When the ruler is a fool

When the ruler is a fool
Comment: The poor are the mightiest weapon that a despot has, and they are his worst nightmare - but few read history to learn from its lessons.
4 min read
27 Oct, 2015
The poor are the ruler's most dangerous nightmare, writes Fadl [Getty]
History teaches us that the poor have always been the mightiest weapon that an emerging despot resorts to when he wants to consolidate his throne.

But it also teaches us that they are the rulers' most dangerous nightmare, his worst enemies and the final nail in his coffin.

This ruler is a fool who only realises this when it is too late.

In the first volume of his book, Jabarti's History, the great Egyptian historian Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti wrote about a violent revolution of the hungry in Cairo that was carried out by the poor in the middle of the month of Muharram in the Hijri year 1107 (which corresponds to 26 August 1695).

"The poor and beggars - men, women and boys - gathered and went up to the castle. They stood in the courtyard and yelled from hunger, but no one answered them. They threw stones, so the wali [local governor/ruler] rode his horse and drove them out," wrote Jabarti.

When the poor realised that yelling and throwing stones were not enough to convince the wali of the seriousness of their demands, they started to riot, ransacked the government's grain stores and stole from the merchants.
     People praised the wali, who not only controlled the crises but also took measures against affluent tax evaders and corrupt dignitaries


They divided the loot among them, and this led to sharp inflation.

After 12 days, the revolution of the hungry succeeded in deposing the wali, who first thought that driving out the poor was enough to control their anger.

The new wali, Ismail Pasha, "assigned the destitute to the princes and dignitaries, each person according to his condition and ability, and made sure that they received enough bread and food in the morning and in the evening, until the inflation had passed".

The troubles did not end there, and the city was struck by a plague. Ismail Pasha ordered the treasury to handle the expenses for taking care of the bodies until the epidemic had passed.

People praised the wali who not only controlled the crises but also took measures against affluent tax evaders and corrupt dignitaries. When his son Ibrahim was circumcised, he also took care of the circumcision expenses of 2,336 poor boys and gave each one of them clothes and a dinar.

After Ismail Pasha made a succession of fair and wise decisions, people thought that they had finally found their dream ruler; a fair leader whose justice would last forever.

However, the wali suddenly changed his economic policy, based on the advice of his financial adviser, a man named Yassif.

Yassif was good at what he did and was able to convince the wali of a new plan that would fill the treasury's coffers. When the new laws were announced, people were upset and complained to the city's princes - who went to the castle and negotiate with the wali, but to no avail.
     The conflict escalated between the wali and the dignitaries, who were more aware of the anger on the streets


The princes were angry and asked the wali to hand over his financial adviser to them, but he refused.

The conflict escalated between the wali and the dignitaries, who were more aware of the anger on the streets. The wali finally decided to sacrifice Yassif by putting him under detention to absorb the people's anger. But the people's demands had already increased because of the wali's late response.

He thought that people would not forget the good that he had done them. He also did not predict that his soldiers would turn against him - kidnapping Yassif then executing him in public. The execution only fuelled people's anger and a mob burned the financial adviser's body.

The demand of the masses in the beginning was simply to have that official sacked and stop his decisions that had brought ruin upon the people.

However, the arrogance of the wali, born out of his certainty that his people loved him, increased their anger and pushed them to commit an atrocity.

Instead of the wali saving himself by answering the demands of the people from the start, his stubbornness caused him to lose his own position of power, as Jabarti tells it.

The Egyptian troops deposed the wali. His successor tried him and found that he owed money to the city. Ismail Pasha was forced to sell his house and live in exile in Baghdad.

His rule was ended after just two years, because he did not realise during his reign that the most important lesson a ruler should learn is "do not think you're safe from the anger of the poor, as they will not support you forever, unless you permanently support them".

Why does history repeat itself in developing countries? It is simply because very few in these countries read history or learn from its lessons. Hence, history seems to find it easier to repeat itself, rather than offer anything new.

Bilal Fadl is an Egyptian writer and analyst. This is an extract from his latest book In History's Belly. Follow Bilal on Twitter: @belalfadl 


Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of al-Araby al-Jadeed, its editorial board or staff.

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