Fatimid

 

(făt'ĭmĭd) or Fatimite (–ĭmīt) , dynasty claiming to hold the caliphate on the basis of descent from Fatima, a daughter of Muhammad the Prophet. In doctrine the Fatimids were related to other Shiite sects. The dynasty's founder, Said ibn Husayn of NE Syria, was long engaged in religious activity. A follower went (c.893) to NW Africa and inspired the Berbers to rebel against their Sunni Aghlabid rulers. Said ibn Husayn attempted (c.903) to join Al-Shii in NE Algeria, but he was arrested at Tripoli by the Aghlabid governor. He was rescued (909) by Al-Shii who in the meantime had overthrown the Aghlabids and won Tunisia, Sicily, NE Algeria, and NW Libya for the Fatimids. Said ibn Husayn was then hailed as the Mahdi. He took the name Ubaidallah (Obaidallah) and set up a caliphate in opposition to the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad. His execution of Al-Shii caused (911) a short-lived rebellion among the tribes who had first supported the Fatimid claims. From their fortress capital of Mahdia, the Fatimids dominated most of NW Africa. Their fleets continually ravaged the W Mediterranean. After Ubaidallah's death in 934, Malta, Sardinia, Corsica, the Balearics, and, for a time, Genoa were taken and held. In the reign (953–75) of the 4th caliph, Moizz, Fatimid fortunes reached their height. Moizz's great general, Jahr, easily took Egypt in 969. Subsequently, Jahr conquered Palestine, parts of Syria, and W Arabia. In 973, Moizz moved his capital to Egypt and the new city of Cairo. The policy of employing mercenary troops begun by the 5th caliph, Aziz, was to prove fatal to the dynasty. Hakim (996–1021), the 6th caliph, abandoned the religious toleration of his ancestors. He persecuted the Jews and Christians and destroyed (1010) the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. In 1020, Hakim proclaimed himself the reincarnation of God. This claim was accepted only in Syria, where it is still espoused by the Druze. After Hakim's assassination, Fatimid power rapidly declined. Factious mercenary soldiers thereafter constantly threatened to destroy the state. The caliphs lost power to a series of viziers who eventually even took the title of king. Syria, Algeria, and Tunisia fell away (1043–48). By 1071 the Normans had conquered Sicily. Palestine was taken (1099) by the Crusaders, and the Fatimids were left with little more than Egypt. When the Assassins killed (1130) Amir, the last caliph of any ability, the country lapsed into anarchy. In 1171 Adid, the 14th and last of the Fatimid rulers, died.

Bibliography

See D. L. O'Leary, Short History of the Fatimid Khalifate (1923).

History of the Arab States
Arab Empire
Islamic Era
Arab Empire  Rashidun Empire 632-661 Umayyad Empire 661-750 Abbasid Empire 750-1258 Fatimid Empire 910-1171
Mashriq Dynasties  AD Tulunid dynasty 868-905 Hamdanid dynasty 890-1004 Ikhshidid dynasty 935-969 Uqaylid Dynasty 990-1096 Zengid dynasty 1127-1250 Ayyubid dynasty 1171-1246 Bahri dynasty 1250-1382 Burji dynasty 1382–1517
Maghrib Dynasties  Saadi dynasty 750–1258 Muhallabids 771-793 Rustamid Dynasty 776-909 Idrisid dynasty 788-985 Aghlabid dynasty 800-909 Almoravid dynasty 1073-1147 Almohad dynasty 1147-1269 Hafsid dynasty 1229-1574 Marinid dynasty 1258-1420 Wattasid dynasty 1420-1547

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Contemporary Leaders

Aga Khan IV Mohammed Burhanuddin al-Fakhri Abdullah Taiyeb Ziyauddin Saheb Mowafak Tarif

The Fatimids, Fatimid Caliphate or al-Fātimiyyūn (Arabic الفاطميون) is the Arab Shi'a dynasty that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Egypt, and the Levant from 5 January 910 to 1171, and founded the Egyptian city of Cairo as their capital. 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]

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 900s, conquering the Ikhshidid dynasty and founding a new capital at al-Qāhirat (Cairo) in 969.^[2] 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 crossed over into Sicily and southern Italy.

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, Yemen and the Hejaz^{[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 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).

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 first by Turkish 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.^[3] This began the Sunni Ayyubid Dynasty.

Fatimid caliphs

1. Abū Muḥammad ˤAbdu l-Lāh (ˤUbaydu l-Lāh) al-Mahdī bi'llāh (909-934) founder Fatimid dynasty
2. Abū l-Qāsim Muḥammad al-Qā'im bi-Amr Allāh (934-946)
3. Abū Ṭāhir Ismā'il al-Manṣūr bi-llāh (946-953)
4. Abū Tamīm Ma'add al-Mu'izz li-Dīn Allāh (953-975) Egypt is conquered during his reign
5. Abū Manṣūr Nizār al-'Azīz bi-llāh (975-996)
6. Abū 'Alī al-Manṣūr al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh (996-1021)
7. Abū'l-Ḥasan 'Alī al-Ẓāhir li-I'zāz Dīn Allāh (1021-1036)
8. Abū Tamīm Ma'add al-Mustanṣir bi-llāh (1036-1094)
9. al-Musta'lī bi-llāh (1094-1101) Quarrels over his succession led to the Nizari split.
10. al-Āmir bi-Aḥkām Allāh (1101-1130) The Fatimid rulers of Egypt after him are not recognized as Imams by Mustaali Taiyabi Ismailis.
11. 'Abd al-Majīd al-Ḥāfiẓ (1130-1149)
12. al-Ẓāfir (1149-1154)
13. al-Fā'iz (1154-1160)
14. al-'Āḍid (1160-1171).

Notes

External links

• Fatimids entry in the Encyclopaedia of the Orient.
• Institute of Ismaili Studies London.

632 – 661	661 – 750	750 – 910	910 – 1031	1031 – 1171	1171 – 1258	1259 – 1517	1517 – 1924
Rashidun Caliphate	The Umayyads of Damascus	The Abbasids of Baghdad				Abbasid branch of Cairo	The Ottoman Caliphs
		Umayyad branch of Córdoba
			The Fatimids of Cairo

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