The Fatimid Caliphate
After the rise if Islam, a succession of royal dynasties arose. One successful caliphate stood out from the rest. The Fatimids were a minority branch of Islam that ruled much of the Muslim world for two hundred years. At their height, the Fatimid empire covered an area from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to Syria in the east.
The Fatimid dynasty rose to power in 909 C.E. At the time, much of the medieval Middle East and North Africa was dominated by the Abbasid caliphate. The Abbasids were Sunni Muslims. The Fatimids were an Ismaili sect of Shi’i Islam.
The Fatimids claimed descent from the Prophet Muhammad’s daughter Fatimah. They refused to recognize the Abbasid Caliphate claims to represent all of Islam.
Ismaili missionaries moved through the large Islamic empire, preaching revolution to overthrow Sunni Abbasid dominance. After a series of revolts, they took much of North Africa from the Abbasids. The first Fatimid caliph, al-Mahdi, made his capital in modern Tunisia.
In 969, under the caliph al-Muizz, much of the Middle East fell under Fatimid rule. The Fatimids built a new royal city, Cairo, which became the new capital of the dynasty.
The Fatimid dynasty has often been reviled as an autocratic feudal entity that oppressed its minority populations. However, the Fatimids were generally a well organized state that was likely more pluralistic than previously believed. Religious minorities such as Christians and Jews often rose to high positions in Fatimid administrations.
The main reason the Fatimids can be studied in detail is the abundance of documents found in the Cairo Genizah. These mostly well preserved documents remained in a dry storage room of a Cairo synagogue for centuries. It was a compilation of papers detailing marriage laws, divorce, religious texts, taxes, slavery, and family life during the Fatimid period and beyond.
There were several notable successes during the Fatimid dynasty. Direct trade with Asia was greatly expanded. With control of the Red Sea, Fatimid ships could reach lucrative ports in India. Fatimid coastal cities became important centers of world trade. Trade also flourished in the Mediterranean region. Spices, silk, and wool were among the many goods exchanged.
Increased trade and expanding military frontiers during the first century of Fatimid rule led to enormous commercial expansion. With growing revenue, imperial administrators reorganized the tax system, making assessment and collection much more efficient.
Al Azhar University was established in Cairo by the Fatimids. It became one of the oldest universities in the world, focusing on Islamic learning. There were a series of construction projects and monuments built. For a time, the Fatimids controlled the holy pilgrimage cities of Mecca and Medina.
The goal of the succession of Fatimid rulers was to defeat the Sunni Abbasid caliphate and control the Muslim world under the Shi’i umbrella. This never happened. The caliphate was weakened on two fronts. One came from constant military pressure from Christian Crusaders in the Middle East.
The other threat came from a Kurdish general named Saladin. By 1168 Saladin’s army reached Cairo. The Fatimid dynasty ended in 1171, when the Sunni Ayyubid caliphate under Saladin replaced it.
