Berg, 1999); Aysha Hidayatullah, “Islamic Conceptions
of Sexuality.” In Sexuality and the World’s Religions,
edited by David W. Machacek and Melissa M. Wilcox,
255–292. (Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2003).
vizier
The Arabic word wazir (Persian vazir) appears
in the qUran referring to Aaron as moses’ wazir,
or “helper.” With the establishment of the abba-
sid caliphate in the eighth century c.e. and the
ongoing formalization of government structures,
the vizier became an official government position.
The vizier was usually appointed directly by the
caliph, personally responsible to him, and second
only to him in aUthority. Thus he was the servant
of the ruler, not the state.
The vizier was in charge of the civil admin-
istration, especially the collection of taxes. Gov-
ernment was divided into the “men of the pen”
and the “men of the sword,” and the vizier was
the head of the former. At his appointment he
was given, among other things, a golden inkpot
symbolizing his role as the top of the bureaucratic
machinery of the state. Viziers often clashed with
the head of the military branch, the amir al-umara,
particularly over the distribution of revenues.
Perhaps the biggest factor in determining the
power and prestige of the vizier was his own ambi-
tion and personality compared with that of the
ruler and the rival leaders in the military. The vizier
was vulnerable to the personal whims of the ruler
and many a vizier came to an untimely and violent
end. On the other hand, caliphs often played only
symbolic roles and sultans were primarily military
men, leaving the vizier as the effective head of the
government. The office of the vizierate reached
its greatest level of power in the medieval period
under the Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk (1018–92).
During the Abbasid period the viziers came
from a few influential families, or they rose
through the ranks of the secretaries and were usu-
ally non-Arab. Often the vizierate could remain
within an influential family for several genera-
tions. Under the Fatimids the vizier was at first in
charge of the civil administration, but in 1074 the
position was taken over by a military man who
combined the traditional authority of the vizier
with that of the amir al-umara (or amir al-djuy-
ush) and basically assumed all real authority from
the Fatimid caliphs. In the Ottoman period the
vizier often began life as a slave (mamlUk), work-
ing his way up and thus owing complete loyalty to
the ruler who had aided his advancement. While
this may have ensured loyalty to the ruler, it often
came at the cost of doing what was in the best
interests of the state. During the late 18th and
19th centuries, as the Ottomans tried to reform
the government in order to keep up with Western
Europe, there were efforts to transform the vizier-
ate into a position similar to that of prime minis-
ter, but these efforts were ultimately thwarted by
the rulers, who insisted that ministers report to
them directly rather than to the vizier.
See also Fatimid dynasty; ottoman dynasty;
selJUk dynasty.
Heather N. KeaneyFurther reading: Carter V. Findley, Ottoman Civil Official-
dom (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1989);
S. D. Goitein, The Origin of the Vizierate and Its True
Character (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1968); C. L. Klausner, The
Seljuk Vezirate: A Study of Civil Administration, 1055–1194
(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1973); Ann
Lambton, State and Government in Medieval Islam (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1981); Yaacov Lev, State and Soci-
ety in Fatimid Egypt (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1991).vizier 703 J