Al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah

al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah
Gold dinar of Al-Qa'im
Caliph of the Fatimid Caliphate
Reign	3 April 934 – 17 May 946
Predecessor	al-Mahdi billah
Successor	al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah
Born	April 893
Died	17 May 946 (aged 53)
Issue	al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah
Full name Kunya: Abu'l-Qasim Given name: Muhammad Laqab: al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah
Father	al-Mahdi Billah
Mother	?
Religion	Shia Islam

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Early Imāms Ali Hasan Husayn as-Sajjad al-Baqir Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq Ismāʿīl ibn Jaʿfar al-Mubārak Muhammad ibn Ismāʿīl ash-Shākir ʿAbadu l-Lāh (al-Wāfī Ahmad) Ahmad (al-Taqī Muhammad) Ḥusayn (ar-Raḍī ʿAbdillāh) ʿAbdu l-Lāh al-Mahdī bi l-Lāh al-Qāʾim al-Manṣūr al-Muʿizz al-ʿAzīz al-Ḥākim al-Ẓāhir al-Mustanṣir bi l-Lāh Nizār al-Muṣṭafā li-Dīn’il-Lāh / Aḥmadu l-Mustāʿlī bi l-Lāh Manṣūr al-Āmir bi-Aḥkām’il-Lāh Abu l-Qāsim al-Tayyib
Nizari Ismaili & Taiyabi Da'is  Nizārī Ismā'īlī Aga Khan IV Taiyabi-Musta’li Ismailis Dawoodi Bohra Disputed between Mufaddal Saifuddin and Taher Fakhruddin Sulaymani Al-Fakhri Abdullah Alavi Bohra Haatim Zakiyuddin
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Abu'l-Qasim Muhammad ibn al-Mahdi (Arabic: أبو القاسم محمد بن المهدي القائم بأمر الله‎‎; April 893 – 17 May 946), better known by his regnal name al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah or bi-Amri 'llah (القائم بأمر الله, "He who carries out God's orders"), was the second caliph of the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya and ruled from 934 to 946. He is the 12th Imam according to the Isma'ili faith.

History

Al-Qa'im was born in Salamiyah in Syria in 895 with the name Abd ar-Rahman. After his father Abd Allah al-Mahdi Billah (910-934) seized power in Ifriqiya he was named heir to the throne in 912, and helped put down several revolts. However campaigns into Egypt faltered against the resistance of the Abbasids (914-915 and 919-921), with heavy casualties.

In 934 Al-Qa'im succeeded his father as Caliph, after which he never again left the royal residence at Mahdia. Nevertheless, the Fatimid realm became an important power in the Mediterranean. After the re-conquest of Sicily the Byzantine province of Calabria and the coast of Italy and France were plundered.

But from 944 to 947 the realm was plunged into crisis by the revolt of Abu Yazid, who had united the Kharijite Berber tribes of the Aurès Mountains of eastern Algeria and overrun Ifriqiya. Imam Al-Qa'im was able to hold out in Mahdia with the help of the navy for over a year, but died (17 May 946) before the revolt could be put down.

He was succeeded by his son Ismail al-Mansur (946-953). He died on 13th Shawwal 334 AH (Mahdiyya) / 17 May 946 AD.

Timeline

Time line indicating the Imam amongst Shia Imams placed below.

External links and references

• Imam al-Qaaim, the 12th Fatimi Imam.
• Brett, Michael (2001). The Rise of the Fatimids: The World of the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the Fourth Century of the Hijra, Tenth Century CE. The Medieval Mediterranean. 30. Leiden: BRILL. ISBN 9004117415. 
• 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. 
• J. J. Saunders. "The Turkish Irruption". A History of Medieval Islam. Routledge. Retrieved 2007-08-25.