Editing Fatimid Caliphate (section)

===Origins===
The Fatimid dynasty came to power as the leaders of [[Isma'ilism]], a revolutionary [[Shi'a]] movement "which was at the same time political and religious, philosophical and social," and which originally proclaimed nothing less than the arrival of an Islamic [[messiah]].{{sfn|Canard|1965|p=850}} The origins of that movement, and of the dynasty itself, are obscure prior to the late ninth century.{{sfn|Canard|1965|p=850}}

The [[List of Fatimid caliphs|Fatimid rulers]] were Arab in origin, starting with its founder, the [[Isma'ilism|Isma'ili]] Shi'a caliph [[Abdallah al-Mahdi Billah]].{{sfn|Dachraoui|1986|pp=1242–44}} The caliphate's establishment was accomplished by [[Kutama]] [[Berbers]] from [[Petite Kabylie|Little Kabylia]], who converted to the Fatimid cause early and made up its original military forces.<ref name="Nanjira 2010 92"/><ref name="Fage 1958 11"/><ref name="Gale"/><ref name="Studies 1979 15"/>

====Early Shi'ism and the roots of Isma'ilism====
The Shi'a opposed the [[Umayyad]] and [[Abbasid]] caliphates, whom they considered usurpers. Instead, they believed in the exclusive right of the descendants of [[Ali]] through Muhammad's daughter [[Fatimah|Fatima]], to lead the Muslim community. This manifested itself in a line of [[Imamate in Shia doctrine|imams]], descendants of Ali via [[al-Husayn]], whom their followers considered as the true representatives of God on earth.{{sfn|Madelung|1971|pp=1163–64, 1167}} At the same time, there was a widespread messianic tradition in Islam concerning the appearance of a ''[[mahdi]]'' ("the Rightly Guided One") or ''[[Qa'im Al Muhammad|qa'im]]'' ("He Who Arises"), who would restore true Islamic government and justice and usher in the [[Islamic eschatology|end times]]. This figure was widely expected{{snd}}not just among the Shi'a{{snd}}to be a descendant of Ali.{{sfn|Madelung|1986|pp=1230–34}} Among Shi'a, however, this belief became a core tenet of their faith, and was applied to several Shi'a leaders who were killed or died; their followers believed that they had gone into "[[occultation (Islam)|occultation]]" ({{transliteration|ar|ghayba}}) and would return (or be resurrected) at the appointed time.{{sfn|Madelung|1986|pp=1235–37}}

These traditions manifested themselves in the succession of the sixth imam, [[Ja'far al-Sadiq]]. Al-Sadiq had appointed his son [[Isma'il ibn Ja'far]] as his successor, but Isma'il died before his father, and when al-Sadiq himself died in 765, the succession was left open. Most of his followers followed al-Sadiq's son [[Musa al-Kazim]] down to a [[Muhammad al-Mahdi|twelfth and final imam]] who supposedly went into occultation in 874 and would one day return as the {{transliteration|ar|mahdī}}. This branch is hence known as the "Twelvers".{{sfn|Brett|2017|p=18}}{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=89}} Others followed other sons, or even refused to believe that al-Sadiq had died, and expected his return as the {{transliteration|ar|mahdī}}.{{sfn|Daftary|2007|pp=88–89}} Another branch believed that Ja'far was followed by a seventh imam, who had gone into occultation and would one day return; hence this party is known as the "Seveners". The exact identity of that seventh imam was disputed, but by the late ninth century had commonly been identified with [[Muhammad ibn Isma'il|Muhammad]], son of Isma'il and grandson of al-Sadiq. From Muhammad's father, Isma'il, the sect, which gave rise to the Fatimids, receives its name of "Isma'ili".{{sfn|Brett|2017|p=18}}{{sfn|Halm|1991|pp=27–28}}{{sfn|Daftary|2007|pp=89–90}} Due to the harsh Abbasid persecution of the Alids, the Ismaili Imams went into hiding and neither Isma'il's nor Muhammad's lives are well known, and after Muhammad's death during the reign of [[Harun al-Rashid]] ({{reign|786|809}}), the history of the early Isma'ili movement becomes obscure.{{sfn|Daftary|2007|pp=90–96}}

====The secret network====
While the awaited ''mahdi'' Muhammad ibn Isma'il remained hidden, however, he would need to be represented by agents, who would gather the faithful, spread the word (''[[da'wa]]'', "invitation, calling"), and prepare his return. The head of this secret network was the living proof of the imam's existence, or "seal" (''hujja'').{{sfn|Halm|1991|pp=29–30}} It is in this role that the ancestors of the Fatimids are first documented. The first known ''hujja'' was a certain [[Ahmad al-Wafi|Abdallah al-Akbar]] ("Abdallah the Elder"), a wealthy merchant from [[Khuzestan]], who established himself at the small town of [[Salamiya]] on the western edge of the [[Syrian Desert]].{{sfn|Halm|1991|pp=16–20}} Salamiya became the centre of the Isma'ili ''da'wa'', with Abdallah al-Akbar being succeeded by his son and grandson as the secret "grand masters" of the movement.{{sfn|Halm|1991|pp=22–24}}{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=100}}

In the last third of the ninth century, the Isma'ili ''da'wa'' spread widely, profiting from the collapse of Abbasid power in the [[Anarchy at Samarra]] and the subsequent [[Zanj Revolt]], as well as from dissatisfaction among Twelver adherents with the [[Political quietism in Islam|political quietism]] of their leadership and the recent disappearance of the twelfth imam.{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=108}} Missionaries (''[[da'i]]''s) such as [[Hamdan Qarmat]] and [[Ibn Hawshab]] spread the network of agents to the area round [[Kufa]] in the late 870s, and from there to [[Yemen]] (882) and thence India (884), [[Bahrayn (historical region)|Bahrayn]] (899), [[Persia]], and the [[Maghreb]] (893).{{sfn|Madelung|1978|p=198}}{{sfn|Halm|1991|p=47}}{{sfn|Daftary|2007|pp=108–10}}

====The Qarmatian schism and its aftermath====
In 899, Abdallah al-Akbar's great-grandson, [[Abdallah al-Mahdi Billah|Abdallah]],{{efn|The mostly hostile Sunni sources call him with the diminutive "Ubayd Allah", probably intended to be pejorative; and his dynasty is hence often called the "Ubaydid" dynasty ({{transliteration|ar|Banū ʿUbayd}}).{{sfn|Canard|1965|p=852}}{{sfn|Halm|2014}}}} became the new head of the movement, and introduced a radical change in the doctrine: no longer was he and his forebears merely the stewards for Muhammad ibn Isma'il, but they were declared to be the rightful imams, and Abdallah himself was the awaited ''mahdi''.{{sfn|Halm|1991|pp=63–64}} Various genealogies were later put forth by the Fatimids to justify this claim by proving their descent from Isma'il ibn Ja'far, but even in pro-Isma'ili sources, the succession and names of imams differ, while [[Sunni]] and Twelver sources of course reject any Fatimid descent from the Alids altogether and consider them impostors.{{sfn|Canard|1965|pp=850–51}}{{sfn|Daftary|2007|pp=100–07}} Abdallah's claim caused a rift in the Isma'ili movement, as Hamdan Qarmat and other leaders denounced this change and held onto the original doctrine, becoming known as the "[[Qarmatians]]", while other communities remained loyal to Salamiya.{{sfn|Madelung|1978|p=198}}{{sfn|Halm|2014}} Shortly after, in 902–903, pro-Fatimid loyalists began a great uprising in [[Syria (region)|Syria]]. The large-scale Abbasid reaction it precipitated and the attention it brought on him, forced Abdallah to abandon Salamiya for Palestine, Egypt, and finally for the [[Maghreb]], where the ''da'i'' [[Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i]] had made great headway in converting the Kutama Berbers to the Isma'ili cause. Unable to join his ''da'i'' directly, Abdallah instead settled at [[Sijilmasa]] sometime between 904 and 905.{{sfn|Canard|1965|p=852}}{{sfn|Daftary|2007|pp=122–23}}{{Sfn|Halm|1996|pp=108–09}}