Badr al-Jamali Rescues Fatimid Egypt from Collapse

January 1073

The Armenian general Badr al-Jamali, summoned from his governorship at Acre, arrived in Cairo alone on a January evening and proceeded to do what no one else had managed: restore order. Within months he had eliminated rival military factions, secured the grain supply, and assumed the title of vizier with plenipotentiary powers. The caliph al-Mustansir retained his religious authority; all real power now belonged to Badr.