The first decade of the new century has seen a dramatic surge in the availability of materials for the study of Fatimid history, thought and material culture. Researchers have recently made available previously unknown or unused primary sources in a variety of areas, critical editions of major and minor texts, annotated translations of both old and new sources, now also properly annotated, a flood of documents and studies of them (mainly from the Cairo geniza), a continuing stream of doctrinal works produced by the Ismaili da'wa in the Fatimid period, and the recovery and analysis of elements of the material culture of the same era particularly in art and architecture.
The principal purpose of this panel is to provide an assessment of the new resources produced over the previous ten years and, as well, to reveal what is currently in progress, items in press and about to appear, or in active production.
Four scholars with intimate knowledge of current developments in a particular subfield will cover respectively: a) histories and chronicles, newly revealed works and recent editions and translations, b) new documents from the geniza, c) Ismaili doctrinal texts that have only recently become accessible in critical editions and/or translations, and d) the arts and material culture. Each will review newly accessible resources and studies of them and assess the probable value of current work in progress.
For far too long Ismaili doctrinal writings produced by its da’wa in the Fatimid period remained largely inaccessible, even after Ivanow and Poonawala published detailed lists of what might exist. The situation is now, however, not nearly so dire thanks in part to the efforts of the Ismaili Institute in London and of a growing number of scholars in this field. The Institute holds an extensive collection of works in manuscript, many acquired fairly recently, as published catalogs now reveal. It also actively promotes editions and translations. Many others have appeared independently. Increasingly older often untrustworthy printed versions are being replaced by critical scholarly editions, some accompanied by translations. Many more are the object of current work; a half dozen major texts are in press. This presentation will provide an accounting of material newly available in the decade 2000-10 and those texts and translations that are about to appear. An important additional goal is to assess the value of these recent contributions both as to the quality of the product and to its contribution to scholarly knowledge of the era from which the original works come.
Hundreds of Fatimid chancery documents, fragmentary and whole, found their way into the geniza of the medieval Syro-Palestinian synagogue at Fustat. Several dozen have been published (mainly by S. D. Goitein, S. M. Stern, and Geoffrey Khan), more have been identified, and many more still remain to be discovered. Though a good proportion of these documents concern Jewish individuals or groups, it is becoming increasingly apparent that a significant number relate to Christians or Muslims, for reasons that have not yet been adequately explained. This presentation will (1) survey existing publications on the subject, with glances at comparable editions of material from the Melkite monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai, the Qaraite synagogue in Cairo, and other Fatimid-era archives; (2) discuss document typologies (petitions, decrees, internal chancery directives), their physical characteristics and uses; (3) offer some explanations as to how non-Jewish administrative material may have entered the Geniza; and (4) discuss these documents’ significance for Fatimid and Middle Eastern history.
The history of the Fatimids is as vast and varied as the geographical span of their empire (909-1171) and the social, religious and ethnographic diversity of its people. While Fatimid rule began in North Africa and expanded to Egypt and parts of Syria, its influence over the course of its two and a half century rule radiated across Iraq, Iran, India, Hijaz and Yemen. Yet, for a variety of reasons including their ideological marginalisation, the Fatimids remain relatively understudied in comparison to their peer dynasties such as the Abbasids and the Umayyads of Spain, as well as the successor dynasties in Egypt such as the Ayyubids and the Mamluks.
Nonetheless, the turn of the century has witnessed the increasing recovery of primary sources which has begun to attract scholarly attention. This has resulted in a growing pool of annotated editions as well as secondary studies focussing on facets of Fatimid history.
This paper will examine the range of historical materials that have emerged over the last decade so as to review their efficacy in furthering our understanding of this era. It will also draw attention to disciplinary approaches, themes and issues that remain to be considered so as to encourage further scholarship in the field.
In the year 1998 we witnessed a renaissance in the study of Fatimid art and architecture as a result of the Paris conference, “L’Egypte fatimide: son art et son histoire”, the accompanying exhibitions on Fatimid art in Paris and Vienna and the publication of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s collection of Fatimid art. But what has happened since? How has the field moved forward and are younger scholars interested in the subject? Will Jonathan Bloom’s recent publication, "Arts of the City Victorious: Islamic Art and Architecture in Fatimid North Africa and Egypt" (2007), reinvigorate the topic or has he had the final word on the subject? What new sources have come to light in the last decade to assist in the re-interpretation of older theories or to establish new ones? Has Fatimid art finally been accepted as a mainstream topic in the study of the arts and material culture of Egyptian, Mediterranean or Muslim civilizations? This paper addresses these questions and will highlight different approaches and fresh perspectives to the study of Fatimid material culture.
