Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah

6th Fatimid caliph (r. 996–1021) and 16th Ismaili Imam

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Lived 985–1021, aged 36Egypt

Egypt PoliticiansPolitician

Wikipedia
44 languages
Cross-language footprint
Rank in Egypt
#208
Politicians
Era
985–1021
Aged 36

Summary

Updated 2026-06-09

The sixth Fatimid caliph whose 25-year rule split opinion so completely that his own era produced two irreconcilable histories: one of a divinely chosen sovereign whose every act was righteous, the other of a despot who killed on whim. To millions of Druze he remains a central figure; to his enemies he was the Nero of Egypt.

Biography

About

Abu Ali al-Mansur took power in 996 at eleven years old, reigning as al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah — "The Ruler by the Order of God" — until his death in 1021. Over those 25 years he became the axis of violently opposed narratives: historian Paul Walker notes that both the portrait of a mad tyrant and that of an ideal divinely ordained imam persisted simultaneously, the former among rebels and enemies, the latter among true believers who stayed loyal even when perplexed by events. Today he remains an important figure for some 15 million Nizari Ismailis, up to 2 million Musta'lis, and 2 million Druze.…

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