Fatimid Cosmopolitanism

This book examines the diverse achievements of the Fatimid dynasty across religion, statecraft and art.

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

The Fatimid caliphs (297–567/909–1171), who were also the Ismaili Imams, reigned over a vast state stretching from North Africa to Egypt, Syria, Sicily and the Hijaz. Their rule initiated a flourishing period of Ismaili thought and literature. Under Fatimid patronage, the arts and sciences flourished. An extensive trade network was centred on their capital, Cairo, facilitating cosmopolitan exchange in their caliphate and across the Mediterranean and other lands. This, in turn, led to innovation in the production of decorative arts, monumental building programmes, international commerce and significant intellectual exchange.
This edited volume considers different aspects of Fatimid cosmopolitanism. The original research of twenty-two scholars is here organised into four sections: ‘Religion and Statecraft’, ‘Ceremony and Symbolism’, ‘Art and Archaeology’ and ‘The Fatimids Reconsidered’.
Contributors to this volume include Ali Asgar Hussamuddin, Khalil Andani, Dina Bakhoum, Daniel Beben, Doris Behrens-Abouseif, Gregory Bilotto, Anna Contadini, Delia Cortese, Farhad Daftary, Valérie Gonzalez, Shainool Jiwa, Hasan al-Khoee, Juan de Lara, Ayala Lester, Bernard O’Kane, Marcus Pilz, Stéphane Pradines, Jennifer A. Pruitt, Yossef Rapoport, Paula Sanders, Avinoam Shalem, Yasser Tabbaa, Jamel A. Velji and Paul E. Walker.
The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by Islamic Publications Ltd.