I.B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies.
Historical documentation and archaeological material have revealed that the Fatimids once presided over a diverse, multicultural state composed of Muslims, Christians, Jews and other religious traditions, as well as people from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds.
Such diversity stimulated intercultural contact and exchange across the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean. This open access book sheds light on the cosmopolitan environment that was engendered during Fatimid rule and how the Fatimids impacted the region. The Fatimids have often been overshadowed in academic research with attention placed more broadly on other dynasties, namely, the Abbasids, Mamluks or Ottomans. Across 22 chapters, this book provides a comprehensive contribution to Fatimid studies that updates and extends the existing scholarship. It addresses numerous Fatimid topics including: an analysis of state decrees and
da'wa activities; the examination of key texts and treatises; the study of Fatimid theology and ceremonies; and the presentation of archaeological data. Bringing together both established and new voices in the field, the volume reveals the crucial role of the Fatimids and especially how intercultural dialogue and imperial contestations have impacted history, material culture, politics and religions.
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.
Bilotto, Gregory: - Gregory Bilotto is Associate Lecturer at Saint Mary's University, UK, and a research consultant at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, UK. He received his PhD from SOAS, University of London, UK. He also has an MA from the American University in Cairo, Egypt and a second MA in Museum and Gallery Practice from UCL, University of London, UK.
Daftary, Farhad: - Farhad Daftary is Governor and Director Emeritus of the Institute of Ismaili Studies, UK. He has written more than 200 articles and encyclopedia entries and several acclaimed books, including The Ismailis: Their History and Doctrines (1990; 2nd ed., 2007), The Assassin Legends (1994), and A Short History of the Ismailis (1998). Daftary is a consulting editor of the Encyclopaedia Iranica (for Ismailism), co-editor of the Encyclopaedia Islamica, and general editor of the Ismaili Heritage Series, the Ismaili Texts and Translations Series and the Shi'i Heritage Series published by I.B. Tauris.
Jiwa, Shainool: - Shainool Jiwa is Associate Professor at The Institute of Ismaili Studies, UK. Her latest publication, The Fatimids: 2. The Rule from Egypt (2023), is a World of Islam series title, for which she also serves as the series General Editor. She is the author of The Fatimids: 1. The Rise of a Muslim Empire (2018), and co-editor of The Shi'i World (2015), and The Fatimid Caliphate (2017). She has edited and translated key medieval Arabic texts relating to Fatimid history, including Towards a Shi'i Mediterranean Empire (2009) and The Founder of Cairo (2013).
