Sitt al-Mulk
| Sitt al-Mulk | |
|---|---|
| Caliph regent of the Fatimid Caliphate | |
| Reign | 1021 – 1036 |
| Predecessor | Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah |
| Successor | Ali az-Zahir |
| Born | 970 Cairo, Fatimid Caliphate, Egypt |
| House | Fatimid |
| Father | Abu Mansoor Nizar al-Aziz Billah |
| Mother | A Christian Byzantine slave |
Sitt al-Mulk (970–1023) (Arabic: ست الملك), was the Ruler (de facto Caliph) of the Fatimids in 1021–1023 during the minority of her nephew, Ali az-Zahir, the seventh Fatimid caliph and 17th Ismaili imam (1021–1036).
She was the daughter of Nizar al-Aziz Billah, the fifth Fatimid caliph and 14th Ismaili imam (975–996). Her mother was a Christian from Byzantine Empire who refused to convert to Islam, and her fathers love for her reportedly caused suspicion that she was behind his tolerance towards Christians and Jews.
Sitt al-Mulk was described as intelligent and beautiful and was loved by her father, who early on encouraged her to express her opinion and asked for her advice in political affairs. She shared her father's religious tolerance, express herself happy to be half Muslim and half Christian, and supported her father in his criticized appointments of the Christian vizier Issa Ibn Nasturas, and her mother's Christian brothers Arsenius and Aristes.
After the death of their father in 996, she tried with the help of a cousin to force her brother Al-Hakim from the throne, but was arrested by the eunuch Barjuwan. Her relationship with her brother was reportedly very bad: she opposed to his intolerant politics, and he accused her of having lovers among his generals.
In 1021, her brother the Caliph disappeared during one of his nightly walks in the city, and after a couple of days of search, he was declared dead.
It is likely that Sitt al-Mulk arranged for the assassination of the Caliph in collaboration with General Ibn Daws, whom she called upon after the Caliph had accused them of being lovers: 'In the course of this meeting she concluded a bargain with this military man and promised to share power with him in exchange for his doing away with the caliph.' Despite the suspicions that she was behind the assassination of her brother, there was no objections to her assuming de facto power during this critical situation: due to the unprecedented situation, there was not rules as how to handle the situation, and Sitt al-Muluk was immensely popular as an opposition force to her hated brother.
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