THE FIFTH FATIMID KHALIF, AL-ʿAZIZ (A.H. 365-386 = A.D. 975-996) Al-Moʿizz was succeeded by his son Nizar, who took the name _al-Imam Nizar Abu Mansur al-ʿAziz bi-llah_, and so is generally known as al-ʿAziz. Although his father’s death took place in the early part of 365, it was concealed for some time until it seemed that the succession was secure, and the formal proclamation was deferred until the Feast of Sacrifice on Thursday, the 4th of Rabiʿ II. 365. The traditional picture of al-ʿAziz represents him as humane, generous, a fearless hunter, and a successful general. Like his father he had a strong taste for building, and erected a great mosque in Kahira, generally known as the Mosque of al-Hakim, as it was finished by his son Hakim, near the Bab al-Futuh: besides this he built the “Palace of gold” facing his father’s palace across the great square in the midst of Kahira, also a mosque in the cemetery of al-Karafa, and a palace at ʿAyn Shams (Ibn Khall. iii. 525). These can hardly be called public buildings in the true sense as they were all connected with the royal court, and as such were within the precincts of the “guarded city” and inaccessible to the public generally. In person al-ʿAziz was tall, broad shouldered, with reddish hair, and eyes large and of a dark blue colour: in Arab opinion there is something sinister in such hair and eyes. He was not only fond of sport, but had also a marked taste for literature, and was particularly adept at composing epigrams. According to Ibn Khallikan, who, as a partisan of the ʿAbbasids, delights in reporting anecdotes to the detriment of the Fatimid Khalifs, he once addressed a derisive and sarcastic letter to al-Hakim, the Umayyad of Spain, who replied, “You satirize us because you have heard of us; had we ever heard of you we should reply” (Ibn Khall. iii. 525).