Fatimid Caliphate
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The Fatimid Caliphate or al-Fātimiyyūn (Arabic الفاطميون) was an Arab Shi'a Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sicily, Malta,the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171. The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the Tunisian city of Mahdia and made it their capital city, before conquering the Egyptian city of Cairo in 969, which thereafter became their capital. The 4th century AH /10th century CE has been called by Louis Massignon ‘the Ismaili century in the history of Islam’.[1] The term Fatimite is sometimes used to refer to the citizens of this caliphate. The ruling elite of the state belonged to the Ismaili branch of Shi'ism. The leaders of the dynasty were also Shia Ismaili Imams, hence, they had a religious significance to Ismaili Muslims. They are also part of the chain of holders of the office of Caliph, as recognized by some Muslims. Therefore, this constitutes a rare period in history in which some form of the Shia Imamate and the Caliphate were united to any degree, excepting the final period of the Rashidun Caliphate under Ali himself.
The caliphate was reputed to exercise a degree of religious tolerance towards non-Ismaili sects of Islam as well as towards Jews, Maltese Christians, and Coptic Christians.[2]
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[edit] Rise of the Fatimids
The Fatimids had their origins in Ifriqiya (modern-day Tunisia and eastern Algeria). The dynasty was founded in 909 by ˤAbdullāh al-Mahdī Billah, who legitimised his claim through descent from Muhammad by way of his daughter Fātima as-Zahra and her husband ˤAlī ibn-Abī-Tālib, the first Shīˤa Imām, hence the name al-Fātimiyyūn "Fatimid".
Abdullāh al-Mahdi's control soon extended over all of central Maghreb, an area consisting of the modern countries of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, which he ruled from Mahdia, his newly built capital in Tunisia.
The Fatimids entered Egypt in the late 10th century, conquering the Ikhshidid dynasty, and founding a new capital at al-Qāhira (Cairo) in 969.[3] The name was a reference to the planet Mars, "The Subduer", which was prominent in the sky at the moment that city construction started. Cairo was intended as a royal enclosure for the Fatimid caliph and his army, though the actual administrative and economic capital of Egypt was in cities such as Fustat until 1169. After Egypt, the Fatimids continued to conquer the surrounding areas until they ruled from Tunisia to Syria, and even ruling Sicily, and southern parts of the Italian Peninsula.
Under the Fatimids, Egypt became the center of an empire that included at its peak North Africa, Sicily, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, the Red Sea coast of Africa, Hejaz, and Yemen[citation needed]. Egypt flourished, and the Fatimids developed an extensive trade network in both the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. Their trade and diplomatic ties extended all the way to China and its Song Dynasty, which eventually determined the economic course of Egypt during the High Middle Ages.
Unlike other governments in the area, Fatimid advancement in state offices was based more on merit than on heredity. Members of other branches of Islam, like the Sunnis, were just as likely to be appointed to government posts as Shiites. Tolerance was extended to non-Muslims such as Christians, and Jews, who occupied high levels in government based on ability. However, it is important to note here that Jews in particularly were part of a larger scheme to gain monetary leverage for trade in Europe. And tolerance was set into place to ensure the flow of money from all those who were non-Muslims too in order to finance the Fatimids Caliphs' large army of mamluks brought in from Russia by Genoese merchants.[citation needed] There were, however, exceptions to this general attitude of tolerance, most notably Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah although this has been highly debated.
The Fatimids were also known to some extent for their arts. A type of ceramic, lustreware, was prevalent during the Fatimid period. Glassware and metalworking was also popular. Many traces of Fatimid architecture exist in Cairo today, like the Al Azhar University and the Al Hakim mosque. The Al Azhar University was the first university in the East and perhaps the oldest in history. It was founded by Caliph Muizz and was one of the highest educational facilities of the Fatimid Empire.
The Fatimid palace was two parts. it used to be in the Khan el-Khalili area at Bin El-Quasryn street [1].
[edit] Decay and fall
In the 1040s, the Zirids (governors of North Africa under the Fatimids) declared their independence from the Fatimids and their recognition of the Sunni Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad, which led the Fatimids to launch devastating Banū Hilal invasions. After about 1070, the Fatimid hold on the Levant coast and parts of Syria was challenged first by Turkic invasions, then the Crusades, so that Fatimid territory shrank until it consisted only of Egypt.
After the decay of the Fatimid political system in the 1160s, the Zengid ruler Nūr ad-Dīn had his general Shirkuh, seize Egypt from the vizier Shawar in 1169. Shirkuh died two months after taking power, and the rule went to his nephew, Saladin.[4] This began the Ayyubid Sultanate of Egypt and Syria.
[edit] Fatimid caliphs
- Abū Muḥammad ˤAbdu l-Lāh (ˤUbaydu l-Lāh) al-Mahdī bi'llāh (909-934) founder Fatimid dynasty
- Abū l-Qāsim Muḥammad al-Qā'im bi-Amr Allāh (934-946)
- Abū Ṭāhir Ismā'il al-Manṣūr bi-llāh (946-953)
- Abū Tamīm Ma'add al-Mu'izz li-Dīn Allāh (953-975) Egypt is conquered during his reign
- Abū Manṣūr Nizār al-'Azīz bi-llāh (975-996)
- Abū 'Alī al-Manṣūr al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh (996-1021)
- Abū'l-Ḥasan 'Alī al-Ẓāhir li-I'zāz Dīn Allāh (1021–1036)
- Abū Tamīm Ma'add al-Mustanṣir bi-llāh (1036–1094)
- al-Musta'lī bi-llāh (1094–1101) Quarrels over his succession led to the Nizari split.
- al-Āmir bi-Aḥkām Allāh (1101–1130) The Fatimid rulers of Egypt after him are not recognized as Imams by Mustaali/Taiyabi Ismailis.
- 'Abd al-Majīd al-Ḥāfiẓ (1130–1149)
- al-Ẓāfir (1149–1154)
- al-Fā'iz (1154–1160)
- al-'Āḍid (1160–1171).
[edit] Table of Fatimid & Islam
The table below shows Fatemid Calipha/Imam along with their ancestor and after Shia /fatemid /Mustaali Imam and follower .This also shows Caliphate of the other era of islam:
| Abdul Mutallib + Fatema(wife | ABU QUHAFAH | AFFAN | BANU UMAYYAH | [ABDUL MUTALLIB+ MUTAYATA(WIFE)] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABU TALIB | ABDULLAH | |||||||||||
| MOHAMMAD 632 | ABU SUFYAN | AL ABBAS | ||||||||||
| <SHIA | I- | -M- | -A- | -MA- | -T-> | <CHALI- | -F- | -A- | -T> | |||
| Ali | + wife Fatima | ABU BAKAR 632–634 | ||||||||||
| ^ | OMMAR | |||||||||||
| ^ | USMAN 644–656 | |||||||||||
| HASAN | MUAWWIYAH (Damascus) UMAYYAD | |||||||||||
| HUSAYN 669–680 | ^ | |||||||||||
| ALI ZAYNUL ABIDIN | MARWAN -I 684–685 | |||||||||||
| MUHAMMAD AL-BAQIR | Zayd ibn Ali | ^ | ||||||||||
| JA'FAR AL-SADIQ 731–765 | ^ | |||||||||||
ISMAIL
[ Ismaili Imam ] |
MUSA AL KAZIM , | ^ | MARWAN-II 744–750 | SAFFAH 750–754,ABBASID BAGHDAD | ||||||||
| MOHAMMAD | SEVENER(follow upto Ismail ) | TWELVER IMAM | ^ | Harun-al- Rashid(d.809) | ||||||||
| ABDULLAH | ^ | ^ | ^ | MA'MUN (d.833) | ||||||||
| AHMAD | ^ | ^ | ^ | MU'TASIM (d.842) | ||||||||
| HUSAYN | ^ | ^ | ^ | MUTAWAKIL 847–861, Mutadid, Muktafi (Muqtadar d.908) | ||||||||
Imamat+
[[== FATIMID CALIPHATE ==]] |
^ | ^ | ^ | ^ | ||||||||
| ABDULLAH 909– 934 (ifriqiya) | ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ | ||||||||
| AL QAIM (d.946) | ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ | ||||||||
| AL MANSUR | ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ | ||||||||
| AL-MU'IZ (EGYPT) (d.975) | ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ | ||||||||
| AL-AZIZ | ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ | ||||||||
| AL-HAAKIM | ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ | ||||||||
| AL-ZAHIR | ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ | ||||||||
| AL-MUSTANSIR (d.1094) | ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ | ||||||||
| [MUSTALI (d.1101) | NIZAR, | ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ | |||||||
| AMIR- (d.1130) | ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ | |||||||
| TAYYIB, Hurrat al-Malaika / Dai-al-Mutlaq ,Yemen | ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ | HAFIZ- 1130,Cairo till Al Adid (1171 AD) (last Hafizi), SALAHUDDIN AYYUBID- 1170 onward | AL-ZAHIR ,Al Mutasim 1258,Abbasid Baghdad | ||||||
| Dai-al-Mutlaq ,Yemen | ^ | ^ | ^ | Zaydi (Imam +Caliphate ), Yemen | EGYPTIAN ABBASID (Mustansir 1261,...Mutawakil III 1517) | |||||||
| Dai-al-Mutlaq, Bohra ,India | ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ | |||||||
| Bohras / Dawoodi Bohra | AGHA KHANI | Sevener (almost extinct) | Ithna ashari / Twelwer | Zaydi/Fiver | Hafizi (no trace,extincted) | |||||||
May please see the List of Ismaili Imams ,for the details about above Fatimid Imams.
[edit] Fatimid at Present
Fatimid tradition continued after Imam Amir/Taiyab by Fatimid/Taiyabi/Dawoodi Bohra Dai(pl. see:Main article: List of Dai of Dawoodi Bohra) instituted by Sulayhid queen of Yemen Arwa al-Sulayhi.
After caliph Hafiz ,Hafizi could not survive due to further rule of Saladin etc. Nizari are survived in the form of Agha khani at present.
[edit] See also
- Emirate of Sicily
- List of Shi'a Muslims dynasties
- List of Ismaili Imams
- List of Dai of Dawoodi Bohra
- Ismaili
- Mustali
- Taiyabi
- Dawoodi Bohra
- Arwa al-Sulayhi
[edit] Notes
- ^ In his “Mutanabbi devant le siècle ismaëlien de l’Islam”, in Mém. de l’Inst Français de Damas, 1935, p.
- ^ Wintle, Justin (May 2003). History of Islam. London: Rough Guides Ltd. pp. 136–7. ISBN 184353018X.
- ^ Beeson, Irene (September/October 1969). "Cairo, a Millennial". Saudi Aramco World: 24, 26–30. http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/196905/cairo-a.millennial.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-09.
- ^ Amin Maalouf (1984). The Crusades Through Arab Eyes. Al Saqi Books. pp. 160–170. ISBN 0-8052-0898-4.
[edit] References
- Halm, Heinz. Empire of the Mahdi. Michael Bonner trans.
- Halm, Heinz. Die Kalifen von Kairo.
- Walker, Paul. Exploring an Islamic Empire: Fatimid History and Its Sources.
[edit] External links
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