Fatimid
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The Fatimids, Fatimid Caliphate or al-Fātimiyyūn (Arabic الفاطميون) is the Shi'a dynasty that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Egypt, and the Levant from 5 January 910 to 1171. 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 most Muslims, the only period in which the Shia Imamate and the Caliphate were united to any degree, excepting the Caliphate of Ali himself.
The Fatimids were reputed to exercise a degree of religious tolerance towards non-Ismaili sects of Islam as well as towards Jews and Coptic Christians.[1]
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[edit] The Rise of Fatimids
The Fatimids had their origins in what is modern Tunisia ("Ifriqiya") but after the conquest of Egypt about 970 CE, they relocated to a new capital, Cairo.
Under the Fatimids, Egypt became the center of an empire that included at its peak North Africa, Sicily, Palestine, Syria, the Red Sea coast of Africa, Yemen and the Hejaz. Under the Fatimids, Egypt flourished and developed an extensive trade network in both the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, which eventually determined the economic course of Egypt during the High Middle Ages.
The dynasty was founded in 909 by ˤAbdullāh al-Mahdī Billah, who legitimised his claim through descent from the Prophet by way of the Prophet's 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 972, conquering the Ikhshidid dynasty and founding a new capital at al-Qāhirat "The Subduer" (modern Cairo)- a reference to the appearance of the planet Mars. They continued to conquer the surrounding areas until they ruled from Tunisia to Syria and even crossed over into Sicily and southern Italy.
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 even to non-Muslims such as Christians and Jews, who occupied high levels in government based solely on ability (exceptions to this general attitude of tolerance include Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah).
[edit] Decay and Fall
In the 1040s, the Zirids (governors of North Africa under the Fatimids) declared their independence from the Fatimids and their conversion to "orthodox" Sunni Islam, which led to the devastating Banū Hilal invasions. After about 1070, the Fatimid hold on the Levant coast and parts of Syria was challenged by first Turkish invasions, then the Crusades, so that Fatimid territory shrunk 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, Saladin, seize Egypt in 1169, forming the Sunni Ayyubid Dynasty.
[edit] Fatimid Imāms
The word "Imām" as used in Shīˤa Islam means a hereditary leader of the Muslim community in the direct line of ˤAlī ibn-Abī-Tālib.
- 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] Notes
- ^ Wintle, Justin (May 2003). History of Islam. London: Rough Guides Ltd, 136-7. ISBN 184353018X.