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I.B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies. Historical documentation and archaeological material have revealed that the Fatimids once presided over a diverse, multicultural state composed of Muslims, Christians, Jews and other religious traditions, as well as people from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. Such diversity stimulated intercultural contact and exchange across the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean. This open access book sheds light on the cosmopolitan environment that was engendered during Fatimid rule and how the Fatimids impacted the region. The Fatimids have often been overshadowed in academic research with attention placed more broadly on other dynasties, namely, the Abbasids, Mamluks or Ottomans. Across 22 chapters, this book provides a comprehensive contribution to Fatimid studies that updates and extends the existing scholarship. It addresses numerous Fatimid topics including: an analysis of state decrees and da''wa activities; the examination of key texts and treatises; the study of Fatimid theology and ceremonies; and the presentation of archaeological data. Bringing together both established and new voices in the field, the volume reveals the crucial role of the Fatimids and especially how intercultural dialogue and imperial contestations have impacted history, material culture, politics and religions. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by Islamic Publications Ltd.
List of contents
List of ContributorsPreface by Gregory BilottoList of AbbreviationsI. Fatimid Religion and Statecraft1. Ismaili Neoplatonism: The Cosmopolitan Legacy of the Fatimid Ismaili
Da?waKhalil Andani 2. Who was Nasir-i Khusraw's Patron in Yumgan? Notes on the Political Vectors of the Late Fatimid
Da?waDaniel Beben3. The Reign of the Fatimid Imam-caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah: Historiographical Considerations
Shainool Jiwa4. The Fatimid
Kitab al-Majalis wa'l-musayarat as
Responsa to Internal Controversy and External Propaganda
Hasan al-Khoee5. (Re)-making time, (Re)-making place: Some Considerations on Early Fatimid
Ta?wil and Sacred Space
Jamel A. Velji6. Fatimid Public Pronouncements: Messages from a Shi?i Dynasty to a Cosmopolitan Empire
Paul E. Walker II. The Fatimid Legacy Reconsidered1. The Modern Rediscovery of the Fatimid Artistic and Architectural Legacy in Egypt
Dina Ishak Bakhoum2. A Dynasty for All Seasons: The Fatimids in Modern and Contemporary Cosmopolitanism Discourses
Delia Cortese3. Wladimir Ivanow and Fatimid Studies
Farhad Daftary4. The Untold Problem of Ibn al-Haytham's Scientific Legacy in Islamic Art History
Valerie Gonzalez5. The Fatimids and the Indian Ocean: Evidence from the
Book of CuriositiesYossef RapoportIII. Fatimid Ceremony and Symbolism1. The Fatimid Crescent: Understanding a Complex Religio-Political Cosmos through Lunar Symbolism
Ali Asgar Alibhai2. The Power of Six - Astral, Solomonic and Imami Imagery in Fatimid Art
Bernard O'Kane3. The Cosmopolitan Ecosystem of the Festival Costumes of 515/1122
Paula Sanders4. Back to Black Background: The Rediscovery of Black Background and the Aesthetic of Darkness - A Global Visual Spectacle during the Fatimid Age
Avinoam Shalem5. 'Displaying the Hidden: Fatimid Public Texts in Floriated Kufic' Fatimid Cosmopolitanism: History, Material Culture, Politics and Religion
Yasser TabbaaIV. Art and Archeology1. A Fatimid Mermaid
Doris Behrens-Abouseif and Juan de Lara2. 'The Work is Blessed, Unique': The Fatimid Silver Casket of Sadaqa b. Yusuf
Anna Contadini3. Fatimid Jewellery Hoards from Palestine in the Light of the Cairo Geniza Documents
Ayala Lester4. The Fatimid Rock Crystal Ewers - Innovation or Variation? A Historical and Iconographical Investigation
Marcus Pilz5. Seventeen Years of Archeological Excavations in Cairo: The Ismaili capital city and Fustat during the Fatimid period
Stephane Pradines6. Reassessing Fatimid Figuralism: Ettinghausen, Grabar and a Medieval Lustre Workshop[e1]
Jennifer A. PruitSelect BibliographyCreditsIndex
About the author
Gregory Bilotto is Associate Lecturer at Saint Mary's University, UK, and a research consultant at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, UK. He received his PhD from SOAS, University of London, UK. He also has an MA from the American University in Cairo, Egypt and a second MA in Museum and Gallery Practice from UCL, University of London, UK.Farhad Daftary is director emeritus and a member of the board of governors of the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. An authority in Ismaili studies, Dr Daftary has published and lectured widely in this field of Islamic studies. His own research has contributed to a better understanding of aspects of Ismaili history. As well as serving on various editorial and advisory boards. He has written and edited 27 books and more than 250 articles and encyclopedia entries. In 2011, a Festschrift entitled Fortresses of the Intellect was produced to honor Daftary by a number of his colleagues and peers.Shainool Jiwa is Associate Professor at The Institute of Ismaili Studies, UK. Her latest publication, The Fatimids: 2. The Rule from Egypt (2023), is a World of Islam series title, for which she also serves as the series General Editor. She is the author of The Fatimids: 1. The Rise of a Muslim Empire (2018), and co-editor of The Shi‘i World (2015), and The Fatimid Caliphate (2017). She has edited and translated key medieval Arabic texts relating to Fatimid history, including Towards a Shi‘i Mediterranean Empire (2009) and The Founder of Cairo (2013).
