Ikhshidids

Ṭughj ibn Juff, a loyal general under the Tulunids, was defeated by the Qarmatians in 902 while serving as Governor of Damascus. In 904, outraged at the murder of the Fourth Tulunid Emir, Hārūn, he joined the Abbasids, led their army into Egypt, brought the Tulunid dynasty to an end and restored Abbasid control. For his trouble, the Abbasids threw him in gaol. The Abbasids were unwilling to entrust Egypt to a powerful governor, lest the new governor set himself up as an independent ruler. As a result, the rivalries between the various military groups, which had been held in check by the Tulunids, were released and Egypt promptly collapsed into disorder with rival factions all striving for dominion.

• 1) Muḥammad ibn Ṭughj Abū Bakr al-Ikhshīd, First Ikhshidid Emir of Egypt (see below)

• 2) 'Ubayd Allāh ibn Ṭughj.

  • a) al-Ḥasan ibn 'Ubayd Allāh al-Ikhshīdī, who showed up in Egypt in 968 when there was no clear commander of the state and briefly took control of affairs, but had to return to Palestine the next year to defend against Hamdanid and Byzantine incursions. 

  • a) a daughter, who married Sayf ad-Dawla al-Ḥamdānī, Emir of Aleppo (see HAMDANIDS)

935 – 946 Muḥammad ibn Ṭughj Abū Bakr al-Ikhshīd, First Ikhshidid Emir of Egypt. Born in Baghdad in 882, he was a protégé of Takīn, who served thrice as Governor of Egypt and was the most successful of the many Abbasid governors of Egypt in the period after the destruction of the Tulunid dynasty. Ibn Ṭughj imself served as Governor of Palestine (928-931), and then Governor of Damascus (931-935). After the death of Takīn and his son, Ibn Ṭughj entered Egypt in 935, as a massive army of the Fatimid Caliphate (rivals of the Abbasid Caliphate for overlordship of the Muslim world) bore down on Egypt from the west. The garrison of Alexandria and the Nile fleet revolted and joined the Fatimids, and all seemed lost, until Ibn Ṭughj recaptured the city and drove the Fatimids back to Barka. Flushed with success he marched his army north to conquer Syria from its Abbasid rulers. To the Abbasid Caliphate's dismay, it proved impossible to dislodge him, and he repeatedly threatened to join the Fatimids and hand Egypt over to them. 

In 939, Ibn Ṭughj was formally appointed Governor with full financial and military competence by the Abbasid Caliph ar-Rāḍī, and was given the name al-Ikhshīd, "The Servant," at the same time. This was perhaps an optimistic move on the Caliph's part, but the Abbasid government in Egypt was clearly not functioning, so a dynamic government might have seemed better even if it meant surrendering a great deal of control. This was not to the liking of al-Mādharā'ī, the Abbasid Chief Financial Officer in Egypt, but his troops refused to help him oppose al-Ikhshīd, who confiscated his wealth and imprisoned him. In 944, al-Ikhshīd attempted to convince the new Caliph, al-Muttaqī, to move to Fustat (where al-Ikhshīd could control/protect him). He failed, but received official acknowledgement of his rule and control of the Hejaz (west Arabia). A few months later, al-Ikhshīd defeated the Emir of Mosul, who dominated the Caliph, and came to a peace agreement whereby al-Ikhshīd would receive Syria up to Damascus, Ba'labakk and Tripoli, while the Emir of Mosul's brother, Sayf ad-Dawla, would hold Aleppo and northern Syria, which al-Ikhshīd was not powerful enough to without the support of the Caliph anyway. He died in 946 at Damascus. 

• 1) Abūl-Qāsim Ūnūjūr ibn Muḥammad al-Ikhshīdī, Second Ikhshidid Emir of Egypt (see below).

• 2) Abūl-Ḥasan 'Alī ibn Muḥammad al-Ikhshīdī, Third Ikhshidid Emir of Egypt (see below).

• 1) a daughter, who married Muzāḥim ibn Muḥammad, son of Muḥammad ibn Rā'iq, who was a rival to al-Ikhshīd for control of Syria & Palestine until he died in 942.

• 2) a daughter, who married Abu'l-Fatḥ Al-Faḍl ibn Ḥinzāba, supervisor of property taxes in the East and then Abbasid Auditor of Egypt & Syria  

946 – 961 Abūl-Qāsim Ūnūjūr ibn Muḥammad al-Ikhshīdī, Second Ikhshidid Emir of Egypt. On his succession, Sayf ad-Dawla, Emir of Aleppo broke his agreement and invaded southern Syria, making for Damascus. Ūnūjūr dispatched the African eunuch, Abū'l-Misk Kāfūr, against him, who was very successful. Meanwhile, the governor of Middle Egypt, Ghabūn, led a rebellion which captured Fustat and was only terminated by his untimely death. Egypt remained intact, but power fell into the hands of Kāfūr. The latter years of this reign were troubled: There were conflicts between Kāfūr's soldiers and those of Ūnūjūr, several famines, fires, and earthquakes, and Nubian invasions from the south.  Ūnūjūr died in 961. 

961 – 966 Abūl-Ḥasan 'Alī ibn Muḥammad al-Ikhshīdī, Third Ikhshidid Emir of Egypt. In theory he succeeded his father as Emir of Egypt. In practice, the eunuch Kāfūr remained in undisputed command of the state, fighting incursions against Nubians in the south, Qarmatians in Syria, and the Byzantines at sea. The latter destroyed the Egyptian fleet, inspiring Melkite Christians throughout the realm to rebel. Only Kāfūr's competence kept the realm together, when 'Alī died in 966, he succeeded him without major trouble.

• 1) Abūl-Fawāris Aḥmad ibn 'Alī al-Ikhshīdī, Fourth Ikhshidid Emir of Egypt (see below)

966 – 968 Abūl-Misk Kāfūr al-Lābī, Kafurid Emir of Egypt.  A black eunuch, who had risen through the ranks under al-Ikhshīd, he had been the dominant force in Egypt since 946 (as discussed above). The sources have many repulsive things to say about him, mainly because he was a black African eunuch and nevertheless plainly better than his free Arab contemporaries. The sources do acknowledge his cleverness and his piety, but make even these qualities negative, characterising him as dishonestly sneaky and credulously superstitious. Putting the bias aside, his reign was, however, a problem for the continued existence of the Egyptian Emirate: as a eunuch he had no children, and thus, as he aged, the military high command increasingly jostled among themselves, hoping to distinguish themselves and eliminate their rivals. The army and bureaucracy were at war with themselves. After only two years of de jure rule, he died in 968 and was interred at Jerusalem. 

968 – 969 Abūl-Fawāris Aḥmad ibn 'Alī al-Ikhshīdī, Fourth Ikhshidid Emir of Egypt. Born 956, he was ten when his father died, and was easily swept aside by the eunuch Kāfūr. When Kāfūr died in 968, however, he was returned to the power. The Vizier Ja'far ibn al-Furāt took control of affairs, quarrelled with the financial officer Ibn Killis, a member of the Ikhshīdid family showed up to take charge, only to depart again within the year. Realising that no one was in charge, the Fatimids dispatched an army and conquered Egypt in 969. He died in 981.