Personal notes of Hisham al-Hajj, chief Alim, Mosque of 1000 Columns, Cordoba. 1135.

It is a sad day. The second son of Yusef I never expected to be Kalipha. Now he has gone to paradise without ever knowing that he was, however briefly. The same messenger who brought the news of Yusef II's death in Morocco, who continued on to Portugal, has returned to say that he arrived there the day after Prince Ali also died quietly in his sleep. I do not question the will of Allah, but I mourn that Prince Ali never governed the Empire in name, as I believe that he did in fact.

In his youth Ali stood with his father, and brought freedom to the faithful in the wretched kindom of the Spanish. The foundation of this mosque was laid in celebration of the great victory over Alphonso VI. Our teachers spread throughout Iberia. The dukes of Portugal and even the mighty general El Cid let them pass freely for fear of the Kalipha, but it was Ali who remained in Cordoba. It was Ali who destroyed the rebellion in Leon. It was Ali who established a foundation for Islam, not merely a building.

When Yusef I died, Prince Ali was called to the east, and I wondered if I would ever see him again. He led the Kaliphate's armies throughout the war for Egypt while Yusef II led a dissolute life in Morocco. The Prince was the junior brother by only a single year, loved by his soldiers and solid in his devotion to Allah. Even if he escaped death on the battlefield there was no reason to think his brother would call him back. There were too many who might follow him, but his own loyalty to the empire never wavered. Such loyalty that Yusef did call him back to lead the conquest of Valencia and Portugal.

When he did return I was led to speak to him. In a roundabout way that could not be branded as treason I suggested that he would serve well as Kalipha should his brother die before his sons reach maturity. "That is not my burden," was all he said in response, but he then asked, also in a roundabout way, what the faithful thought his brother should do that perhaps he was not.

In general the problem with Yusef II was that he put his faith in foreign advisers and foreign ways, not in the servants of Allah. We forgave him for the war in Egypt. Perhaps he could have ended it sooner, but it was the Pharoh who first raised the sword against his brothers. This was proven when the treaty had no sooner been signed than Pharoh al-Mustali II led his armies against the Ottoman Turks, who were struggling to defend the holy lands against the Christians of Byzantium.

Prince Ali suggested gently that it was he, not the Kalipha, that had spilled Muslim blood, and he prayed for the forgiveness of Allah, and ours as well. Strange that this devout man carried this so heavily, while his brother and the mad Pharoh seemed unburdened.

What he wanted though was something more specific. I told him that the Qadi al Qada, the highest adviser to the Kalipha, Amir al-Mansur openly practices his perversions right here in Cordoba, the heart of Islam in Iberia, in a palace provided by the Kalipha. Many times I had sent word to the Kalipha suggesting his censure and removal with no result; 'He is an educated man', 'his knowledge brings great value to the treasury, which is stretched thin', 'his father was Qadi al-Qada to my own father'; excuses, but no result.

"My brother knows that in some of the provinces there have been sons who succeeded our father's appointments who were...less worthy," he said. "As I returned across Africa I was entrusted to resolve such issues. In Tunisia the great builder, Amir al-Mu'tamid, passed the rule on to a son more interested in drinking the produce of the empire than expanding it. That son marched with me into Cordoba, and will march out with me as well. He commands a company, but does not govern, and the Ghulam's watch him closely. He is, shall we say, embittered by this lowered status."

"But to relieve the Qadi al-Qada, that could tear the empire apart. Surely that would not be the will of Allah. I will speak to my brother of this when I return from Valencia, but I suspect it will fall to me to find a solution if there is one."

That was obviously before he marched on Valencia. The great El Cid had recently died, and although his successor was able he was no match in the field for the Prince. Ali pacified Valencia and reported to the Kalipha in Morocco.

When he returned he told me that no solution was at hand. Whatever the problems with Amir al-Mansur they would have to wait.

I understood the dilemma. The young Duke of Portugal, Raimundo Mendoza, was not as complacent as his father had been about the teaching of Islam within his borders. At his invitation a Catholic Bishop from France was preaching in Lisbon. I was receiving reports that the faithful were swaying, as could only be expected under Christian rule. "Soon only one of the Kalipha's sons will remain," said Prince Ali, and I knew he meant the sons of Yusef I, "and we cannot leave this problem to Muhammad. He must be tasked only with living long enough for Yusef's sons to reach their majority." How correct he turned out to be.

What I did not see was that Prince Ali would not leave the problem of Amir al-Mansur to his brother either. Soon after the Prince's return to Cordoba Ali Rahman led his company of militia into the city. Ali Rahman had been given this command by Prince Ali himself years ago, and had served as commander of the garrison of Leon for the entire duration of the Egyptian war. The Amir of Leon had accompanied the Prince all the way to Egypt and back, so Rahman had in fact governed the province.

With this trusted and accomplished man available the Qadi al-Qada could be maneuvered into a more active role in the march on Portugal, where as Prince Ali said his 'local knowledge' would be invaluable. When word reached the city that our bold Amir had been taken to paradise leading the seige of Lisbon castle there was a great public mourning, but privately most doubt that paradise awaits him. The rest of Prince Ali's army were hardened veterans who had bested the Pharoh, marched across Africa, and conquered Valencia. How the Amir's company, who had mostly grown plump here in the city, came to be leading the final assault is a question best unasked, and with the Prince gone to paradise it can never be answered.

Not surprisingly, the messenger returning to Morocco to inform Prince Muhammad that he is the Kalipha bears a last suggestion from Prince Ali as well, meant for Yusef. No doubt the learned Ali Rahman, who is also devout, will be our next Amir. Even from his grave Prince Ali governs well. If Muhhamad I is half the man the empire, and the faith, is in good hands.