Fatimid Studies

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.

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.

يعتبر التاريخ الفاطمي أحد الفترات الأساسية للتاريخ الإسلامي لمصر، فلا نستطيع أن نتحدّث عن الحاضرة الثقافية لمصر مدينة القاهرة، دون ذكر مؤسسها جوهر الصقلي قائد الخليفة الفاطمي المعز لدين الله الفاطمي، فهو الذي بنى مدينة القاهرة لتكون الحاضنة الأولى للفاطميين وجهزها لمجيء المعز الفاطمي، وينطبق الأمر نفسه على الجامع الأزهر، الذي منذ تأسيسه حتى الآن اكتسب شهرة عالمية في العالم الإسلامي، على مر المراحل التاريخية، أضف إلى هذا الكثير من الآثار الفاطمية المنتشرة في القاهرة القديمة كالجوامع والمدارس والأزقة، فكل هذا يظهر عند التحدّث عن مصر بشكل عام وعن مصر الإسلامية بشكل خاص. لقد سعى الفاطميون في الاستيلاء على القطر المصري كثيرًا حيث قامت حملتان عسكريتان من شمال إفريقيا إلى مصر باءت كلٌّ منهما بالفشل، ثم نجحت الحملة الثالثة بقيادة جوهر الصقلي بعد أن أعدَّ الخليفة الفاطمي المعزّ العدة هذه المرة ورتّب الجيش ترتيبًا جيدًا، وكان قد سبق ذلك بإرسال دعاة إلى هذه الجغرافيا عن طريق مدينة الإسكندرية وغيرها، يبشرون بزوال الدولة الإخشيدية ومجيء المنقذ من هذا الظلم والركود الاقتصادي الذي وقعت تحته مصر، وبعد أن وصل جوهر الصقلي القائد الفاطمي أسس مدينة القاهرة كي تستقبل الخليفة الفاطمي، ثم من بعده الجامع الأزهر، وقام بعدة إجراءات يحاول من خلالها إعلان السيطرة الفاطمية على القطر المصري. هل سعى الفاطميون في فرض المذهب الشيعي الإسماعيلي على المصريين؟ نسعى من خلال هذا البحث في الإجابة على هذا السؤال، ولكي نصل إلى نتيجة سليمة، تطرَّق البحث أولا إلى إلقاء الضوء على التاريخ المذهبي لمصر قبل الدخول الفاطمي، كي يرى البحث ما نوع الميول الاعتقادية لدى المصريين في هذه الفترة، سنيّة كانت أو شيعية، ثم عرّج على الدخول الفاطمي لمصر؛ مركِّزًا على أهم الأحداث التي قام بها الفاطميون يظهر من خلالها أنهم كانوا يسعون بالفعل لفرض المذهب الإسماعيلي على المصريين، عن أن تأسيس القاهرة كان الهدف من ورائه أن تكون هذه المدينة مركزًا للإشعاع الإسماعيلي، فإن الجامع الأزهر وما لحقه من مكتبة احتوت على خزائن التراث الإسماعيلي مثَّل مركز انطلاق للفكر الإسماعيلي، وكانت الكتب الإسماعيلية تدرّس فيه بانتظام على يد الكثير من علماء الاعتقاد على رأسهم القاضي النعمان، وكانت عائلة القاضي تتولّى السيطرة الدعوية والعلمية والقضائية في البلاد. لقد سعى وفدٌ من المصريين في أن يحصلوا على عهد من القائد الفاطمي جوهر الصقلي، يطمئنهم ويزيل مخاوفهم خاصة فيما يتعلق بمعتقداتهم وأمورهم الدينية، وبالفعل أصدر القائد الفاطمي هذا العهد الذي تضمّن الكثير من الأمور تطمئن المصريين، من بينها أن الصحابة من أجلِّ الناس عكس المعتقد الشيعي المشهور وأن كلا سيترك على معتقده، لكن ما لبث هذا العهد حتى اخترمته الكثير من الأمور. يركّز بحثنا هنا على هذه الأمور التي كانت في غالبها شد وجذب، انقسم البحث إلى ثلاث نقاطٍ أساسية الأولى التاريخ المذهبي لمصر قبل الدخول الفاطمي، والثاني محاولات فرض المذهب الشيعي على المصريين، أما النقطة الأخيرة هي المقاومة أو الأمور التي حدثت عرقلة هذا الفرض، وكانت سببا في أن جعلت انحسار التأثير الفاطمي على الأبنية والجوامع والآثار الفاطمية
Fatımi tarihi, Mısır'daki İslam tarihinin ana dönemlerinden biri olarak
kabul edilir. Bu dönemlerde Fatımi Halifesi el-Muiz Lidinillah ve lideri Cevher es-Sıkıllî tarafından yönetilen önemli şahsiyetler vardır. Fatımilerin ilk
kuluçka merkezi olması için Kahire şehrini inşa eden ve Fatımi halifesi elMuiz'in gelişine hazırlayan odur. Aynı şey el-Ezher Camii için de geçerlidir.
El-Ezher Camii, kuruluşundan bugüne kadar, tarihi süreç boyunca İslam
dünyasında küresel bir ün kazanmıştır. Buna camiler, okullar ve sokaklar gibi
Eski Kahire'ye dağılmış birçok Fatımi anıtını ekleyin, tüm bunlar genel olarak
Mısır ve özel olarak İslami Mısır hakkında konuşurken öne çıkmaktadır.
Fatımiler Mısır topraklarını çok fazla ele geçirmeye çalıştılar, bu amaçla
Kuzey Afrika'dan Mısır'a iki askeri harekât yapıldı, ancak ikisi de başarısız
oldu. Daha sonra Cevher es-Sıkılli liderliğindeki üçüncü sefer, Fatımi Halifesi
el-Muizz'in bu sefer tedariği iyi yapması ve orduyu iyi düzenlemesisayesinde
başarılı oldu. Daha önce İskenderiye şehri ve diğerleri aracılığıyla bu coğrafyaya vaizler göndererek, İhşidi devletinin çökeceğini ve Mısır'ın içine düştüğü
bu adaletsizlik ve ekonomik sıkıntıdan kurtaracak birinin geleceğini müjdelemişti. Fatımi lideri Cevher es-Sıkılli’nin gelişinden sonra Fatımi halifesini
kabul etmek için Kahire şehrini ve ardından el-Ezher Camii'ni kurdu ve Mısır
üzerinde Fatımi hakimiyetini ilan etmek için çeşitli düzenlemeler yaptı.
Fatımiler İsmaili Şii mezhebini Mısırlılara empoze etmeye çalıştılar mı?
Bu araştırma ile bu sorunun yanıtını arıyoruz ve sağlıklı bir sonuca varabilmek için araştırma ilk olarak Mısır'ın Fatımi girişi öncesindeki mezhep tarihine ışık tutmaya çalıştı. Böylece araştırma, bu dönemde Mısırlıların Sünni veya
Şii olsun, ne tür inanç eğilimlerine sahip olduklarını gösterecektir. Sonra Fatımilerin Mısır'a girişine değindi; Fatımiler tarafından gerçekleştirilen ve aslında İsmaili mezhebini Mısırlılara empoze etmeye çalıştıklarını ispatlayan en
tasavvur, c. 8 sy. 1 (Haziran 2022) | Ramy MAHMOUD
önemli olaylara odaklandı. Kahire'nin kuruluşunun amacı bu şehri İsmaili
dava için bir merkez yapmaktıve İsmaili mirasının hazinelerini içeren ElEzher Camii ve ona bağlı kütüphane, İsmaili düşüncesi için bir başlangıç
noktası temsil ediyordu. İsmaili kitapları, Kadı el-Nu'man liderliğindeki birçok inanç tarafından orada düzenli olarak öğretildi ve Kadı'nın ailesi ülkede
dini, bilimsel ve adli kontrolü üstlendi.
Mısırlılardan oluşan bir heyet, Fatımi lideri Cevher es-Sıkılli’den, kendilerini rahatlatmak ve özellikle inançları ve dini meseleleriyle ilgili korkularını
gidermek için bir söz almaya çalıştı. Makalemiz daha çok çekişme içeren bu
konulara odaklanmaktadır. Makale üç kısma ayrılmıştır, birincisi Mısır'ın Fatımi girişinden önceki mezhep tarihi, ikincisi Şii mezhebini Mısır'a empoze
etme girişimleri. Son nokta ise direniş ya da bu dayatmayı engelleyen şeylerdir ve Fatımi binaları, camileri ve anıtları üzerindeki Fatımi etkisinin geri çekilmesine neden olan şey de bu son kısımdır.

These words, uttered by one of the greatest Islamic philosophers within the medieval period, speak volumes. His statement appears as a calling; a calling to the truth, a truth which is enshrined within the knowledge of those who may indeed have been, and may continue to be, 'races distant and nations different from us'. What strikes the reader from al-Kindi's statement however is the uncompromising attitude of openness towards knowledge which seems to underpin it, as he admits that truth can indeed be found in places far and wide.

Course Material Prepared for Harvard Divinity School (HDS) Course 3221.4x (“Islam through Its Scriptures”)

This article was prepared as introductory educational material for the non-academic reader. The article summarizes some of the current and upcoming research of the author. Please contact the author directly (khalil_andani@mail.harvard.edu) for any inquiries.

Throughout Ismaili history, the ta’wil of the Qur’an was often taught by Ismaili thinkers and teachers, called da‘is, who were appointed by the Ismaili Imam of the time to instruct the believers. Thus, Ismaili ta’wil or spiritual interpretation has taken many different forms and articulations through history and has been practiced in a variety of intellectual and cultural contexts. The Ismaili ta’wil of the Six Days of Creation is a consistent theme among numerous Ismaili thinkers throughout history. What follows is a summary of the Ismaili ta’wil or esoteric interpretation of the Qur’anic verses about God creating the heavens and the earth in “Six Days” as mainly presented in the writings of two major Ismaili thinkers – Nasir-i Khusraw (d. 1088) and Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (d. 1274), although this general schema is found among multiple Ismaili Muslim authors.

يعتبر النسب الشريف من أبرز العوامل الحاسمة في قيام الدول وسقوطها في تاريخ المسلمين إبّان الفترة الوسيطية، وذلك يعود إلى مجموعة من النصوص الحديثية والأثرية التي تنص على أسبقية صاحب النسب القرشي أو العلوي في مؤسسة الخلافة الإسلامية، ومن جملة القضايا التاريخية التي تتعلق بهذه المسألة، الدعوة الإسماعيلية الشيعية التي أقامت عدة دول كان أهمها وأكبرها الدولة العبيدية في المغرب والمعروفة بالفاطمية لما انتقلت إلى المشرق، هذه الدولة ملكت الكثير من الأمصار بدعوى النسب العلوي على أن قضية نسب الأسرة الفاطمية ، كان ولا يزال، من الجدليات التاريخية التي لم يجمع على صحة اتصالها بالبيت العلوي الفاطمي

Traduction intégrale annotée d’Ibn Taymiyya, « Fetwa sur les Fāṭimides » (« Majmū‘ al-fatāwā », t. XXXV, p. 120-144), avec plusieurs corrections du texte arabe et, dans les notes, la traduction d’extraits d’al-Ghazālī, « Faḍā'iḥ al-bāṭiniyya ».

The founding of the Fātimid caliphate across the southern
Mediterranean, and then in Egypt, Syria and the Hijāz at the turn
of the fourth/tenth century, necessitated its negotiation with the
ashrāf, those who claimed lineal descent from the Prophet
Muhammad, and who by this time had gained significant
influence as a social class based on their charismatic descent.
While other dynastic powers fostered relationships with various
members of the ashrāf, the Fātimid–ashrāf dynamics were
distinctive in that the Fātimids legitimised their rule as Ismāīlī Shīī
imām-caliphs, based on their claim of descent from the Prophet
Muhammad, and as the sole successors to his authority and
leadership over the Islamic world. Consequently, Fātimid–ashrāf
relations were permeated by fraternal camaraderie as well as by
competing contestations based on their shared claim to Prophetic
lineage.

LES ṢANHĀJA DU MAGHREB CENTRAL AU X°-XI° SIECLE
Article du numéro de la revue Al Irfan sur les Imazighen (Instituto Hispano Lusitano) en cours de parution, 2020

Cet article étudie l’ascension au pouvoir de la lignée Telkata des Sanhaja, fondatrice de la principauté Ziride du Maghreb. Les Telkata, une branche des Sanhaja de Sigilmasa, surent s’allier aux Fatimides  contre les Zenata, inféodés aux Omeyyades. Les Telkata rallièrent sous leur nom de Sanhaja des tribus sédentaires d’origine diverses du Maghreb Central. Cette analyse jette un nouveau regard sur l’opposition classique des Sanhaja sédentaires opposés aux Zenata nomades. Des considérations sont faites sur les biais introduits par une référence non critique aux classifications des généalogies tribales.

MOTS CLE : SANHAJA, ZIRIDES, MAGHREB MEDIEVAL, TRIBUS BERBERES, GENEALOGIE TRIBALE, FATIMIDES, OMEYYADES

Until today, there is no research dedicated to studying the Fatimid-Andalusi relationship. Most of the studies that deal with the subject, either they were in the scope of archaeology, archaeometry, art history or history, are specific and limited to one material or a particular site. This dissertation presents a comprehensive study of all the Fatimid materials found in the Iberian Peninsula and their influences during the Xth-XIIth centuries. It collects all the results from the different academic references to build a database to be analysed according to the geographical distribution, the chronology and the amounts. Furthermore, the analysis results are compared with the historical facts to see their rapprochement to the Fatimid-Andalusi relationships.

The Fatimid Caliphate (909-1171) was the only Shi‘i Muslim Caliphate in Islamic history in which a hereditary Ismaili Imam descended from the ahl al-bayt of the Prophet Muhammad ruled as both spiritual and temporal sovereign. Before and during the tenure of the Fatimid rule, an Isma‘ili da‘wa operated throughout both Fatimid and non-Fatimid lands where numerous Isma‘ili da‘is summoned Muslims to recognize the spiritual authority of the Ismaili Imams. This paper examines the spiritual hermeneutics or ta’wil of the hajj as elucidated in the writings of the Fatimid Isma‘ili da‘is Ja‘far b. Mansur al-Yaman, al-Mu’ayyad al-Din fi’l-Din al-Shirazi and Nasir-i Khusraw and argues that the Isma‘ili ta’wil of the hajj invests the Ismaili Imam with a spiritual status superior to the physical Ka‘ba. This hermeneutic also establishes a distinctively Isma‘ili practice of making pilgrimage to the Fatimid Imam-Caliph in Cairo. This argument is demonstrated through three pieces of evidence: firstly, the ta’wil or esoteric interpretation of the hajj presented by various Fatimid da‘is, including al-Naysaburi, al-Mu’ayyad, and Nasir-i Khusraw, situates the Ka‘ba as the exoteric House of God and the physical qiblah while presenting the Fatimid Imam as the esoteric House of God and the spiritual qiblah. Secondly, the Fatimid poets Ibn al-Hani al-Andalusi and al-Mu’ayyad fi’l-Din al-Shirazi explicitly assert the superiority of the Imam to the physical Ka‘bah and highlight the importance of making hajj to the former over the latter. Thirdly, this spiritual hermeneutic is enacted and embodied in the actual pilgrimage in that numerous Isma‘ili da‘is including al-Mu’ayyad and Nasir-i Khusraw made to see the Fatimid Imam-Caliph in Cairo. As an example of an enduring hermeneutic, the practice of undertaking a journey for an audience (mulaqat) with the Ismaili Imam continued to have a paramount status in Isma‘ili Muslim piety long after the Fatimid period and persists in present times.

of the Fāṭimid caliph » 4 , qui « ya῾kis wuğhat l-naḏar l-rasmiya aw yumaṯṯil siyāsat l-dawla [l-fāṭimiya] » (reflète la perspective officielle, ou bien représente même la politique d'État [fatimide]) 5 , « un propagandiste-missionnaire appartenant à la daʻwa de l'ismaïlisme » 6 , « un adepte fervent des Fatimides » 7 . Ibn Ḥawqal figurant parmi les auteurs les plus précieux et les plus utilisés par 4 Ḥudūd l-ʽĀlam, p. 20. Les mots sont de l'orientaliste russe Vassili Vladimirovitch Barthold (m. 1930) écrits dans sa préface à cette géographie persane du X e siècle dont l'auteur serait peut-être Ibn

Author’s Note. The volume has now been now published in which this chapter appears alongside twenty-eight excellent studies. This final pre-print version consists of a slightly revised edition of the text originally submitted, and previously published online, preceded by front matter from the last proof of the published volume. Specialist readers may prefer to consult this final pre-print version, which uses a system of transliteration of Arabic into English that is clearer than that adopted by the editors of the published volume. I have also taken the liberty to correct other infelicities that appear in print. The pagination of the published chapter is indicated in the text. The figures will be found at the end of the file.

Summary/Zusammenfassung:
The medieval rock crystal vessels produced in the empires of the Abbasid and Fatimid Caliphs are outstanding masterpieces of their age, comparable only to the hardstone carvings of imperial Rome. In the last 100 years these objects were mostly seen as genuine works of Fatimid art. The aim of this book is to question this common attribution and to examine and differentiate the surviving material in a comparative iconographical and technical study.
As a result these rock crystal carvings appear not longer as an isolated phenomenon within medieval Islamic art, but as part of a longstanding tradition, reaching back to the empires of the Byzantines, Sasanians and Romans. Furthermore the book discusses the history of the rock crystal objects, from their production in the medieval Islamic empires to their arrival, re-use and reinterpretation in European church treasuries.


Die mittelalterlichen Bergkristallgefäße aus den islamischen Reichen der Abbasiden und Fatimiden sind herausragende Meisterwerke ihrer Epoche, einzig vergleichbar mit den Steinschneidearbeiten der römischen Kaiserzeit. Die Forschung betrachtete die Objektgruppe bislang weitgehend pauschal als Produkt der fatimidischen Kunst. Der vorliegende Band hinterfragt diese mehr als 100 Jahre alte Zuschreibung kritisch und differenziert das erhaltene Material in einer vergleichenden ikonografischen und technischen Studie.
Im Ergebnis stellt sich der Bergkristallschnitt nicht mehr als isoliertes Phänomen der islamischen Kunst des Mittelalters dar, sondern erweist sich als Teil einer dichten technischen Überlieferungstradition, die über das byzantinische und das sasanidische Reich bis in die Antike zurückreicht. Zugleich wird der Weg der Bergkristallobjekte von ihrer Entstehung in der islamischen Welt bis in die europäischen Kirchenschätze nachgezeichnet, in denen sie vielfach bis heute verwahrt werden.

This paper discusses the question of an Ismaʿili influence within the cosmology of al-Ghazālī and argues that al-Ghazālī appropriated certain features of the Ismaʿili cosmology from the Persian Ismaʿili thought of Nāṣir-i Khusraw (d. ca. 481/1088). After introducing Nāṣir-i Khusraw and his Ismaʿili Neoplatonic cosmology, the paper first examines some of the Ismaʿili doctrinal material presented in al-Ghazālī’s anti-Ismaʿili polemical work Faḍāʾiḥ al-bāṭiniyya—concerning cosmology, revelation, and taʾwīl—and traces this content back to Nāṣir-i Khusraw’s works, arguing that Nāṣir-i Khusraw was one of the sources for al-Ghazālī’s knowledge of Ismaʿili doctrines. Secondly, the paper highlights a number of commonalities and shared terminology between the cosmology, epistemology, and doctrine of prophecy in al-Ghazālī’s Mishkāt al-anwār (‘The Niche of Lights’) and the Ismaʿili doctrines of Nāṣir-i Khusraw, revealing how the two thinkers understand the cosmos as containing precisely ‘two worlds’, emphasize the correspondence (muwāzana) between the spiritual and physical realms, and conceive the faculty of prophecy as a higher supra-intellectual spirit (rūḥ) or ‘eye’ of perception. Thirdly, the paper revisits the scholarly debate concerning al-Ghazālī’s higher theology and cosmology in the Veils section of the Mishkāt. It demonstrates that al-Ghazālī’s worldview, which places the transcendent God above the First Mover of the Aristotelians and the Necessary Existent of the falāsifa using the Qurʾānic symbolism of Moon and Sun worship, has been appropriated from Nāṣir-i Khusraw’s Ismaʿili Neoplatonic cosmology.

A rare purse of Late 10th century silver cut dirham fractions exemplifies the evolution in the use of small money in the Medieval Middle East: the copper fulus, dissappeared as small-currency in the Abbasid Empire at the end of the ninth century. They were replaced by cut silver fragments referred to as al-Dahārim almutaqatti‘a as mentioned in the Cairo Geniza. Eventually the cut silver was replaced in the 11-12th centuries by cut gold fragments.

This article compares the dress and textile cultures of southern Italy, Fatimid Egypt (through the Genizah document archives) and the heartlands of Greek Byzantium. Several points of similarity and affinity existed between the vestimentary systems of the ‘consuming classes’ of the Mediterranean in the central Middle Ages but there were also notes of difference that are illustrated in some of the comparisons I make. I argue for a more social anthropological approach to be taken with descriptions of dress and textiles and suggest that the Mediterranean does work as an heuristic device for such an exercise. We lose sight of comparisons when we only work within our disciplinary traditions, in this case, ‘western Latin’, ‘Byzantine’ and ‘Islamic’.

The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shia caliphate that spanned a large area of North Africa, from the Red Sea in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west. The dynasty of Arab origin ruled across the Mediterranean coast of Africa and ultimately made Egypt the center of the caliphate. At its height the caliphate included in addition to Egypt varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz.

In February 2015, divers off the coast of Caesarea spotted by chance a group of gold coins lying on the seabed. After alerting marine archaeologists of the Israel Antiquities Authority, a preliminary salvage excavation was conducted at the site and more than 2,600 Fatimid period gold dinars and fractions recovered, weighing a total of c. 7.5 kg. The coin's location and accompanying artifacts suggested that the coins originated from a shipwreck. The article gives a first insight into the hoard's content after two years of intensive identification work, presents some preliminary conclusions as for the reasons for its loss and offers some new insights into the circulation of Fatimid coinage in southern Bilad al-Sham.

The Arrival of the Fatimid conquerors to Egypt was a turning point which created a radical impact on both political and religious life. Coming from a quite different doctrinal background, they had a predominating aim to spread it between the Egyptian populace. Perhaps one of their workable tactics to diffuse the shīʿī doctrine was the introduction of mausoleums (mašhads), devoted to the burial of their Fatimid imāms-who claimed the ultimate descent from " al-Ḥusayn Ibn ʿAlī Ibn Abī Țālib ". Although Islam has strict traditions against funerary architecture, the Fatimid mašhads did the trick; they were, and still are, highly venerated by the Sunnī populace of Egypt. This research is an attempt to reach a better understanding of the influence of the Shiite doctrine on the function of funerary architecture in Fatimid Egypt, while shedding a light on women's vital role in achieving this objective.

Azîz Nesefî  tarafından 1270 lerde yazılmıştır . ismaili lerin  nefesi kolunun lideridir . Kitabında , Şeriat, tarikat ve hakikat, insân-ı kâmil, sohbet ve sülûkten bahseden bir mukaddime ile yirmi iki felsefî ve tasavvufî risâleyi ihtiva eden bu mecmuadır

It is well-known that as one of the most renowned Ismaili dāʿīs of the Fatimid age, Ḥamīd al-Dīn al-Kirmānī (d. after 411/1020) attempted to create a complex system of thought, blending together Ismaili traditions — including gnostic cosmological elements —  and philosophical strands mainly drawn from Fārābian Neoplatonism. Through logical and philosophically charged sophisticated proofs, al-Kirmānī’s writings seem often to reflect a distinctive Muʿtazilite approach towards composite doctrinal issues. Indeed, some of the arguments adopted in treatises such as al-Maṣābīḥ fī ithbāt al-imāma and his magnum opus, the Rāḥat al-ʿaql, might lead to a view of him as an enthusiast supporter of that theological school, as were numerous Shiʿi theologians of his time.
Upon reflection however, a much more stratified outlook surfaces: in his Tanbīh al-hādī wa’l-mustahdī, focusing on the religious rites and the blessings derived from their practice, al-Kirmānī is often openly critical of the Muʿtazilites who in his view, included the Zaydīs, whilst comparing Muʿtazilite doctrines to the positions of the Magians in the Risālat Mabāsim al-bishārāt bi’l-imām al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh. Moreover, in his al-Aqwāl al-dhahabiyyah, designed to criticise the philosophical views of Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakariyyāʾ al-Rāzī (d. 313/925) on the exclusive salvific role of reason, al-Kirmānī binds intellectual reasoning to the necessity of the imamate and prophecy as tools on the path to redemption, thus implicitly denouncing some Muʿtazilite stances. In addition, al-Kirmāni’s original taʾwīl (esoteric hermeneutical interpretation) of the story of the prophets Moses and Shuʿayb (Qurʾan 7:143) presented in his Kitāb al-riyāḍ, reveals the dāʿī’s attempt to justify, by presenting theistic views on predestination, the legitimacy of the Fatimid imam-caliphs’ role.
This paper aims to probe al-Kirmānī’s understanding of what Muʿtazilite thought really entailed and what aspects he could consider suitable enough to serve his Fatimid political/doctrinal agenda.

The concepts of dividing Byzantium can be found in sources from the period (e.g. the division into the eastern and western parts during the reign of emperor Maurice, John II Komnenos’ idea concerning the allocation of the eastern parts of the country for his son, Manuel). The most well-known partitioning of Byzantium is its fragmentation as a result of the 4th crusade.
In the 10th century, three such incidents can be observed. The first one – mentioned by John Skylitzes – is related to the alliance between tzar Simeon and caliph Al-Mahdi and would be an arrangement to regulate the influence zones of the two victorious powers. The second – cited by Leo the Deacon – is Svyatoslav’s call for the Byzantine Greeks to abandon the lands of Europe. It might reflect the tradition, which still lingers among the Bulgarian elites, related to the dominance in the Balkan lands or it could possibly correspond to a hypothetical settlement between the Russian ruler and Nikephoros Phokas concerning the division of Bulgarian lands. The third – depicted in John Skylitzes’ work and the sources of Eastern provenance – concerns an agreement  which divided Byzantium between Bardas Phokas and Bardas Skleros. This idea would be related to the support gained by Bardas Skleros among the countries and tribes of the Eastern borderland of Byzantium.
It is also worth pointing out that the plans to divide the Byzantine Empire appeared in its history, thereby suggesting the existence of decentralist forces and stressing the division into its Balkan and Asia Minor parts.

The contribution of this thesis to the existing field of tiraz textile studies is that it
has tried to overcome the existing rift between historians and textile specialists,
in approaching the subject in a more unified way, which takes into account the
interrelationship between production, administration and use. Historians have
traditionally worked on the textile industry and administration from the point of
view of Arabic literary sources, while textile specialists focused on the material
evidence of fabrics and their manufacture.

Rather than relying on one collection, as most previous authors have done,
samples from all the major museum collections are examined here and have
been arranged in a database of 1823 items, which made it possible to analyse
the properties of textiles taxonomically. By using taxonomic analysis both
material and historical information could be combined and emerging trends
tested against the historical evidence of literary sources. A major discovery here
has been how the textile evidence reflects administrative changes in control of
the textile industry and the wider administrative relationship between Egypt and
Iraq under the Abbasids.

While there is agreement by both textile specialists and historians that tiraz
textiles were produced for court consumption, neither considered the question
why tiraz textiles were used in burials, from which most surviving tiraz textiles
have in fact been recovered archaeologically. This thesis approaches this
subject by considering both material and literary evidence and suggests that
tiraz textiles were regarded as a source of blessing for the deceased because of
their caliphal association recorded in their inscriptions.

Les Druzes aux marges de l'Islam. Ésotérisme et normativité en milieu rural (XIVe-XVIe), Les Éditions du Cerf, Coll. Islam, Nouvelles approches, 2021, 728 p.,  ISBN 978-2-204-13492-7

https://www.editionsducerf.fr/librairie/livre/19179/les-druzes-aux-marges-de-l-islam

The Fatimid Caliphate had a major impact on the Medieval Near East, but its origins are obscure. Just as obscure are the origins of its supreme judge -- compiler and codifier of Fatimid law -- Qaḍī al-Nuʿmān. The Kutama Berbers were the military backbone of the early Fatimids in Ifriqiyya, and an Arab convert from Sunnism would come to be their legal backbone. Unfortunately Orientalists of old could not do a lot of work with Ismailis despite their interest, until the 1930s when a deluge of Manuscripts became available. Since then, Ismaili studies has been a rapidly developing field. Join me as I elaborate on Qaḍī al-Nuʿmān's intellectual milieu, early upbringing, and legal theory -- elucidating on the much understudied niche of Ismaili law.

The fifth century AH/eleventh century CE in Shām and the Jazīra was a period of a receding monetary economy, and drastically shrinking number of produced coins. Contemporary legal texts supported by archaeologically provenanced coin finds suggested that the reduced highly alloyed black dirhams were only circulating in a narrow region of origin. It came therefore as a surprise to find the earliest Numayrid dirham far from its supposed mint in Ḥarrān (modern Altınbaşak, Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey) in an excavation in Tiberias. The coin also establishes a terminus post quem for a disputed dating of the particular site.

Original Druze work written in 1020

Original Druze work written by Hamza bin Ali bin Ahmed in 1015 - 1020

Hamza ibn ‘Alī ibn Aḥmad (Arabic: حمزة بن علي بن أحمد; 985 – c. 1021) was an 11th-century Ismaili missionary and founding leader of the Druze. He was born in Zozan in Greater Khorasan in Samanid-ruled Persia (modern Khaf, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran), and preached his heterodox strand of Isma'ilism in Cairo during the reign of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. According to Hamza, al-Hakim was God made manifest. Despite opposition from the established Isma'ili clergy, Hamza persisted, apparently being tolerated or even patronized by al-Hakim himself, and set up a parallel hierarchy of missionaries in Egypt and Syria. Following al-Hakim's disappearance—or, most likely, assassination—in February 1021, Hamza and his followers were persecuted by the new regime. Hamza himself announced his retirement in his final epistle to his followers, in which he also promised that al-Hakim would soon return and usher the end times. Hamza disappeared thereafter, although one contemporary source claims that he fled to Mecca, where he was recognized and executed. His disciple Baha al-Din al-Muqtana resumed Hamza's missionary effort in 1027–1042, finalizing the doctrines of the Druze faith.


Druze perspectives on Hamza ibn Ali  :

Druze believe that Hamza ibn Ali was a reincarnation of Jesus, and that Hamza ibn Ali is the true Messiah, who directed the deeds of the messiah Jesus "the Joseph and Mary", but when Jesus "the son of Joseph and Mary" strayed from the path of the true Messiah, Hamza filled the hearts of the Jews with hatred for him - and for that reason, they crucified him, according to the Druze manuscripts.Despite this, Hamza ibn Ali took him down from the cross and allowed him to return to his family, in order to prepare men for the preaching of his religion. Druze also regards Jesus and Hamza ibn Ali as the incarnations of one of the five great celestial powers, who form part of their system

Nasir-i Hüsrev, 1004-1088

Zâdü’l-müsâfirîn: Çeşitli metafizik konulardan bahsettiği çeşitli filozofların görüşlerini tartıştığı bir eserdir. Bu eserinde tenâsühü (ruh göçünü) reddeder

Abu Mo’in Hamid ad-Din Nasir ibn Khusraw al-Qubadiani or Nāsir Khusraw Qubādiyānī Balkhi also spelled as Nasir Khusrow and Naser Khosrow (d. after 1070) (Persian: ناصر خسرو قبادیانی) was a Persian poet,[2] philosopher, Isma'ili  Batıni scholar.

Ismāʿīlīs believe the Quran has two layers of meaning, the zāhir meaning apparent, and the bātin, meaning hidden.

The martyrdom of Yūḥannā, physician of Ibn Abī ’l-Ḥusayn ruler of the island of Sicily, is a text which is edited, analyzed and commented on here for the first time. Yūḥannā, after having refused to convert to Islam, is implicated in a trial for having blasphemed against the prophet Muḥammad, which is a crime punishable by death. At the end of his trial, Yūḥannā offers himself up as a voluntary martyr. Aside from the story itself, the aim of the present study is to establish the context in which the story was produced and disseminated. Yūḥannā’s account is an explicit call to resist the Islamization of the Melkite community (i. e. apostasy from Christianity and conversion to Islam), and to find examples of resistance beyond Fāṭimid Egypt or Syria-Palestine, in a land situated at the outer limits of the empire: Kalbid Sicily.

After the death of Prophet Muhammad, several sects of Islam started rising to power: such as the Ismaili’s, a Shia faction that claimed lineage from Fatima bint Muhammad, and later started their own dynasty, the Fatimids. This paper will argue that the Fatimid’s rise to power was dependent on their tolerance of other religious groups, such as Sunni Muslims and non-Muslims, including Christians and Jews; and appointing them in high governmental positions despite their not being Ismaili’s, instead of focusing on spiritual differences that will not affect administration. This paper’s purpose is to explore the role of religious broadmindedness in creating a politically powerful yet non-secular state, this is a relevant study considering how religious bigotry is prevalent nowadays. This paper will be divided into two parts. The first part will discuss Ismailism and how the Fatimid caliphate was first established; the second section will discuss Fatimid administration and military matters in terms of their cross-sectarianism and how that aided their ruling. The paper will then conclude by summarizing the rise of the Fatimid dynasty and their administrative reforms, briefly mention their decay and therefore answering the question of the political impact of religious divisions between 632 and 1171.

The article analyzes the Medieval Coin Finds (7th – 15th) found during the Harvard Semitic Museum-Leon Levy archaeological expedition at Ashkalon/Ascalon (1985 – 2015).
The publication of these coin finds, though relatively few but found in archaeological contexts, are another milestone in the quest of the Coin Department of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA)  to make available to numismatists, historians and archaeologists the unique contribution of coin finds to the Medieval history and archaeology of this region.
The Ashkalon/Ascalon coin finds are particular important as they represent material from one of the most important Islamic period towns in Medieval Palestine which also became – quite late – an important Crusader period township.

....... and in the meantime I've discovered 4 new manuscripts!


Cf.  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344865040_Visionarios_y_MSS_Profeticos_ss_XIV-XV_en_los_Reinos_Hispanicos_Traduccion_y_manipulacion_VISIONARIES_AND_MSS_PROPHETICS_ss_XIV_-_XV_IN_THE_HISPANIC_KINGDOMS_Translation_and_manipulation

Juana Marìa Arcelus-Ulibarrena, Visionarios y Mss.Proféticos (ss. XIV-XV) en los Reinos Hispánicos. Traducción y manipulación, Saarbrücken (Germany) Editorial Académica Española, 2013, 120 pp. (LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing GmbH & Co. KG)
[ISBN: 978-3-659-08377-8]

ABSTRACT
El objeto de este estudio es presentar un “corpus” de MSS. sobre profecías y vaticinios tardo-medievales cuya traducción en romance emana de la ingeniosa maquinaria propagandística utilizada: “coniecturae de ultimis temporibus” en las Escrituras, vaticinios existentes para compulsar y dar validez al tema del “Anticristo”, expectación escatológica versus una “renovatio” de sesgo joaquinista: el “triple estado”, preludio del fin temporal y testimonio de la verdad en la “cadena” de legitimaciones, las dos Futuras Órdenes, interpretación de signos y prodigios sobre la mutación territorial de los Reinos Hispánicos y el Gran Cisma. Las variantes a la fuente original debían encajar en nuevas realidades para acrecentar la visión de la imagen del rey/emperador a ojos de la fuerza Papal u otra fuerza. Selecciones que se manipularon y tradujeron inclusive en CASTELLANO ALJAMIADO, como  en la versión del VADEMECUM IN TRIBULATIONE de Johannes de RUPESCISSA OFMconv: el “emperador AZRA’IL”, las dos futuras Órdenes etiquetadas en dominicos y cistercienses (blancos y negros), irrumpe SHAHADA y el [segundo?]Anticristo: FATIMI, será “digno y de gran santidad”, conquistador de los Reinos hispánicos en 42 meses y destructor de la Santa Madre Iglesia gracias a su pompa, vanidad y riquezas.

ABSTRACT:
-http://www.mirabileweb.it/mel/-visionarios-y-mss-proféticos-(ss-xiv-xv)-en-los-r/649319
- BITECA https://bancroft.berkeley.edu/philobiblon/biteca_es.html

Au début du xi e siècle, les Fatimides firent composer le Kitāb ġarā'ib al-funūn wa mulaḥ al-'uyūn, ouvrage dans lequel se trouvaient plusieurs cartes dont une de la Méditerranée et une de l'océan Indien. Par leur forme ovale commune et leur position dans l'ouvrage, ces deux représentations semblent avoir été faites pour susciter la comparaison. Au-delà de leurs points communs, l'analyse plus fine de ces cartes permet de comprendre qu'il s'agissait pour les imams-califes du Caire de faire passer un message, conformément à la stratégie de communication des Fatimides, désormais de mieux en mieux connue. Le décalage qui existe entre la densité d'informations fournies dans la carte de la Méditerranée et celle de l'océan Indien pourtant considéré comme l'espace maritime le mieux connu par les musulmans pose la question des objectifs de telles représentations cartographiques pour un califat ismaélien en recherche de légitimité dans un monde musulman largement sunnite. At the beginning of the 11th century, the Fatimid Caliphs ordered to compose the Kitāb ġarā'ib al-funūn wa mulaḥ al-'uyūn. Several maps were accompanying this book and among them one of the Mediterranean and one of the Indian Ocean. With their common oval shape and their position into the book, theses two maps seemed to call for comparison. Beyond their commonalities, a closer analysis of these maps allows to understand they were made to send an ideological message. The mismatch between density of informations within the Mediterranean map and the Indian Ocean's one, yet considered as better known by Muslims, raise the question of the goals of these graphic representations for an Ismaili dynasty seeking for legitimacy in a widely sunni Muslim world.