The Rise of the Fatimids: Foundation, Conquest of Egypt, and Rival Caliphates
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Question
What does 'Isma'ili' mean in the context of the Fatimids?
Answer
A branch of Shi'a Islam that the Fatimids belonged to; it awaited a divinely guided imam and formed the religious basis of Fatimid legitimacy.
Question
What is the 'da'wa'?
Answer
The secret Isma'ili missionary network that spread religious teaching and built loyal support across North Africa, Yemen and Persia before the Fatimid state existed.
Question
Who converted the Kutama Berbers to Isma'ilism, and why did this matter?
Answer
The da'i Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i converted them; this gave the Isma'ili movement the military force that overthrew the Aghlabids in 909.
Question
In what year was the Fatimid dynasty founded, and by whom?
Answer
909, by Abd Allah al-Mahdi, who took the title al-Mahdi Billah and proclaimed himself caliph and imam.
Question
Name the three political/economic/social factors behind the Fatimids' rise in Ifriqiya.
Answer
Political: weak, unpopular Aghlabid rule. Economic: heavy Aghlabid taxation angering the population. Social: Kutama Berber grievances providing a ready fighting force.
Question
Who led the conquest of Egypt in 969, on whose orders?
Answer
The general Jawhar al-Siqilli, on the orders of Fatimid caliph al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah.
Question
Give two reasons Egypt was conquered in 969.
Answer
Egypt's Nile-valley wealth and its strategic Mediterranean–Red Sea position, combined with Ikhshidid weakness from famine, plague and succession disputes.
Question
What city did Jawhar al-Siqilli found in 969, and what does its name mean?
Answer
Al-Qahira (Cairo), meaning 'the Victorious' — built as a new Fatimid capital beside the existing city of Fustat.
Question
When did al-Mu'izz relocate the Fatimid centre of power to Cairo?
Answer
973, four years after the conquest, permanently shifting the dynasty's centre from Mahdia in Ifriqiya to Egypt.
Question
Name the three rival caliphates that existed at once in the later 900s.
Answer
The Abbasid Caliphate (Baghdad, Sunni), the Fatimid Caliphate (Cairo, Isma'ili Shi'a), and the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba (Spain, Sunni).
Question
On what basis did the Fatimids claim the caliphate was rightfully theirs?
Answer
Genealogy — descent from Fatima (the Prophet Muhammad's daughter) and Ali, which they argued gave them a stronger claim than the Abbasids.
Question
How did the Fatimids generally treat Sunni Muslims, Copts and Jews in Egypt?
Answer
With relative pragmatic tolerance — most Egyptians stayed Sunni, and Coptic Christians and Jews were often employed in state administration, though this was not constant (al-Hakim later reversed it).
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Topic 21.2 hub
The Fatimids (909–1171)
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