oldest surviving grandson of al-Musta'li, he became regent following al-Amir's death, and claimed the caliphate following the murder of Kutayfat. His irregular succession caused the split of Musta'li Isma'ilism into Hafizi and Tayyibi branches. His reign was relatively peaceful abroad, but turbulent domestically, as he had to confront over-mighty viziers and even the ambitions of his own sons. He was the last Fatimid caliph to exercise true authority over the government.
12		Abu Mansur أبو منصور	Isma'il اسماعیل	Al-Zafir bi-Amr Allah الظافر بأمر الله	1149–1154	February 1133	March 1154	His rule marks the beginning of the end for the Fatimid state: from then on the caliphs were underage youths, sidelined and mere puppets	[12]
13		Abu'l-Qasim ابو القاسم	Isa عيسى	al-Fa'iz bi-Nasr Allah الفائز بيناصر الله	1154–1160	1149	23 July 1160	Raised to the throne at the age of five after the murder of his father by the vizier Abbas ibn Abi al-Futuh, and spent his entire life as a puppet of Abbas' successor, Tala'i ibn Ruzzik. Experiencing epileptic seizures, al-Fa'iz died from an episode at the age of eleven, and his nephew, al-Adid, the final Fatimid caliph, succeeded him.
14		Abu Muhammad أبو محمد	Abdallah عبدالله	al-Adid li-Din Allah العاضد لدين الله	1160–1171	16 May 1151	13 September 1171	Al-Adid, a child ruler, became a puppet of powerful figures as the Fatimid Caliphate crumbled. Saladin took control, dismantled the regime, and suppressed Isma'ilism.

Fatimid Caliph
Gold dinar of al-Mustansir, with the inscriptions in the concentric circles typical of Fatimid coinage
Residence	Raqqada Mahdia al-Mansuriya Fatimid Great Palaces, Cairo (973–1171)
Formation	November 909
First holder	Abdallah al-Mahdi Billah (873 AD - Al-Salamiyah, Syria)
Abolished	September 1171

Family tree of Fatimid caliphs

Main articles: Fatimid dynasty and Detailed Fatimid dynasty family trees

v t e Family tree of the Fatimid dynasty

Abu Muhammad Abdallah al-Mahdi bi'llah (r. 909–934) Abu'l-Qasim Muhammad al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah (r. 934–946) Abu Ali Ahmad Other children al-Qasim§ Abu Tahir Isma'il al-Mansur bi'llah (r. 946–953) Other children Abu Tamim Ma'ad al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah (r. 953–975) Abd al-Rahim§ Tamim Abdallah§ Abu Mansur Nizar al-Aziz bi'llah (r. 975–996) Sitt al-Malik Rashida Abda Other children Sitt al-Mulk Abu Ali Mansur al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (r. 996–1021) Other children Abu'l-Hasan Ali al-Zahir li-I'zaz Din Allah (r. 1021–1036) Abu Tamim Ma'ad al-Mustansir bi'llah (r. 1036–1094) Abu Mansur Nizar§ Abu Abdallah Abdallah Isma'il Abu'l-Qasim Muhammad Other children Abu'l-Qasim Ahmad al-Musta'li bi'llah (r. 1094–1101) al-Husayn Nizari imams (claimed descent) Abu'l-Maymun Abd al-Majid al-Hafiz li-Din Allah (r. 1132–1149) Abu Ali Mansur al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah (r. 1101–1130) Ja'far Other children Sulayman§ Haydara§ Hasan§ Abu Mansur Isma'il al-Zafir bi-Amr Allah (r. 1149–1154) Yusuf Other children Abu'l-Qasim al-Tayyib§ Abu'l-Qasim Isa al-Fa'iz bi-Nasr Allah (r. 1154–1160) Abu Muhammad Abdallah al-Adid li-Din Allah (r. 1160–1171) Tayyibi hidden imams (claimed descent) Dawud Sulayman § denotes designated heirs who did not accede to the throne    denotes ruling Fatimid caliphs (with regnal names in bold and regnal dates)

See also

• Fatimid Caliphate portal

• List of Caliphs
• List of rulers of Egypt
• List of Ismaili imams

Notes

1. While the year 1035 is cited by some historians as the year in which he ascended the throne,^[2][3] the year 1036 is cited more frequently, particularly by Muslim scholars.^[4][5]

References

1. Canard, Marius (1960). "al-ʿAzīz Biʾllāh". In Gibb, H. A. R.; Kramers, J. H.; Lévi-Provençal, E.; Schacht, J.; Lewis, B. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume I: A–B. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 823–825. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_0953. OCLC 495469456.
2. Hitti, Philip K. (2002). A Short History of the Arabs: From the Earliest Times to the Present (Revised 10 ed.). Macmillan Education UK. ISBN 0333631420.
3. O'Leary, De Lacy (1923). A Short History of the Fatamid Caliphate. p. 193.
4. "MÜSTA'LÎ-BİLLÂH el-FÂTIMÎ - TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi". TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish).
5. "MUSTANSIR BILLAH I (427-487/1036-1095), 18TH IMAM". ismaili.net. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
6. "MÜSTA'LÎ-BİLLÂH el-FÂTIMÎ - TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi". TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish).
7. "MUSTANSIR BILLAH I (427-487/1036-1095), 18TH IMAM". ismaili.net. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
8. "MÜSTA'LÎ-BİLLÂH el-FÂTIMÎ - TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi". TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish).
9. "MUSTANSIR BILLAH I (427-487/1036-1095), 18TH IMAM". ismaili.net. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
10. "MÜSTA'LÎ-BİLLÂH el-FÂTIMÎ - TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi". TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish).
11. "MUSTANSIR BILLAH I (427-487/1036-1095), 18TH IMAM". ismaili.net. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
12. Daftary, Farhad (2011). The Ismā'īlīs: Their History and Doctrines (2. ed., repr. with corr ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge Univ. Press. pp. 250–252. ISBN 978-0-521-61636-2.