Ja'far ibn al-Furat

Abu'l-Fadl Ja'far ibn al-Fadl ibn al-Furat (Arabic: أبو الفضل جعفر بن الفضل بن الفرات; 921 - 1001), also called Ibn Hinzaba,^[1] like his father before him,^[2] was a member of the bureaucratic Banu'l-Furat family from Iraq. A highly educated man renowned for his strict piety and knowledge of traditions about the early Islamic times, he served as vizier of the Ikhshidids of Egypt from 946 until the end of the dynasty in 969, and continued serving the Fatimid Caliphate after that.

Following the death of Abu'l-Misk Kafur in April 968, Ibn al-Furat was left as one of the most powerful leaders in the country. 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. He was deposed and imprisoned by al-Hasan ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Tughj in November 968, but released and restored to his office when Hasan suddenly abandoned Egypt in February 969 and returned to Palestine. Ibn al-Furat remained vizier merely because no-one could agree on his replacement; faced with the impasse, the Egyptian elites, influenced by long and persistent Fatimid propaganda, began to accept and even seek the prospect of a Fatimid takeover of the country. During the Fatimid conquest of Egypt in June 969, Ibn al-Furat offered no resistance and merely supervised negotiations with the Fatimid general Jawhar.

Jawhar kept Ibn al-Furat in office as head of the administration, but he was dismissed after Caliph al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah arrived in Egypt in 973.