Q. & A. 711 to 1707 with solved Papers css 1971 to date

1. The Qaid or the C-in-C.
Under Muizz, the chief authoority rested with the Commander-in-Chief because of the able serwvices of Jawhar. Jawhar was a Sicilian slave who had entered in thne service of the Caliph Qaim. After the military exploits of the Daiii Abu Abdullah ash-Shii who was responsible for the establishment oof the Fatimid Caliphate, there was no commander to fill his place except Jawhar. Jawhar rose to prominence by subduing the Berber and the Kharijite revolts in North Africa and by occupying Ceuta (irangiers), the Umayyad Spanish stronghold in Africa. Jawhar furthesr became prominent by his successful invasion of Egypt. His i name will always be remembered as the founder and builder of CCairo and the University and mosque of Azhar. Jawhar’s services wenre all the more valuable to the Fatimids because of his loyalty. For foour years he ruled Egypt single-handed, he restored prosperity where’e there was chaos and became so popular that he could have easily become independent of the Fatimids. But on the contrary he invite^d Muizz to Egypt and surrendered all his offices in the administration except that of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army. He died in the time of the next Fatimid Caliph Aziz in the year 381 A.H. Thesre were other leaders in the military services of the Fatimids:
(i) Ziri bin Manad, a Berber Chief ” of the Sanhaja whose services in fighting the fellow Berber rebels ”• under Muhammad bin Khizr were very great, (ii) His son Bulkin wwas another commander of fame who later became the governor of Noorth Africa, Jawhar was accompanied (in) Jafar bin Falah in his conquuest of Egypt, and later
The Fatumds
763
it was Jafar who brought Syria into the Fatimid State. Jafar was killed at Damascus by a Qarmatian invasion which succeeded coming upto the gates of Cairo, and was successfully repulsed by Jawhar.
The navy was very important in the Fatimid administration, both for military as well as commercial purposes. The second Fatimid Capital of Mahdiya was primarily a naval base, which controlled the Mediterranean islands and which were launched all the invasions of Egypt. The Syrian Ports and Alexandria were soon built into strategic naval bases. Fatimids controlled the East-West trade route through the Mediterranean and the Red Sea which made them entirely independent of the Eastern Abbasids Caliphate.

2. The Qazi

The early Fatimid Caliphs themselves administered law and justice with the help of their religious missionaries called the Dais, till they found an able lawyer, Abu Hanifa Muhammad bin Nuaman, otherwise known as Qazi Nuaman. All the first four Caliphs were advised on all matters of iaw, religion and administration by the Qazi Nuaman. He also accompanied Muizz to Egypt. According to the agreement with the previous Qazi of Egypt as-Zuhli who had helped in the Fatimid conquest, he was retained nominally as the Chief Qazi but the main power rested with Qazi Nuaman
The Qazi was previously a Sunni of the Maliki School of Law, which was also the dominant school in North Africa and Egypt. Therefore, the law that was instituted as the official Fatimid law was mostly based on the Maliki Law, with all the variations of Islamism introduced in it. This law was embodied in the classic Fatimid lawbook Daaim al-Islam of Qazi Nuaman.
Qazi Nuaman was also the official historian of the Fatimids. His book Iftitah ad-Daawa described the establishment of the Fatimid Caliphate and the rule of the first three Fatimid Caliphs. The main contribution of Qazi Nuaman lies in the fields of iaw and history although he wrote on almost all subjects, which the mainly religious, 800 lectures of the Qazi are collected in eight volumes called the Majalis, which picture the entire life of the Fatimids at the height of their power and culture The Qazi died in 363 A.H., the same year as the arrival of Muizz in Cairo. He was followed in the office by his son Ali bin Muhammad bin Nuaman. Besides the post of the Chief Qazi there was also the office of the Muhtasib, who was a Magistrate of the Capital, the keeper of weights and measures, the

764 Political and Cultural History of Islam

protector of public morality, the coordinator of the departments of
police and justice. In short he acted at the Prefect of the Fatimid
State.
There was further a Court of the Mazalim, i.e., the court to judge cases relating to complaints against the public officers. In this court the Fatimid Caliph personally looked into all the decisions, in order to see it that there is no justice or corruption in the state.

3. The Financial Administration

The Sahib al-Kharaj: In the early days of the Caliphate, the rulers themselves looked into the finances till Muizz discovered the services of Yaqub bin Killis. Yaqub was previously a Jewish administrator of Egypt. Due to differences with the Ikhsidid Court of Egypt he had escaped to North Africa and entered into the service of Muizz. The entire North African financial administration was entrusted to him and was reformed by him. He accompanied Muizz to Egypt. But according to an agreement with the local treasurer. Ali bin Yahya who had welcomed the Fatimid invasion, the financial administration was retained by Ali bin Yahya formally while the real power rested with Yaqub bin Kills. The prosperity of the Fatimid State, the huge revenue from trade and commerce and the large expenditure on public works and religious monuments were all organized by Yaqub bin Killis. His reforms introducing a new currency hit very hard on the Abbasids because upto now the Abbasid coins were legal tender in the territory of the Fatimid Empire. Yaqub lived till the time of the next Fatimid Caliphs Aziz when he was appointed as vvazir. His later career will be summarized later.