governor of al-Ḥillah, and after Abū Shujāʿ he was made vizier. He was resolute, fully competent, awe-inspiring, and politically astute. He held the vizierate for three years; then, in 516 AH, he was arrested, his house was plundered, and he was thrown into prison. A year later they found themselves in need of him once more, so he was restored to the vizierate and remained in office until he died in Rajab 522 AH. He had a distinguished hand in both poetry (1) and prose, and he lived to the age of sixty-three.

320 – al-Baṭāʾiḥī, Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Maʾmūn ibn al-Baṭāʾiḥī
He served as vizier of the Egyptian lands and the ʿUbaydid (Fatimid) state—al-Malik Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Maʾmūn ibn al-Baṭāʾiḥī. His story is that his father had been an intelligence agent in Iraq on behalf of the Egyptians, one of the tough-skinned Rāfiḍites; when the father died, al-Maʾmūn grew up poor and destitute. He worked as a porter in the markets of Egypt, and on one occasion entered the residence of al-Afḍal, Commander of the Armies, with the other porters. Al-Afḍal noticed the handsome, nimble youth and asked, “Who is this?” Someone replied, “This is the son of so-and-so.” Al-Afḍal employed him as an usher with the household staff, and he advanced and distinguished himself until fortune carried him all the way to power. He was the one who helped al-Āmir bi-Allāh assassinate the Commander of the Armies, after which he assumed that office. Valiant and daring, lavish with money yet prodigal in shedding blood, he was a formidable adversary. Later he joined forces with the caliph al-Āmir’s brother in a plot to kill the caliph; several emirs entered the conspiracy with them, but al-Āmir discovered it, seized al-Maʾmūn, crucified him, and eliminated him in 519 AH.