Draft:Allaqa

Allaqa (died in 998) was an Arab sailor who led a revolt against the rule of the Fatimid Caliphate between 997 and 998.

Allaqa was an Arab sailor who instigated an uprising against the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah in Tyre in 997/998. He had the Tyrians on his side and even minted his own coins. He sought support from the Byzantine Emperor Basil II and at the same time promised to hand over the city if he emerged victorious; the emperor agreed and sent a squadron to support him. On the other hand, Fatimid commanders Abdallah al-Husayn ibn Nasr al-Dawla and Yaqut approached from Egypt with an army and a fleet to besiege Tyre. They were reinforced by troops sent by the caliph under the command of Jaysh ibn al-Samsama, who was actually heading to Damascus to suppress a revolt that had broken out there but turned towards Tyre to support the siege of the city.

On June 13, 998, the Fatimids conquered the city. The Arab historian Yahya of Antioch records that the Fatimids captured a Byzantine ship and its crew, which consisted of two hundred men, and killed them all. Allaqa was captured and taken to Cairo with a large number of his followers, where they were flayed alive and then crucified.