ned by the
fact that his sister had the heir to the throne--who was at that time
governor of Aleppo--murdered, and also the chief who had conspired with
her in assassinating Hakim. She survived her brother for about four
years, but the actual ruler was the Vizier Ali el-Jar jar.

Dhahir's reign offers many points of interest. Peace and contentment
reigned in the interior, and Syria continued to be the chief point of
interest to the Egyptian politics. Both Lulu and his son Mansur, who
received princely titles from Hakim, recognised the suzerainty of the
Fatimites. Later on a disagreement arose between Lulu's son and Dhahir.
One of the former's slaves conspired against his master, and gave Aleppo
into the hands of the Fatimites, whose governor maintained himself there
till 1023. In this year, however, Aleppo fell into the power of the Benu
Kilab, who defended the town with great success against Romanus in
1030. Not till Dhahir's successor came to the throne in 1036 was Aleppo
reconquered by the Fatimites, but only to fall, after a few years, again
into the hands of a Kilabite, whom the caliph was obliged to acknowledge
as governor until he of his own free will exchanged the city for several
other towns in Syria; but even then the strife about the possession of
Aleppo was not yet at an end.

Mustanssir ascended the throne at the age of four years. His mother,
although black and once a slave, had great influence in the choice of
the viziers and other officials, and even when the caliph became of age,
he showed very few signs of independence. His reign, which lasted sixty
years, offers a constant alternation of success and defeat. At one time
his dominion was limited to the capital Cairo, at another time he was
recognised as lord of Africa, Sicily, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and even of
the Abbassid capital, Baghdad. A few days later his dominion was again
on the point of being extinguished. The murder of a Turk by the negroes
led to a war between the Turkish mercenaries and the blacks who formed
the caliph's body-guard. The latter were joined by many of the other
slaves, but the Turks were supported by the Ketama Berbers and some of
the Bedouin tribes, and also the Hamdanite Nasir ed-Dowlah, who had
long been in the Egyptian service. The blacks, although supported by the
caliph's mother, were completely defeated, and the caliph was forced to
acknowledge the authority of Nasir ed-Dowlah. He thereupon threatened
to abdicate, but w