Dhuka al-Rumi

Dhuka al-Rumi ("Doukas the Greek") was a Byzantine Greek, who served the Abbasid Caliphate, most notably as governor of Egypt in 915–919.

He was installed as governor of Egypt in 915 by the Abbasid commander-in-chief Mu'nis al-Muzaffar, as part of his effort to stabilie the situation in the country and expel a Fatimid invasion that had taken Alexandria. Dhuka was in Aleppo at the time, and arrived in Egypt in late August, succeeding Takin al-Khazari.^[1] The first Fatimid attempt to capture Egypt ended in failure thanks to Mu'nis' intervention, but soon the Fatimids began to make plans for a second assault, starting with the capture of Barqa after an 18-month siege in 917.^[2]

Although Dhuka had the garrison of Alexandria reinforced following the sack of Barqa, the arrival of the Fatimid expeditionary force in July 919 caught him by surprise. The city's governor, Dhuka's son Muzaffar, and his aides fled,a long with many of the populace, while the city was sacked.^[3] Dhuka's efforts to repel the new invasion were hampered by the reluctance of the provincial garrison at Fustat to fight, exacerbated by the habitual delays in their pay. Thus at first, he had to rely on volunteers, and moved quickly to secure Giza, across the Nile from Fustat, by constructing a fort there. Soon after, however, the new fiscal administrator for Egypt, al-Husayn al-Madhara'i, arrived with sufficient funds to pay the troops their arrears.^[3]

Dhuka died on 1 August, and was succeeded by his predecessor Takin, who arrived to take up his office in January.^[3] Once more, the intervention of Mu'nis in the next year saved Fustat and threw the Fatimids out of the country.^[4]

References

Sources

• Halm, Heinz (1996). The Empire of the Mahdi: The Rise of the Fatimids. Handbook of Oriental Studies 26. transl. by Michael Bonner. Leiden: BRILL. ISBN 9004100563.