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Al-Hakim Destroys the Church of the Resurrection and Egypt's Churches

هدم الحاكم كنيسة القيامة وكنائس مصر

c. 1007 CE · 398 AH

In 398 al-Hakim destroyed Jerusalem's Church of the Sepulchre and all Egypt's churches, ordering Christians to wear arm-length crosses of five Egyptian ratls and Jews wooden qirami of the same weight, with black turbans; a party of them professed Islam. Afterwards he permitted the rebuilding of the churches and let those compelled return to their faith 1.

Depth

At a glance

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

In time

990100010101020 c.
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era

Overview

In 398 AH al-Hakim demolished the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and all the churches in Egypt, according to al-Suyuti. 2

Measures against the People of the Book

He ordered the Christians to hang crosses around their necks, each a cubit long and weighing five Egyptian pounds. He ordered the Jews to carry wooden pieces of the same weight, and to wear black turbans. A group of them became Muslims. 2

Afterwards

Al-Hakam then permitted the rebuilding of the churches, and allowed those who had become Muslim under compulsion to return to their religion. 2

What is not covered here: the account rests on a single source. An additional source is needed.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah Mansur ibn al-Aziz

People and things also explored

The Dar al-Hikma of Cairo· The Revolt of Abu Rakwa al-Umawi against al-Hakim· Dar al-Ilm in Cairo· The khutba for al-Hakim, ruler of Egypt, in Mecca and Medina· Qarwash al-Uqayli's khutba for al-Hakim at Mosul and Kufa· The Unleashing of Egypt's Slaves in al-Fustat, 411· The Death of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah and His Sister's Concealment, 411· The opening of Ja'far al-Sadiq's house in Medina and the removal of its relics to Egypt

Sources

  1. Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p. 637-638
  2. Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p.637-638
  • al-Muntazam fi Tarikh al-Muluk wa'l-Umam — Ibn al-Jawzi
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Al-Hakim Destroys the Church of the Resurrection and Egypt's Churches”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/hakim-sepulchre-destruction-398/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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The Dar al-Hikma of Cairo

The Dar al-Hikma of Cairo was opened by the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah in 395 AH. Books were brought to it from the palace libraries, and jurists, readers, astrologers, physicians and grammarians sat in it. It was tied to the Dar al-Ilm; the vizier al-Afdal closed it, and it was reopened at another site in 517 AH under al-Amir. It was among the Fatimid centres of wisdom through which the Ismaili mission spread its teachings among its followers.