Fatimids

Argues that the chapter in `Umara's history is entirely an interpolation, by another hand of the 6-7th/12-13th centuries, with no valid new information on the history of the Isma`ilis in Yemen. It was originally published as "The Chapter on the Fatimid Da'is in Yemen in the Ta'rikh of 'Umara (d. 569/1174): An Interpolation," in Studies in the History of Arabia, I: Sources for the History of Arabia, 2 (Riyad, 1979), 51-61.

Ismāʿīlism (Arabic: الإسماعيلية‎, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah; Persian: اسماعیلیان‎, Esmâ'īliyân) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam.[1] The Ismāʿīlī (/ˌɪsmeɪˈɪli/)[2] get their name from their acceptance of Imam Ismaʻil ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelvers who accept Musa al-Kadhim, younger brother of Ismaʻil, as the true Imām.[3]

Ismailism rose at one point to become the largest branch of Shīʻism, climaxing as a political power with the Fatimid Caliphate in the tenth through twelfth centuries.[4] Ismailis believe in the oneness of God, as well as the closing of divine revelation with Muhammad

After the death of Muhammad ibn Ismaʻil in the 8th century CE, the teachings of Ismailism further transformed into the belief system as it is known today, with an explicit concentration on the deeper, esoteric meaning (batin) of the Islamic religion.

El arte de la cerámica china, ejerció una notable influencia sobre la forma y el estilo decorativo empleado en cada uno de los países del islam después del siglo VIII. Sin embargo, en cuanto a la técnica de reflejo dorado, no se tienen otras evidencias más que a una creación musulmana. Lo interesante es que dentro del mundo de la cerámica, nos encontramos con una de las más bellas creaciones: la cerámica dorada, cuya aparición no será casual, sino un proceso evolutivo que lleva a tener un gran dominio técnico. En la mezquita de Qayrawān (Túnez) se encuentran decorando la fachada del miḥrāb 139 azulejos de reflejo dorado, los más antiguos con datación conocida. Ibrāhim ibn al-Aglabí (856-863), ordenó llevar desde Bagdad a Qayrawān los azulejos, según nos cuenta Abū Bakr c Atīq ibn jalīf Taŷabi (+ 1031). Estilísticamente, estas piezas muestran una dependencia de lo mesopotámico, tanto en formas como en decoración. El profesor Sarre, nos indica que Sāmarrā, ciudad fundada por el califa al-Mu'taṣin en el 838, para sustituir como capital a Bagdad, es abandonada por la corte en el 883. En sus excavaciones aparece gran cantidad de esta cerámica que muestra el grado de desarrollo en el siglo IX. No obstante, se piensa que estos fragmentos fueran traídos de Baṣra o Bagdad, viniendo esto a corroborar, por otra parte, lo que la tradición dice acerca de los azulejos de la mezquita de Qayravān: "... fueron llevados desde Bagdad por un alfarero..." La gran cantidad de hallazgos cerámicos encontrados en Fusṭāt hizo pensar también en el origen egipcio de esta cerámica. Balbina Martínez Caviró apunta un dato muy importante sobre ello. La rebelión de los esclavos en el sur de Mesopotamia, entre el 869 y el 883, provocó la destrucción de Baṣra. Posiblemente entonces, sus alfareros emigraron a Egipto, llevando consigo los secretos de fabricación de la cerámica de reflejo metálico continuando su producción con una alta calidad técnica. Egipto fue el centro desde donde se difundió por todo el Cercano Oriente el arte de la cerámica dorada. Será el inicio de esta técnica que tendrá tanta importancia a lo largo de los siglos y germen de la cerámica dorada nazarí que podemos disfrutar en esta sala del Museo y en las anteriores de la Exposición Permanente, en las que vemos una selección de piezas nazaríes con decoración blanca, azul y dorada, y las piezas excepcionales de Jarrones de la Alhambra. Las piezas que aquí presentamos proceden en su totalidad de Egipto y son ejemplo del origen de esta técnica y su desarrollo y riqueza decorativa. Técnica En un primer momento, es imprescindible el uso de arcillas decantadas y depuradas hasta poder obtener una masa muy fina que permita un modelaje a torno; después las piezas se dejan al aire para que se oreen, pasando seguidamente al horno, donde tienen su primera cochura a la temperatura de unos 800º, donde la atmósfera debe estar limpia de impurezas. A esta primera cochura se le da el nombre de juaguetear. Como resultado, obtendremos los ejemplares con su forma definitiva, pero con las superficies porosas. El segundo paso consiste en darle una capa impermeable blanca para tapar el color del barro, siendo dos los procedimientos empleados para ello, según apunta Manuel Gómez-Moreno: 1º En un primer momento la pieza se bañaba en una engalba o engobe, pero con un resultado sin brillo y deleznable. Pero lo definitivo fue aplicarles una capa vidriada, compuesta de sulfuro de plomo y combinada con sal común y arena silícea. Este baño, de por sí transparente sobrepuesto a la engalba, ocultaba el color del barro, daba a las piezas firmeza y brillo. 2º El segundo procedimiento es exclusivamente oriental y consiste en darle a las piezas una capa impermeable por medio de la inmersión en un líquido formado por una mezcla de sales de estaño y plomo, con sílice y galena como fundentes, que, a través de la resistencia que opone al vitrificarse el óxido de estaño mezclado con el sulfuro de plomo, le da opacidad, blancura y mayor dureza, pasando posteriormente al horno de donde saldrán esmaltadas. Este procedimiento constituyó una de las grandes novedades que presenta la cerámica musulmana del siglo IX, sustituyendo con ventaja a las engalbas. Una vez finalizada esta operación, se procede a la decoración, la cual conlleva la aplicación del dorado, que se adapta tanto a la loza blanca estannífera como a la plomosa con engalba, y se obtiene por una mezcla de cobre, hierro y plata sulfurados que se depositan en las piezas mediante una pluma de ave como pincel. Posteriormente pasan al horno, ahora con una temperatura de unos 500º a 600º; en esta fase el horno ha de alimentarse con leña de plantas aromáticas como el romero, retama..., que, al quemarse, desprenden gran cantidad de humo. El horno al tener casi cerrados los tiros, produce una escasez de oxígeno, por lo que el fuego reduce los óxidos metálicos, logrando con ello la fijación del dorado en una capa superficial muy fina. Este dorado puede presentarse con distintas tonalidades: desde un dorado oliváceo, cobrizo o color marrón. El dorado, que tiene por base el esmalte estannífero, debe llevar entre sus componentes plata, mientras que para conseguir el color purpura es necesario el cobre y hierro. En ocasiones, esas distintas tonalidades pueden ser originadas por la composición de los distintos elementos de su elaboración, sino por los efectos con el contacto con la tierra. El uso de las diferentes tonalidades también aporta datos interesantes: 1 El dorado policromo, desarrollado a lo largo de los tres primeros tercios del siglo IX, aparece usado con temas fundamentalmente geométricos y vegetales, con punteados, temas lineales de simples rayados, líneas en zigzag , etc., que rellenan toda la superficie. 2 El dorado monocromo, aparece a partir del último cuarto del siglo IX en adelante. Procedente de este momento hay piezas con una decoración figuración humana y de animales de forma muy esquemática, en el que los rasgos faciales se representan con líneas identificativas de cada uno de los elementos de la cara de forma muy simplista. El fondo restante de la pieza cerámica perfila las figuras con temas irregulares rellenos con punteados, rayitas….. En algún ejemplar la decoración dorada muestras acabados esgrafiados sobre el dorado mostrando una delicadeza y acabado muy cuidado (R5315)

The issuing of the Baghdad Manifesto by the Abbasid caliph al-Qādir in 402/1011 pervaded Sunni Muslim historiography, and  became an indelible marker for denouncing Fatimid claims to ʿAlid lineage. In the chapter on the Baghdad Manifesto, Shainool Jiwa examines the socio-political circumstances that led to the issuing of the Abbasid proclamation. Through a close reading of the surviving texts of the Manifesto and their signatories, she establishes the various purposes of the Manifesto. These reveal as much about the power dynamics in Abbasid circles between the caliph al-Qādir (r. 381–422/991–1031), his Būyid overlords as well as the Sunni and Shiʿi notables of Iraq, as they do about the growing influence of the Fatimid daʿwa in the region. The enduring questioning of their ʿAlid descent amongst Sunni historians, long after the Fatimids had been politically vanquished, suggests that the Baghdad Manifesto itself had become emblematic of the larger mosaic of ʿAlid-Abbasid relations.

Many textbooks and academic studies on Muslim history and thought take it for granted that Muslims regard the Qur’an as God’s literal speech dictated verbatim to the Prophet Muhammad in Arabic. How this view became established and the possibility of other Islamic models of revelation require further study. This lecture, based on the presenter's dissertation research in progress, explores the development of different models of Qur’anic Revelation in Sunni and Shia Ismaili Islam. Beginning with the Qur’an’s self-definition, the lecture first discusses how recent Qur’anic studies scholarship shows that the earliest idea of revelation in terms of kitab, tanzil, and wahy was a dynamic event inseparable from the Prophet and was far less structured than the later doctrine of “verbal dictation.” Subsequently, the lecture surveys key developments in how the notion of the Qur’an as a “book” pre-existing in the heavenly Tablet – which is then verbally “dictated” to the Prophet – became established in Sunni exegesis along with the doctrine of the Qur’an as Uncreated Divine Speech. The lecture then discusses an alternative understanding of Qur’anic revelation found among the 9th–11th century Shia Ismaili philosophers who recognize Divine guidance as continuing through a lineage of hereditary Imams descended from Prophet Muhammad. In Shia Ismaili thought, divine inspiration issues from and reveals a transcendent or celestial “Pre-Text”, the process of revelation (wahy) is spiritual and non-verbal, and the Prophet Muhammad plays a creative role in composing the Arabic Qur’an as oral prophetic speech.

Les récits arabes sur l'émergence du druzisme, peu prolixes en informations par ailleurs confuses et contradictoires, n'apportent pas les précisions dont l'historien souhaiterait disposer. Au-delà de ce constat leur déconstruction est nécessaire pour rendre compte des zones d'ombre pr?sentes dans l'historiographie et des enjeux qui en découlent. C'est cette relecture historique que nous proposons à partir d'une confrontation critique des sources primaires entre elles. Cinq témoins de l'avènement des Druzes y occupent une place centrale. Il s'agit d'al-Musabbihi (m. 420/1029) dont le récit nous est parvenu par le biais d'auteurs tardifs, et d'al-Antaki (m. 458/1066) dont la chronique a été conservée. Indispensables à l'historiographie cairote, les chroniques d'Ibn Abi Tayyi' (m. 625/1228) et d'Ibn Zafir (m. 613/1216) présentent une particularité certaine dans leur récit de la naissance du druzisme ; toutefois ces auteurs ne dévoilent pas leurs sources. Un seul chroniqueur bagdadien, contemporain des premiers Druzes, les mentionne : Hilal al-Sabi' (m. 448/1056). Toutes les informations que livrent les autres chroniques arabes sur les Druzes se rapportent à ces auteurs dont ils utilisent les récits.

The transfer of Saracen arms into Frankish ownership is a leitmotif of many chansons de geste, but one whose significance for inter-imperial translation or translatio imperii has yet to be elucidated. In this essay, I focus on the Chanson d’Aspremont, a twelfth-century epic set in Calabria that narrates the pre-history of Durendal, Roland’s sword of Song of Roland fame, as an object inherited by Roland from its former royal Muslim owner. Drawing on cultural history and object-translation models derived from material and spolia studies, I read the sword’s symbolic transfer as evidence of Norman desire for and appropriation of former Fatimid imperium in Sicily.

Publisher's description:

The lost archive of the Fatimid caliphate (909–1171) survived in an unexpected place: the storage room, or geniza, of a synagogue in Cairo, recycled as scrap paper and deposited there by medieval Jews. Marina Rustow tells the story of this extraordinary find, inviting us to reconsider the longstanding but mistaken consensus that before 1500 the dynasties of the Islamic Middle East produced few documents, and preserved even fewer.

Beginning with government documents before the Fatimids and paper’s westward spread across Asia, Rustow reveals a millennial tradition of state record keeping whose very continuities suggest the strength of Middle Eastern institutions, not their weakness. Tracing the complex routes by which Arabic documents made their way from Fatimid palace officials to Jewish scribes, the book provides a rare window onto a robust culture of documentation and archiving not only comparable to that of medieval Europe, but, in many cases, surpassing it. Above all, Rustow argues that the problem of archives in the medieval Middle East lies not with the region’s administrative culture, but with our failure to understand preindustrial documentary ecology.

Illustrated with stunning examples from the Cairo Geniza, this compelling book advances our understanding of documents as physical artifacts, showing how the records of the Fatimid caliphate, once recovered, deciphered, and studied, can help change our thinking about the medieval Islamicate world and about premodern polities more broadly.

This groundbreaking study investigates the early architecture of the Fatimids, an Ismaili Shi‘i Muslim dynasty that dominated the Mediterranean world from the 10th to the 12th century. This period, considered a golden age of multicultural and interfaith tolerance, witnessed the construction of iconic structures, including Cairo’s al-Azhar and al-Hakim mosques and crucial renovations to Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock and Aqsa Mosque. However, it also featured large-scale destruction of churches under the notorious reign of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, most notably the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Jennifer A. Pruitt offers a new interpretation of these and other key moments in the history of Islamic architecture, using newly available medieval primary sources by Ismaili writers and rarely considered Arabic Christian sources. Building the Caliphate contextualizes early Fatimid architecture within the wider Mediterranean and Islamic world and demonstrates how rulers manipulated architectural form and urban topographies to express political legitimacy on a global stage.

Cet article est l’occasion de présenter l’état de nos connaissances sur les fortifications fatimides du IVe H. /Xe AD au VIe H. /XIIe AD siècle,  précisément de H.297 /AD 910 à 566 H./1171. Ce bilan historiographique et bibliographique fait la synthèse des données connues sur l’architecture militaire fatimide de l’Afrique du nord au Proche Orient. Dans une seconde partie, nous présenterons nos récents travaux archéologiques au Caire et nous démontrerons comment les résultats de ces recherches bouleversent radicalement nos connaissances sur l’architecture militaire fatimide.

Hundreds of original Arabic petitions have survived from the Fatimid period in Egypt (969–1171), most of them in the Cairo Geniza. Here's the latest on this genre, its historiography and significance.

Published 23 October 2019 in a triple issue of _Jewish History_ on the Cairo Geniza, edited by Jessica Goldberg and Eve Krakowski.

Open access link here: https://rdcu.be/b8RC8.

The Fatimid jurist and author al-Qadi Abu Hanifa al-Nu'man (d. 363/974) served the Fatimids over the reigns of four imams, achieving his greatest prominence under the Imam al-Mu'izz (d. 365/975). While best known for his contributions to jurisprudence, al-Nu'man was also a poet, a historian and the author of works on esoteric matters. The selection below is from his Asas al-ta'wil (The Foundation of Spiritual Hermeneutics). In common with other Ismaili scholars, al-Nu'man affirmed that the Qur'an and the Prophetic traditions have an exoteric as well as an esoteric dimension. In this work, he brings out the inner, spiritual meanings of the tales of the prophets, as in the ta'wil of the story of Job (Ayyub).

This paper presents an overview of the production of ivory artefacts in the Mediterranean area between the 10th and 12th centuries, with some glimpses into the 13th century. The identification of possible supply methods and long-range trade routes is accompanied by a study of macro-areas: the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa-Egypt and Southern Italy. A cross-study of the sources and surviving artefacts provide a great deal of information on the availability of the raw material, but also on the possible uses of the finished objects. The variations in ivory availability are also considered in relation to great geopolitical changes, and the social level of the users is investigated. New research paths are suggested, including the study of some documents from the Cairo Geniza.

Keywords: ivory craftsmanship; ivory trade routes; Islamic Mediterranean regions; Southern Italy; Cairo Geniza

Tasbih is one of the easiest methods of communication with Rabb Taala Subhanahu. Tasbih spiritually connects Insan with his Lord where he receives blessings of Aalam ul-Ibda (the eternal universe of creation). It is the most acceptable manner of ‘ibadah containing unimaginable amounts of Ajr and benefits in Duniya and A’akhirah. Life is demanding and diverts our attention from Ibadah; Tasbih is a way to rectify this through forming a constant and loving bond with Allah. Tasbih is also a means of seeking Taubah and Istaghfar from Allah and being purified of sins. The act of Tasbih focuses the mind towards Allah. It also has an instant feeling of Itmin’an (mental peace and tranquility), and removes negative energy from our mind and body. Tasbih focuses our mind solely on Allah, and inspires us to think of what else we can do to sincerely please Allah, thus developing sincerity in Ibadah. Tasbih nullifies the negative forces of Shayt’an, including the removal of the most formidable Wasaavis of “Khannas” from the heart. If done properly and regularly, Tasbih can protect from Waba, Bala, Afaat and Masa’ib and fulfill Haj’at and grant Rizaq of Duniya and A’akhirah with Sadaat. In short, Tasbih is one of the righteous acts of Ibadah through which one can achieve Naj’at from physical as well as spiritual pains. It is the practice of Anbiya, Awsiya, Aimmah, Du’at and Awliya and therefore an ardent believer should practice this.

هذا الكتاب بقلم الدكتور عطية القوصى ، وهو ينقسم الى مقدمة وخمسة أبواب :
الباب الاول : تجارة مصر فى البحر حتى بداية القرن الثانى الهجرى
الباب  الثانى : تجارة البحر الاحمر زمن الطولونيين والاخشيديين
الباب الثالث : الفاطميون وتجارة البحر الاحمر
الباب الرابع : الايوبيون وتجارة البحر الاحمر
الباب الخامس : المنشآت التجارية والنظم المالية

This is a reconsideration of the sole fully excavated palatial structure built by the Fatimids (909–1171 CE): the qaṣr of Ajdābiya in Cyrenaica (modern Libya). The structure, excavated by Abdulhamid Abdussaid in the 1960s and by David Whitehouse in the early 1970s, is the perfect example of how a small provincial site, generally overlooked by scholars, can nonetheless yield precious information on “royal” architectural patronage, provided the archaeological data are combined with a close scrutiny of primary sources and a re-evaluation of other local, equally neglected monuments and finds. The aim of this article is not to present new archaeological data, but rather to serve as an update of the material published forty years ago in the light of recent scholar- ship on a number of related topics—including new editions of primary sources—while awaiting the publication of Whitehouse’s final excavation report.

Article sur la construction historique de la communauté religieuse fatimide bohra en Inde et sa contestation dans l'ouvrage collectif dirigé par Michel Boivin, "Les Ismaéliens d Asie du sud: gestion des héritages et productions identitaires", L Harmattan, 2008.

Ce volume fait suite à une journée d'études organisée avec le soutien de l'Institut d'Etudes de l'Islam et des Sociétés Musulmanes (IISMM, EHESS) et du Centre d'Etudes de l'Inde et de l'Asie du sud (CEIAS, CNRS).

This book offers a fresh perspective on religious culture in the medieval Middle East. It investigates how Muslims thought about and practised at sacred spaces and in sacred times through two detailed case studies: the shrines in honour of the head of al-Husayn (the martyred grandson of the Prophet); and the (arguably) holy month of Rajab. It  explores the diverse expressions of the veneration of the shrine and the month, and the opposition to these cults, from the formative period of Islam until the late Mamluk period. The author pays particular attention to changing political and sectarian affiliations and to the development of new genres of religious literature, juxtaposing the sanctification of space and time in individual and communal Sunni, Ithnaʿashari and Ismaʿili piety.

In Egypt, recent archaeological excavations have revealed new Fatimid and Ayyubid city walls. Some of these fortifications were built of limestone, others of mud bricks, and finally for the oldest, of rammed earth (‘pisé’). It is not a simple diachronic succession of techniques and materials connected to a certain period. Excavations have shown that the reality was much more complex and certainly reflected the diversity of the populations of medieval Cairo. Indeed, archaeologists have been able to prove that stone and earth were used for the same periods: earth was used to build the walls and stone was reserved for the construction of the prestigious city gates. Based on the study of sources describing Fatimid society, Stéphane Pradines has proposed a scheme of interpretation of the architectural technologies used. This scheme is not based on natural resources, and not only according to the chronology, but according to the ethnicity of the different corps composing the Fatimid army. He was able to identify three groups at the origin of these technologies: the Berbers, the Nubians and the Armenians. It is a revised history of the military architecture of Cairo between 969 and 1092 CE. This history emphasises the diversity of cultures and building materials in the Fatimid city walls.

Nizari Ismailis revere Aga Khan IV as their current hereditary Imam descended from Ali ibn Abi Talib. The Imam’s position as an ever-present spiritual guide is important to this small transnational Shia group’s beliefs. Ismailis are historically significant for producing notable individuals, states, institutions, literature, ideas, and practices and are currently at the forefront of Islamic engagements with modernity. The search for truth is a consistent theme that runs through the centuries-long history of the movement that has called itself ahl al-haqq (people of truth), al-da‘wat al-haqq (the invitation to truth), and satpanth (path of truth). These terms more emphatically express its adherents’ spiritual aspirations, unlike the names “Ismaili” and “Nizari” that resulted from succession disputes. The group sought knowledge from a variety of Muslim and non-Muslim sources in a pluralist pursuit of universal truth. It experienced polemical attacks and massacres in the course of history, and its members have been targeted by contemporary extremist organizations. The group continues to face occasional vilification but is also recognized for endeavors to improve the quality of the lives of Muslims and others. Its nondenominational institutions have grown to become one of the world’s largest civil society networks. The group promotes the importance of ethics and pluralism in contemporary societies. However, its current conceptualization of these ideas appears to be of a lesser order than that based on the earlier quest for universal truth.

The royal collection formed by Vittorio Emanuele III (1869-1947) was published in the twenty volumes of the "Corpus Nummorum Italicorum", between 1910 and 1943, but not fully. This volume aims at presenting, for the first time,  the Arabic coins from the royal Italian collection, in the Museo Nazionale Romano (Rome).
The book got an honourable mention from the association of Italian Professional Numismatists (NIP) and the Samir Shamma Prize 2018 from the Royal Numismatic Society (London)
For a review see: http://www.coinsweekly.com/en/News/Numismatics-The-royal-discipline/4?&id=5217&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CoinsWeekly+01.03.2018&newsletter=CoinsWeekly+01.03.2018