Islam Museum Islam Museum islam.museum
Search ⌕ AR | EN | UR

غلاء مصر العظيم في أيام المستنصر

غلاء مصر العظيم في أيام المستنصر

c. 1064 CE · c. 457 AH

Al-Dhahabi: under the Ubaydid al-Mustansir came Egypt's famine unmatched since Joseph's days — it lasted seven years till people ate one another and a loaf was said to sell for fifty dinars 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Early Abbasid Caliphate
Region
Egypt & Nile
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

In time

1050106010701080 c.
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era

Overview

Al-Suyuti relates from al-Dhahabi that Egypt in the days of the Fatimid caliph al-Mustansir was struck by a famine unlike any since the time of Joseph. 2

The famine lasted seven years, until people ate one another, according to the report; and it is said that a loaf was sold for fifty dinars. 2

The date is approximate, around 457 AH, and needs an additional source.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
المستنصر بالله معد بن الظاهر

People and things also explored

وقعة البساسيري والخطبة للمستنصر العبيدي ببغداد· المستنصر بالله معد بن الظاهر

Sources

  1. Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition), p. 644
  2. Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition), p.644
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “غلاء مصر العظيم في أيام المستنصر”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/mustansir-great-famine/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.

Improve this page on GitHub · Report an error · JSON

Wing

Time

Eras, timelines, this day in history, any year in the Islamic world. Related

وقعة البساسيري والخطبة للمستنصر العبيدي ببغداد

Arslan al-Basasiri grew so mighty he was preached on the minbars and the caliph decided nothing without him; when his ill creed proved out and his plan to sack the palace surfaced, al-Qa'im wrote secretly to Tughrul Beg at Rayy. Tughrul came in 447; al-Basasiri fell back to Rahba, took the Egyptian al-Mustansir's money and the treacherous brother Inal's distraction. In 450 he entered Baghdad under Egyptian banners — the khutba went to al-Mustansir at the Mansur mosque, 'hayya ala khayr al-amal' entered the adhan — and seized the caliph in Dhu'l-Hijja, jailing him at Ana; the caliph's letter to God was hung on the Ka'ba. Tughrul killed Inal, had the caliph returned in honour on 25 Dhu'l-Qa'da 451, and al-Basasiri's head reached Baghdad.