Approaches to Governance in the Fatimid Period
Panel 177, sponsored byNOT AFFILIATED WITH MESA: Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2010 Annual Meeting
On Sunday, November 21 at 08:30 am
Panel Description
When the Fatimids moved from the Maghrib to Egypt, they confronted a subject population of considerably wider diversity, with a large body of Christians (both Melkites and Copts), substantial numbers of Jews, not to mention Sunnis, and non-Ismaili Shi'is, often belonging to ethnically distinct groupings. The challenge of governing was, moreover, amplified by having a Shi'i Ismaili line of imams rule over a state in which the most ardent supporters of the dynasty constituted a numerical minority. Yet, in general, the Fatimids succeeded as is evident, in part, by the 200 year length of their rule. Even so, exactly how they negotiated the demands of disparate communities and factions, when and if these groups sought governmental sanctions for this or that issue, needs considerably more study and analysis. This panel deals with four important aspects of the problem of governance in this context.
The first paper looks at the initial phase of Fatimid rule in Egypt, the reign of al-'Aziz, an era noted for great tolerance and inclusiveness. Not entirely without difficulties and occasional conflict, the decades of this caliph were nonetheless regarded as an exemplary period for the full participation of a wide range of groups, Christians and Jews among them, in his government.
The second paper provides an account of the end of al-Hakim's reign, when there existed at first an exclusionary policy aimed at various dhimmi communities followed by a striking reversal and possibly a restoration of al-'Aziz's benevolent tolerance. It tries to explain exactly what transpired, when and in what order. What, finally, does this episode say about Fatimid governance of its non-Muslims in general.
The third presentation, in contrast to the first two, offers an investigation of Fatimid governance from the perspective of the governed, here the Copts. How did they deal with their overlords and a government that did not necessary act in their interestsi When and under what circumstances did the Copts approach the Fatimid rulers in matters affecting their ownn
A similar problem is the subject of the fourth paper: Jewish attitudes toward the Fatimids. In this case, unlike the previous topics, which have not received much scholarly scrutiny before now, the students of the Cairo Genizah have for a long time accumulated documentary evidence about such interactions. However there is much, much more to be done: the number of extent documents not yet investigated has expanded considerably with new discoveries.
Disciplines
Participants
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Dr. Farhad Daftary
-- Chair
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Dr. Paul E. Walker
-- Organizer, Presenter
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Dr. Maryann Shenoda
-- Presenter
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Dr. Delia Cortese
-- Presenter
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Dr. Shainool Jiwa
-- Presenter
Presentations
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Dr. Maryann Shenoda
Copto-Arabic sources from the Fatimid period articulate an important tension between the power of Church hierarchy and that of the caliphate. The closure of churches, confiscation of church vessels, and prohibition of public festivities during segments of al-Hakim's rule, no doubt, challenged the jurisdiction of Church hierarchy. However, the eccentric rule of al-Hakim was not the only period when the legitimacy of Church authority was challenged by Fatimid governance. The papacy of Christodulous (1047-1077), as it is recorded in the History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Church, is an important epoch in the Church's history as it details the pope's numerous arrests and imprisonments. Nonetheless, the significance of Christodulous' papacy does not lie in Fatimid intervention in church matters; rather, it is noteworthy because this period witnessed liturgical responses to external challenges of hierarchical authority. The canons of Christodulous regulate internal as well as external affairs of the Church and define its pastoral power--and thus the caliphal power of the Fatimids--by liturgical means. Among other regulations, Christodulous' canons forbade Copts to seek the judgment of a vizier or sultan in place of a Church ruling. Whosoever circumvents the authority of the Church shall be cut off from participating in the Eucharist, it says, which ultimately meant a loss of membership. Christodulous' attempt to affirm his pastoral power not only strives to maintain some ruling power for the Coptic Church, it also creates an incumbent sense of loyalty and obedience on the part of its members. Compliance with such a canon obliges Copts to accept church rulings with no recourse to an appeal and maintains their loyalty by means of the looming possibility of spiritual punishment--disallowance of the Eucharistic mystery. Finally, the author of his biography in the History of the Patriarchs makes sure to regularly inform his readers that Christodulous' papacy, although seemingly chaotic and fraught with conflict, was a time of high spirituality and the manifestation of countless miracles. This paper argues that the emphasis on pastoral power by liturgical and miraculous means during Christodulous' papacy was a significant mode of negotiating Church authority in conjunction with that of the caliphate, thus limiting the possibility of Fatimid intervention as dictated by the Church.
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Dr. Delia Cortese
When the Fatimids conquered Egypt in 969, they inaugurated their reign with a formal declaration of tolerance and magnanimity towards their new subjects. The proclamation, issued by order of the Fatimid imam-caliph al-Mu'izz (d.975) and quoted in full by the Mamluk historian Taqi al-Din al-Maqrizi in his Itti'az al-hunafa', is famously known as the Aman document. Indeed, it is generally agreed that the Fatimids never actively or forcefully tried to convert the population of Egypt which remained by and large Sunni. This being the case, one asks: what happened to the Sunni legal and theological scholars that were active in Egypt at the time of the Fatimid take-over and the subsequent decades of their ruler In this paper I will retrace the way in which Sunni learning continued to be transmitted in Fatimid Egypt beyond the Ismaili religious and legal stances endorsed by the regime. In particular I will provide a contextualised analysis of the factors that made Fatimid Egypt a lively centre for hadith scholarship and Qur'an recitation training. I will address issues pertaining to the role that family interactions played in the preservation and transmission of Sunni learning against the background of an Ismaili 'state religion' and will question the existence of neat sectarian boundaries between Shi'is and Sunnis when it came to sharing or benefitting from learning. The period of Fatimid history under consideration will be the one spanning from the reign of al-Mu'izz to that of al-Hakim. My main primary sources will range from the works of Fatimid chroniclers such as al-Musabbihi to later chroniclers and historians such as Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (his biography of Egyptian qadis, Raf ' al-isr) and al-Maqrizi (his biographical dictionary, al-Muqaffa al-kabir). The overall purpose of this research is to explore one facet of the prismatic social history of Egypt under the Fatimids (rather than the history of Fatimid Egypt) by placing the elite subjects, rather than the masters, at the centre of the investigation.
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Dr. Shainool Jiwa
When the Fatimids migrated from North Africa to Egypt, they inherited a subject population of considerable diversity, which included established Christian communities, such as Melkites and Copts, substantial numbers of Jews, as well as Sunnis and Ithna Ashari Shia. Many of these groups had distinct and contentious ethnic identities. The challenge of governing these ethnically and religiously diverse communities was amplified by the fact that the Fatimids reigned as Shi'i Imam-Caliphs, thus asserting their authority as legitimate heirs of the Prophet to the spiritual and temporal leadership of their empire.
This paper will focus on the initial phase of the Fatimid rule in Egypt. It will examine the reign of al-'Aziz billah, an era noted for great tolerance and inclusiveness. Not entirely without difficulties and occasional conflict, the decades of this caliph were nonetheless regarded as an exemplary period for the active participation of a wide range of groups, Christians and Jews among them, in his government. This paper will review the model of inclusive governance that al-'Aziz negotiated during his reign and discuss the challenges he faced in managing expectations of the diverse communities within his empire.
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Dr. Paul E. Walker
Following as much as a decade of harsh measures against the Christians and Jews of his realm, the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim seemed, in the last year of his reign, abruptly to alter his approach radically and allow, even promote, rebuilding of destroyed houses of worship and reversions from Islam back to an earlier dhimmi religion. Neither the original policy, which caused many of the Christians and some of the Jews to adopt Islam, nor the dramatic changes only months prior to his disappearance, have ever been explained adequately. The contemporary 11th century Melkite historian Yahya of Antioch, however, provides some vital clues and is particularly helpful about the caliph's shift in 1020-21 to a strategy of accommodation through personal contact with key figures in the affected communities, one individual for each who functioned as the single go-between in dealings with the ruler. The Coptic History of the Patriarchs confirms much of what Yahya reports. Using details in both, most especially the texts of royal decrees issued that very year, now found verbatim in Yahya's History, this paper provides a precise chronology of events and an outline of the imam-caliph's new policy. It thereby raises a question as to whether or not the new model he had created outlasted him; did his son al-Zahir and subsequent Fatimid rulers follow a similar pattern in their dealings with protected minorities.
