Abū l-Qāsim Aḥmad b. al-Mustanṣir, al-Mustaʿlī bi-llāh, was the ninth Fāṭimid caliph (r. 487–95/1094–1101). Born on 8 (or 20) Muḥarram 467/August/September 1074 (or 468/1075), he was the youngest of his father al-Mustanṣir’s (r. 427–87/1036–94) many sons, several of whom, most especially the eldest, Nizār, expected to succeed. However, the all-powerful wazīr al-Afḍal (d. 515/1121), son and successor of the recently deceased Badr al-Jamālī (d. 487/1094), announced, following the overnight death of al-Mustanṣir on 18 Dhū l-Ḥijja 487/29 December 1…