44 Facts About Anushtakin al-Dizbari

An ethnic Turk, Anushtakin al-Dizbari was enslaved in his homeland of Transoxiana and sold in Damascus in 1009 to Dizbar ibn Awnim, a Daylamite Fatimid officer.

Between 1017 and 1023, Anushtakin al-Dizbari grew wealthy, gained local renown, and developed a deep understanding of Syrian affairs during his governorship of Ba'albek and Caesarea.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari was dealt with significant battlefield defeats and was recalled and imprisoned in Cairo in 1026, but was after freed.

Two years later, vizier Ali al-Jarjara'i dispatched him with an army against the Tayy and Kilab tribes in Syria, whom Anushtakin al-Dizbari routed near Lake Tiberias in 1029.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari consolidated his authority over Syria by forming alliances with the local nobility, particularly Rafi ibn Abi'l Layl of the Kalb tribe, reining in Bedouin depredations, reconciling with the Jarrahids and acquiring numerous ghilman.

Fifteen years later, the latter honored Anushtakin al-Dizbari by relocating his grave to Jerusalem.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari was an ethnic Turk born in Khuttal, a mountainous principality in Transoxiana; from there, he was captured and sold into slavery in Kashgar.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari escaped to Bukhara, but was again captured and enslaved.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari was then taken to the Abbasid capital of Baghdad.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari acquired a position in the Fatimid court and caught the attention of al-Hakim, who made him an army officer.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari resided in the home of a certain Hayyus in the Zuqaq-Attaf quarter where he became friends with Hayyus's son and poet, Muhammad ibn Hayyus; the latter later dedicated several panegyrics to Anushtakin.

However, al-Maqrizi indicated that Anushtakin al-Dizbari subscribed to Isma'ili Shia Islam, the religion of the Fatimid state, but toward the end of his life, he deviated from the Isma'ili madhab, which was rarely practiced in Damascus, possibly to Sunni Islam.

Lev doubts that Anushtakin al-Dizbari ever deviated from the state religion, and asserts that in any case, Anushtakin al-Dizbari firmly forsook his pagan past for a Muslim frame of reference.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari's stay in Damascus was cut short when he was recalled to Cairo.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari held the post for roughly four years, during which he developed a positive reputation among the inhabitants.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari was promoted again in 1023 to mutawali harb of Jund Filastin.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari retaliated by imprisoning two of Hassan's senior aides in Ascalon and gained permission from Caliph az-Zahir to attack Hassan while the latter was incapacitated by illness.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari proceeded to lead an expedition in the mountains around Nablus to apprehend Hassan.

However, the latter had since recovered and with 3,000 of his horsemen, repulsed Anushtakin al-Dizbari, who retreated to Ramla, the capital of Palestine.

The Jarrahids retaliated against Anushtakin al-Dizbari by besieging him Ramla and plundering and massacring the inhabitants of Tiberias.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari's position was boosted with the defection of Hassan's brother, Thabit, to his camp, but this was short-lived as Thabit betrayed Anushtakin al-Dizbari, and the Tayy, Kalb and Kilab Bedouin confederations formed an alliance against him.

Desperate to regain some ground from the Jarrahids, Anushtakin al-Dizbari moved to recapture Ramla, which he briefly held before being driven back to Ascalon.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari then gained the backing of the governor of Jerusalem, Mubarak al-Dawla Fath, and the governor of Tiberias, and led a foray against a Tayy encampment, killing its inhabitants.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari's dismissal left the Bedouin alliance in virtual control of Syria.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari was ultimately released upon the intervention of Sa'id al-Su'ada, a senior eunuch of az-Zahir.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari's victory paved the way for the Fatimid reconquest of Syria, with Salih's governors fleeing the coastal fortress of Sidon and the inland fortresses of Baalbek, Homs and Hisn Akkar between Damascus and the Mirdasid capital in Aleppo.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari, meanwhile, acquired Salih's Turkish ghilman and set up headquarters in Damascus.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari consolidated his alliance with the Kalb by marrying Rafi's daughter in 1035.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari launched assaults against the Tayy at Qastun, Inab and al-Arwaj.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari drew support from a faction of the Kilab, the tribe to which the Mirdasids belonged.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari was angered at what he viewed as a conspiracy against him.

The latter had sought a pretext to remove Anushtakin al-Dizbari, and took advantage of the Damascene troops' dissent to conspire against him.

Al-Jarjara'i told the troops of his disapproval of Anushtakin al-Dizbari and instructed them to await notice on how to proceed while encouraging them to quietly gather support among their comrades in Syria.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari then issued a letter to Thimal restoring his governorship of Aleppo, which he beckoned Thimal to capture by force.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari was unaware of the intrigues against him, and in late 1041, al-Jarjara'i intentionally provoked Anushtakin al-Dizbari by demanding the dismissal and handover of his chief scribe, Abu Sa'id.

Angered, Anushtakin al-Dizbari summoned the vizier's Damascus representative and had him beaten and humiliated.

Zakkar asserts that by this action Anushtakin al-Dizbari "actually proclaimed his independence".

Disorder spread throughout the city and Anushtakin al-Dizbari's palace was assaulted and plundered, prompting Anushtakin al-Dizbari to flee with 300 of his ghilman and seek safety in Ba'albek.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari was refused entry into the latter and headed north to Hama, but was again denied refuge.

For unclear reasons, in 1057, al-Mustansir honored Anushtakin al-Dizbari by having his body relocated from Aleppo to Jerusalem for burial; because of its religious sanctity, Jerusalem had served as a ceremonial burial place for the rulers of Syria and Egypt since the Tulunid period.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari's wealth enabled him to purchase and train large numbers of Turkish ghilman.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari spent substantial sums, via the Bukhara-born Hanafi qadi of Aleppo, to fund the establishment of Islamic law colleges, mosques and bridges in the Muslim lands of Transoxiana.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari pursued a policy of solidifying relationships with the Bedouin tribes through marriage.

Anushtakin al-Dizbari had a son from his Jarrahid wife, and four daughters from his other marriages.