Arslān al-Muẓaffar al-Basāsīrī

Arslān al-Muẓaffar al-Basāsīrī (died Jan. 15, 1060, Saqy al-Furāt, near Kūfah, Iraq) was an Islamic military leader. Al-Basāsīrī was born a Turkish slave, and his activities were first mentioned about 1025. At the time, the weakened ʿAbbāsid caliphs at Baghdad, who represented Sunnite Islām, were under continuous pressure from the Fāṭimid caliphs of Egypt, representing the Shīʿite sect, and the insurgent Turks commanded by Toghrïl Beg. Al-Basāsīrī, a veteran of many battles in these struggles,...