Lu'lu' al-Kabir

Lu'lu' al-Kabir was a slave commander and chamberlain of the Hamdanid emirs of Aleppo who became the real power behind them. In 1004 he deposed the last Hamdanid heirs and ruled Aleppo in his own name, balancing between the Fatimid caliphate and the Byzantine Empire and accepting Fatimid recognition. On his death in 1009 his son Mansur succeeded him, but the regime lasted only until 1016.