Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah
. Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn al -Husayn al -Mahdi (Arabic ابو محمد عبد الله بن الحسين المهدي, Abū Muḥammad ʿ Abd Allāh DMG b al -Husayn al -Mahdi; * 873 in Askar Mukram; † on the night of March 4, 934 in al - Mahdiya ) was 910-934, the first caliph of the dynasty of the Fatimids.
Abdallah al -Mahdi was born in 873 as Said ibn al -Husayn ( Sa ʿ īd b. Al -Husayn ) in Askar Mukram in the Persian Khuzistan and took over from his uncle Abu sch- Schalaghlagh 899 as the fourth head of the leadership of the Ismaili movement, which later became the should indicate the Fatimid dynasty.
However, initially led to a severe crisis of the movement, when Said ( Dais ) revealed his identity as the expected Mahdi his most important missionaries. Until now had always acted in the name of the hidden seventh Imam Muhammad ibn Ismail. This exchange of the expected Mahdi figure led under Hamdan Qarmat to refuse the Ismailis in Iraq and al - Hasa, which the guide Said in the following period no longer recognized ( Qarmatis ). In Iran, the Fatimids were recognized only under Caliph Abu Tamin al - Muizz again as leader of the Ismailis.
As yet more hidden Mahdi Said continued to live disguised as a merchant in the Syrian city Salamya. However, he had to leave this 902 when his identity was revealed by supporters. Finally, on the run from the Abbasids, he settled in Sijilmasa in southern Morocco, which was then ruled by the Miknasa. After the fall of Aghlabids by Abu Abdallah al- Shii Said to let it be known under the name Abu Abdullah Muhammad, the government stepped in Ifriqiya and founded the Fatimid empire so. As an Imam, he also adopted the title of caliph with the throne name al -Mahdi bi- llah ( " the rightly guided by God "); the Abbasids were regarded as usurpers of the succession to the Prophet Muhammad. Its origin headed Abdallah from about Jafar al-Sadiq from the fourth caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib and his wife Fatima (hence Fatimids ). This lineage but was denied by the opponents of the Fatimids again.
As a ruler, he organized his North African kingdom whose military strength was based on the Ismailitientum converted Berber people of the Kutama, with the help of some inherited bureaucratic apparatus of Aghlabids and built to secure his power in a responsible slave troops on him. This proved to be necessary as Abu Abdullah al- Shii according to the desired power in the Fatimid empire and al -Mahdi willing to concede only a religious leader role. After a conspiracy of missionaries and Kutama chiefs, Abu Abdallah played a dubious role in, this was assassinated on February 18, 911 on behalf of al - Mahdi. To secure his rule al -Mahdi also moved his residence from Raqqada into the newly founded al - Mahdiya south of Sousse ( 921 ).
In the following years there was constant fighting with the Umayyads of Córdoba in Morocco and with the Abbasids in Egypt. While in Morocco raged undecided proxy war and the Fatimids as the Umayyad allied themselves with various Berber tribes, Egypt was attacked directly under the Crown Prince of Abu l -Qasim al - Qaim. However, these campaigns failed (914 and 920 ) on the successful resistance of the Abbasids.
Successor al - Mahdi al - Qaim was his son, who had already distinguished himself as an heir to the throne in combating several revolts.