Kinship, Camaraderie and Contestation Fatimid Relations with the Ashraf in the Fourth AH /Tenth CE century

Keywords: 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., North Africa, Egypt, Mediterranean, Mu‘izz li-Din Allah, Fatimid imam-caliph, Aziz bi’llah, Fatimid imam-caliph, Ismai‘li, Shi‘a, IdrisidsA Muslim dynasty in the Maghrib founded in 789 (in present-day Morocco)., AbbasidsMajor Muslim dynasty of Sunni caliphs that ruled in Baghdad (750-1258)., Ashraf, social group

Abstract: The founding of the Fatimid caliphate across the southern Mediterranean, and then in Egypt, Syria and the Hijaz at the turn of the fourth AH / tenth CE century, necessitated its negotiation with the ashraf, those who claimed lineal descent from the Prophet Muhammad, and who by this time had gained significant influence as a social class based on their charismatic descent. While other dynastic powers fostered relationships with various members of the ashraf, the Fatimid-ashraf dynamics were distinctive in that the Fatimids legitimised their rule as Ismai‘li Shi‘i imam-caliphs, based on their claim of descent from the Prophet Muhammad, and as the sole successors to his authority and leadership over the Islamic world. Consequently, Fatimid-ashraf relations were permeated by fraternal camaraderie as well as competing contestations based on their shared claim of Prophetic lineage.