After successfully demanding religious legitimacy from the Fatimid caliph al-Mustansir in 1062,[REF] al-Sulayhi shifted Yemen's loyalty to the Cairo-based Ismaili Fatimid Caliphate from the Baghdad-based Sunni Abbasid Caliphate [REF].
In late 1063 al-Sulayhi led his forces into the Hejaz and challenged the Abbasids by conquering Mecca by 1064 and installing a client king there [REF].