Ibn Mulhim

Makīn al-Dawla al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Mulhim ibn Dīnār al-ʿUqaylī (fl. 1053–1062), also known as Ibn Mulhim, was a Fatimid general who led the Fatimid reconquest of Ifriqiya and expeditions in Syria. He served as the governor of Aleppo in 1058–1060 and military governor of Jund al-Urdunn in 1062.

Biography Origins Ibn Mulhim belonged to the Arab tribe of Banu Uqayl. The tribe made its own home in the Syrian steppe, from Hawran in the south to the Euphrates valley in the north during the Qarmatian period in the late 9th century. Ibn Mulhim's grandfather, Mulhim ibn Dinar, served as a governor of the Hawran and Bathaniyya subdistricts of Jund Dimashq (Damascus District) during the reign of Abu al-Misk Kafur (r. 966–968), ruler of the Egypt-based Ikhshidid dynasty. The vizier had previously encouraged the nomadic Banu Hilal clans of Riyah and Zughba to invade Zirid territory, prompting Ibn Badis to launch a counteroffensive in which his forces were routed at the Battle of Haydaran. This came in response to the refusal of the Byzantine empress Theodora to Egypt's request for grain amid a severe shortage. He resumed command of the Fatimid army in northern Syria and was made governor of Aleppo in 1058 after its Mirdasid emir, Thimal ibn Salih, agreed to exchange it for the governorships of Beirut and Acre. He was also made governor of Tiberias. In effect, he was the military governor of Jund al-Urdunn (Jordan District). Ibn Mulhim was additionally put in charge of the district's resident Arab tribes, the Banu Fazara and Banu Sulaym, both of which belonged to the Qays confederation as the Banu Uqayl.