While al-Hakim appointed several viziers (Katib), none of them lasted more than a few years. The great majority of them were ordered killed by al-Hakim as they fell from favor for any real or perceived transgressions, financial or loyalty.
Most of those viziers were Christians. Some of them served as physicians as well.
An example is Ibn Abdun, who initially was co-vizier, then later sole vizier:
Because of his eccentric and erratic behavior, people must have talked a lot about his orders, his actions, his mental well being and more.
This can be deduced from the repeated orders by al Hakim, instructing the public not to question or discuss his orders.
Al Maqrizi mentions several instances of such orders:
وقرئ سجل بترك الخوض فيما لا يعنى واشتغال كل أحد بمعيشته عن الخوض في أعمال أمير المؤمنين وأوامره
Due to him being unpredictable, eccentric and in a position of power, al-Hakim was much feared by his officials, soldiers and subjects alike.
On several occasions, they would fear his wrath and he would issue declarations of safety for various factions in his service as well as the public.
At one point, he ordered a collection of wood and reeds at the base of a hill. Everyone in his employ was fearful, as well as the general public.
Al-Hakim repeatedly exhibited erratic, eccentric and contradictory behavior. He seemed to have been keen on the morality of his subjects, repeatedly issuing orders for this to be done or that not to be done. This goes as far as micromanaging what is eaten and what is not.
Moreover, he would forbid something then later allow it. He would repeatedly enforce trivial orders he issued.
One of history's most controversial characters is Al Hakim Bi Amr Allah. Seen as God incarnate by some, as an eccentric "mad" ruler by others, and vilianised by yet others.
Al Hakim was a Caliph of the Fatimid dynasty of Egypt, North Africa, Palestine and Syria. Contrary to the majority of their subjects, who were Sunni, the Fatimids were Shia of the Ismaili branch. They engaged in missionary work to spread their sect's belief as wide as possible.
I have always admired the BBC as a mostly objective, neutral, comprehensive and balanced news outlet. A rare gem among the commerical monoculture dominant in America.However, I caught a few incidents lately where there was a lack of context and background. There are very uncharacteristic of the BBC, since I am used to them being very thorough and balanced. I don't know if it is sloppy reporters or editors or what.Here are some examples:1.
The following article is from The Record.
Woman loses $140,000 in e-mail scam
Cambridge victim's fraud loss is largest ever in Waterloo Region
WATERLOO REGION (May 10, 2005)
A Cambridge woman was swindled out of $140,000 after being told by e-mail that a long-lost relative had left her a fortune.
Thisis the largest financial loss ever reported by an individual fraudvictim in the region, Staff Sgt. Wally Hogg, head of the Waterlooregional police fraud branch, said yesterday.
Something unusual happened a while back at work. While I almost never write on my web site about work, I am making an exception here for reasons that will become apparent as you read more.I came under a new manager lately, let us call him S. When I was checking with colleagues who know him better than I do, one made the comment: "He will be the most technical manager you have ever had".I never made much of this comment until I had a chance to work with S closely on a project. What is amazing was that he is really hands on to a degree that you cannot imagine. He knows where the source repositories are, knows which part does what, and will sit and debug code with you, knowing the ins and outs of development.
As the phenomenon of blogging gained more popularity, there was bound to be conflict between what is personal and what is work.
Several people indeed got fired because of what they wrote about work in their blogs. This is just one of the pitfalls of blogging.
Earlier in May, I received several pictures from my brother in Egypt of some family members, dated may 2, 2005. What struck me was how I do not recall the stark difference in climate between Canada and Egypt, and its effect on crops.In one of the pictures, my uncle is standing in a partially harvested wheat field, with ripe golden wheat ears showing up clearly. This is the first crop of the season. In most of Egypt, there are three crops per year. In another picture, my brother is below a mulberry tree, with my nephew up in its branches. The tree has white ripe fruit on it.All the people in the pictures are still wearing "winter clothing" of sorts: long sleeve shirts and jackets. If temperature there is 15C or so, it is considered really cold!
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