the land, and the hardship dragged on for two full years; then, in the year 465 AH, prices finally fell (1).
Ibn al-Athir relates: “Ibn Hamdan went to outrageous lengths in humiliating al-Mustansir and dispersed the greater part of his followers. His goal was to have the Friday sermon delivered in the name of the Commander of the Faithful al-Qa’im and to erase the Batinī regime. He kept at it until the emirs killed him, together with his two brothers, Fakhr al-‘Arab and Taj al-Ma‘ali, and their dynasty came to an end (2).
In the year 467 AH the conduct of affairs passed to the Commander of the Armies, Badr (3). He put to death the amir al-umara al-Dukaz (4) and the vizier Ibn Kudayna (5). Al-Mustansir had secretly written, summoning him from Acre; Badr replied that the troops in Egypt were in complete disorder and that, should the Imam so wish, he would bring an army with him. Leave was granted for him to do as he deemed best, so he recruited soldiers and men of valor, and they took to the sea in winter, braving the danger.
He descended upon Egypt unexpectedly and came through unscathed; al-Mustansir thereupon placed everything beyond his own gate under Badr’s authority. When night fell, Badr kept sending to each emir a squad, disguised as the bearer of a letter,
(1) Al-Kamil, vol. 10, p. 86. For a fuller account of this unparalleled hardship, see al-Maqrizi, Ighathat al-Umma, pp. 24–27.
(2) Al-Kamil, vol. 10, pp. 86–87.
(3) Badr ibn Abd Allah al-Jamali, Abu al-Najm, was commander of the Egyptian armies. Al-Mustansir first appointed him governor of Damascus, then recalled him to Egypt and relied on him to quell a rebellion. Badr consolidated the pillars of the state and became its real ruler, noted for his firmness toward insurgents. He died in Cairo in 487 AH/1094 CE; see al-Ishara ila man Nala al-Wizara, pp. 55–56, and al-Maqrizi, Khitat, vol. 1, pp. 381–382.
(4) The name appears in this form—both spelling and vocalization—in the present manuscript and in most historical works. Al-Ishara ila man Nala al-Wizara (p. 55) reads: “Baldakuz.” He was one of the Turkish amirs who, fearing Nasir al-Dawla ibn Hamdan’s monopoly of power, assassinated him along with his brothers Fakhr al-Arab and Taj al-Maali. Once the Turks were rid of them, they intimidated the caliph and seized control of affairs. The commander of the armies asked the caliph—while the latter was en route to Egypt—to have him arrested, and the arrest took place in 466 AH/1074 CE; see Al-Kamil, vol. 10, p. 87.
(5) Al-Hasan, son of the judge Thiqat al-Din and known as Ibn Kadina, held the vizierate more than once. He was notoriously ill-tempered and hard-hearted; see al-Ishara ila man Nala al-Wizara, p. 51.