Editing History of Islam (section)

== Fatimid Caliphate ==
{{main|Fatimid Caliphate}}
[[File:Fatimid Caliphate.PNG|thumb|Fatimid Caliphate in 1000]]

The [[Fatimids]] originated in [[Ifriqiya]] (modern-day [[Tunisia]] and eastern [[Algeria]]). The dynasty was founded in 909 by [[Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah|ʻAbdullāh al-Mahdī Billah]], who legitimized his claim through descent from Muhammad by way of his daughter [[Fatimah|Fātima as-Zahra]] and her husband [[Ali ibn Abi Talib|ʻAlī ibn-Abī-Tālib]], the first Shīʻa [[Imam (Shia Islam)|Imām]], hence the name ''al-Fātimiyyūn'' "Fatimid".<ref>Arthur Goldschmidt, Jr. A Concise History of the Middle East.</ref> Abdullāh al-Mahdi's control soon extended over all of central [[Maghreb]] and Egypt.<ref>"[http://www.commune-mahdia.gov.tn/ENG/presentation_ville/histoire_de_la_ville.htm Mahdia: Historical Background] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109154752/http://www.commune-mahdia.gov.tn/ENG/presentation_ville/histoire_de_la_ville.htm |date=9 November 2013 }}". Commune-mahdia.gov.tn.</ref><ref name="Beeson 24, 26–30">{{Cite journal|url=http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/196905/cairo-a.millennial.htm|title=Cairo, a Millennial|access-date=9 August 2007|first=Irene|last=Beeson|pages=24, 26–30|date=September–October 1969|journal=[[Saudi Aramco World]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930163720/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/196905/cairo-a.millennial.htm|archive-date=30 September 2007}}</ref> The Fatimids and the [[Zaydis]] at the time, used the Hanafi jurisprudence, as did most Sunnis.<ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book|author=Mahmoud A. El-Gamal|title=Islamic Finance: Law, Economics, and Practice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2ElRUvoVRxYC&pg=PA122|date=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-45716-3|page=122}}</ref><ref name="Arab-Israeli Conflict Page 917">{{cite book|first1=Spencer C.|last1=Tucker|first2=Priscilla|last2=Roberts|title=The Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Political, Social, and Military History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YAd8efHdVzIC&pg=PA917|date=2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-842-2|page=917|volume=1}}</ref><ref name="The Iraq Effect Page 91">{{cite book|title=The Iraq Effect: The Middle East After the Iraq War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i-3LAlfW7DIC&pg=PA91|year=2010|publisher=Rand Corporation|isbn=978-0-8330-4788-5|page=91}}</ref>

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.<ref>Lane, J.-E., Redissi, H., & Ṣaydāwī, R. (2009). Religion and politics: Islam and Muslim civilization. Farnham, England: Ashgate Pub. Company. Page 83</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.oldroads.org/pastblogs/pastsingles2007/Cairo_of_the_mind.htm Cairo_of_the_mind, oldroads.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907092655/http://www.oldroads.org/pastblogs/pastsingles2007/Cairo_of_the_mind.htm |date=7 September 2008 }}</ref>

===Fatimid caliphs===
''Early and High Middle Ages''

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  from:934 till:946 color:age shift:(0,-9) text:[[Muhammad al-Qa'im Bi-Amrillah|Qa'im]]
  from:946 till:953 shift:(0,-20) color:era text:[[Ismail al-Mansur|Ismā'il]]
  from:953 till:975 color:age text:[[Al-Muizz Lideenillah|Muizz]]
  from:975 till:996 color:era text:[[Abu Mansoor Nizar al-Aziz Billah|Aziz]]
  from:996 till:1021 color:age text:[[Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah|Hakim]]
  from:1021 till:1036 color:era text:[[Ali az-Zahir|Zahir]]
  from:1036 till:1094 color:age text:[[Ma'ad al-Mustansir Billah|Mustansir]]
  from:1094 till:1101 color:era text:[[al-Musta'li|Musta'li]]
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:::''Also see'': [[Muslim history#Caliph of Cairo (1261–1517)|Cairo Abbasid Caliphs]] (above)

During the beginning of the Middle Baghdad Abbasids, the [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimid Caliphs]] claimed spiritual supremacy not only in Egypt, but also contested the religious leadership of Syria. At the beginning of the Abbasid realm in Baghdad, the Alids faced severe persecution by the ruling party as they were a direct threat to the Caliphate. Owing to the Abbasid inquisitions, the forefathers opted for concealment of the Dawa's existence. Subsequently, they travelled towards the Iranian Plateau and distanced themselves from the epicenter of the political world. Al Mahdi's father, Al Husain al Mastoor returned to control the Dawa's affairs. He sent two Dai's to Yemen and Western Africa. Al Husain died soon after the birth of his son, Al Mahdi. A system of government helped update Al Mahdi on the development which took place in North Africa.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Henry Melvill Gwatkin|author2=James Pounder Whitney|author3=Joseph Robson Tanner|author4=Charles William Previté-Orton|author5=Zachary Nugent Brooke|title=The Cambridge Medieval History|url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgemediev00broogoog|year=1913|publisher=Macmillan|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgemediev00broogoog/page/n409 379]–}}</ref>
[[File:Mosquee al-akim le caire 1.jpg|right|thumb|
''The [[Al-Hakim Mosque]]''<br />
Cairo, Egypt; south of [[Bab Al-Futuh]]
----
"Islamic Cairo" building was named after [[Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah]], built by Fatimid vizier [[Gawhar Al-Siqilli]], and extended by [[Badr al-Jamali]].]]
Al Mahdi [[Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah]] established the first [[Imam]] of the Fatimid dynasty. He claimed genealogic origins dating as far back as Fatimah through Husayn and Ismail. Al Mahdi established his headquarters at Salamiyah and moved towards north-western Africa, under [[Aghlabid]] rule. His success of laying claim to being the precursor to the Mahdi was instrumental among the Berber tribes of North Africa, specifically the Kutamah tribe. Al Mahdi established himself at the former Aghlabid residence at Raqqadah, a suburb of [[Al-Qayrawan]] in Tunisia. In 920, Al Mahdi took up residence at the newly established capital of the empire, [[Al-Mahdiyyah]]. After his death, Al Mahdi was succeeded by his son, Abu Al-Qasim Muhammad Al-Qaim, who continued his expansionist policy.<ref>[http://archive.mumineen.org/awliya/aimmat/e_imamqaim.html al-Qaim bi-Amrillah] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060210105748/http://archive.mumineen.org/awliya/aimmat/e_imamqaim.html |date=10 February 2006 }}. archive.mumineen.org</ref> At the time of his death he had extended his reign to Morocco of the [[Idrisids]], as well as Egypt itself. The Fatimid Caliphate grew to include [[Sicily]] and to stretch across [[North Africa]] from the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to [[Libya]].{{sfn|Yeomans|2006|p=44}} 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]], in Tunisia. Newly built capital [[Mansouria, Tunisia|Al-Mansuriya]],{{#tag:ref|The name ''Mansuriyya'' means "the victorious", after its founder Ismāʿīl Abu Tahir Ismail Billah, called ''al-Mansur'', "the victor."{{sfn|Tracy|2000|p=234}}|group=Note}} or Mansuriyya ({{langx|ar|المنصوريه }}), near [[Kairouan]], [[Tunisia]], was the capital of the Fatimid Caliphate during the rules of the Imams [[Al-Mansur Billah]] (r. 946–953) and [[Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah]] (r. 953–975).

The Fatimid general Jawhar conquered Egypt in 969, and he built a new palace city there, near Fusṭāt, which he also called al-Manṣūriyya. Under [[Al-Muizz Lideenillah]], the Fatimids conquered the [[Ikhshidid Wilayah]] (see [[Fatimid Egypt]]), founding a new capital at ''al-Qāhira'' ([[Cairo]]) in 969.<ref name="Beeson 24, 26–30"/> The name was a reference to the planet Mars, "The Subduer",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/link-suggestion/wpcd_2008-09_augmented/wp/c/Cairo.htm/|title=Cairo|access-date=3 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160521030532/http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/link-suggestion/wpcd_2008-09_augmented/wp/c/Cairo.htm|archive-date=21 May 2016}}></ref> 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 the surrounding areas until they ruled from Tunisia to [[Syria]], as well as [[Sicily]].

Under the [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimids]], Egypt became the center of an empire that included at its peak [[North Africa]], Sicily, [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], [[Jordan]], [[Lebanon]], Syria, the [[Red Sea]] coast of Africa, [[Tihamah]], [[Hejaz]], and [[Yemen]].<ref>Jennifer A. Pruitt, ''Building the Caliphate: Construction, Destruction, and Sectarian Identity in Early Fatimid Architecture'' (New Haven CT: Yale University Press, 2020). {{ISBN|0-300-24682-X}}, 9780300246827</ref> 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 eventually determined the economic course of Egypt during the [[High Middle Ages]].

After the eighteenth Imam, [[al-Mustansir Billah]], the Nizari sect believed that his son [[Nizar (Fatimid Imam)|Nizar]] was his successor, while another Ismāʿīlī branch known as the Mustaali (from whom the Dawoodi Bohra would eventually descend), supported his other son, [[al-Musta'li]].  The Fatimid dynasty continued with al-Musta'li as both Imam and Caliph, and that joint position held until the 20th Imam, [[al-Amir bi-Ahkami l-Lah]] (1132). At the death of Imam Amir, one branch of the Mustaali faith claimed that he had transferred the imamate to his son [[at-Tayyib Abi l-Qasim]], who was then two years old.
After the decay of the Fatimid political system in the 1160s, the [[Zengid]] ruler [[Nur ad-Din Zangi|Nūr ad-Dīn]] had his general, [[Shirkuh]], seize Egypt from the vizier [[Shawar]] in 1169. Shirkuh died two months after taking power, and the rule went to his nephew, [[Saladin]].<ref>{{Cite book|author=Amin Maalouf|year=1984|title=The Crusades Through Arab Eyes|publisher=Al Saqi Books|pages=[https://archive.org/details/crusadesthrougha00maal_0/page/160 160–70]|isbn=978-0-8052-0898-6|url=https://archive.org/details/crusadesthrougha00maal_0/page/160}}</ref> This began the [[Ayyubid Dynasty|Ayyubid Sultanate of Egypt and Syria]].