Ja'far ibn al-Furat

His lack of support outside the bureaucracy and his inability to restore orderly administration and security in a country plagued by years of famine and external attacks, mean that his position was weak and constantly challenged by other factions, especially the military.

[1] His piety was also expressed through his cultivation of the ashraf: every year he sent gifts of money to the Alid families of Mecca and Medina, and purchased a plot of land in the latter city where he intended to be buried.

[1] As the historian of the vizierate, Dominique Sourdel, writes, Ibn al-Furat "left behind him the reputation of a generous patron of poets and scholars [...] but also that of an eccentric who had acquired a collection of snakes and scorpions which terrified his neighbours".

[3] After Kafur's death in April 968, the various factions initially agreed on a pact to share power under the nominal rule of al-Ikhshid's eleven-year-old grandson, Abu'l-Fawaris Ahmad ibn Ali, as emir.

[1] In alliance with the commander-in-chief Shamul, Ibn al-Furat seemed set to secure the role of regent over the under-age ruler,[6] while as the husband of an Ikhshidid princess, he could hope to possibly place his own son, Ahmad, on the throne.

[6][8][9] Ibn al-Furat was quickly confronted with his inability to impose his authority: the military chiefs withheld the revenue due to the central treasury from their fiefs (iqta), and were soon emulated by the regional fiscal officials.

The Fatimid agents in Fustat, led by the merchant Abu Ja'far Ahmad ibn Nasr, worked to exploit the situation, win the support, or at least passive acceptance, of the elites and the common people alike.

[16][3][17] Fustat was left in a complete power vacuum: Ibn al-Furat, who had been set free before al-Hasan's departure, formally resumed his duties, but lacked any support among the remaining notables, who, on the other hand, were unable to put forward any candidate to replace him.

[19] During the crisis of 968–969, letters from civilian as well as military leaders in Fustat were sent to the Fatimid caliph al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah (r. 953–975) in Ifriqiya, where preparations for a new invasion of Egypt were already in full swing.

[3][20] Jawhar was anxious to ensure an orderly transition of power, keep the administration running, and avoid the impression of a foreign, forcible take-over of Egypt.

[21] He was not entirely trusted, however: when the Qarmatians invaded Egypt in September 971, Jawhar had him placed under constant surveillance, and to avoid a defection, gave him a residence in the new capital of Cairo, then under construction.