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Group: Bahrain, British protectorate of
People: Gerontius
Topic: Mustansirite Hardship
Location: Deva Hunedoara Romania

Mustansirite Hardship

Years: 1064 - 1071

The Mustansirite Hardship (Arabic: الشِّدَّةُ المُسْتَنْصِرِيَّة‎, romanized: Ash-shiddatu l-Mustanṣiriyyah) was a political crisis in Fatimid Egypt which resulted in a seven-year famine that occurred between 1064 and 1071 CE. Around 40,000 people are estimated to have starved to death during that period. The crisis occurred during the reign of Caliph al-Mustansir Billah, after whom it is named.

"Remember that the people you are following didn’t know the end of their own story. So they were going forward day by day, pushed and jostled by circumstances, doing the best they could, but walking in the dark, essentially."

—Hilary Mantel, AP interview (2009)