20. The Extreme – That is, Extremely Mad – Caliph
The Fatimid Caliph Abu Ali Mansur (985 – 1021) was one of the more weird and bizarre rulers of the middle ages – an era is known for bizarre rulers. However, even in such company, this Caliph stood out for taking weirdness to an extreme. Mansur is better known to history by his regnal title Al Hakim bi Amr Allah (“Ruler by God’s Command”). He is even better known by the nickname “The Mad Caliph” – a moniker which, as seen below, he richly earned.
Among other things, the Mad Caliph Al Hakim was afflicted with megalomania that led him to declare himself an incarnation of God. Other rulers who declared themselves deities ended up with universal scorn, but the Mad Caliph actually ended up with some adherents. Not just ones who adhered out of fear, but sincere ones who continued their reverence long after Al Hakim’s death. To this day, the Mad Caliph is viewed as a divine incarnation by the Druze sect in the Middle East, and is a religiously important figure to some Shi’a Muslims.
