Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah passed away

 

On this day, 13 February 1021 CE, Abu Ali Manṣur, better known by his regnal name al-Ḥakim bi-Amr Allah died Mokattam, Fatimid Egypt. He was the 16th Ismaili imam and the sixth caliph of the Fatimids (996–1021). Al-Hakim is a prominent figure among a variety of Shia Ismaili sects, including the 15 million Nizaris and 1–2 million Musta'lis throughout the world, as well as the 2 million Druze of the Levant. Histories of al-Hakim is very controversial because scholars having different views about his life and legacy.

According to historian Paul Walker, "eventually, both views of him, the mad and despotic tyrant (like Germanic and Roman despots) irrationally given to killing those around him on a whim, and the ideal supreme ruler, divinely ordained and chosen, whose every action was just and righteous, were to persist, the one among his enemies and those who rebelled against him, and the other in the hearts of true believers, who, while perhaps perplex.  He was regarded by his opponents as the "mad Caliph" or the "Nero of Islam".