Fatimid Cosmopolitanism: History, Material Culture, Politics and Religion

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by Gregory Bilotto

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I.B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies has published the following work as open access. The Fatimid caliphs (297–567/909–1171), who were also the Ismaili Imams, reigned over a vast state stretching from North Africa (including Egypt) to Sicily, Syria and the Hijaz. Under Fatimid patronage, the arts and sciences flourished alongside Ismaili thought and literature. An extensive trade network was centred on their capital, Cairo, facilitating cosmopolitan exchange across their caliphate, the Mediterranean and other lands. This led to innovation in the production of decorative arts, monumental building programmes, international commerce and significant intellectual exchange. The original research of 22 scholars is here organised into four sections on aspects of Fatimid cosmopolitanism, covering religion and statecraft, the Fatimid legacy reconsidered, ceremony and symbolism and art and archaeology. Contributors to this volume include Ali Asgar Hussamuddin Alibhai, Khalil Andani, Dina Ishak Bakhoum, Daniel Beben, Doris Behrens-Abouseif, Gregory Bilotto, Anna Contadini, Delia Cortese, Farhad Daftary, Valérie Gonzalez, Shainool Jiwa, Hasan al-Khoee, Juan de Lara, Ayala Lester, Bernard O'Kane, Marcus Pilz, Stéphane Pradines, Jennifer A. Pruitt, Yossef Rapoport, Paula Sanders, Avinoam Shalem, Yasser Tabbaa, Jamel A. Velji and Paul E. Walker. 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 the Institute of Ismaili Studies. 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. Farhad Daftary is director emeritus and a member of the board of governors of the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. An authority in Ismaili studies, Dr Daftary has published and lectured widely in this field of Islamic studies. His own research has contributed to a better understanding of aspects of Ismaili history. As well as serving on various editorial and advisory boards. He has written and edited 27 books and more than 250 articles and encyclopedia entries. In 2011, a Festschrift entitled Fortresses of the Intellect was produced to honor Daftary by a number of his colleagues and peers. 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).

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