Kinship, Camaraderie and Contestation: Fāṭimid Relations with the Ashrāf in the Fourth/Tenth Century. Issue 3 (1st September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jiwa, Shainool
• Is Part Of: Al-Masāq. Volume 28:Issue 3(2016)
• Page Start: 242
• Page End: 264
• Publication Date: 2016-09-01
• Subjects: Islam/Social History -- Eastern Mediterranean -- Muḥammad -- prophet – descendants -- Fātimids; Egyptian dynasty -- Ismā'īlism -- Muslim sect -- Egypt – society -- Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh -- Fāṭimid caliph -- Azīz bi'llāh -- Fāṭimid caliph -- Ashrāf -- social group; Civilization, Islamic -- Periodicals; Islamic Empire -- Periodicals; Mediterranean Region -- Civilization -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 909.04927
• DOI: 10.1080/09503110.2016.1243781
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0950-3110

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The founding of the Fāṭimid caliphate across the southern Mediterranean, and then in Egypt, Syria and the Ḥijāz at the turn of the fourth/tenth century, necessitated its negotiation with the ashrāf, those who claimed lineal descent from the Prophet Muḥammad, and who by this time had gained significant influence as a social class based on their charismatic descent. While other dynastic powers fostered relationships with various members of the ashrāf, the Fāṭimid–ashrāf dynamics were distinctive in that the Fāṭimids legitimised their rule as Ismāʿīlī Shīʿī imām-caliphs, based on their claim of descent from the Prophet Muḥammad, and as the sole successors to his authority and leadership over the Islamic world. Consequently, Fāṭimid–ashrāf relations were permeated by fraternal camaraderie as well as by competing contestations based on their shared claim to Prophetic lineage.