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Wafiyy al-Dawla wa-Aminahā
Abūʾl-Najm Badr
Wafiyy al-Dawla wa-Aminahā Abūʾl-Najm Badr
Fatimid Governor of Aleppo
	In office; July 1022 – October 1022
Appointed by	Az-Zahir
Preceded by	Aziz al-Dawla
Succeeded by	Safiyy al-Dawla

Wafiyy al-Dawla wa-Aminahā Abūʾl-Najm Badr, also known as Badr al-Kabīr, was the ghulām (slave soldier) who assassinated the Fatimid governor of Aleppo, Aziz al-Dawla, and replaced him as governor for three months in 1022. The assassination was apparently a conspiracy between Badr and the Fatimid court under Sitt al-Mulk. Badr was ultimately forced to relinquish his post and arrested shortly thereafter.

Life

Badr was either of Turkish^[1] or Armenian origins.^[2] He was originally a ghulām (slave soldier; pl. ghilmān) of the Fatimid governor of Damascus, Manjutakin,^[3] until being acquired by Aziz al-Dawla Fatik; the latter was also a former Armenian ghulām of Manjutakin.^[2] During Aziz al-Dawla's reign as the Fatimid governor of Aleppo, beginning in 1017, he appointed Badr as the commander of the ghilmān and governor of the Aleppo Citadel.^[1] This demonstrated that Aziz al-Dawla placed significant trust in Badr.^[1]

Aziz al-Dawla ruled with virtual independence and maintained his own relations with the Byzantine Empire, Aleppo's powerful, northern neighbor and enemy of the Fatimids. This alarmed Sitt al-Mulk, the effective ruler of the Fatimids. Under her direction, the Fatimid court in Cairo sought to eliminate Aziz al-Dawla; to that end, Sitt al-Mulk conspired with Badr, sending him secretive correspondence, carried either by official envoys or anonymous merchants.^[4] According to historian Suhayl Zakkar, the secret letters to Badr may have been delivered by Fatimid envoys from Cairo carrying gifts to Aziz al-Dawla, which allowed them access to Badr.^[4]

Badr used Aziz al-Dawla's affection of another ghulām, an Indian named Tuzun, as an avenue to assassinate him.^[4] Badr warned Tuzun that Aziz al-Dawla had intended to kill him on several occasions only to be stopped by Badr's interjection.^[4] Badr won Tuzun's trust, and the latter, fearful of his own death at Aziz al-Dawla's hand, cooperated with Badr on a plot to assassinate their master.^[4] They decided to act on 6 July 1022.^[4] That day, Aziz al-Dawla had returned to his sleeping quarters after a day of hunting and drinking with Badr.^[5] In this intoxicated state, Aziz al-Dawla went to bed, and Tuzun, who typically attended to Aziz al-Dawla, took the latter's sword and struck off his head.^[5] Badr then betrayed Tuzun by letting out a yell accusing his co-conspirator of murdering their master.^[5] This gained the attention of the other ghilmān who attacked and killed Tuzun.^[5]

After the assassination, Badr reported Aziz al-Dawla's death to the Fatimid court, which publicly mourned the death of their Aleppine governor whilst they quietly rejoiced.^[5] Badr was appointed Aziz al-Dawla's replacement and was bestowed the title of wafiyy al-dawla wa-aminahā (loyal and trustworthy one of the state).^[3] According to Zakkar, the title is evidence of both Badr and the Fatimid court's role in the assassination. At the same time, Zakkar asserts that Sitt al-Mulk's role in the affair was "questionable", but this was the consensus of the medieval chroniclers.^[5]

Badr's appointment was effectively used by the Fatimids merely as a temporary arrangement until a more suitable candidate could be found.^[6] Badr was sent correspondence from Cairo via Ali ibn Ahmad al-Dayf of Afamiya to reassure him of the Caliphate's goodwill toward him.^[6] Nonetheless, in the meeting between Badr and al-Dayf, the former was persuade to relinquish the governorship, which he had officially held for ninety-six days.^[6] Badr's replacement, the Kutami officer, Safiyy al-Dawla, arrived in Aleppo on 10 October.^[6] According to Zakkar, after Badr gave up his post, "he was arrested and shortly after met his fate".^[6]