Dr Aslisho Qurboniev, Research Associate in the Department of Academic Research at The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS), took part in two international academic events in late 2025 that examined the history of Islamic Sicily within the broader Mediterranean and Fatimid contexts.
Middle East Studies Association Conference
From 22–25 November 2025, Dr Qurboniev participated in the annual Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Conference, where he co-organised a panel titled Navigating Ruptures: Continuity and Change in Fatimid Ifrīqiya and Sicily. The panel explored questions of continuity and change following the relocation of the Fatimid caliphateThe Muslim political institution or state centred around the caliph, which came to an end, historically, in 1924 with the disappearance of the Ottoman Empire. from Ifrīqiya to Egypt, with particular attention to documentary practices, elite networks, and political structures in regions such as Sicily.
The papers presented examined how established administrative practices continued to operate despite shifts in political authority, highlighting Sicily’s ongoing importance within the Fatimid and the post-Fatimid world.
Workshop on Islamic Sicily in the Mediterranean Context
Following the conference, Dr Qurboniev presented an expanded version of his research at a workshop held in Palermo, Italy, titled Harmonising Sources, Reframing Narratives: Islamic Sicily in the Mediterranean Context (4–5 December 2025). Hosted by the Fondazione per le Scienze Religiose Giovanni XXIII (FSCIRE) at the Biblioteca Giorgio La Pira, the workshop brought together scholars working on Islamic Sicily from Mediterranean and comparative perspectives. IIS scholars Dr Shainool Jiwa and Dr Delia Cortese, experts on the FatimidsMajor Muslim dynasty of Ismaili caliphs in North Africa (from 909) and later in Egypt (973–1171) More and Islamic Sicily, also participated in the workshop and presented papers. Dr Jiwa presented a paper titled Fatimid Relations with Ifrīqiya, Sicily and Spain during the reign of the fifth Fatimid sovereign al-‘Azīz billah (d. 386/996 CE).
The historiography of Islamic Sicily was principally shaped by one Italian scholar, Michele Amari (1806-1889), who largely depended on later non-Fatimid Arabic sources, which tend to overlook the interdependence of Sicily and Fatimid IfriqiyaMediaeval Muslim name for modern-day Tunisia; also the area where the Fatimids founded their state in the early tenth century. and Egypt. One of the workshop’s objectives was to reconsider this trend. Drawing on Fatimid textual sources, Dr Qurboniev’s paper examined the configuration of elite networks and power brokerage during the transfer of the caliphal capital from Ṣabra al-Manṣūriyya in Ifrīqiya (modern Tunisia) to the newly founded capital al-Qāhira al-Muʿizziyya in Egypt. The discussion situated Sicily within these wider political and intellectual transformations.
Dr Qurboniev’s participation is part of IIS’ continued engagement with international scholarly research on Islamic history and the Fatimid period.
