Death of al-Mustansir of Egypt

1094

The long-reigning Fatimid caliph of Cairo died after sixty years, plunging the Shia caliphate into a succession dispute between his sons Nizar and al-Musta'li. The split fractured Ismaili Islam and contributed to the Fatimid weakness that would let Jerusalem fall first to the Turks and then to the Crusaders. The Nizari branch, under Hassan-i Sabbah, became the famous Assassin sect operating from mountain fortresses in Iran.