Al-Qa'im (Fatimid caliph)


Abu'l-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abdallah, better known by his regnal name al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah or bi-Amri 'llah, 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 Muhammad. After his father Abd Allah al-Mahdi Billah 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, 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 Ligurian coast was plundered and the city of Genoa sacked.
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 before the revolt could be put down.
He was succeeded by his son Ismail al-Mansur.

Family

He was married already at an early age, before his family left Salamiya. His wife, Umm Habiba, apparently was still a child when she accompanied him to the Maghreb. He also had six known concubines, of which one, Karima, became the mother of his successor al-Mansur.