al-Zafir bi-Amr Allah – Part 3
Here is the third and final part of the story of the Caliph al-Zafir.
Part III
With the politically weak Caliph back control the commander of the last Fatimid foothold in Syria returned to Cairo and took the vizierate for himself (the place that he commanded in Syria was lost to the franks shortly after). Aware of the fate of his predecessor, this new vizier became convinced that the Caliph was plotting his downfall and decided to act first. After luring the Caliph to the commander’s house, the commander assassinated him. The commander then accused the Caliph’s brothers of killing the Caliph and had them executed. This left only the caliphs five-year-old son to be elevated to the caliphate and the commander in a relatively secure vizierate position.
This story of strife and power struggle continues, and the Commander does not stay in power long himself. However, for the moment I am going to end this story here, at al-Zafir’s exit.