Al-Hakim the Mad

Destroyer of the Holy Sepulcher, divinely religious leader of two religions, head of the Fatimid empire and perhaps one of the strangest emperors in history, Al-Hakim bi Amr Allah or the man more commonly known as Al-Hakim is described as by most historians as one of the most violent, unforgiving, and eccentric emperors in history. While most Sunni Muslim and Christian scholars today describe Al-Hakim as being erratic in behavior and perhaps even insane, Ismaili Muslim, Coptic Christian, and Druze leaders hold Al-Hakim in high regard so much so that the Druze consider Al-Hakim a manifestation of God. Surprisingly though, despite his odd rulings, Al-Hakim is said to have instilled so much fear in his subjects that no one dare challenge him.

Al-Hakim rose to the throne of emperor of the Fatimid empire and leadership of Ismaili Shiite's Imam position, one of the most powerful empires and religious leaderships in the Middle East at the tender age of eleven in 996 AD. The Fatimid empire extended from Nubia through Egypt into greater Syria - including Jerusalem - and all the way to Islam's most holy Muslim cities Medina and Mecca. Though during the first few years of his rule he was nothing but a figurehead, when Al-Hakim finally did assume the responsibilities of the thrown of Fatimid empire when he was fourteen, Al-Hakim's 'reckless' reign truly began.

By the year 1000 AD, Al-Hakim's attitude toward all but Ismaili Muslims was problematic towards all other religions. Al-Hakim ordered the cursing of people believed to be true companions and the first Khalifah - regarded by Sunni Muslims highly - to be publicly cursed. He ordered certain prayers associated with Sunni Islam to come to an end. Al-Hakim's persecution of Christians and Jews began in 1003, when he ordered the destruction of a church and replaced it with a mosque. Al-Hakim also outlawed the use of wine, made Jews wear calf necklaces and Christians Iron crosses, killed all dogs in Egypt, and made women who were Christian or Jewish wear different colored shoes.

The strange forms of tyranny he forced upon his subjects did not end there. He killed most of his prime ministers (viziers) , replacing them every few years. Al-Hakim also ordered that Egyptians work at night and sleep during the day and that all women, regardless of religion, were not allowed outside period. To ensure that no woman would go outside, he closed down all women's bath houses and prevented shoe makers from making women's shoes. Muslims and Christians alike went to his palace to ask for his forgiveness, giving him God-like status. By 1009, angered for no apparent reason with his Christian subjects, he destroyed the Holy Sepulcher, which was one of the main events that lead to the first crusades.

It was during his last decade of rule and living that he began softening his rulings, though not by much. Al-Hakim did not allow his subjects to question his actions in public nor in private, and those who did and were found guilty were often killed. His erratic behavior terrified his subjects so much so that he gave 'safety documents' to certain army commanders to insure them against his own wrath. It was also toward the last half of his rule that the Baghdad Manifesto was created, in which the Abbasid rulers of Iraq made Sunni and Twelver Shiite scholars declare in writing that that Al-Hakim was not a descendent of Islam's prophet Muhammed, a necessity for him to be able to claim the title of Imam of Ismaili Islam and the Fatimid empire thrown.

In 1017, Muhammed al-Durzi, a radical Ismaili Shiite student of Al-Hakim's, began to preach that Al-Hakim was a manifestation of God like Jesus was to Christians. Muhammed al-Durzi then founded the Druze faith, which today has hundreds of thousands of followers in Lebanon and Syria. It is not clear what Al-Hakim's opinion was of those who worshipped him, though he clearly did not oppress it.

At the end of his reign, Al-Hakim began going into seclusion more and more. His love of asceticism and of the dark led him to go on ventures into the night. In 1021, he withdrew into meditation one night, never to be found. He is thought to have been murdered, with only his bloodstained clothes and donkey being found. However, it is claimed by the Coptic Church that on that night, he had a vision of Jesus and became and Coptic Monk, never to be seen or heard from again. His quarter century reign ended in peril for the Fatimid empire, who slipped into crisis after his disappearance and those who worshipped him were persecuted endlessly. It was the beginning of the end of the Fatimid empire.

Sources

"AL-HAKIM (386-411/996-1021)." Ismaili.net. Ismaili.net. 24 Mar 2009 .

"al-Ḥākim." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 24 Mar. 2009 .

Clarke, Andrew. "Al-Hakim bi-Amr 'The Mad'." The Hysterical Hystorian. 2005. 24 Mar 2009 .

Daftary, Farhad. "al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah." The Institute of Ismaili Studies. 2008. The Institute of Ismaili Studies. 24 Mar 2009

Khalid. "al-Hakim bi Amr Allah: Fatimid Caliph of Egypt." The Beheyeldin Dynasty 15 May 2005 24 Mar 2009