page_title: History of Islam
section_title: Fatimid Caliphate
hierarchical_section_title: History of Islam / Fatimid Caliphate
caption_attribution_description: English: Map the Fatimid Empire (chronological)Map drawn acc. to: Euratlas' map of the Fatimid Empire c.1000 [1] Qantara-Med's map of the Mediterranean c.1000 [2] Territories in green represent Hammadid and Zirid realms, resp. indep. in 1018 and 1048 Ian Mladjov's map of the Eastern Mediterranean in 1096 [3] Qantara-Med's map of the Mediterranean c.1100 [4]
context_page_description: The history of Islam concerns the political, social, economic and cultural developments of Islamic civilization. Most historians accept that Islam originated in Mecca and Medina at the start of the 7th century CE. Muslims regard Islam as a return to the original faith of the prophets, such as Jesus, Solomon, David, Moses, Abraham, Noah and Adam, with the submission to the will of God.
  According to tradition, in 610 CE, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad began receiving what Muslims consider to be divine revelations, calling for submission to the one God, the expectation of the imminent Last Judgement, and caring for the poor and needy. Muhammad's message won over a handful of followers and was met with increasing opposition from Meccan notables. In 622, a few years after losing protection with the death of his influential uncle Abu Talib, Muhammad migrated to the city of Yathrib. With Muhammad's death in 632, disagreement broke out over who would succeed him as leader of the Muslim community during the Rashidun Caliphate.
  By the 8th century, the Umayyad Caliphate extended from Iberia in the west to the Indus River in the east.
context_section_description: The Fatimids originated in Ifriqiya (modern-day Tunisia and eastern Algeria). The dynasty was founded in 909 by ʻAbdullāh al-Mahdī Billah, who legitimized his claim through descent from Muhammad by way of his daughter Fātima as-Zahra and her husband ʻAlī ibn-Abī-Tālib, the first Shīʻa Imām, hence the name al-Fātimiyyūn "Fatimid". The Fatamids and the Zaydis at the time, used the Hanafi jurisprudence, as did most Sunnis.
  Abdullāh al-Mahdi's control soon extended over all of central Maghreb, an area consisting of the modern countries of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, which he ruled from Mahdia, his capital in Tunisia.
  The Fatimids entered Egypt in the late 10th century, conquering the Ikhshidid dynasty and founding a capital at al-Qāhira(Cairo) in 969. The name was a reference to the planet Mars, "The Subduer", which was prominent in the sky at the moment that city construction started. Cairo was intended as a royal enclosure for the Fatimid caliph and his army, though the actual administrative and economic capital of Egypt was in cities such as Fustat until 1169.  After Egypt, the Fatimids continued to conquer surrounding areas until they ruled from Tunisia to Syria and even crossed the Mediterranean into Sicily and southern Italy.
  Under the Fatimids, Egypt became the center of an empire that included at its peak North Africa, Sicily, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, the Red Sea coast of Africa, Yemen and the Hejaz. Egypt flourished, and the Fatimids developed an extensive trade network in both the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. Their trade and diplomatic ties extended all the way to China and its Song dynasty, which determined the economic course of Egypt during the High Middle Ages.
  Unlike other governments in the area, Fatimid advancement in state offices was based more on merit than heredity. Members of other branches of Islam, including Sunnis, were just as likely to be appointed to government posts as Shiites. Tolerance covered non-Muslims such as Christians and Jews; they took high levels in government based on ability. There were, however, exceptions to this general attitude of tolerance, notably Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.
  The Fatimid palace was in two parts. It was in the Khan el-Khalili area at Bin El-Quasryn street.
caption: Fatimid Caliphate
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