Establishing the Fatimid Capital

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Welcome to Gone Medieval fromrom History Hit, a podcast that delves into the greatest millennium in human history We've got the most intriguing mysteries, the gobsmacking details and latest groundbreaking research from the Vikings to the printing press, from kings to popes to the Crusades We cross centuries and continents to delve into rebellions, plots and murders to find the stories big and small that tell us how we got here. find out who we really were Gone medieval from the deserts of North Africa to the glittering heat of Cairo from whispered prophecies. to immperial triumph. from sacred lineage a political fracture. The story of the Fatomids is one of the most fascinating and contested in medieval history They emerged in an age of upheaval when the Islamic world was already vast, powerful, and deeply divided. while the Abasids ruled from Baghdad, claiming the mantle of universal leadership O certainties were beginning to crack A revolutionary movement began to take shape One built not only on political ambition on faith, secrecy. and the electrifying promise of legitimacy The Fatimids didn't simply seek power claim Destiny They said they were descended from Fatima, the daughter of the prorophet Muhammad and from Ali, his cousin son in law In that claim, lay the seed of both their strength and the storm that would follow them T to their followers, they were the rightful imams, divinely guided leaders, heirs, not merely to a throne but a sacred authority itself to their enemies They were dangerous usurpers, rebels in theology But whether they were seen as visionaries or impostors, one thing was undeniable The Fatamids would change the medieval world Their rise began far from the old centers of Islamic power in the harsh frontierands of what's now Tunisia and parts of North Africa But expanding west and east built a state of remarkable ambition and sophistication. Their emergence is the story hiding Fiding time Careful missionary work. that was disguised in the complex and bustling world of merchants They were never safe. always ready for their moment to arrive. The Fimid Empire was built on tensions that never fully disappeared. and the very ideological fire that had fueled their rise couldn't always hold together the vast and complicated empire they'd built. In just over two centuries It was all over. o find out more about this remarkable and often underrated dynastic empire's rise I'm joined by Dr. Dal Ocrtze, senior research feellllow at Middlesex University and author of the recently published The Fatomids, portrait of a dynasty Welcome to G Mediev Daily. It's fantastic to have be with us. Thank you very much for inviting me So we're going to be talking today about the Fatimid Empire. So just to give us a really quick overview, can you tell us about when in time theirre ruling and where in the world we're going to be looking at Okay, the Fatimi dynasty came to power from the year one hundred nine eleven seventy one So we have an empire that from nine hundred and nine will encompass an area that goes from North Africa, Egypt, Syida, Palestine, Arabian Peninsula, and for a brief moment as far as Baghdad. And what do we know about the origins of the Fatimids? Because I understand it, they trace their lineage back to the prophet Muhammad as one of the branches of Islam, Is that correct? Yes, the name of Fatimid is derived from fatima Matima was the daughter of the prophet Muhammad and his first wife, Khadija Her date of birth is not absolutely clear, but let's say she was born at the very beginning of the seventh century So to understand how this connection between the name of a dynasty and the name of this daughter of the prophet, how did it come about I think I need to give you a bit of background of the tensions that prevailed soon after the death of the prophet Muhammad in relation to who should be considered worthy of ruling spiritually and politically, the Muslim community So one side who became known as the Sunis maintained that the leader of the community should be by choice by election, by cououncil, a council should elect this ruler This vision was contrasted by a party, a party, a sheia in Arabic, a party that sustained that the rightful successor to the prophet Muhammad in terms of guiding spiritually and politically the Muslim community should be someone from his family. so there should be a genealogical descent from the prophet. and the person that was considered to be the best person qualified in that respect was Ali, his cousin This was not just any cousin. this was the first cousin born of Abu Alalib, the fundamental figure in the life of the prophet Muhammad in that Abu Alalib took care of the prophet when he remained orphaned at a very early age And therefore these were close cousins. So this shia of Ali, this party of Ali, supported the idea that He should be the one to succeed him time the other group prevailed. they became known as the Suni T this say they are the majority group within Islam. But the sheip persisted in this campaign to have the prophet's genealogical lineage be placed in a position of leadership of the community. They called these leaders imams Eams not as prayer leaders, but as divanally appointed leaders of the community deemed to be infallible on genealogical ground due to the closes of the Pphet Muhammad Now, within this Shia group, of course, in time, there were divisions and claims and counterc claims who should be even genealogically the most close to the prophet Muhammad. and it was the one group decided that the best genealogy was the one that derived Ali, but also from Fatima because this Ali married the daughter of the prophet Oh, so is this like the perfect genealogical couple Yes, Ali and Fatima had their progeny and the Shia branch of Islam supported the imams, the leaders should be from that line Right. So I suppose inevitably there's going to be some more division going on despite all of this Yes, because the progeny of this couple, at some point, there was a division in following which descendants should be followed and considered to be these leaders There is a crucial point when one of these imams Jaff are Al Sadk He has a number of sons and one group of follows the descent and the lineage of Ismail. Whereas others follow another son of this Imam Jafar and they become Imami sheis, let's say. So the Muslims who follow Ishmael become the Ismailis. Yes. And this is really the point where we take the lineage that eventually will lead to the identification of some individuals with the lineage in that line and then the foundation of the fatimid dynasty. And as I understand it as well, the early Iams are often referred to as hidden imams. Does that mean that they were literally having to their identity secret, wasas it a dangerous position to hold? Yes As you can imagine, we are now at a stage where we have a dominant group, the Sunnis, meanewhile, the Sunnis recognized as their leaders and this was almost generally accepted among them. Sunni community, which the first leaders were by election and then we have dynasties, we have the Omayyads in Syria, in Damascus, and then the Abbasid Caliphate. So these caliphs become widely recognized as the Form my leaders of the Muslim community worldwide this shia branch of Islam, though a minority was persistent and gathering momentum in certain areas and they attracted persecution on the part of the Abasids who saw their power possibly threatened or eroded in particular parts of the world And alongside all of that, we've got that parallel strand descending from Ishmael. So what direction are the Ishmaelis taking So we are around the year seven hundred and sixty five And Ismael dies and his successor is Ison Mohammad. And this is a moment of rapture because this son Muhammad, to some, he died as well, but to others, he didn't die, but went into concealment, went into occultation So this is a very interesting doctrinal innovation that is introduced here. The idea that these imams don't die but go into hiding. protection for safety, for concealing their identity. Not only they don't die but they hide they will return at an appointed time So there is a kind of messianic element that really becomes fundamental in the doctrines of all the Shia groups. the idea of Imam in hiding and waiting for his return becomes a very belief within all the Shia groups and in the specific case the Ismiis as well we've got an immam in hiding. So what happens? How is it possible for them to keep his presence, kind of alive and active. And how does that lead us on to a Fatimid dynasty So the mum is in hiding, but there is an organization. there is a network or propagandist that keep his guidance effective. This propaganda network is called the DaWA They act in the name of the hidden mp and they act secretly because let's not forget that the Abbasids are watching ons in their territories and therefore they are not comfortable at all that there is such a subversive propaganda that ultimately is aimed at the point in time installed the Iams as the true leader of the Muslim community and therefore approute them These propagandists as a subterfuge, they p themselves as traders, as merchants and they operate in markets and caravan routes and markets are very important because in that way, in that context, they can talk to people, gather information, but also test the ground as to whether they are confident and comfortable to start spreading their message about the imam they're campaigning for. The secret teachings from early on, Ismai teachings are very much imbued with esoteric knowledge which needs to be shared gradually with very trusted initiates that are introduced into the doctrine in a very careful and staggered way. We have this organization, these networks, On the surface, these are Traders of textiles, textiles from early on have a very important role to play for the fatimids even before the actual foundation of the dynasty And then by the ninth century We have a figure that to all intents and purposes is one of these traders. In fact, he's a missionary is one of these covert propagandist for the cause of the hidden Imam. And the hidden Imam at this point is still Muhammad, the son of Ishmael, as far as the Ismidis are concerned. Yes. But now there's a trader that's coming forward And his name is known as Abdullah the elder And he was born in Ivan But then his cover was blown So he escaped to Iraq In back that And then H cover was blown again and then he eventually turned up in Syria in a small town in a city,' now a city, but then a small town of Salamia, a trading post There he bought properties, he established his trading activities and with this front was able to operate as a propagandist for the cause of the He didn't, M hisis son continued in that way his grandson continued in that way group of people were of course around him and following him and knew his true identity or what they thought was his true identity So in this way, Syria, that region becomes very much a base of propaganda activity. with major consequences and then something happens in the year eight hundred ninety nine a figure appears on the scene Abdallah And he makes very bold grand Astonishing revelation Okay, so is Abdullah then claiming to be the hidden immam Yes, he says that he is the imam N that he reveals that Abdullah the elder who everybody thought was, first of all, a merchant Claos allies and supporters thought that he was a missionary A he was a son of D Muhammad, son of Ismael So he wasn' the mum Hiding in plain sight toally thatath his son was also anm mom and so his grandson. So therefore this abbdala In eightand ninety nine says, I am the imam, descendant from these line of imams that were supposedly in hiding but infected they were not. And not only that through this lineage, I can claim to be direct descendant all the way back Ali and Fatima. So I'm direct the genealogical descendant of Muhammad, the true Ali and Fatima all the way to Ismail and his son Muhammad. and the lineage has continued. via Abdullah, the elder. and then his descendants up to him. This Abdalah even says You have always known me with another name, means name by which he was known was Said, but in fact, my real name is Abdalah and I'm the mum. revelation, it must have come as a shock for those who thought Abdullah was just one of these propagandists who was going about spreading the word How did the Abasids who were ruling in Baghdad at the time react? ame. Yes, the Abbasids found out about this revelation somehow and therefore started persecuting him. Others were enthusiastic about this revelation and even demonstrated their enthusiasm very publicly So much so that it is at this point that in the sources describing these events We find for the first time this group of people who were so enthusiastic about up download. making himself known as to be from the line of Fatima and Ali Th the tractors started to call the people who supported him Fatimun. It is the first time that we find this fatimine expression found in sources. They call it fatimun whichich means those who fall people who believe to be descendants of Fatima It's fascinating that they managed to live for so long. hidden. But I guess that begs the question. How do we move from a position where they are a minority forced to live in hiding point where they begin an empire How do they rise to power from the position that they're in? Yes. this is really phenomenal sort of progression and first of all, they were acting in hiding and moving in hiding and secretly. But let's not forget that these trading activities that they conducted money. So they were real merchants in that sense and therefore we hear about them buying houses and establishments, etc and being wealthy. so there is money circulating there. This is a time also where the were various desents across various regions for various political motivations. So the propaganda people who were maybe dissatisfied with the regional or overall government or ruling of the Muslim community There was the messianic appeal of aw waiting for a leader who one day will bring justice and peace Interestingly, they operate in markets and there are many references to how women were instrumental in facilitating the spreading of the Ismaeli propaganda because the frequenters of markets were women, especially with textiles and therefore they really wor as maybe unwittingly as filters of the religious political propaganda that This Ismailei activists were negotiating How we move on from this in a formal way to create the foundations of an empire So we have now this Abdalah who was announc himself to be theam in Syria in Salamia His enemies are after him. cover is blown, he has to escape, he has to run away, he has to leave Syria. So that's what he does with a small group of very trusted followers and the members of his family. He leaves some others to look after his affairs in Syria, but very much in secret. So where is it going next? is somewh moreat unclear at the start. The first idea is for him to go to this group to go to Yemen. The Ismeli propaganda had been effective in Yemen for some time Again, in the name or guided by this Abdullah the elder who wast the propagandist but was actually the mam as we find out from what Download it at it mes. So we have this propaganda in Yemen, which had been effectively working and had recruited quite the following while still secretly conducted But then there are hints of other people wanting to claim to be their mums themselves So he changes his mind and therefore takes the direction west first escaping towards Egypt then Libya always chased and somehow in hiding until eventually he reaches what is today Morocco and settles in Sijilmasa. Sijilmasa is an ideal place because it's one of the most important trading centers trans aare and trade. So if you want to pass yourself as a rich merchant Sigilmas is a good place to go and pretend to be or act as a merchant while still conducting your propaganda and waiting for the right moment to take leadership. As the saying goes, if these walls could talk. And on the Bwixt the Sheets podcast, we make it our business to discover what happened behind closed doors, and even more importantly, in the bedrooms of people all throughout history kings, queens, mistresses, servants, and everyone in between. We also get up close and personal with medieval aphrodysisiacs, lethal Victorian makeup routines, and look at the scandalous lives of beloved children's authors. Nothing is off limits In other words, it's the best bits of history with me, Dr. Kate Lister. Listen to but twwix the sheets the history of sex scandal in society twice a week every week, wherever it is that you get your podcasts, brought to you by the award winning network, History Hit Why is this happening in Cidal Massa? Why North Africa The news that came from that region was that there was a propagandist, a missionary, a dy. called Abu Abdal Alshi had been very successful operating them He had been an Isameli activist with his brother, Abuul Abas from the early days And he had been sent to propagate his mission in the name of the M Initially his intention was to go and carry his propaganda in Egypt because his brother was there. His brother, this Abul Aas, knew the true identity of Abdullah, knew dem because he was with him in Salamiah when this was revealed and he was part of the small group of people to Abdalah took with him on his escape from Salamia all the way by Egypt. Libya and then Tunisia, Morocco and finally Salamia This br, this Abullabas was active now in Egypt on behalf of the imab. And Abu Abdahi wanted to join him. except that when he was performing his pilgrimage in Mecca While there, he met a group of berbers. And these berbers like him very much And they invited him to go back with them Morocco to the Atlasa mountains. So that's what he does. He changes his course his direction and goes to join the Berbea tribes. in Morocco and these in the Atlas mountains and these berbers particularly the Tima tribe of this community really adere very much to his preaching. Was there something about that region then that meant that people were particularly open to the messages that were being spread of North Africa or Eriickia as it was called then was under the rule of the Aglabid dynasty This Aglabid dynasty was a Sunni dynasty and they ruled over the region on behalf of the Abasids of Baghdad. These agglamides were atoms And somehow these bbers felt somehow sidelined or neglected felt marginalized by these Arabs. So when missionary like Abuabdah she comes forward with the message of The imam revealing himself and then he will bring peace and joy and order and will bring about the true way in which Islam should be and so on. these Berber tribes they really adere to this message. so they are disenchanted by The aggabs, they have their ose an alternative What's appeal here is that Abu Abd al Alsi brings not only a religious message, but a militant message as well that empowers this utana What he gets is more than probably he bargained for because suddenly he finds himself with an army They rally around him, they form an army and within relatively short time This army starts to conquer territories that were once under Aglabid rule. and until the aglabids give up The Aglabid regime falls apart and the Aglaid Emir leaves. So this is a very quick fast conquest with limited opposition We are now in the here nine hundred and night. This is a moment where we have the Imam in Sijinmasa, we have the territories, we have an army, we have the agglabids who have Lif P taking all the golden stuff with them as they escape So this is the right moment to announce the formal enthronemment of the immam who is in Sijon Masa and bring him to what was the former capital. of the agglabs that these militia of Kutalas, etcetera, have conquered for the city is Kaiaan, one of the most beautiful cities and ancient cities in Tunisia today from the base in Kaawan this allelegation headed by Abu Abdal Lani goes to free Abdalah in Tjin Mas I say free because by now also the cover of Abdala in Sigjil Masa becomes untenable. People are working out that this is not the person they thought he was Originally So things are happening Abdah she has to act fast. He needs to go and fetch Abdallah mom to bring him to Caiwan in order to for him to be formally presented as the Iam enthrone H as ruler A up that has one problem He doesn't know what this Abdalah looked like. He knows that he Sjir Mas, but he doesn't know what he looks like So when he arrives in Sijilasa, he has to ask a child who happened to know through his father the identity of Abdalah to show him who is this Abdalah. He didn't want to get it wrong or he didn't want to liberate the wrong person. So this is how this a meeting between He had campaigned for years in the name of this iman. finally physically meets the immam Abdalah. So if I've got this right, he doesn't actually announce himself as the hidden immam Given this title of Al Nakti, why is that So Al Mahdi is a very important choice of title because Almhdi is a title used in Messianic context, specifically in S Islam And it means that they' rightly guided by God with a kind of messianic meaning. within this connotation. And with this titles on the ground of him being recognized as a direct descendant from Fatima. Anie We had the actual beginning of what becomes known as the fatimid rule salt. Fatimid is designated in the sources as the beginning of the fatimid rule Are they openly calling themselves the fatimids at this point? Is that a name that they give themselves? The fatimids, not just at the beginning, but also afterwards never actually called themselves fatimids They call themselves the Dowlal hack They downlad the regime of the touth or the touthful regime it was mainly used by peopleeople outside, observers, sympathizers or detractors of these rulers Who called them Fatimid because of this claim of des scent from Fatima the moniker stack And then it became used whether by the tractors or supporters of the dynasty as a way to call and denominate this dynasty theseese rulers, but themselves they call themselves Daatal Hak Yeah, interestnteresting. How do the fatamids go about then cementing their authority, given that they're a minority. So they're effectively going to have to be a minority ruling the majority Sunni population, how difficult do they find that? And how do they balance relations with other Muslim powers? Yes Throughout all the rule, the fatimist will remain a minority regime ruling over Shia Ismeli regime ruling over a majority Sunni population with other Shi groups as well and also non Muslims minorities. Okay, first of all, in a very practical sense, the moment the fatimid rule is inaugurated in North Africa They have no experience of administration or management, not to that scale theseese new rulers inherit a vast territory that comprises parts of Algeria, parts of Libya, parts of Tunisia very vast territories, Sicily comes under imid rule. The Aglabetet conquered Sicily in eight hundred twenty seven. and itans remained under Muslim rule all the time. And then when the Fatimans arrive they find themselves having control of Sicily as well. And you go from what you said before being a covered operation into one that has to take care of what is becoming and building into an empire, vast territories First of all, the first thing they do is to issue an AMmN document. The AmN is a safe conduct also to pacify end it reach out to the local population basically say you can continue to practice what you want and do, what you like terms of your faith, etcet, as long as you recognise us as the new leader. and they also use the administrative structure that the agglabid has left behind. Aglabid administrators and high officials, they didn't have much of a choice either you serve the new masters or disappear physically or otherwise, and therefore, They were encouraed to go and work for the new regime. There isn't very much a sense that major repression was going on that there was obviously some but not to the extent of heavy involvement in suppressing local population. It was something that even if they wanted they could not afford because We have a majority population that is not cheer let alone is Miley and they would not be able to join Is Miley because even if they wanted to because to be initiated into this mive brand of Islam. It's a very carefully vetted process and therefore the secrecy of the esotic doctrines made it sure that only those who were is suitable and really committed could advance in acquiring this knowledge. How do they do it then The fact that there was from the start, successful economy impacting positively in the area, that certainly was an inviting reassuring element. The army, the Berbers were stationed in position of control, some descent of course And it was Nest I think it was also a time when the rulers were very keen on demonstrating their righteousness. They were very careful in imposing the right taxes They were very careful in ensuring that the army was paid. There are episodes where the utama went on rampage and started looting places and the regime punished them and made them return what they had taken. So this idea that this iman would bring order and justice was witnessed most of the time by the population therefore, was kind of reassuring. It didn't attract like enthusiasm was at least reassuring in that sense. And then local governors were placed in strategic parts of these territories to look after the affair of the regime. Anyway, the presence in Kaiawan was temporary because then in the yearine hundred and twenty one, Almari moved new capital that he had funded I Tonesia along the coast, the city of Al Marddia and this opens new ventures for the dynasty. It was a very significant move and a very significant statement, the fact that his ruer builds it doesn't just use the old capital of the old regime but is confident enough and shows vision in building a new capital along the coast. So Makia is completed in hundred twenty one and this is where we find now this. regime As the saying goes, if these walls could talk. And on the Betwixt the Sheets podcast, we make it our business to discover what happened behind closed doors, and even more importantly, in the bedrooms of people all throughout history Kings, queens, mistresses, servants, and everyone in between We also get up close and personal with medieval aphrodysisiacs, lethal Victorian makeup routines, and look at the scandalous lives of beloved children's authors. Nothing is off limits In other words, it's the best bits of history with me, Dr. Kate Lister. Listen to but twwix the sheets of the history of sex scandal and society twice a week every week, wherever it is that you get your podcasts, brought to you by the award winning network, History Hit How does one Fatimid ruler secure or begin to establish a kind of Fatimid dynasty What he does He announces his son, Abul Kasim as his successor according to Ismali rules, the incumbent imam is the one who points publicly his successor He announces that his son Abul Qazim will be his successor. It will happen at some point. Abul Khazim will take the ruling name title of alQaim again, another title which is very schatological messianic flavor And therefore, in a sense, we can technically say that at the moment Almardi announces that His son will succeed him as al Kim. He technically begins the fatimid not just as a rule but as a dynasty. So there is a dynastic project that begins I did want to just talk about the establishment of that capital at Martia Moving it to the coast seems like a really loud signal to other powers that the Fatamids are planning B a major force in the area. you know they're not going to sit in land at an old capital that the agglobids had. They're moving to the coast, which positions them on the Mediterranean able to move about the sea and also threaten other powers. They must have looked like something that the Abbasids and the Byzantines and everybody else might need to keep a really close eye and might need to be a bit worried about. Was that part of the idea of moving there to kind of announce themselves on the international stage Yes, absolutely. The Fatimids become a naval force, both in military terms and in commercial terms. So it's a statement to say We are here to take into the commercial and military opportunities that the Mediterranean Sea has to offer and they also have the equipment and the resources to build a Navy. Sicily here becomes a very important part of the growing Fat toid than part because it is from Sicily that the fatinens acquired wood to build the boats. in the best place where they had the arsenal, etceter The site of Madia was from ancient time it as a very prominent place as a point of reference in mared timee trade, the Fatimids buil a bespoke a capital bridge with symbolism also in terms of the shape of the fortress and the famous mosque of Madia, the way of his position in relation to it. At this point, the fatimids announced themselves with this move as competitors with The Umayans of Allandalus in the Iberian peninsula, we have the other Sunni dynasty that taken control of Allandalus and were very prominent players in the Mediterranean trade They announced themselves as contenders against the Abasids who occupied the eastern Mediterranean and the Byzantine emmpire as well. Let's not forget the Byzantine force In fact, the Navy, the move to Marddia, sent such powerful message that the King Simeon of Bulgaria who had aimed at challenging the Byzantine advances of your Christian King, Simeon of Bulgaria, who has issues against the Byzantine and at some point he sends a voice to Alpadi in Mardillia to seek an alliance wanting the maritime force of the Fatimids to join the Bulganian king in order to fight against the Byzantine The agreement was reached and then it fell apart, but it gives a sense of how