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FATIMITES, or FATIMIDES
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See also:FATIMITES, or FATIMIDES , the name of a See also:dynasty called after Fatima, daughter of the See also:prophet See also:Mahomet, from whom and her See also:husband the See also:caliph See also:Ali, son of See also:Abu Talib, they claimed descent. The dynasty is also called `Obaidi (Ubaidi) after `Obaidallah, the first See also:sovereign, and `Alawi, a See also:title which it shares with other dynasties claiming the same ancestry. For a See also:list of sovereigns see See also:EGYPT, See also:section See also:History (See also:Mahommedan See also:period); three, however, must be prefixed who reigned in See also:north-western See also:Africa before the See also:annexation of Egypt: al-See also:Mandi `Obaidallah 297 (909); al-Qa'See also:im Mahommed 322 (934); al-Mansur See also:Ismail 334 (945). The dynasty owed its rise to the See also:attachment to the See also:family of the prophet which was widespread in the Moslem See also:world, and the belief that the See also:sovereignty was the right of one of its members. Owing, however, to the See also:absence of the principle of See also:primogeniture there was difference of See also:opinion as to the See also:person whose claim should be enforced, and a number of sects arose maintaining the rights of different branches of the family. The Fatimites were supported by those who regarded the sovereignty as vested in Ismail, son of Ja'far al-Sadiq, See also:great-great-See also:grandson of All, through his second son Hosain (Husain). Of this Ismail the first Fatimite caliph was supposed to be the great-grandson. The. See also:line of ancestors between him and Ismail is, however, variously given, even his See also:father's name being quite uncertain, and in some of the pedigrees even Ismail does not figure. Apparently when the family first became of See also:political importance their Alid descent was not disputed at See also:Bagdad, and the poet al-Sharif al-Radi (d. A.H. 406: A.D. 1o15), in whose family the See also:office of Naqib (registrar of the Alids) was hereditary, appears to have acknowledged it (Diwan, ed. See also:Beirut, p. 972). When their success became a menace to the caliphs of Bagdad, genealogists were employed to demonstrate the falsity of the claim, and a considerable literature, both See also:official and unofficial, See also:rose in consequence. The founder of the dynasty was made out to be a See also:scion of a family of heretics from whom the terrible Carmathian See also:sect had originated: later on (perhaps owing to the role played by See also:Jacob, son of See also:Killis, in bringing the Fatimites to Egypt), the founder was made out to have been a See also:Jew, either as having been adopted by the heretic supposed to be his father, or See also:a4 having been made to personate the real 'Obaidallah, who had been killed in captivity. While the stories that make him of either Jewish or Carmathian origin may be neglected, as the product of malice, the uncertainty of the genealogies offered by their partisans renders any See also:positive See also:solution of the problem impossible. What seems to be clear is that secretly within the Abbasid See also:empire propaganda was carried on in favour of one or See also:ether Alid aspirant, and the danger which any such aspirant incurred by coming forward openly led to his whereabouts being :oncealed except from a very few adherents. What is known then is that towards the end of the 3rd Islamic See also:century the See also:leader of the sect of Isrna`ilites (Assassins, q.v.) who afterwards mounted a See also:throne, lived at Salamia, near Emesa (Horns), having agents spread over See also:Arabia, See also:Persia and See also:Syria, and frequently receiving visits from pious adherents, who had been on See also:pilgrimage to the See also:grave of Hosain (Husain). Such visitors received directions and orders such as are usual in See also:secret See also:societies. One of these agents, Abu Abdallah al-Hosain called al-Shi'i, said to have filled the office of See also:censor (inuhtasib) at See also:Basra, received orders to carry on a See also:mission in Arabia, and at See also:Mecca is said to have made the acquaintance of some members of the See also:Berber tribe Kutama, See also:south of the See also:bay of See also:Bougie. These persons persuaded him to travel See also:home with them in the See also:character of teacher of the See also:Koran, but according to some authorities the ground had already been prepared there for a political mission. He arrived in the Kutama See also:country in See also:June 893, and appears very soon to have been made See also:chief, thereby exciting the suspicion of the Aghlabite ruler of See also:Kairawan, See also:Ibrahim b. Ahmad, which, however, was soon allayed. His success provoked a See also:civil See also:war among the See also:Berbers, but he was protected by a chief named Hosan b. See also:Harun, and displayed sufficient military ability to win respect. Nine years after his arrival he made use of the unrest following on the See also:death of the Aghlabite Ibrahim to attack the See also:town of Mils,which he took by treachery, and turned into his See also:capital; the son and successor of Ibrahim, Abu'l-`Abbas `Abdallah, sent his son al-Ahwal to See also:deal with the new See also:power, and he defeated al-Shi i in some battles, but in 903 al-Ahwal was recalled by his See also:brother Ziyadatallah, who had usurped the throne, and put to death. At some See also:time after his first successes al-Shi'i sent a messenger (apparently his brother) to the See also:head of his sect at Salamia, bidding him come to the Kutama country, and See also:place himself at the head of affairs, since al-Shi'i's followers had been taught to pay See also:homage to a Mandi who would at some time be shown them. It is said that `Obaidallah, who now held this See also:post, was known to the See also:court at Bagdad, and that on the See also:news of his departure orders were sent to the See also:governor of Egypt to See also:arrest him:- but by skilful simulation `Obaidallah succeeded in escaping this danger, and with his escort reached See also:Tripoli safely. Instructions had by this time reached the Aghlabite Ziyadatallah to be on the See also:watch for the Mandi, who was finally arrested at Sijilmasa (See also:Tafilalt) in the See also:year A.H. 292 (A.D. 905) ; his See also:companion, al-Shi'i's brother, had been arrested at an earlier point, and the Mandi's See also:journey to the south-See also:west must have been to elude pursuit. The invitation to the Mandi turned out to have been premature; for Ziyadatallah had sent a powerful See also:army to oppose al-Shi'i, which, making See also:Constantine its•headquarters, had driven al-Shi`i into the mountains: after six months al-Shi`i secured an opportunity for attacking it, and won a See also:complete victory. See also:Early in 906 another army was sent to deal with al-Shi'i, and an See also:earnest See also:appeal came from the caliph Mugtafi (Moktafi), addressed to all the Moslems of Africa, to aid Ziyadatallah against the usurper. The operations of the Aghlabite See also:prince were unproductive of any decided result, and by See also:September 906 al-Shi'i had got See also:possession of the important fortress Tubna and some others. Further forces were immediately sent to the front by Ziyadatallah, but these were defeated by al-Shi`i and his See also:officers, to whom other towns capitulated, till Ziyadatallah found it prudent to retire from Al-Urbus or Laribus, which had been his headquarters, and entrench himself in Raqqada, one of the two capitals of his See also:kingdom, Kairawan being the other. Ziyadatallah is charged by the chroniclers with dissoluteness and levity, and even cowardice: after his See also:retreat the fortresses and towns in what now constitute the See also:department of Constantine and in See also:Tunisia See also:fell fast into al-Shi'i's hands, and he was soon able to threaten Raqqada itself.
By See also: Revolts which arose in different parts of the Aghlabite kingdom were, however, speedily quelled. The course followed by `Obaidallah in governing independently of al-Shi`i soon led to dissatisfaction on the See also:part of the latter, who, urged on it is said by his brother, decided to dethrone their Mandi, and on the occasion of an expedition to Tenes, which al-Shi i commanded, organized a See also:conspiracy with that end. The conspiracy was betrayed to `Obaidallah, who took steps to defeat it, and on the last day of See also:July 911 contrived to assassinate both al-Shi'i and his brother. Thus the See also:procedure which had characterized the See also:accession of the `Abbasid dynasty was repeated. It has been conjectured that these assassinations lost the Fatimites the support of the organization that continued to exist in the See also:East, whence the See also:Carmathians figure as an See also:independent and even hostile community, though they appear to have been amenable to the See also:influence of the See also:African caliph. `Obaidallah had now to See also:face the dissatisfaction of the tribes whose See also:allegiance al-Shi i had won, especially the Kutama, See also:Zenata and Lawata: the uprising of the first assumed formidable proportions, and they even elected a Mandi of their own, one Kadu b. Mu`arik al-Mawati, who promulgated a new See also:revelation for their guidance. They were finally defeated by `Obaidallah's son Abu'l-Qasim Mahommed,. who took Constantine, and succeeded in capturing the new Mandi, whom he brought to Raqqada. Other opponents were got rid of by `Obaidallah by ruthless executions. By the See also:middle of the year 913 by his own and his son's efforts he had brought his kingdom into See also:order. After the See also:style of most founders of dynasties he then selected a site for a new capital, to be called after his title Mandia (q.v.), on a See also:peninsula called Mamma (Cape Africa) S.S.E. of Kairawan. Eight years were spent in fortifying this place, which in 921 was made the capital of the empire. After defeating See also:internal enemies `Obaidallah turned his See also:attention to the remaining `Abbasid possessions in Africa, and his See also:general Habasah b. Yusuf in the year 913 advanced along the See also:northern See also:coast, taking various places, including the important town of See also:Barca, his progress, it is said, being marked by great See also:cruelty. He then advanced towards Egypt, and towards the end of July 914, being reinforced by Abu'l-Qasim, afterwards al-Qa'im, entered See also:Alexandria. The danger led to See also:measures of unusual See also:energy being taken by the Bagdad caliph Moqtadir, an army being sent to Egypt under Mu`nis, and a See also:special post being organized between that country and Bagdad to convey messages uninterruptedly. The Fatimite forces were defeated, partly owing to the insubordination of the general Habasah, in the See also:winter of 914, and returned to Barca and Kairawan with great loss.
A second expedition was undertaken. against Egypt in the year 919, and on the loth of July Alexandria was entered by Abu'l-Qasim, who then advanced southward, seizing the See also:Fayum and Ushmunain (Eshmunain). He was presently reinforced by a See also:fleet, which, however, was defeated at See also:Rosetta in March of the year 920 by a fleet despatched from See also:Tarsus by the `Abbasid caliph Moqtadir, most of the vessels being burned. Through the energetic measures of the caliph, who sent repeated reinforcements to Fostat, Abu'l-Qasim was compelled in the See also:spring of 921 to evacuate the places which he had seized, and return to the west with the remains of his army, which had suffered much from See also:plague as well as defeat on the See also: He immediately after his accession occupied himself with thereconquest of Fez and Nekor, which had revolted during the last years of the former caliph. He also despatched a fleet under Ya`qub b. Ishaq, which ravaged the coast of See also:France, took See also:Genoa, and plundered the coast of See also:Calabria before returning to Africa. A third attempt made by him to take Egypt resulted in a disastrous defeat at Dhat al-Human, after which the remains of the expedition retreated in disorder to Barca. The later years of the reign of Qa'im were troubled by the uprising of Abu Yazid Makhlad al-Zenati, a leader who during the former reign had acquired a following among the tribes inhabiting the See also:Jebel Aures, including adherents of the `Ibadi sect. After having fled for a time to Mecca', this person returned in 937 to Tauzar (Touzer), the See also:original seat of his operations, and was imprisoned by Qa'im's order. His sons, aided by the powerful tribe Zenata, succeeded in forcing the prison, and releasing their father, who continued to organize a conspiracy on a vast See also:scale, and by the end of 943 was strong enough to take the field against the Fatimite sovereign, whom he drove out of Kairawan. Abu Yazid proclaimed himself a See also:champion of Sunni See also:doctrine against the Shi`is, and ordered the legal See also:system of Malik to be restored in place of that introduced by the Fatimites. Apparently the doctrines of the latter has as yet won little popularity, and Abu Yazid won an enormous following, except among the Kutama, who remained faithful to Qa'im. On the last day of See also:October 944, an engagement was fought between Kairawan and Mandia at a place called al-Akhawan, which resulted in the rout of Qa'im's forces, and the caliph's being shortly after shut up in his capital, the suburbs of which he defended by a See also:trench. Abu Yazid's forces were See also:ill-suited to maintain a protracted See also:siege, and since, owing to the former caliph's forethought, the capital was in a See also:condition to hold out for a long time, many of them deserted and the besiegers gained no permanent See also:advantage. After the siege had lasted some ten months Abu Yazid was compelled to raise it (September 943) ; the struggle, however, did not end with that event, and for a time the caliph and Abu Yazid continued to fight with varying See also:fortune, while anarchy prevailed over most of the caliph's dominions. On the 13th of See also:January 946, Abu Yazid shut up Qa'im's forces in See also:Susa which he began to besiege, and attempted to take by See also:storm. On the 18th of May 945, while Abu Yazid was besieging Susa, the caliph al-Qa'im died at Mandia, and was succeeded by his son Ismail, who took the title Mansur. He almost immediately relieved Susa by sending a fleet, which joining with the See also:garrison inflicted a severe defeat on Abu Yazid, who had to evacuate Kairawan also; but though the cities were mainly in the hands of Fatimite prefects, Abu Yazid was able to maintain the field for more than two years longer, while his followers were steadily decreasing in See also:numbers, and he was repeatedly driven into fastnesses of the See also:Sahara. In August 947 his last stronghold was taken, and he died of wounds received in defending it. His sons carried on some desultory warfare against Mansur after their father's death. A town called See also:Mansura or Sabra was built adjoining Kairawan to celebrate the decisive victory over Ahu Yazid, which, however, did not long preserve its name. The exhausted condition of north-west Africa due to the protracted civil war required some years of See also:peace for recuperation, and further exploits are not recorded for Mansur, who died on the r9th of March 952. His son, Abu Tamim Ma`add, was twenty-two years of See also:age at the time, and succeeded his father with the title Mo'izz lidin allah. His authority was acknowledged over the greater part of the region now constituting See also:Morocco, See also:Algeria and Tunisia, as well as See also:Sicily, and he appears to have had serious thoughts of endeavouring to annex See also:Spain. At an early period in his reign he made Jauhar, who had been secretary under the former caliph, commander of the forces, and the services rendered by this person to the dynasty made him See also:count as its second founder after al-Shit. In the years 958 and 959 he was sent westwards to reduce Fez and other places where the authority of the Fatimite caliph had been repudiated, and after a successful expedition advanced as far as the See also:Atlantic. As early as 966 the See also:plan of I0 attempting a fresh invasion of Egypt was conceived, and preparations made for its See also:execution; but it was delayed, it is said at the See also:request of the caliph's See also:mother, who wished to make a pilgrimage to Mecca first; and her See also:honourable treatment by Kaffir when she passed through Egypt induced the caliph to postpone the invasion till that sovereign's death. In August 972 Mo'izz resolved to follow Jauhar's pressing invitation to enter his new capital See also:Cairo. With his arrival there the centre of the Fatimite power was transferred from Mandia and Kairawan to Egypt, and their original dominion became a See also:province called al-Maghrib, which immediately fell into the hands of a hereditary dynasty, the Zeirids, acknowledging Fatimite See also:suzerainty. The first sovereign was Bulukkin, also called Abu'l-Futuh Yusuf, appointed by Mo'izz as his See also:viceroy on the occasion of his departure for Egypt: See also:separate prefects were appointed for Sicily and Tripoli; and at the first the See also:minister of See also:finance was to he an official independent of the governor of the Maghrib. On the death of Bulukkin in 984 he was succeeded by a son who took the royal title al-Mansur, under whose See also:rule an attempt was made by the Kutama, instigated by the caliph, to shake off the yoke of the Zeirids, who originated from the Sanhaja tribe. This attempt was defeated by the energy of Mansur in 988; and the sovereignty of the Fatimites in the Maghrib became more and more confined to recognition in public See also:prayer and on coins, and the See also:payment of See also:tribute and the giving of presents to the viziers at Cairo. The See also:fourth ruler of the Zeirid dynasty, called Mo'izz, endeavoured to substitute `Abbasid suzerainty for Fatimite: his See also:land was invaded by Arab colonies sent by the Fatimite caliph, with whom in 1051 Mo'izz fought a decisive engagement, after which the dominion of the Zeirids was restricted to the territory adjoining Mandia; a number of smaller kingdoms rising up around them. The Zeirids were finally overthrown by See also:Roger II. of Sicily in 1148. After the death of al-Adid, the last Fatimite caliph in Egypt, of which he was editor from 1839 until 1842, when the See also:paper some attempts were made to place on the throne a member of I changed hands. See also:Faucher belonged in policy to the dynastic the family, and at one time there seemed a See also:chance of the Assassins, See also:Left, and consistently preached moderation to the more ardent who formed a See also:branch of the Fatimite sect, assisting in this project. I Liberals. On resigning his connexion with the Courrier See also:francais he gave his attention chiefly to economic questions. He advocated a customs See also:union between the Latin countries to See also:counter-See also:balance the See also:German See also:Zollverein, and in view of the impracticability of such a measure narrowed his proposal in 1842 to a customs union between France and See also:Belgium. In 1843 he visited See also:England to study the See also:English social system, See also:publishing the results of his investigations in a famous See also:series of Etudes sur l'Angleterre (2 vols., 1845), published originally in the Revue See also:des deux mondes. He helped to organize the See also:Bordeaux association for See also:free-See also:trade propaganda, and it was as an See also:advocate of free trade that he was elected in 1847 to the chamber of deputies for See also:Reims. After the revolution of 1848 he entered the Constituent See also:Assembly for the department of See also:Marne, where he opposed many Republican measures—the See also:limitation of the See also:hours of labour, the creation of the See also:national See also:relief See also:works in See also:Paris, the abolition of the death See also:penalty and others. Under the See also:presidency of See also: " Falsus-Burgus "), was taken as showing its obvious origin and meaning, the sham or quasi-See also:borough. The generally accepted derivation is from fors, outside (See also:Lat. foris, outside the See also:gates), and bourg. It is suggested that the word is the See also:French See also:adaptation of the Ger. Pfahlburger, the burghers of the See also:pale, i.e. outside the walls but within the pale. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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