Fatimid Cosmopolitanism: History, Material Culture, Politics and Religion

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 A