Publication

Towards a Shi‘i Mediterranean Empire: Fatimid Egypt and the Founding of Cairo

I.B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies.

ISBN HardBack:

1845119606

Publication page on Google Books

Author Interview with Dr Shainool Jiwa

Al-Mu‘izz’s li-Din Allah (341-365 AH/ 953-975 CE), the fourth Fatimid Imam-caliph, transformed the Fatimid state from a North African regional power to a Mediterranean empire which, at its height, extended from present-day Morocco in the west to Syria and Yemen in the east. His vision and dynamism contributed to the high watermark of Fatimid achievement to establish a Shi‘i state, which contributed to the cultural and intellectual efflorescence of the Muslim world. Among the crowning achievements of this Ismaili imam-caliph was the peaceful conquest of Egypt, a cherished goal of the Fatimids, which they ruled for over two centuries. Al-Mu‘izz’s successful move to Egypt and the founding of Cairo marked a high point of the Fatimid Empire, fostering an enduring legacy in the region. The reign of this illustrious Fatimid sovereign, as narrated by al-Maqrizi, is the focus of this work. It provides the first annotated translation of the chapter on Al-Mu‘izz from the only complete history of the Fatimids written by a mediaeval Sunni historian.

Taqi al-Din Ahmad b. 'Ali al-Maqrizi, the erudite Sunni scholar of the Mamluk period maintained a distinctive interest in the Fatimids. As such, his writings represent the most comprehensive account of the Fatimid era. His Itti‘az al-hunafa’ bi-akhbar al a’imma al-Fatimiyyin al-khulafa’ (Lessons for the Seekers of Truth in the History of the Fatimid Imams and Caliphs) focuses principally on the Fatimid age, and so it is a particularly valuable historical source on this dynasty. Al-Maqrizi carefully compiled his narrative from a wide range of materials then available to him, many of which are no longer extant, demonstrating a scholarly discernment regarding the value and limitations of his sources that was unusual among medieval Muslim historians. Moreover, he records a number of official documents, letters and sermons of the Fatimids in their entirety, often making his works the only surviving source for this material. As such, it is a rare work of its kind and makes a significant contribution to the study of the Fatimid era.

Towards a Shi‘i Mediterranean Empire centres on the reign of Imam-caliph al-Mu‘izz li-Din Allah as relayed in the Itti‘az. It provides an extensive introduction to the rise of the Fatimids, their establishment in North Africa prior to their peaceful conquest of Egypt and the significant milestones of Imam-caliph al-Mu‘izz and his rule. It then examines al-Maqrizi’s scholarship and interest in the Fatimids noting his Khaldunian approach to history. Although al-Maqrizi begins his chapter on Imam-caliph al-Mu‘izz with events in North Africa, the narrative moves swiftly to the Fatimid preparations to transfer their seat of authority to Egypt, which is the primary locus of al-Maqrizi’s interest. His work provides the most comprehensive extant account of the meticulous planning and preparations that the Fatimid sovereign undertook to extend his sovereignty over Egypt.

A distinctive feature of the Itti‘az is that it preserves a number of early Fatimid decrees, letters and sermons delivered by Imam-caliph al-Mu‘izz. The guarantee of safety (aman) which the Fatimid commander, Jawhar al-Siqilli (d. 381/922), issued to the Egyptian populace is one example of this. Preserved in its entirety, it delineates the principles upon which Fatimid policies in Egypt were instituted for their subsequent two-hundred-year reign. Its notable features include the perceived sacredness of the Fatimid mission, which is articulated in their divinely designated duty of care and protection of the cosmopolitan Egyptian populace. Accordingly, the document outlines the Fatimid commitment to establish just governance for all their subjects including members of the Ahl al-Kitab (The People of the Book), and their inclusive and tolerant attitude to all Muslim communities.

The origin, evolution and splintering of the Qaramita from the Fatimids form a third of this translated work. Embedded in this account is the letter to the Qaramita, ascribed to Imam-caliph al-Mu‘izz, which provides one of the earliest articulations of the Fatimid notion of the imamate by an Ismaili Imam.
In reviewing the reign of Imam-caliph al-Mu‘izz, al-Maqrizi candidly discusses the biases permeating the reports of certain historians and provides a reasoned argument for his views. However, while al-Maqrizi’s critique of his sources is extremely valuable, he does not use criticism as a pretext to circumvent or even marginalise those authors or their writings. Instead, he draws on the full range of Sunni and Shi‘i, eastern and western, sources to present a comprehensive and balanced overview of Imam-caliph al-Mu‘izz’s reign and character.

Acknowledgements xiii

Chronology xv

Map xvii

INTRODUCTION 1

The Fatimids 2

Origins of the Fatimids. The Fatimids in North Africa.

Al-Mu‘izz li-Din Allah 11

The accession of al-Mu‘izz. Egypt and the founding of Cairo. Al-Mu‘izz and the Qaramita. Accomplishments of al-Mu‘izz. Al-Maqrizi’s portrayal of al-Mu‘izz.

Al-Maqrizi and the Fatimids 32

Al-Maqrizi and the Ahl al-Bayt. Al-Maqrizi’s scholarship on the Fatimids. A paradoxical Fatimid scion? The Khaldunian protégé.

Note on the Translation 49

TRANSLATION OF THE TEXT FROM THE ITTI‘AZ AL-HUNAFA’ 51

Establishing the Imamate of Al-Mu‘izz 53

Jawhar’s campaign in the Maghrib. Circumcision of the Princes. Al-Mu‘izz’s counsel to the Kutama.

Preparations for the Transfer to Egypt 58

Jawhar’s march to Egypt. A test of Kutama loyalty. Al-Mu‘izz’s advice to Jawhar. Appointment of a viceroy in the Maghrib. Al-Mu‘izz exhorts the Kutama. Al-Mu‘izz’s departure for Egypt. Episode of the two Slavs. Resolution of a Hasani-Ja‘fari feud in the Hijaz.

Fatimid Administration and the Building of Cairo 66

Proclamation of the aman. Revolt of the Ikshidiyya and Kafuriyya. Jawhar’s arrival in Futsat. The foundation of Cairo. Jawhar’s first year in Egypt.

Then Began the Year 359 [969–970] 86

Jawhar’s administration of Egypt. The Fatimid invasion of Syria.

Then Began the Year 360 [970–971] 96

More on Jawhar’s administration. Qaramita incursion into Egypt.

Then Began the Year 361 [971–972] 98

The Qaramita besiege Cairo.

Then Began the Year 362 [972–973] 101

More on Jawhar’s administration. Al-Mu‘izz’s departure for Egypt.

The Arrival of Al-Mu‘izz in Egypt 104

Al-Mu‘izz leads ‘id prayer in Cairo. Inauguration of the Nile Canal. Display of the Fatimid shamsa. Celebration of ‘Id al-Ghadir.

Then Began the Year 363 [973–974] 113

The collection of land-tax. Audiences with al-Mu‘izz.

An Account of Some News on the Qaramita 122

The conversion of Hamdan Qarmat. The Qarmati leader ‘Abdan. The Qarmati leader Abu Sa‘id al-Jannabi. Abbasid attempts to curb the Qaramita.

Al-Sanadiqi [Ibn Hawshab] 139

The Ismaili-Qaramita split. The Qarmati leaders Zikrawayh and al-Hasan b. Zikrawayh. The Qarmati leader Abu Tahir al-Jannabi. The Qaramita in Iran. Fatimid forces battle the Qaramita in Syria. Al-Mu‘izz’s letter to the Qaramita. Defeat of the Qaramita in Egypt. The Qaramita defeat in Syria. The Qaramita defeat in Iraq.

The Final Phase of Al-Mu‘izz’s Reign 187

Turmoil in Damascus.

Then Began the Year 364 [974–975] 195

Demise of Prince ‘Abd Allah b. al-Mu‘izz. The rise of Aftakin in Syria. The year of the comet. The final year of al-Mu‘izz’s reign. The demise of al-Mu‘izz.

Bibliography 217

Index 227

Primary Sources

‘Abd al-Jabbar b. Ahmad al-Hamadhani. Tathbit dala’il al-nubuwwa, ed. ‘Abd al-Karim ‘Uthman. Beirut, 1966.

Ibn al-Athir, ‘Izz al-Din Abu’l-Hasan ‘Ali. al-Kamil fi’l-ta’rikh, ed.

C.J. Tornberg. Leiden, 1851–1876.

Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani, Ahmad b. ‘Ali. Inba’ al-ghum bi abna‘, al-‘umr. Hyderabad, 1967.

____ al-Durar al-kamina fi a’yan al-mi’a al-thamina. Hyderabad, 1929–1932.

____ Raf‘ al-isr, ed. R. Guest, in appendix to al-Kindi, Kitab al-umara’. Ibn Hani’ al-Andalusi, Muhammad b. Ibrahim, Diwan, ed. Zahid ‘Ali. Cairo, 1933; ed. Karam Bustani. Beirut, 1952.

Ibn al-Haytham, Abu ‘Abd Allah Ja‘far. Kitab al-munazarat, ed. and tr. W. Madelung and Paul E. Walker as The Advent of the Fatimids: A Contemporary Shi‘i Witness. London, 2000.

Ibn ‘Idhari al-Marrakushi Ahmad b. Muhammad, Kitab al-bayan al-mughrib fi akhbar al-Andalus wa’l-Maghrib, ed. G.S. Colin and E. Levi-Provençal. New ed., Leiden, 1948–1951.

Ibn Khaldun. The Muqaddimah, tr. F. Rosenthal as Prolegomena. New York, 1958.

Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat al-a‘yan, ed. Ihsan ‘Abbas. Beirut, 1968– 1972; tr. M. de Slane as Ibn Khallikan’s Biographical Dictionary. Paris, 1842–1871.

Ibn Muyassar, Taj al-Din Muhammad. al-Muntaqa min akhbar Misr, ed. Ayman F. Sayyid. Cairo, 1981.

Ibn Sa‘id, ‘Ali b. Musa al-Maghribi. Kitab al-mughrib fi hula al-maghrib, vol. 1, ed. M. Hasan and H. Nassar. Cairo, 1953–1970.

Ibn Taghri Birdi, Jamal al-Din Abu’l-Mahasin Yusuf. Al-Manhal

al-safi wa’l-mustawfi ba‘d al-wafi, ed. Muhammad M. Amin et al. Cairo, 1984–1990.

____ al-Nujum al-zahira fi muluk Misr wa’l-Qahira. Cairo, 1929– 1949, 1963–1971.

Ibn al-Tuwayr, Abu Muhammad ‘Abd al-Salam al-Murtada. Nuzhat al-muqlatayn fi akhbar al-dawlatayn, ed. Ayman F. Sayyid. Beirut and Stuttgart, 1992.

Ibn Zulaq. Akhbar sibawayh al-Misri, ed. M.I. Sa‘d and H. al-Dib. Cairo, 1933.

Idris ‘Imad al-Din b. Hasan, ‘Uyun al-akhbar wa funun al-athar, ed.

M. al-Ya‘lawi as Ta’rikh al-khulafa’ al-Fatimiyyin bi’l-Maghrib:

al-qism al-khass min Kitab ‘uyun al-akhbar. Beirut, 1985. al-Jawdhari, Abu ‘Ali Mansur al-‘Azizi. Sirat al-Ustadh Jawdhar, ed.

M. Kamil Husayn and M. ‘Abd al-Hadi Sha‘ira. Cairo, 1954. French tr. M. Canard as Vie de l’Ustadh Jaudhar. Algiers, 1958. Khalil b. Aybak al-Safadi. Kitab al-wafi bi al-wafayat, ed. Ridwan al-Sayyid. Leipzig, 1993.

al-Kindi, Muhammad b. Yusuf. Kitab al-umara’ (al-wulat) wa kitab al-qudat: The Governors and Judges of Egypt, ed. Rhuvon Guest. Leiden and London, 1912.

al-Maqrizi, Taqi al-Din Abu’l-‘Abbas Ahmad b. ‘Ali. Durar al-‘uqud al-farida fi tarajim al-a‘yan al-mufida, ed. Mahmud al-Jalili. Beirut, 2002.

____ Imta‘ al-asma’ bi-ma li’l-rasul min al-anba’ wa-al-amwal wa-al-hafadah wa-al-mata’, ed. M. Shakir. Cairo, 1941; ed. A. al-Nuwaysi. Beirut, 1999.

____ Itti’az al-hunafa’ bi-akhbar al-a’imma al-Fatmiyyin al-khulafa’, vol. 1, ed. Jamal al-Din al-Shayyal; vols. 2–3, ed. Muhammad Hilmi M. Ahmad. Cairo, 1967–1973.

____ Kitab ma‘rifat ma yajibu li-al al-bayt al-nabawi min al-haqq ‘ala man ‘adahum, ed. A. Al-Sirawi. Damascus, 1998.

____ Kitab al-mawa‘iz wa’l-i‘tibar fi dhikr al-khitat wa’l-athar, ed. Muhammad Zaynhum and Madihat al-Sharqawi. Cairo, 1998.

____ al-Nuqud al-Islamiyya al-musamma bi shudhur al-‘uqud fi dhikr al-nuqud, ed. al-Sayyid M. Bahr al-‘Ulum. Najaf, 1967.

____ Kitab al-muqaffa al-kabir, ed. Muhammad al-Ya‘lawi. Beirut, 1981.

____ Kitab al-niza’ wa-al-takhasum fima bayna Bani Umayyah wa-Bani Hashim, tr. C.E. Bosworth as ‘al-Maqrizi’s Book of Contention and Strife concerning the relations between the Banu Umayya and the Banu Hashim’, Journal of Semitic Studies, Monograph no. 3. Manchester, 1980.

____ al-Suluk li-ma‘rifat duwal al-muluk, ed. M.M. Ziyada and S.A. ‘Ashur. Cairo, 1934–1972.

al-Musabbihi, al-Mukhtar ‘Izz al-Mulk Muhammad. al-Juz’ al-arba‘un min akhbar Misr, Part 1, ed. Ayman F. Sayyid and Thierry Bianquis. Cairo, 1978; Part 2, ed. Husayn Nassar, Cairo, 1984.

Nasir-i Khusraw. Safarnama, ed. M. Dabir Siyaqi. 5th ed., Tehran, 1977; tr. W.M. Thackston, Jr., as Naser-e Khosraw’s Book of Travels (Safarnama). Albany, NY, 1986.

al-Nuwayri, Shihab al-Din Ahmad. Nihayat al-arab fi funun al-adab, vol. 28, ed. M.M. Amin and M. H. Muhammad. Cairo, 1992.

Orations of the Fatimid Caliphs: Festival Sermons of the Ismaili Imams, ed. and tr. Paul E. Walker. London, 2009.

al-Qadi al-Nu‘man b. Muhammad Abu Hanifa. Da‘a’im al-Islam, ed., Asaf A.A. Fyzee. Cairo, 1951–1960; tr. Asaf A.A. Fyzee and revised by Ismail K. Poonawala as The Pillars of Islam. Delhi, 2002–2004, 2 vols.

____ Iftitah al-da‘wa wa ibtida’ al-dawla, ed. Wadad al-Qadi. Beirut, 1970; ed. Farhat Dachraoui. Tunis, 1975; tr. Hamid Haji as Founding the Fatimid State: The Rise of an Early Islamic Empire. London, 2006.

____ Kitab ikhtilaf usul al-madhahib, ed. S.T. Lokhandwalla. Simla, 1972.

____ Kitab al-iqtisar, ed. Muhammad Wahid Mirza. Damascus, 1957; ed. ‘Arif Tamir. Beirut, 1996.

____ Kitab al-majalis wa’l-musayarat, ed. Al-Habib al-Faqi, Ibrahim Shabbuh and Muhammad al-Ya‘lawi. Tunis, 1978.

al-Sakhawi, Shams al-Din Abu’l-Khayr Muhammad, al-Daw’ al-lami li’ahl al-qarn al-tasi‘, ed. Husam al-Din al-Qudsi. Cairo, 1934–1935.

Al-Tabari, Abu Ja‘far Muhammad b. Jarir. Ta’rikh al-Tabari al-ma’ruf bi-ta’rikh al-umam wa’l-muluk. Beirut, 1989.

Tamim b. al-Mu‘izz li-Din Allah, Abu ‘Ali. Diwan Tamim b. al-Mu‘izz li-Din Allah al-Fatimi, ed. M.H al-A‘zami. Cairo, 1957; Beirut, 1970.

Secondary Sources

Abun-Nasr, J.M. A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period. Cambridge, 1987.

van Arendonk, C. [W.A. Graham]. ‘Sharif’, EI2.

Barrucand, Marianne, ed. L’Égypte Fatimide, son art et son histoire. Paris, 1999.

Barthold, W. and P.B. Golden, ‘Khazar’, EI2.

Basset, René. ‘Kutama’, EI2.

Bauden, Fréderic. ‘Maqriziana I. Discovery of an Autograph MS of al-Maqrizi: Towards a Better Understanding of his Working Method. Description: Section 1, Mamluk Studies Review, 7/2 (2003), pp. 21–68.

____ ‘Maqriziana I: Section 2’, Mamluk Studies Review, 10/2 (2006), pp. 81–139.

____ ‘Maqriziana II: Analysis’, Mamluk Studies Review, 12/1 (2008), pp. 51–119.

____ ‘The Recovery of Mamluk Chancery Documents in an Unsuspected Place’, in Michael Winter and Amelia Levanoni, ed., The Mamluks in Egyptian and Syrian Politics and Society. Leiden, 2004.

Bausani, Alessandro. ‘Religion under the Mongols’, in J.A. Boyle, ed., The Cambridge History of Iran: Volume 5, The Saljuq and Mongol Periods. Cambridge, 1968, pp. 538–549.

Becker, Carl H. ‘Misr’, EI2.

Bianquis, T. ‘Shayban’, EI2.

Bierman, Irene A. Art and Politics: The Impact of Fatimid Uses of Tiraz Fabrics. Ph.D. thesis, University of Chicago, 1980.

Blake, Hugh, A. Hutt and D. Whitehouse, ‘Ajdabiyah and the Earliest Fatimid Architecture’, Libya Antiqua, 8 (1971), pp. 105–120.

de Blois, François. ‘The Abu Sa‘idis or so-called Qarmatians of Bahrayn’, Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 16 (1986), pp. 13–21.

Brett, Michael. Ibn Khaldun and the Medieval Maghrib. Aldershot, 1999.

____ The Rise of the Fatimids: The World of the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the Fourth Century of the Hijra, Tenth Century CE. Leiden, 2001.

Broadbridge, Anne F. ‘Royal Authority, Justice, and Order in Society: The Influence of Ibn Khaldun on the Writings of al-Maqrizi and Ibn Taghribirdi’, Mamluk Studies Review, 7/2 (2003), pp. 231–247.

Cahen, Claude. ‘Ibn al-Tuwayr’, EI2.

Canard, Marius. ‘Une famille de partisans, puis d’adversaires, des Fatimides en Afrique du Nord’, in Mélanges d’histoire et d’archéologie de l’occident Musulman: II, Hommage à Georges Marçais. Algiers, 1957, pp. 33–49.

____ ‘Hamdanids’, EI2.

____ ‘al-Hasan al-A‘sam’, EI2.

Caskel, W. ‘Dabba’, EI2.

Christids, V. ‘Misr’, EI2.

Cobb, P. ‘al-Maqrizi, Hashimism, and the Early Caliphates’, Mamluk Studies Review, 7/2 (2003), pp. 69–81.

Cortese, Delia and Simonetta Calderini. Women and the Fatimids in the World of Islam. Edinburgh, 2006.

Dachraoui, Farhat. ‘al-Ka’im’, EI2.

____ ‘al-Mahdi ‘Ubayd Allah’, EI2.

____ ‘al-Mansur bi’llah’, EI2.

____ ‘al-Mu‘izz li-Din Allah’, EI2.

Daftary, Farhad. ‘A Major Schism in the Early Isma‘ili Movement’, Studia Islamica, 77 (1993), pp. 123–139.

____ ed. Mediaeval Isma‘ili History and Thought. Cambridge, 1996.

____ A Short History of the Ismailis: Traditions of a Muslim Community. Edinburgh, 1998.

____ The Isma‘ilis: Their History and Doctrines. 2nd ed., Cambridge, 2007.

El-Ali, Saleh A. ‘‘Ayn al-Tamr’, EI2.

____ ‘Ma‘arrat Masrin/Misrin’, EI2.

____ ‘Ma‘arrat al-Nu‘man’, EI2.

The Encyclopaedia of Islam, ed. H.A.R. Gibb et al. New ed., Leiden, 1960–2004.

Encyclopaedia Iranica, ed. E. Yarshater. London and New York, 1982– .

Esmail, Aziz and Azim Nanji, ‘The Isma‘ilis in History’, in S.H. Nasr, ed., Isma‘ili Contributions to Islamic Culture. Tehran, 1977, pp. 225–265.

Gibb, Hamilton A.R. ‘al-Mu‘izz’, Encyclopaedia Iranica vol. 2.

____ ‘Muhammad b. Abi’l-Sadj’, Encyclopaedia Iranica vol. 2.

Gilden, H.W. ‘al-‘Aqaba’, Encyclopaedia Iranica vol. 2.

Gleave, R. ‘Khums’, Encyclopaedia Iranica vol. 2.

Goichon, A.M. ‘Hadd’, Encyclopaedia Iranica vol. 2.

Goitein, Solomon D. A Mediterranean Society: The Jewish Communities of the Arab World as Portrayed in the Documents of the Cairo Geniza. Berkeley, 1967–1993.

Haji, Amin. ‘Institutions of Justice in Fatimid Egypt (358–567/969– 1171)’, in A. Al-Azmeh, ed., Islamic Law: Social and Historical Contexts. London, 1988, pp. 198–214.

Halm, Heinz. The Fatimids and their Traditions of Learning. London, 1997.

____ The Empire of the Mahdi: The Rise of the Fatimids, tr. M. Bonner. Leiden, 1996.

____ ‘Zakrawayh b. Mihrawayh’, EI2.

____ ‘Sitr’, EI2.

Hamdani, Sumaiya A. Between Revolution and State: The Path to Fatimid Statehood, Qadi al-Nu‘man and the Construction of Fatimid Legitimacy. London, 2006.

Hasan, Ali Ibrahim. Ta’rikh Jawhar al-Siqilli. Cairo, 1933.

Hodgson, Marshall G.S. The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History in a World Civilization. Chicago, 1974.

____ ‘Bakliyya’, Encyclopaedia Iranica vol. 2.

____ ‘Hudjdja’, Encyclopaedia Iranica vol. 2.

Holt, Peter M. ‘Damietta’, Encyclopaedia Iranica vol. 2.

Honigmann, Ernst. ‘al-Kulzum’, Encyclopaedia Iranica vol. 2.

Hunsberger, Alice C. Nasir Khusraw, The Ruby of Badakhshan: A Portrait of the Persian Poet, Traveller and Philosopher. London, 2000.

Idris, Hady R. ‘Hilal’, EI2.

Irwin, Robert. ‘Al-Maqrizi and Ibn Khaldun’, Mamluk Studies Review, 7/2 (2003), pp. 217–231.

Jiwa, Shainool. ‘The Genesis of Isma‘ili Da‘wa Activities in the Yemen’, Bulletin of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies, 15 (1988), pp. 50–63.

____ ‘The Initial Destination of the Fatimid Caliphate: The Yemen or the Maghrib?’, Bulletin of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies, 13 (1986), pp. 15–26.

____ ‘A Study of the Reign of the Fifth Fatimid Imam-Caliph al-‘Aziz Bi’llah’. Ph.D. thesis. University of Edinburgh, 1989.

____ ‘Religious Pluralism in Egypt: The Ahl al-Kitab in Early Fatimid Times’, presented at the MESA Annual Conference. November, 2000.

____ ‘Inclusive Governance: A Fatimid Illustration’, in Amyn B. Sajoo, ed., A Companion to the Muslim World. London, 2009.

Juynboll, Th. W. ‘Fara’id’, EI2.

Kazan, W. The Coinage of Islam: Collection of William Kazan. Beirut, 1983.

Kennedy, Hugh. The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates. New York, 1986.

Kohlberg, Etan. ‘Wasi’, EI2.

Lane, Edward W. Arabic-English Lexicon. Repr., Beirut, 1968.

Le Tourneau, Roger. ‘Bayt al-Mal’, EI2.

Lev, Yaacov. State and Society in Fatimid Egypt. Leiden, 1991.

____ ‘Tinnis: An Industrial Medieval Town’, in M. Barrucand, ed., L’Égypte Fatimide, pp. 83–96.

Levi Della Vida, G. ‘Kharidjites’, EI2.

Levtzion, Nehemia. ‘The Sahara and the Sudan from the Arab Conquest of the Maghrib to the Rise of the Almoravids’, in J.

D. Fage, ed., Cambridge History of Africa. Cambridge, 1978, vol. 2, pp. 637–685.

Lewis, Bernard. The Origins of Isma‘ilism: A Study of the Historical Background of the Fatimid Caliphate. Cambridge, 1940.

____ Islam from the Prophet Muhammad to the Capture of

Constantinople. New York, 1974.

Madelung, Wilferd. ‘The Minor Dynasties of Northern Iran’, in R. N. Frye, ed., The Cambridge History of Iran: Volume 4, The Period from the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs. Cambridge, 1975, pp. 198–249.

____ ‘The Fatimids and the Qarmitis of Bahrayn’, in F. Daftary, ed., Mediaeval Isma‘ili History and Thought. Cambridge, 1996, pp. 21–73.

____ The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate. Cambridge, 1997. ____ ‘Hamdan Qarmat and the Da‘i Abu ‘Ali’, in W. Madelung et al., ed., Proceedings of the 17th Congress of the UEAI. St. Petersburg, 1997, pp. 115–124.

____ ‘The Religious Policy of the Fatimids towards their Sunni Subjects in the Maghrib’, in M. Barrucand, ed., L’Égypte Fatimide, pp. 97–104.

____ ‘A Treatise on the Imamate of the Fatimid Caliph al-Mansur Bi-Allah’, in Chase F. Robinson, ed., Texts, Documents and Artefacts: Islamic Studies in Honour of D. S. Richards. Leiden, 2003, pp. 69–77.

____ ‘‘Abdan b. al-Rabit’, Encylopaedia Iranica.

____ ‘Ebn Sahawayh’, Encylopaedia Iranica.

____ ‘Hamdan Qarmat’, Encylopaedia Iranica.

____ ‘Imama’, EI2.

____ ‘Isma‘iliyya’, EI2.

____ ‘al-Mahdi’, EI2.

____ ‘Shi‘a’, EI2.

Marçais, Georges. ‘Aghlabids’, EI2.

Marçais, William. ‘Abu Muhammad Mahmud b. Ahmad b. Musa Badr al-Din’, EI2.

Meinecke, M. ‘al-Rakka’, EI2.

Monès, H. ‘Djawhar al-Sikilli’, EI2.

Pedersen, J. ‘Ibn ‘Abd al-Zahir’, EI2.

Perlman, M. ‘Ghiyar’, EI2.

Petry, C.F. ‘al-Sakhawi’, EI2.

Poonawala, Ismail K. Biobibliography of Isma‘ili Literature. Malibu, CA, 1977.

____ ‘Al-Qadi al-Nu‘man and Isma‘ili Jurisprudence’, in F. Daftary, ed., Mediaeval Isma‘ili History and Thought, pp. 117–143.

Popovic, A. The Revolt of the African Slaves in Iraq in the 3rd/9th Century, tr. L. King. Princeton, 1999.

____ ‘al-Zandj’, EI2.

Popper, W. ‘Abu’l-Mahasin Djamal al-Din Yusuf b. Taghribirdi’, EI2.

Quatremère, Étienne M. ‘Vie du Khalife Fatimite Moezz-li-Din-Allah’ Asiatic Journal, NS, 24 (1837), pp. 79–85, 147–153, 217–224, 294–303.

Rabbat, Nasser. ‘Who was al-Maqrizi? A Biographical Sketch’, Mamluk Studies Review, 7/2 (2003), pp. 1–19.

Rekaya, M. ‘al-Ma’mun’, EI2.

Rosenthal, Franz. ‘al-Makrizi’, EI2.

Sanders, Paula. Ritual, Politics, and the City in Fatimid Cairo. Albany, NY, 1994.

Sayyid, Ayman F. ‘Early Methods of Book Composition: al-Maqrizi’s Draft of the Kitab al-khitat’, in Y. Dutton, ed., The Codicology of Islamic Manuscripts. Proceedings of the Second Conference of al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation 1993. London, 1995, pp. 93–101.

____ al-Dawla al-Fatimiyya fi Misr: tafsir jadid. 2nd ed., Cairo, 2000.

Shahid, Irfan. ‘Tayyi’, EI2.

Smoor, Pieter. ‘Tamim b. al-Mu‘izz li Din Allah’, EI2.

Sourdel, Dominique. ‘al-Baramika’, EI2.

Stern, Samuel M. Studies in Early Isma‘ilism. Leiden and Jerusalem, 1983.

____ ‘Abu Ya‘kub al-Sidjzi’, EI2.

____ ‘Abu Yazid al-Nukkari’, EI2.

Stewart, Devin. ‘Husayn b. ‘Abd al-Samad al-‘Amili’s Treatise for Sultan Suleiman and the Shi‘i Shafi‘i Legal Tradition’, Islamic Law and Society, 4 (1997) pp. 156–199.

Talbi, Mohamed. ‘Mahdiyya’, EI2.

____ ‘Ibn Khaldun’, EI2.

Terrasse, M. ‘Sidjilmasa’, EI2.

Tibi, Amin. ‘Zirids’, EI2.

Tyan, Émile. Histoire de l’organisation judiciaire en pays d’Islam. Leiden, 1960.

Udovitch, Abraham L. ‘Fatimid Cairo: Crossroads of World Trade – from Spain to India’, in M. Barrucand, ed., L’Égypte Fatimide, pp. 681–691.

Walker, Paul E. Early Philosophical Shiism: The Ismaili Neoplatonism of Abu Ya‘qub al-Sijistani. Cambridge, 1993.

____ Abu Ya‘qub al-Sijistani: Intellectual Missionary. London, 1996.

____ Exploring an Islamic Empire: Fatimid History and its Sources. London, 2002.

____ ‘Al-Maqrizi and the Fatimids’, Mamluk Studies Review, 7/2 (2003), pp. 83–97.

Wensinck, A.J. ‘‘Amr b. al-‘As (al-Asi) al-Sahmi’, EI2.