Al-‘Aziz bi’llah

Al-‘Aziz bi’llah Abu Mansur Nizar b. Abu Tamim Ma‘add al-Mu‘izz li-Din Allah (955–996 CE), the fifth Fatimid imam-caliph was the first sovereign of his dynasty to begin his rule in Egypt. Al- ‘Aziz’s reign epitomises the cultural, intellectual and architectural efflorescence of Fatimid rule in Egypt. It also established the Fatimids as a vibrant Mediterranean Empire, pursuing trade, diplomacy and warfare with their Byzantine, ‘Abbasid and Andalusian Umayyad counterparts.