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37 RELIGION, ETHNICITY AND GENDER UNDER FATIMID RULE 38

RELIGION, ETHNICITY AND GENDER UNDER FATIMID RULE. THREE RECENT PUBLICATIONS AND THEIR WIDER RESEARCH CONTEXT*)

Johannes DEN HEIJER

This review article aims at examining a limited number of identity-related issues as studied in three recent publications on aspects of the medieval Middle East. Two of these publi- cations (Halm; Cortese & Calderini) directly concern the Fatimid empire (909-1171 CE) and thus to a large degree dis- cuss phenomena pertaining to Egypt and more particularly to Cairo, although they pay sufficient attention to other regions, and to other periods of time as well. The third monograph (Meri) rather focuses on Syria in a period that coincides with the Fatimid period but extends its observations up till the six- teenth century CE.1)

*) Review article on HALM, H., Die Kalifen von Kairo. Die Fatimiden in Ägypten 973-1074. Verlag C.H. Beck, München, 2003 (22 cm, 511). ISBN 3-406-48654-1; CORTESE, D. and S. CALDERINI, Women and the Fatimids in the world of Islam. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2006 (23,5 cm, XVII, 269). ISBN 7486 1733 7. £ 16,99; MERI, J.W., The Cult of Saints among Muslims and Jews in Medieval Syria. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002 (22,5 cm, XIV, 327). ISBN 0-19-925078-2. £ 55,-. 1) Parts of this review article were inspired by an undergraduate course taught at Leiden University in the academic year 2005-2006, and owes a great deal to the input and enthousiasm of the participating students: Fatima Ballah, Jelle Bruning, Karim Darwish, Daniëlle Dürst Britt, Hodda Fiala, Eelco van der Maat, Ilja Mottier-Holtz, Tom Verstraete, Joep Verwey and Amir Westhof. The author is indebted to Ronald E. Kon of Bibliotheca Orientalis for his encouragement and patience. 0993-8_BIOR_2008/1-2_01 21-04-2008 14:39 Pagina 22

39 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LXV N° 1-2, januari-april 2008 40

By way of introduction, it should be pointed out that this The following analysis, then, will be limited to the themes “triple book review” is deliberately limited in its scope, for mentioned in the title: religious and ethnic identity, and gen- by no means does it purport to give a full account of the three der issues. These subjects pertain to both social and cultural publications in question. Particularly Heinz Halm’s compre- history, and, arguably, to the history of ideas as well. As for hensive study includes many more aspects of Fatimid history the societal aspect, it should be borne in mind, however, that than can possibly be considered here, although, as should be the outlook of the available sources prevents modern schol- remembered, his book is relatively limited in its chronologi- arship from fully grasping the social stratigraphy of the peri- cal scope, being the second volume in what is to become a ods and areas in question. Thus, we are simply far better comprehensive trilogy on the history of the Fatimids.2) informed on matters and events pertaining to members of the Some issues that can only be mentioned in passing here are: court, the administration, the upper echelons of the armies, (1) Political history: when Fatimid rule was established in in other words, of the social elite, than on the lives of work- Cairo, Egypt, for the first time since antiquity, became the ers, peasants and common soldiers. All modern authors dis- centre of an empire again, rather than a province of an empire play an implicit or explicit awareness of this methodological as in the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods, and from this handicap. In this review, the disproportional emphasis on the centre, the Fatimids came to rule considerable parts of North higher strata of society will be simply accepted as a given Africa (and Sicily) and the Middle East. The vicissitudes of feature of the available data. territorial conflicts with rival powers (the Abbasids and the The following analysis favours three criteria of “dissect- Byzantines, mainly), the struggle against breakaway local ing” a given population, while acknowledging, naturally, that rulers, and various military events receive ample and detailed other fault lines could be identified just as well. These three attention in Halm’s monograph. criteria are linked to the following types of entities: (1) con- (2) Urban history: it was the Fatimids who created the fessionally defined communities: Sunni and Isma¨ili (Shi¨i) new capital of al-Qahira (Cairo), next to the existing metrop- Muslims, Jews and Christians belonging to several denomi- olis of MiÒr (al-Fus†a†, al-¨Askar, al-Qa†aˆi¨), and this new nations; (2) ethnic groups: Berbers, Africans, Turks, Arabs capital underwent an interesting evolution from a “forbid- (particularly Bedouin tribes), as well as the native popula- den” ritual capital to a more regular medieval fortified city. tions of Egypt and Syria; and (3) women, basically belong- The first phases of this development also figure prominently ing to all possible groups included in the first two categories. in various parts of Halm’s study. Needless to say, a clear-cut distinction between all these enti- (3) Social and economic history: Fatimid Cairo was the ties is not always possible or even useful. Nevertheless, for centre of an impressive trade network and a huge entrepôt practical considerations, gender-related issues will sometimes connected to Southern Europe through Alexandria and Dami- be linked here to either confessional or ethnic identity, but etta, as well as to South Arabia and India via the Red Sea they will mostly figure in our last section, which is devoted port of ¨Ay∂ab. On this and related matters, it is mostly in to topics particularly involving women as such, mostly in the first chapters that Halm provides valuable information, Delia Cortese’s & Simonetta Calderini’s monograph. including whatever data may be obtained from the sources on daily issues that clearly affected the lives of all classes of 1. Confessionally defined entities society, including trade, price levels, monetary policy, mar- kets, industries, health care, ecology, etc. (Halm 15-18, 32- The Fatimid Empire was characterized by a high degree of 40, 72-78, 78-81, 89-92). confessional and ethnic pluralism. Isma¨ili Shi¨ism was the (4) History of art and architecture: the Fatimid period saw creed of the Court and the State, but particularly in Egypt the the constructions of such famous and impressive buildings as majority of Muslims followed the Sunnite (particularly the mosques of al-Azhar, al-Îakim, al-Aqmar, of the walls Malikite) schools of jurisprudence. Moreover, Christians still of Cairo with its gates that still stand today, and of shrines of were a large part of the population in all Fatimid territories. saints. It is also known for its pottery, illustrated manuscripts, The Jews, although a minority, stand out in terms of their and other species of fine art that can be found in many muse- remarkably well documented history. Members of all these, ums all over the world. and other, non-Isma¨ili communities, at times obtained promi- (5) Sciences: medicine, and mathematics and astrology nent positions in the administration. Fatimid policy towards flourished as well, arguably to an extent quite comparable to Sunni Islam in particular was sometimes one of confrontation earlier periods of Classical Arab culture. These cultural but mostly targeted at some form of accommodation. In many expressions are given relatively little attention, but they cer- other aspects too, interaction between the various communi- tainly are not overlooked entirely. ties was an intricate process that still necessitates a great deal Despite the obvious importance and abundance of Halm’s of research. Even though in Egypt any type of Shi¨ism all but information on these and other topics, we must refrain from vanished soon after the decline of the Fatimid caliphate, two discussing them in further detail. Similarly, the contents of centuries of Isma¨ili domination were to have a lasting impact the two other monographs will also be discussed rather selec- on religious practices, in particular with regard to the vener- tively. In order to situate these studies in a wider research ation of the family members of the prophet MuÌammad (ahl context, we will occasionally refer to other recent publica- al-bayt, “people of the house”). By contrast, in other regions, tions, but since all works under consideration include exten- such as Syria, various branches of Shi¨ism including sive bibliographies, there is no need here to refer to older Isma¨ilism continued to thrive until the present day. scholarly literature, except in a few isolated cases. The scholarly study of all these complex phenomena is now significantly enhanced by the three studies reviewed here. In this section, we will treat the various communities 2) The formative period of Fatimid history is dealt with in H. Halm, Das one by one, with due attention to processes of interaction Reich des Mahdi: der Aufstieg der Fatimiden (875-973), München 1991 = The empire of the Mahdi: the rise of the Fatimids, Leiden [etc.] 1996. between them. 0993-8_BIOR_2008/1-2_01 21-04-2008 14:39 Pagina 23

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1.1. Isma¨ilis and other Shi¨ites to every aspect of public life, typically through the imple- None of the three monographs are primarily concerned mentation of the law. (…)” (Cortese & Calderini 30). In with religious doctrine as such. Halm’s sections devoted to numerous relevant studies, including Halm’s, this facet of Isma¨ili religious matters rather deal with the organization of Fatimid governance is highlighted, and mostly so in the field the propagation of the faith (da¨wa) than with the religious of Islamic law and its implementation. One instance worth aspects properly speaking (particularly in Halm 253-268). reminding in this context is Daniel De Smet’s ground-break- ing article on coping with different views on determining the Nevertheless, the essential tenets of the doctrine are explained 6 adequately, with references to more detailed studies, includ- beginning and end of the Ramadan fasting period. ) ing recent ones by Wilferd Madelung, Daniel De Smet and Before discussing this intra-Muslim issue in a more others. For the study of Isma¨ili doctrine as well as for many detailed manner, it is necessary to first tackle the question of other aspects of Fatimid and Isma¨ili history, a very impor- sources and their bias. Paul E. Walker’s Exploring an Islamic tant new addition is Farhad Daftary’s impressive Ismaili Lit- Empire appeared just in time to be included in Halm’s bibli- erature, which actually is much more than a bibliography ography but, quite understandably, is not often referred to (covering studies in a wide variety of languages including directly. Nevertheless, as Daniel De Smet has pointed out in Arabic, Turkish, Urdu, Dutch and Serbo-Croatian) as it pro- this very same journal, Walker’s recent study is of primary vides highly informative outlines of all primary sources writ- importance precisely, and most of all, because of its exten- ten by or attributable to Isma¨ili authors known to date, as sive evaluation of the various categories of those sources. The well as a concise yet thorough historic overview of all present reviewer entirely agrees with De Smet when he some- branches of Isma¨ilism and an extensive bibliography of what puts into perspective Walker’s complaint on the paucity research on a wide variety of Isma¨ilism-related topics.3) of modern studies on the Fatimids and Isma¨ilism, which he Isma¨ilism being one of the main currents within Shi¨ism, links directly to his observation that most of the original a clear understanding of its relations with other branches, and sources derive from a Sunni environment essentially hostile particularly of those with Twelver Shi¨ism, is of course a mat- to their doctrine. Only now that so much new source mater- ter of intrinsic importance.4) The three studies reviewed here, ial has been disclosed (as can be appreciated even more since however, only occasionally touch upon cases where Isma¨ili Daftary’s aforementioned work has become available) can doctrine and claims are either identical to, or, inversely, one begin to fully understand what Isma¨ilism is really about. No longer are we limited to Sunni authors, whose works are plainly at odds with other branches of Shi¨ism, as pointed out 7 by Halm (see below, 1.2) and by Cortese & Calderini (3.1). earmarked by various degrees of either ignorance or bias. ) Finally, Halm’s study reminds us of the fact that not all From a slightly different angle, Halm at regular intervals Isma¨ilis were prepared to accept the Fatimid claims, and that convincingly distinguishes fact from fiction in the accounts particularly the Qarmatians of Eastern Arabia frequently of the later, non-Isma¨ili historians. One should realize, nev- turned out to be a fiercer menace to them than the Abbasid ertheless, that much more systematic research is required caliphate itself. Out of the many instances of this competi- before we can truly assess the attitude and bias of those late tion presented by Halm, one may mention here his elaborate authors. The works of the later historians, such as Ibn Muyas- section on the struggle for control over Mecca and Medina sar, and most of all al-Maqrizi should be further scrutinized and the pilgrimage routes (Halm 113-118, and cf. also 149).5) from this angle. It is true that the latter polygraph has been Whereas the 12th century and later ramifications of the object of a great deal of precious research, but at the same Isma¨ilism are beyond the chronological scope of Halm’s time, almost exclusive attention there is given to his accounts book, the latter does an informative account of the earlier of his own times, i.e. the Mamluk period. In a recent special Druze schism, with due attention to what can be known about issue of the Mamluk Studies Review, only one very interest- ing but necessarily concise contribution is devoted to al- its doctrine, albeit with more emphasis on the legitimisation 8 of its political aspirations (Halm 281-297). The later schisms Maqrizi’s handling of Fatimid times. ) in question do occur quite extensively, however, in Cortese’s For the time being, our overall impression would be that & Calderini’s monograph (passim), with a special focus on Walker and others are absolutely right in pointing at the later marriage policies involving the imam-caliphs and their inti- historians’ ignorance when it comes to Isma¨ili religious mates. beliefs, which may sometimes account for their emphasis on legendary stories or fabricated accounts, but that on the other 1.2. Sunnites under Isma¨ili rule hand, the very same historians were also archivists and com- One of the most eloquent characterizations of Isma¨ili- pilers, who, with varying degrees of fidelity, reproduced older Sunni relations in Fatimid Egypt in contemporary scholarly texts ultimately deriving from contemporary witnesses. The literature is the following passage from Cortese & Calderini: point, then — as Walker himself implicitly admits in his more “(…) the population of Egypt was predominantly Sunni and remained so till the end of the Fatimid rule, in spite of the fact that the Fatimids sought to imprint an Ismaili character 6) D. De Smet, “Comment déterminer le début et la fin du jeûne de Ramadan? Un point de discorde entre sunnites et ismaéliens en Egypte fatimide”, in U. Vermeulen & D. De Smet (eds.), Egypt and Syria in the Fatimid, Ayyubid and Mamluk Eras, Proceedings of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd 3) F. Daftary, Ismaili Literature. A Bibliography of Sources and Stud- International Colloquium organized at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven ies, London-New York 2004. in May 1992, 1993 and 1994 (Orientalia Lovaniensa Analecta 73), Leuven 4) For a highly accessible and concise account of Shi¨i Islam with a 1995, 53-69. focus on Isma¨ilism, cf. F. Daftary, Ismailis in Medieval Muslim Societies, 7) P.E. Walker, Exploring an Islamic Empire. Fatimid History and its London-New York 2005, 1-26. Cf. also on Shi‘i Islam in general, H. Laoust, Sources, London — New York 2002, 3, 12-14; cf. the review by D. De Comment définir le sunnisme et le chiisme, Paris 1985, or H. Halm, Die Smet in Bibliotheca Orientalis 63 (2006), 208-210. Schia, Darmstadt 1987 (= Shi¨ism, Edinburgh 2004). 8) P.E. Walker, “al-Maqrizi and the Fatimids”, Mamluk Studies Review 5) Cf. Daftary, Ismailis in Medieval Muslim Societies 45-61. 7 (2003), 83-97, and see below, 4 Conclusion. 0993-8_BIOR_2008/1-2_01 21-04-2008 14:39 Pagina 24

43 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LXV N° 1-2, januari-april 2008 44

than adequate appraisal of al-Maqrizi’s Fatimid material — between Isma¨ilism and the beliefs of others, Muslims or is that such reproductions often do not seem to carry the non-Muslims. expected earmarks of anti-Isma¨ili prejudice in the form of One question that might be added to these studies concerns added remarks or alterations. We will come back to this prob- the motives for this overall attitude. With regard to Christians lem of textual history below. and Jews specifically, it has been suggested that the Fatimid In order to fully grasp the nature of Sunni-Shi¨i relations rulers most of all tended to be pragmatic,11) and from this one in the Fatimid period, one should not overlook the question might infer that the same should hold true for their stance of Shi¨ism in the Maghrib, Egypt and Syria in earlier times. towards their non-Isma¨ili Muslim subjects. In this regard, an In this context, Cortese & Calderini interestingly note that a entirely different interpretation deserves our attention here, significant number of Shi¨i tombs in Egypt is dated or data- even if it has perhaps not met with much response so far. In ble to the years between 907 and 1004 CE. In the same pas- one of his numerous publications on the topic, Yves Marquet sage, they also suggest that the first converts to the Isma¨ili has argued that the very concept of tolerance is to be under- cause were women (Cortese & Calderini 31). Unfortunately, stood as part and parcel of Isma¨ili tenets.12) Since this argu- it is not quite clear where exactly the information in question ment is based on passages from the Rasaˆil (Epistles) of the derives from, and how the Shi¨i identity of the buried persons IÌwan al-∑afaˆ (the famous but anonymous “Brethren of could be ascertained. Whatever the case may be, a certain Purity”), its acceptability depends on the extent to which one Shi¨i presence in Egypt must have helped pave the way for is inclined to regard their contents as seminal for Isma¨ili the Fatimid conquest, as can also be inferred from a passage thought at large.13) by Halm on factional friction on the occasion of ostentatious One of the Fatimid dynasty’s most important means for mourning during the ¨Asuraˆ commemoration in the streets asserting their political power — particularly with regard to of MiÒr. Halm here states that by then, the local Shi¨ites felt the non-Isma¨ili majority of Muslims — was by religiously boldened by the Kutama Berber newcomers, more so than legitimising it in terms of descent from the Prophet MuÌam- during similar clashes which had occurred before the Fatimid mad through his daughter Fa†ima and her husband ¨Ali. At takeover (Halm 85-87). various stages, genealogies were issued in order to substan- Shi¨ism in Syria occasionally features in Joseph Meri’s tiate this claim. As Halm reminds us (159), criticism of this study. The latter author emphasizes that the majority of genealogy arose notably in the first decades of their rule, Aleppo’s population had been Shi¨i ever since the rule of the within the circles of the surafaˆ or descendants of the Prophet, famous Îamdanid Sayf al-Dawla (916-967), who himself had and more precisely in those belonging to the lineage of been known for his Shi¨i sympathies. Since that period, the MuÌammad b. Isma¨il, the imam whose offspring the upkeep of Shi¨i pilgrimage sites related to the ahl al-bayt was Fatimids claimed to be. In this regard, it may be useful, at sponsored by the ruler (Meri 56 and n. 183). In his section the risk of stating the obvious, to mention the fact that defi- on ancient traditions underscoring the special sanctity of the nitely not all ¨Alids (descendants of ¨Ali) or even Îusaynids city of Damascus (29-35), some of which involve the redis- (idem, through the lineage of al-Îusayn), ever had any Shi¨i covery of apocalyptic inscriptions,9) Meri draws attention to leanings to speak of. Hence, although Halm does not state so the vivid interest in such traditions, seen against the back- explicitly, such personalities as the two main critics of the ground of Sunni-Shi¨i confrontations during the period of Fatimid genealogy mentioned in this section (159-160), i.e. intermittent Fatimid rule over the city, which was largely Abu MuÌsin MuÌammad and Îamza b. AÌmad, may be inhabited by Sunnis and Christians. taken to have belonged to mainstream Sunni Islam. On the Finally, in Ifriqiya (present-day Tunisia), the Fatimids ini- other hand, it is striking that in Baghdad in 402/1011, an offi- tially had sought to impose Isma¨ilism in a rather assertive cial document condemning the Fatimid claim was issued by manner. It was al-Mu¨izz, however, who had reverted to a the (Sunni) Abbasid caliph al-Qadir and signed by a number policy of accommodation towards the Sunnites, as well as to of (Sunni) surafaˆ and declared Shi¨i scholars! dissident Isma¨ili thinkers and their followers, well before Assertive as the Fatimid dynasty remained in the face of moving his capital towards Egypt.10) such contestations, diplomacy would sometimes prevent the Such a more tolerant attitude came to determine Fatimid imam-caliphs from over-emphasizing their genealogical religious policy most of the time, although the aspired sta- claims, as for instance in the case of al-Mu¨izz upon his bility more than once turned out to be beyond reach. In arrival in Egypt (Halm 82). In order to further sustain their Egypt, in the beginning at least, confrontations between the legitimisation, the propaganda apparatus of the Fatimid Sunnites and the Shi¨is could be avoided due to the physi- dynasty energetically sought to display its genealogically cal separation between Cairo, the palatial city, and MiÒr, the large urban zone extra muros. There, the mosque of ¨Amr b. al-¨AÒ essentially maintained its Sunni character, even if 11) S.K. Samir, “The Role of Christians in the Fa†imid Government Ser- the Shi¨i additional formula Ìayya ¨ala Ìayr al-¨amal “up to vices of Egypt to the Reign of al-Îafi”, Medieval Encounters. Jewish, the best of works” was made a compulsory part of the call Christian and Muslim Culture in Confluence and Dialogue 2 (1996), 177- 192, esp. 181-191. Cf. also Walker, Exploring an Islamic Empire 46. to prayer (Halm 87-89). In numerous instances, the studies 12) Y. Marquet, “La tolérance dans l’Ismailisme médiéval”, in U. Ver- under consideration — and numerous other studies of meulen & D. De Smet, eds, Philosophy and Arts in the Islamic World. Pro- Fatimid history — implicitly or explicitly touch upon this ceedings of the Congress of the Union Européenne des Arabisants et concept of tolerance or inclusivity as opposed to confronta- Islamisants held at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (September 3 - Sep- tember 9, 1996). Orientalia Lovaniensa Analecta, 87. Leuven 1998, 209- tion or exclusivity, when commenting upon the relations 218. 13) Cf. Daftary, Ismaili Literature 166. The reviewer is indebted to Godefroid de Callatay (Louvain-la-Neuve), for pointing out how unsettled 9) On the concept of rediscovery of sacred space, see Meri 43-47. this matter still is at present. Cf. also Daftary, Ismaili Literature 93-96, who 10) This point is given due attention in Walker, Exploring an Islamic contrasts Yves Marquet’s and Abbas Hamdani’s works with Ian R. Net- Empire 33-39. ton’s views. 0993-8_BIOR_2008/1-2_01 21-04-2008 14:39 Pagina 25

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rooted supremacy in such a way as to simultaneously between the various ethnic factions of the Fatimid army. War impress, convince and attract the Sunni population. One way particularly raged between the African slave soldiers sup- of doing this was through regular processions and ceremonies ported by the caliph’s mother, herself an African concubine using public space in Cairo. To Paula Sanders we owe a per- originally, and the Turkish regiments, at that time commanded vasive analysis of the ceremonial use of the palace city,14) a by the Taglibi Arab emir NaÒir al-Dawla b. Îamdan (we will point further elaborated by Halm. Two yearly ceremonies discuss each of these factions below, section 2). The result which receive particular attention in his Die Kalifen von was a situation of devastating anarchy, in which the caliph Kairo are the Anointment of the Nilometer, and the Opening and his successive viziers had lost all their effective power. of the Canal of Cairo (Halm 54-68). The most dramatic episode in these events, for the caliph and Two rulers stand out as particularly energetic in again his court, was the systematic pillaging of the Fatimid palace, another scheme to assert and diplomatically impose Isma¨ili which was emptied of its famous treasures. Halm gives exten- authority. The first one is the versatile imam-caliph al-Îakim sive quotations from the Kitab al-ΔaÌaˆir wa-l-TuÌaf, a trea- (996-1021), who initially had the city walls and other public tise entirely devoted to the thousands of priceless object that places used for inscribing vilifying slogans targeting those were taken booty by the marauding elements. In charge of Companions of the Prophet that Shi¨ites generally regard as this well-organized looting campaign was the abovemen- hostile to ¨Ali, the so-called sabb al-salaf (“insulting the tioned NaÒir al-Dawla, who, by forging an alliance between ancestors”) texts. But, interestingly, at times when his regime the Turkish soldiers and the Berbers of the Lawata tribe, had needed Sunni support, the caliph had such confrontational succeeded in occupying much of the Delta, and indeed in utterances duly removed (Halm 191-194 and 214-217, and establishing himself as de facto ruler in Alexandria. see below, section 3.4). On the whole, al-Îakim’s rule is Our point in briefly summarizing these dramatic events hardly characterized by his early aggressive publicity cam- here is that NaÒir al-Dawla’s uprising, in which he cleverly paign and much more by his repeated efforts to unite Sunnis exploited the political and social anarchy of the times, had and Isma¨ilis in one community or umma, and most of all, to the overt ambition of overthrowing the Isma¨ili dynasty and be recognized as Imam of all Muslims (Halm 304). restoring Abbasid sovereignty in Egypt and its Fatimid The second effective ruler to be mentioned in this context dependencies. Accordingly, in Alexandria and the Delta, he is the notorious Armenian vizier Badr al-Gamali, who effec- had the invocation of al-MustanÒir in the Friday prayers tively ruled the Fatimid Empire from 1074 to 1094. It was he replaced by that of the Abbasid caliph al-Qa’im. Recently, who brought about a radical and lasting change in Fatimid the present reviewer has attempted to explain NaÒir al- political structures, to the effect that henceforth and all over Dawla’s motives for this dramatic shift of loyalty by high- the second Fatimid century, military viziers would hold real lighting his personal history, as viewed against the back- power, while the imam-caliphs most of the time were reduced ground of changing religious orientations in Syria, from to representative symbols of religious authority and its legit- where he had initiated his campaign.17) imisation. Although NaÒir al-Dawla’s scheme eventually came to What lifted Badr al-Gamali to these towering heights was naught because he was assassinated by some of his own the chaos of the preceding period, which he was able to sub- Turkish allies, the weakened Fatimid state still faced utter due with an iron-fist policy. In the middle of the long collapse due to the internal chaos in Egypt. As a last resort, caliphate of al-MustanÒir (1036-1094), from 1066 to 1073, al-MustanÒir called Badr al-Gamali from Syria to restore Egypt had been hit by probably the worst political, economic order with his Armenian militia. As stated above, Badr and humanitarian crisis in its long history, al-sidda al-¨uÂma accepted the caliph’s plea but could afford to do so on his “the Great Crisis”, or al-sidda al-MustanÒiriyya “the Mus- own terms, which entailed a significant raise in profile for his tanÒirian crisis” (which, incidentally, is still a current expres- rank of vizier: he came to hold supreme authority over the sion for a “major disaster” in contemporary Egyptian military, the judiciary and the Isma¨ili propaganda (da¨wa) speech).15) Halm extensively deals with these events in his apparatus. Realizing that the survival of Isma¨ili control had chapter on al-MustanÒir (400-420). In some — but not all, as been but a narrow escape, he did not limit himself to a radi- is often believed! — of those seven years, the Nile did not cal reorganization of the military and civil administration. He rise sufficiently to inundate and irrigate the land, so that agri- also fortified the damaged capital, and — himself probably culture was impossible. Starvation was so severe that it report- an Isma¨ili Shi¨i convert from (Armenian) Christianity or the edly even led to cannibalism,16) matters were further aggra- son of one — implemented a pragmatic and systematic pro- vated by pestilence, trade was down because of the total lack paganda programme which aimed at realistically coping with of security on the roads, and violent conflicts broke out the all but eradicated Sunni sentiments among the Muslim population of Cairo. On the one hand, while avoiding overly confrontational anti-Sunnite slogans such as al-Îakim once 14) P. Sanders, Ritual, Politics and the City in Fatimid Cairo (SUNY had displayed in public space, his propaganda specialists did Series in Medieval Middle East History), Albany (N.Y.) 1994. design highly assertive monumental texts, which were 15) Personal observation and information by a number of Egyptian friends and colleagues. On al-MustanÒir’s long caliphate, a PhD thesis was inscribed in the fresh and solid walls and gates, as to leave defended recently at the Edinburgh Institute for the Study of the Arab World and Islam: K. Clarke, Aspects of the Reign of Al-Mustansir Bi’llah 427-487 AH/1036-1094 AD, Ph.D. This dissertation, which, to our knowledge, is 17) J. den Heijer, “La révolte de l’émir NaÒir al-Dawla b. Îamdan con- still unpublished, was kindly brought to our attention by Shainool Jiwa of tre le calife fatimide al-MustanÒir Billah (première partie)”, in U. Ver- the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. meulen & K. D’hulster (eds.), Egypt and Syria in the Fatimid, Ayyubid and 16) Cf. J. den Heijer, “MuÌammad b. As¨ad al-Gawwani and his Report Mamluk Eras. Proceedings of the 11th, 12th and 13th International Collo- on Cannibalism. A Study in Source Criticism”, in F. de Jong (ed.), Mis- quium organized at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in May 2002, 2003 cellanea Arabica et Islamica. Dissertationes in Academia Ultrajectina pro- and 2004 (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta), Leuven 2007 (in the press). latae anno MCMXC (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 52), Leuven 1993, The second part of this study, presented at the Leuven Colloquium of 2005, 255-266. is now being prepared for publication in the next volume of proceedings. 0993-8_BIOR_2008/1-2_01 21-04-2008 14:39 Pagina 26

47 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LXV N° 1-2, januari-april 2008 48

no doubt about who henceforth held power. On the other In the absence of a more comprehensive survey on numbers hand, the new regime actively sponsored the restoration of and proportions, we will have to make do with Halm’s inter- damaged shrines and sanctuaries of prominent Muslim per- esting observations on the confessional diversity of the urban sonalities who appealed to Sunnis as well as to Shi¨is, such zone of MiÒr or Old Cairo (27, 30-32), and with Cortese’s & as al-Sayyida Nafisa, al-Sayyida Zaynab, and, significantly, Calderini’s remarks on the same phenomenon in the Qarafa the Imam al-Safi¨i.18) area (169). One important sector in which non-Muslims were often prominent, specially in the early days of Fatimid rule, 1.3. Jews and Christians was in the financial administration. Thus, as Halm (121-123) The Fatimid period has often been singled out as one in reminds us, the majority of the officials employed by the which Jewish and Christian social, cultural and devotional life vizier Ya¨qub b. Killis (himself a Muslim convert from flourished considerably, with the notable exception of a lim- Judaism) were Coptic Christians, because the highly special- ited period of oppression under al-Îakim. We should like to ized knowledge of the complex fiscal system was passed stress that the numerous older studies on this topic, some of from father to son within certain families, and neither Arabs which suffered from varying degrees of bias, have now been nor Berbers were generally inclined to penetrate such closed supplemented by recent research of a more dispassionate brand circles. and dealing with specific textual or historical issues and At the highest level, the memory of the first two Fatimid details. Moreover, such studies have not escaped the notice of imam-caliphs ruling in Cairo, al-Mu¨izz and al-¨Aziz, is the authors of more general comprehensive studies on the strongly associated with a favourable disposition towards Fatimids, and it is truly gratifying to note that the works under Jews and Christians (Halm 121-123, 127)22) and produced consideration here reflect such methodological progress.19) such personalities as ¨Isa b. Nas†urus, who from 384/994 de One of the most important issues concerning notably the facto functioned in the capacity of a vizier (Halm 127-128). Christian segment of the population, however, remains much Only under al-Îakim, Jews and Christians were systemat- more of an unsolved problem than might appear from these ically discriminated and at times persecuted, as has been studies. Halm, in his introduction (13) and even in the sleeve expounded by many historians in the past. Halm as well as text of his book, quite bluntly states that the Isma¨ili Shi¨ite Cortese & Calderini have now given us more in-depth analy- Fatimid elite ruled over a population whose Muslim minority ses of al-Îakim’s policies, which show that his acts of repres- was preponderantly Sunni but whose overwhelming majority sion not only targeted these specific groups, and that they, consisted of Christians (Copts, Jacobites, Greek Orthodox, moreover, are best understood within a larger context that can Nestorians), with significant Jewish minority communities be explained in more or less rational terms. We will briefly spread all over the Empire. Even though this might well have come back to this question below (3.4). been the case, we are obliged to emphasize that such a pro- For the latter part of the Fatimid period, as well as for the portion of Christians in Fatimid territory has so far been subsequent eras, Meri’s study, while focusing on Jewish and impossible to substantiate for lack of available statistics, and Muslim religious practice, does contain a limited number of that this question has prompted a variety of views. Whereas observations concerning all three confessions. For instance, Samir Khalil Samir, for instance, suggests an estimate of he stresses that all over the long period covered, Muslims, “some 40% of the total population” of Egypt particularly,20) Christians, and Jews in Syria and elsewhere shared the habit other scholars have been more reluctant to pronounce them- of visiting each other’s shrines (Meri 5-6). Elsewhere, though, selves. Documentary evidence is certainly not lacking, at least Meri much insists on looking at Jewish saint veneration not for specific regions or areas such as parts of the Fayyum, within an Islamic cultural context that includes physical, cer- as demonstrated by Jean-Michel Mouton in his study on the emonial, political and economic aspects. From a point of pace of Islamisation of one particular village in that region.21) view of feasibility, we can fully subscribe to the necessity of somewhere limiting the scope of a given research project, and one should respect the choice that has been made here. To be 18) Badr al-Gamali’s reign and the remainder of the Fatimid period will sure, Meri’s focus is further justified by the nature of the rel- be the subject of Halm’s next volume, now in preparation. On Badr’s evant sources, viz. the genre of pilgrimage guides and inscriptions as a manifestation of his authority, see J. den Heijer, “Le vizir descriptions of shrines written according to the same pattern fatimide Badr al-Gamali (466/1074-487/1094) et la nouvelle muraille du Caire: quelques remarques préliminaires”, in U. Vermeulen & K. D’hul- by Jews and Muslims (4). While this consideration is not ster (eds.), Egypt and Syria in the Fatimid, Ayyubid and Mamluk Eras. Pro- entirely unconvincing, in some cases the phenomena studied ceedings of the 11th, 12th and 13th International Colloquium organized at do leave one to wonder whether Christianity has actually the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in May 2002, 2003 and 2004 (Orien- been, or ought to have been, considered as well. For instance, talia Lovaniensia Analecta), Leuven 2007 (in the press). 19) Significantly, the same holds true for an authoritative overview in in a paragraph describing the perceptions and experiences of Arabic: Ayman Fu’ad Sayyid’s al-Dawla al-Fa†imiyya fi MiÒr, tafsir gadid “Jewish and Muslim devotees”, he writes: “Encountering [2ème édition], Cairo 2000, who not only deals with events related to Jews manifestations of the holy in the pre-modern context occurred and Christians, but also refers to non-Muslim (particularly Coptic) sources within the framework of religion which admitted the ‘super- at regular intervals and with regard to a variety of issues. 20) Samir, “The Role of Christians” (see above, note 11), 191. natural’. Devotees witnessed light, experienced visions, and 21) J.-M. Mouton, “Un village copte du Fayyoum au XIe siècle, d’après smelled pleasant odours emanating from tombs and shrines. la découverte d’un lot d’archives”, Académie des Inscriptions & Belles-let- tres. Comptes rendus des séances de l’année 2002. Avril-Juin, Paris 2002, 447-458. Cf., for other periods and areas, Y. Courbage & Ph. Fargues, Chré- tiens et Juifs dans l’Islam arabe et turc, Paris 1992; Chr. Décobert, “Un 22) Cf. the legends surrounding them in Coptic lore, as studied in J. den lieu de mémoire religieuse”, in Chr. Décobert (ed.), Valeur et distance. Heijer, “Apologetic elements in Coptic-Arabic historiography: The Life of Identités et sociétés en Egypte, Paris 2000, 247-263 and other publications Afraham ibn Zur¨ah, 62nd Patriarch of Alexandria”, in S.K. Samir & J.S. by the same author. Cf. also Walker, Exploring an Islamic Empire 44, 46; Nielsen (eds.), Christian Arabic Apologetics during the Abbasid Period A. Hamilton, The Copts and the West, 1439-1822. The European Discov- (750-1258), (Studies in the History of Religions / Numen Bookseries 43), ery of the Egyptian Church, Oxford - New York 2006, 26. Leiden - New York - Köln 1994, 192-202. 0993-8_BIOR_2008/1-2_01 21-04-2008 14:39 Pagina 27

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(…)”. A few lines further down, he seems to ascribe such concept of “normative communitas”, or the “social cement” experiences to “the average Jew, Muslim, or Christian” (20). uniting devotees of different faiths in collective veneration of And indeed, the passages on miraculous light emanating from certain holy sites (123-124); the wide circulation of traditions such places, as quoted in translation from the works of Jew- concerning saint veneration in Iraq (126); Ibn Taymiyya’s ish and Muslim authors exclusively, can easily be compared polemic against the cult of saints, which he partly chose to to quite similar accounts of miracles recorded in Christian regard as Christian in origin and nature with an obvious aim sources, such as the accounts of light shining out of icons that of discrediting them (131-134); the mention of Jewish, Chris- are found in Coptic-Arabic history writing.23) tian and common holy sites in Islamic pilgrimage guides and As a matter of fact, although Meri does not state so explic- literature (142); on the veneration of SayÌ Arslan, a promi- itly, one of his quotations derives from a prominent Muslim nent Damascene Muslim saint of the sixth/twelfth century, source but clearly refers to graves that, at least originally, which was shared by Muslims, Jews, Christians and Zoroas- must have belonged to a community of Christians (a quota- trians as late as the eleventh/sixteenth century (209); and par- tion from Ibn al-¨Adim concerning the village of Nahla with ticularly “Muslim-Christian relations reconsidered”, a sec- its graves carrying Greek inscriptions, which were translated tion dealing mostly with the famous icon of the Virgin in by “one of the Byzantine theologians in Aleppo”, Meri 20- ∑aydnaya, which was known to attract Muslim devotees as 29). The exclusion of Christianity comes across as downright well (210-213).25) odd when the author deals with Muslim and Jewish shrines Consequently, one is entitled to conclude that despite a cer- (only) in such places in Syria as ∑aydnaya and Darayya tain lack of balance in his approach to Jewish and Muslim (besides Barza and Gawbar), referring mostly to the geo- phenomena, which more than once works to the expense of graphical dictionary of Yaqut, Mu¨gam al-Buldan, and stat- their Christian counterparts, Meri in many other instances ing about Damascus: “Its Jewish and Muslim inhabitants does grant the three religions the attention they deserve. One regarded it as a sacred city.” (Meri 39 with notes 109, 110, further instance of this is his general remark linking the holy 112; 38 n. 100, 101).24) character of Syria, and Damascus in particular, to “a funda- Meri’s second chapter, “The Friends of God” (59-119) mental core of elements shared by Muslims, Jews, and Chris- contains a well documented, well written and methodologi- tians” (Meri 40, and cf. also 43, 47-49). cally convincing typology of the phenomenon of “holy men” Concerning the Fatimid Jews and Christians taken sepa- as applied to the region and period under study. It is most of rately, we should like to first draw attention to Halm’s sec- all in this chapter, on the other hand, that the near total exclu- tion on the Jewish communities that lived in all major cities sion of references to Christianity results in a picture of the of Egypt, Palestine and Syria (Halm 129-132). This section medieval Near Eastern religious landscape that looks as if is included in the chapter on the caliphate of al-¨Aziz, but something essential is lacking. What is stated about Muslim much of it pertains to the whole Fatimid period, and in a and Jewish saints in this chapter is most interesting but def- number of cases to the medieval Middle East in general. initely prompts a further investigation of Oriental Christian Here, Halm briefly lists some basic facts on the internal orga- sources within the same framework. nization of the communities, such as their authorities, namely, The long third chapter, “Experiencing the Holy: Sacred the Rosh ha-gola or exilarch, and the geonim (sg. gaon) or Ritual and Pilgrimage” (Meri 120-213) deals with aspects of heads of the three great schools of Jewish learning (yeshiva) canonical pilgrimage (Ìagg) as well as the more popular vis- and then pays due attention to the importance of the more its to shrines (ziyara) in Islam, particularly in the area and than 10,000 Geniza documents, found in the Ben ¨Ezra syn- period studied. Without the slightest hesitation, one can agogue, which was rebuilt in 1025 after its demolition by al- describe this chapter as rich, complete and balanced, as it not Îakim. Although there are a few documents predating that only describes and analyses the practices of various kinds of destruction, most date to the years between 1002 and 1266, pilgrimage as such, but also discusses controversies about in which virtually each year is represented by a number of their legitimacy, such as the critical attitude of Ibn Taymiyya documents. and Ibn Qayyim al-Gawziyya vis-à-vis the ziyara and the The remainder of this section is basically a brief resume veneration of saints, and the apologetic stance of such an of S.D. Goiteins monumental A Mediterranean Society. Some authority as al-Gazali. It also contains a most useful survey significant points worth repeating here are: (1) the promi- of Islamic pilgrimage literature (which does not overlook nence of Jewish court physicians, ever since the North Shi¨i texts). African period; (2) the construction of new synagogues in Even though this chapter thus focuses on Islamic pilgrim- the early Fatimid period, within the palace city of Cairo, two age, it contains several important observations on Muslim- of which, however, were converted into mosques under al- Christian (or Muslim-Christian-Jewish) relations. Conse- Îakim; (3) the institution of a communal leader, the nagid quently, with regard to the question of similarities and or raˆis al-Yahud, probably around 1065, with regard to contrasts with Christian (and occasionally Jewish) compara- ble phenomena, this is clearly the most outstanding part of Meri’s monograph. Such observations can be found on the 25) To the references given in the footnotes to this section, one might want to add three important studies by D. Baraz: “Coptic-Arabic Collec- tions of Western Marian Legends: The Reception of a Western Text in the 23) See J. den Heijer, “Miraculous Icons and their Historical Back- East — A Case of Intercultural Relations in the Late Middle Ages”, in D.W. ground”, in H. Hondelink (ed.), Coptic Art and Culture, Cairo 1990, 89- Johnson (ed.), Acts of the Fifth International Congress of Coptic Studies, 100. Washington, 12-15 August 1992, Vol. 2, Papers from the Sections, Part 1 24) Here Meri refers to Ibn Gubayr’s account of Damascus. In fact this — Part 2, Roma: C.-I.-M., 1993, 23-32; “Bartolomeo da Trento’s Book of famous geographer and his later colleague Ibn Ba††u†a have also written Marian Miracles: A New Insight into the Arabic Collections of Marian Leg- about ∑aydnaya and surroundings in an intriguing way from the point of ends”, Orientalia Christiana Periodica 60 (1994), 69-85; and “The Incar- view of Muslim-Christian symbiosis, as will be studied in a forthcoming nated Icon of ∑aydnaya Goes West. A Re-examination of the Motif in the publication by Mat Immerzeel (personal communication). Light of New Manuscript Evidence“, Le Muséon 108 (1995), 181-191. 0993-8_BIOR_2008/1-2_01 21-04-2008 14:39 Pagina 28

51 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LXV N° 1-2, januari-april 2008 52

which we should refer here to Mark Cohen’s — admittedly include much information on a large variety of historical hesitant — suggestion to attribute this institution of a repre- events, written in various ages by official historians of the sentative of all Jewish denominations (Rabbanites, Karaites community. An admittedly minor but not altogether insignif- and Samaritans) to Badr al-Gamali’s centralising policies.26) icant detail calls for correction here, however: whereas Halm Incidentally, concerning the study of Jewish life and its ascribes all successive contributions to the History of the sources, mostly in Egypt, it is befitting to mention Stefan C. Patriarchs to clerics (monks, patriarchal secretaries and bish- Reif’s book, which must have arrived just too late to be ops, 133), it should be noted that precisely in the Fatimid included in Halm’s study but is now a truly indispensable period, two of these historians were laymen who were also introduction to the Geniza, its background and its contents.27) connected to the Fatimid administration, a circumstance that As for Syria, Jewish pilgrimage is the subject matter of appears to reflect the prominent position of these notables at Meri’s fourth chapter (Meri 214-250), in which a number of the time.29) specific cults are discussed, based on a variety of sources, The main issues discussed in this important section, then, including letters (mostly from the Cairo Geniza), poems, and are the following: (1) the involvement of the Muslim author- itineraries (217-220). For interconfessional relations, the most ities in the election and consecration of the various patriarchs; relevant observations concern: Jewish use of Arabic terms (2) the increasing financial pressure on the Coptic population (somewhat problematically dubbed “Arabic Islamic words” and conversion to Islam, both for financial or career motives; by Meri 214-215); the veneration of the Prophet al-Îi∂r, (3) the administration and construction of churches and identified by Jews with Elijah (224-227); and the less fre- monasteries, which was manifestly not inhibited by Islamic quent interaction between Jews and Muslims in Galilee and law until well into the Fatimid period, even though the rather Lebanon in the thirteenth centuries (243-250). shadowy presence of churches within the Isma¨ili ritual city Some individual Jews also receive due attention in Halm’s raises questions concerning the exclusive character of the book, and especially the famous vizier Ya¨qub b. Killis, who, capital;30) (4) the more general question of institutionalised however, had converted to Islam prior to his association with discriminatory measures against the non-Muslim citizens, as the Fatimid court (Halm 91, 119-123),28) and the more indi- based on the so-called “Conditions of ‘Umar” (al-suru† al- rectly influential merchant Sahl al-Tustari, member of a ¨Umariyya): Halm makes the point that such measures, prominent Karaite Jewish family, and whose slave girl RaÒad whose earliest record dates to only around 1100 CE, were was to become the mother of the caliph al-MustanÒir (see indeed introduced by the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil in below, 3.3; Halm 131, 355-358, cf. also Cortese & Calderini 235/350 in Baghdad and made applicable in the entire terri- 110-111). tory of the caliphate, but that in much of Muslim history they Christianity, in its turn, also receives ample systematic remained highly theoretical, including in the Fatimid period, attention in Halm’s book, while Cortese & Calderini occa- with the notorious exception of a short interval during the sionally make valuable observations on it from their own spe- caliphate of al-Îakim. cific perspective. Whereas Halm has a number of important Among individual Christians, one may mention here the comments pertaining mostly, or entirely, to the Melkite, i.e. princess Sitt al-Mulk’s two maternal uncles, who in 375/986 Chalcedonian Christian community (general dubbed Rum, were appointed Melkite patriarch of Jerusalem and metro- i.e., “Roman”, “Greek” or “Byzantine” in Arabic, see, e.g., politan of MiÒr and al-Qahira, respectively (Halm 219). Halm 19-20, 137), he deals more elaborately with the major- Cortese & Calderini (119) suggest that this act of nepotism ity of Christians, the non-Chalcedonian Copts and their may have had the effect of reassuring the Christian popula- Church. Particularly his chapter on al-¨Aziz contains an tion of al-¨Aziz’s tolerance towards them. One is left to won- extensive section on the Copts (Halm 132-139, followed by der, nevertheless, whether this holds true for the rival Coptic a highly interesting account of their religious festivals and Christians. Other prominent Christians are the abovemen- the usually benevolent attitude of the Fatimid court vis-à-vis tioned ¨Isa b. Nas†urus, and the high ranking secretary (katib) such events, see 139-146). This section in reality far exceeds Fahd b. Ibrahim (Halm 235-236, 246 and see index). the chronological framework of this chapter and does not Other, non-Egyptian Christians are not actually dealt with even specifically focus on the Fatimids; it should rather be as communities, but only on an individual basis and in an read as a general account of the history of the Copts under anecdotic mode of presentation in Halm’s and Cortese’s & Arab rule (with due attention to earlier developments in the Calderini’s books. In Meri’s monograph, wherever Christians pre-Islamic, Greco-Roman and Byzantine eras). This are mentioned as a collective entity (see our remarks above), overview displays an excellent awareness of the character and it is understood that local Syrian — i.e. mostly Syriac or value of the main literary source for the events in question, Melkite — communities are meant. To all these presenta- i.e., the History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria, a series of tions, precious as they are, one dimension deserves to be biographies of the successive heads of the Coptic Church that added: that of mobility. The history of Middle Eastern Chris- tianity is not only one of identitarian transformation in con- fessional and cultural terms, but also, to a high degree, one 26) M.R. Cohen, Jewish Self-Government in Medieval Egypt. The Ori- gins of the Office of Head of the Jews, ca. 1065-1126, Princeton (N.J.) 1980, 50-78. Cf. also J. den Heijer, “Le patriarcat copte d’Alexandrie à l’époque 29) J. den Heijer, “History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria”, in A.S. fatimide”, in Chr. Décobert (ed.), Alexandrie Médiévale 2 (Études alexan- Atiya (ed.), Coptic Encyclopaedia, New York 1991, (4) 1238-1242. drines 8), Le Caire 2002, 83-97, esp. 86-87. 30) In a forthcoming study, we examine the literary sources containing 27) Stefan C. Reif, A Jewish Archive from Old Cairo. Richmond (Sur- information on such buildings, belonging to the Melkite as well as to the rey) 2000. For quick reference, the same author’s article, “The Cairo Coptic communities: J. den Heijer, “La présence chrétienne au Caire Genizah: A Medieval Mediterranean Deposit and a Modern Cambridge fatimide: un problème d’histoire urbaine”, in K. D'hulster, J. Van Steen- Archive”, Libraries & Culture 37.2 (2002), 123-131, is also accessible at: bergen & A. Van Tongerloo (eds.), Tradition and Change in the Realms of http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/libraries_and_culture/v037/37.2reif.html. Islam. Studies in Honour of Urbain Vermeulen (Orientalia Lovaniensia 28) See also Reif, A Jewish Archive 151, 174-175. Analecta), Leuven 2008. 0993-8_BIOR_2008/1-2_01 21-04-2008 14:39 Pagina 29

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of migration and subsequent integration and cultural assimi- concern the Fatimid army rather than civil society. As is well lation. This phenomenon specially applies to Egypt, which known, the Fatimid caliphate had organized its armed forces for centuries served as a pole of attraction for Christian and in ethnically defined regiments. The capital, al-Qahira, was other migrants from neighbouring regions. Seen from this laid out accordingly, and divided in units named after the eth- angle, it seems justified to add some brief references to recent nic groups within the military that were given accommoda- research pertaining to the Syrian and Armenian Christians in tion in these respective quarters (Ìarat). The following sub- Egypt. sections will deal mostly with each of the main ethnic Since at least as early as the sixth century CE, Christians military entities, but whenever possible or relevant, we will from Syria and Mesopotamia had moved to Egypt in succes- add some reflections or questions on implications for the eth- sive waves of migration. In the Cairo urban zone (MiÒr/al- nic aspects of Fatimid society at large. Fus†a†) they were mostly known as merchants, and in the Fatimid period at least, were concentrated in an area located 2.1. North Africans just outside the walls of al-Qahira. Because of the privileged Whereas the North African phase of Fatimid history relations, however, that historically link the Coptic Orthodox remains outside the scope of Halm’s present book, Cortese Church to its Syrian (as well as Armenian and Ethiopian) sis- & Calderini frequently refer to the Berber, and particularly ter institutions, a Syriac ecclesiastic hierarchy was never Kutama, identity of the earliest active followers of the installed in Egypt, and Syrian Christians there lived under Isma¨ili dynasty when it was still established in present-day Coptic canonical jurisdiction over the centuries. Although Tunisia.32) Notably interesting are their remarks on da¨wa future research needs to further enlighten us, at present it (propaganda) treatises compiled in this period, which, by seems more than likely that this continuous pattern of migra- including reports on women, appear to reflect Berber mores, tion has entailed a process of intense adaptation and assimi- at that time marked by a high degree of social interaction lation. In other terms, Syrians in (urban) Egypt were singu- (Cortese & Calderini 28-29). In the same vein, the authors larly likely to gradually blend in with the Coptic community, ascribe the relative abundance of data on women at the Zirid and thus to come to share its history of further identitarian court to a rather liberal attitude of Berber culture in the period transformation, including Arabisation and partial Islamisa- examined (58-60). tion.31) Narrowing down our choice of passages to the Kutama The other Christian communities united with the Copts on tribal confederation, we should like to draw attention to the account of their anti-Chalcedonian dogmatic stance are those active involvement of women in the early Isma¨ili movement of the Armenians and the Ethiopians. The latter — at least in (Cortese & Calderini 28) and, once again, to the gender-inclu- the period of time covered here — represent a religious and sive rhetoric of the Kutami da¨i (propagandist) al-MaluÒi political entity that is solidly located outside the Fatimid (Cortese & Calderini 30). Such observations on the involve- Empire and its Ayyubid and Mamluk successors. Its rele- ment of women have the added value of establishing the fact vance is considerable, but it is one of a distant Christian that Kutami involvement in the early phase implicated the Kingdom with a problematic link of subordination to the entire tribal population of the area then controlled by the Coptic Patriarchate of Alexandria (cf. Halm 134, 217), a topic Fatimids. By contrast, Halm’s book deals with the period of that cannot be dealt with here. The Armenians, in their turn, expansion towards the East, which entails an entirely differ- hailed from the long disputed borderland between the Abode ent role for the Kutama Berbers, who now exclusively appear of Islam and the Byzantine Empire, with a minority presence within a military context, instrumental as they were in the in large parts of Syria, a presence that in the Fatimid period conquest of Egypt and Syria. Accordingly, most of Halm’s came to be partly transferred to Egypt. Distinguished by their notes on the fierce Kutami warriors concern their military own language, literature and traditions, they will be discussed achievements as well as their failures (particularly in Syria, in the next section within the context of ethnic entities (see see Halm 148, 172-175, 272), but also, and more interest- below, 2.2). ingly from our present perspective, the often negative terms in which they were apparently perceived by the local com- 2. Ethnic groups munities in Cairo and Damascus, or at least by those histori- ans who recorded their reactions. For example, Halm narrates Our introductory remarks presented above obviously imply (104-105) how Kutama Berbers were regarded as semi-sav- that ethnic and religious entities have a tendency to overlap. ages in Damascus at the time of the conquest and how their Moreover, the ethnic composition of Fatimid society is com- plex and a vast number of entities are recorded or discussed in the three studies reviewed here. 32) Besides Halm’s first volume cited above, the other main recent com- prehensive study on this period and on part of the Egyptian phase is M. Due to the bias of the primary sources and the priorities set Brett, The Rise of the Fatimids. The World of the Mediterranean & the Mid- by their authors, most of the data we have on ethnic entities dle East in the Fourth Century of the Hijra, Tenth Century CE (= The Medieval Mediterranean, 30), Leiden - Boston - Köln 2001. For the very earliest stages of the Isma¨ili movement and the establishment of Fatimid rule, now see H. Haji, Founding the Fatimid State. The Rise of an Early 31) J. den Heijer, “Relations between Copts and Syrians in the light of Islamic Empire. An annotated English translation of al-Qa∂i al-Nu¨man’s recent discoveries at Dayr as-Suryan”, in M. Immerzeel & J. van der Vliet IftitaÌ al-Da¨wa, London - New York 2006, to which one may add the forth- (eds.), Coptic Studies on the Threshold of a New Millennium. Proceedings coming article by O.J. Schrier, “The Prehistory of the Fatimid Dynasty: of the Seventh International Congress of Coptic Studies, Leiden August 27- Some Chronological and Genealogical Remarks”, Die Welt des Orients 36 September 2, 2000, Leuven 2004, 923-938; idem, “Les Patriarches coptes (2006), 143-191. Among recent articles on more specific issues, and notably d’origine syrienne”, in R.[Y.] Ebied & H. Teule (eds.), Studies on the Chris- on relations between nascent Fatimid rule and other groups, we highly rec- tian Arabic Heritage in Honour of Father Prof. Dr. Samir Khalil Samir S.I. ommend Virginie Prevost’s work on the Ibadites, particularly V. Prevost, at the Occasion of his Sixty-Fifth Birthday, Leuven - Paris - Dudley 2004, “La révolte de Bagaya (358/969): le dernier soulèvement des Iba∂ites 45-63. maghrébins”, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 65 (2006), 197-206. 0993-8_BIOR_2008/1-2_01 21-04-2008 14:39 Pagina 30

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behaviour there antagonized the population. As Halm points book makes it quite clear that the main segment of the army out elsewhere (88), many of these Berbers had been dis- was of Turkish extraction. As Halm reminds us (125-126), it patched to Palestine and Syria, precisely with an aim to was precisely on account of the Kutama’s lack of discipline remove them from Egypt because of their violent behaviour and military achievements that the vizier Ya¨qub b. Killis in (cf. also, on their reported attitude in Cairo, 86-87). Since this the latter half of the tenth century initiated a systematic cam- overall negative portrayal may well be due to the historians paign of recruiting Turkish mamluks (military slaves) from to whom we owe these narratives, more comparative research Central Asia. Thus he took up the example set by the on their texts will be needed to obtain a more differentiated Abbasids as early as the mid ninth century, which had already picture. been followed in Egypt under the Tulunids and the Ikhshi- Another point we must consider is that of their apparently dids. From our perspective, this mass immigration implies massive migration to the East. As Halm has it, the Fatimid that a Central Asian Turkish component had already been conqueror Gawhar had brought along thousands of Kutama embedded in Egyptian society for a century and was now warriors in 969; in 971 a second army had arrived from intensified. Their removal in favour of the Berbers, follow- North Africa and more Berbers were to follow in the com- ing the Fatimid conquest of Egypt, had proved to be a mere pany of al-Mu¨izz in 973. Only few of these were Arabic interlude. Incidentally, Halm rightly stresses the tremendous speaking, and they were established in their own quarters in importance of the Mamluk presence in Egypt for almost a the capital. When this space no longer sufficed, they millennium (culminating, of course, in the three centuries of expanded to other locations in the Cairo area and in the Delta Mamluk overall rule, and extending throughout the Ottoman (Halm 86-87, cf. also 125-126). period until a large number of their emirs were massacred by Although the Kutama Berbers are systematically referred to MuÌammad ¨Ali in 1811). as military, who lived in a perpetual state of tension with the Referring to the days of al-Îakim and beyond, Halm men- local population, sheer common sense obliges us to suppose tions a slightly larger variety of “Oriental” ethnic groups: that their mass migration must have had a tremendous impact not only Turks, but also soldiers from Daylam, the moun- on the ethnic composition of the latter. Even if the sources tainous area south of the Caspian Sea, who equally obtained remain silent on whether Kutama women and children also their own quarter within the fortified capital (Halm 277, 351 moved eastwards, and even if we are to take this silence as and see index s.v. Dailam), and Kurds, already a force of proof to their staying behind, the soldiers simply must have great significance in Syria and Mesopotamia but whose real procreated in Egypt and Syria and thus have contributed on a influence in Egypt and beyond was to manifest itself only major scale to the mixed origins of their population. when the most famous of all Kurds, ∑alaÌ al-Din, abolished Besides the Kutama, other Berber tribes also occur in our Fatimid rule to install his own Ayyubid dynasty. studies, albeit more sporadically, such as the Zanata, the As announced above, the Armenian community also must Mazata (Cortese & Calderini 18, 24), and the ∑anhaga (Halm be discussed here, in terms of both ethnicity and religion, and 268). One major tribal group that gains influence in the mid especially in view of its particular significance in the later eleventh century, during al-MustanÒir’s caliphate, is that of Fatimid period, which is not covered in Halm’s present book. the Lawata (or Luwata). Attested as early as the fourth cen- To be sure, Armenians are mentioned more than once by tury CE as nomads dwelling near the Kharga Oases, they are Halm, but mostly as a political force in a Byzantine context usually associated with the Libyan desert to the west of the and operating in Syria and beyond (Halm 163, 177 and see Nile valley (Halm 108, 209). We do not learn much more index). One exception is the Fatimid general Fatik (Halm about the Lawata Berbers until the time of the “Great Crisis” 212), whose position suggests that some prominent Armeni- under al-MustanÒir, when they abruptly emerge as staunch ans were already settled down and active in Egypt in al- allies of NaÒir al-Dawla b. Îamdan in his Sunnite uprising Îakim’s times. And indeed, such a small-scale presence has against the Fatimids. In one episode, related to the pillaging been confirmed by Angèle Kapoïan-Kouymjian.33) of the palace (see above, 1.2), al-Maqrizi tells us how a great Armenian migration from Byzantine and Seljuq territory number of precious books were removed from the caliphal towards Egypt becomes massive at the time of Badr al- library and either recycled as sandals or incinerated by Lawata Gamali’s rise to power. Himself an ethnic Armenian, as elements, for the interesting reason that they were supposed stated earlier, he brought his own militiamen, most of whom to contain nothing but the teachings of the Shi¨i Isma¨ilis are reported to be have been Christians. Presumably, this new (Halm 412). Albeit somewhat suspect as a statement, with the wave of immigration, once again, did not remain limited to obvious earmarks of a literary topos, this report is still inter- a military and therefore exclusively male population: the esting in that it refers to the Isma¨ilis as “Orientals”, which overall silence about Armenian women in Cortese’s & seems to suggest that al-Maqrizi is quoting an earlier author- Calderini’s study may well be explained by the priorities set ity who looks at the events from the perspective of someone by the authors of the available source texts. Be that as it may, hailing from an area located to the west of the Nile Valley, in an Armenian Orthodox ecclesiastical hierarchy was estab- other words, of a witness who may have been rather close to lished in Cairo soon after Badr’s arrival, with his approval the Lawata themselves if indeed not part of them. and active involvement.34) Another aspect of this is that, 2.2. Turks, Daylamis and Armenians Whereas the Arabic sources often refer to the Kutama and 33) A. Kapoïan-Kouymjian, L'Égypte vue par des Arméniens, Paris other Berbers simply as Magariba (“Maghribis” or “West- 1988, 2-4. erners”), the equally generalizing terms Masariqa or Sar- 34) J. den Heijer, “Considérations sur les communautés chrétiennes en qiyyun (“Orientals”, “Easterners”) are frequently applied to Égypte fatimide. l’État et l’Église sous le vizirat de Badr al-Jamali (1074- elements originating from Iran and Central Asia. Difficult as 1094)“, in M. Barrucand (ed.), L’Égypte Fatimide, son art et son histoire. Actes du colloque organisé à Paris les 28, 29 et 30 mai 1998, Paris 1999, it sometimes is to distinguish between these groups, Halm’s 569-578, particularly 574-578. 0993-8_BIOR_2008/1-2_01 21-04-2008 14:39 Pagina 31

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according to several leading historians of architecture, the that a slave woman at the Fatimid court called ¨A†uf was able walls and new gates of Cairo were built for Badr al-Gamali to set up her own army division in the years following al- by Armenian architects hailing from the North Syrian city of Îakim’s death (Cortese & Calderini 118), reveals the exis- Edessa.35) tence of links between male slave soldiers and female harem In the latter part of the Fatimid period, initiated by Badr slaves of roughly the same ethnic background. Whether or al-Gamali, the Armenian presence can be called truly remark- not this tells us anything about with whom, and in which cir- able. Several Armenian viziers ruled the caliphate in the 12th cumstances, the numerous African soldiers multiplied is hard century CE, starting with Badr’s own son al-Af∂al and to ascertain, but it should be clear that their mere numbers including the legendary Bahram, who had remained a Chris- must have increasingly determined the ethnic outlook of the tian and fell victim to a Sunni-inspired revolt, that ultimately population. In al-MustanÒir’s days, their influence was fur- contributed to the weakening of the Isma¨ili State.36) ther enhanced by the support they received from the caliph’s mother, RaÒad, herself a concubine of African extraction who 2.3. Africans had obtained an immensely influential position (see below). The various African components of the Fatimid army, and But despite her notoriety, the source texts do not really agree occasionally of other segments of society, also raise a prob- on her precise origins: she is variably indicated as Sudanese, lem of more precise identification. Firstly, Egyptian relations Nubian or Abyssian (Cortese & Calderini 53; Halm 113 with the various Nubian kingdoms had been frequent for refers to her as Nubian). Whatever the case may have been, many centuries by the time Fatimid rule was established. RaÒad is reported to have purchased African slaves by the Halm gives detailed and useful information on these relations thousands and to have provided them with arms and money, (108-112), but assessing a Nubian ethnic impact on the pop- especially during their armed conflict with the Turks (Cortese ulation of Egypt and other Fatimid territory would need fur- & Calderini 111-112). Here, as in other studies — and, we ther examination of the available sources. must hasten to admit — in the sources themselves, there is a The Zuwayla, or Zawila, after whom the southern quarter certain degree of confusion as to the exact entities involved of Cairo with its famous gate received its name, were another in the conflict. While dealing with the battles between the ethnic component of the army, which according to Halm con- Africans and the Turks, Cortese & Calderini also mention the sisted of African slaves from Western Sudan (Halm 24, 125). ever recurring animosity between the Magariba and the From this description we may be able to infer that the Masariqa, by which terms apparently the Kutama (but also Zuwayla hailed from present-day Darfur or Tchad, although the Lawata?) Berbers and the Turks and other “Orientals” sometimes they are taken for Berbers. This is understandable seem to be intended. since Halm does mention the city of Zawila, situated outside the earlier Fatimid capital of al-Mahdiyya in present-day 2.4. Egyptians and Arabs Tunisia (Halm 374).37) But black African slave soldiers are Naturally, Fatimid civil society must have consisted to a more frequently referred to in more general terms such as al- large degree of people whose ancestors had lived in Egypt ¨abid al-sud “the black slaves”, or sudan, a word that also and the other respective territories for centuries, if not for simply means “blacks” but is often translated, quite confus- millenniums. In numerous accounts reported and analysed, ingly, as “Sudanis” in modern studies. In its turn, the word particularly in Halm’s and Cortese’s & Calderini’s studies, ¨abid “slaves”, in the North African period refers to Euro- no specific ethnic entity is attributed to the protagonists; in pean captives recruted in the army, as Halm observes (125- many such cases, we may presume that we are dealing with 126), but under Fatimid rule in Egypt it is nothing but one local people (Egyptians, in most of the cases). Coming back more name given to the African military. At the present state, to the military, Egyptians were mostly represented as mere it does not seem to be clear whether these terms apply to the privates (Halm 88). In the light of our remarks on the impli- above mentioned Zuwayla or to people originating from other cations of military and slave migration for society at large, parts of Africa. What is manifest, nevertheless, is that these however, we must caution against a narrow ethnic definition African military slaves dramatically increased in numbers and of such terms as “local” or “Egyptian”. Before, during as influence in the course of the eleventh century, up till the well as after the two centuries of Fatimid rule, the influx of point when their power became one of the causes of the large numbers of Berbers, various African ethnic groups, sidda, the “Great Crisis” under the caliph al-MustanÒir, as Turks, Iranians, Kurds and Armenians, inevitably must have we have seen above. brought about mixed marriages and other forms of inter-eth- The point we must make here, once again concerns the nic contacts, integration and assimilation. demographic implications of this African presence. The fact Yet, the greatest and most obvious impact on the shaping of ethnic, cultural and linguistic identities in all of the Mid- dle East and North Africa, needless to say, was reserved for 35) K.A.G. Creswell, The Muslim Architecture of Egypt, I, Oxford 1952, the numerous Arab tribes originating from the Arabian Penin- 163, 165, 209; T. Allen, A Classical Revival in Islamic Architecture, Wies- sula and parts of Syria and Mesopotamia. Evidently, by the baden 1980, 29-35; D. Behrens-Abouseif, Islamic architecture in Cairo. An Introduction, Cairo - Leiden 1989, 72; and Hanspeter Hanisch (several time the Fatimid dynasty established itself in Cairo, Arab presentations at the yearly Leuven Colloquiums). For a critical review of tribes had massively migrated in Northern, Eastern and West- the literary evidence, see Den Heijer, “Le vizir fatimide Badr al-Gamali” ern directions for at least three centuries. Often, clans belong- (see above, note 18). ing to such tribes would maintain a nomadic mode of life, 36) Cf. S.B. Dadoyan, The Fatimid Armenians. Cultural and Political Interaction in the Near East (Islamic History and Civilization, Studies and and still do so until the present day. Over the centuries, oth- Texts, 18), Leiden [etc.] 1997, 90. ers have settled down, either engaging in agriculture or adopt- 37) According to al-Qalqasandi, the correct vocalisation would be ing an urban life, but often keeping their distinct tribal iden- Zuwayla, whereas the ethnic group in question is said to originate from tities — such as the names of their clans and tribes — intact Cyrenaica: al-Qalqasandi, ∑ubÌ al-A¨sa fi Òina¨at al-Insaˆ, Cairo 1331/1913 - 1338/1919, I, 371. while dwelling in their own exclusive villages or quarters. 0993-8_BIOR_2008/1-2_01 21-04-2008 14:39 Pagina 32

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From the enormous amount of well documented instances of the vizier al-Yazuri in the mid eleventh century, with the dou- such separateness in the long history of the Arab world,38) ble objective of countering the Zirids, at Qayrawan, and rid- one should be careful, however, not to simply conclude that ding the Egyptian countryside of the unruly nomads, who Arabs, taken individually or as groups, never quietly blended since their settling on its fringes there had turned into a per- in with Egyptian, Syrian, or Maghribi society by gradually manent challenge to its stability and security (Halm 370-378). assuming new communal identities. Even if this, for the time The profound and lasting impact of these waves of migration being, is more of a hypothesis than an observation sustained on the ethnic composition of the whole Maghrib cannot be by systematic source analysis, the degree to which Arab iden- sufficiently stressed. This also holds true for the linguistic tity has determined the societies of the huge area now called map of the area: before the period in question, Arabisation the Arab World does not need to be pointed out any further. had been limited in its scope, but the thousands of Arab Halm’s study contains far too many references to Arab nomads who now descended on North Africa in a short time, tribal groups than can possibly be accounted for here. What and, more significantly, were to remain there, brought about is striking, however, is that such groups are almost exclu- a new momentum in the Berber-Arabic language shift that sively mentioned in a military context: clearly, in the Fatimid occurred in numerous, mostly urban environments, from the period Arab, and particularly Bedouin tribes made formida- oases of the Libyan Desert of Egypt to the Atlantic Coast. It ble warriors, whose chiefs nevertheless easily could shift loy- is indeed fascinating that Arabic dialectology today is still alties for material benefits. The tension between this recur- able to distinguish between pre- and post-Hilali dialects.40) rent phenomenon and the well-known tribal values of This massive migration movement notwithstanding, many commitment, honour and hospitality is a topic that, for the other tribal entities were to remain within Fatimid territory. period in question, would deserve closer interpretative study In Egypt, anecdotes about Bedouins are not always told with of the available sources. exact indication of their precise tribal affiliation. Thus, Characteristic for the Fatimid era is that Arab nomad regarding the caliph al-Amir and his affection for the poet- tribes, generally speaking, performed a pivotal role in the ess ¨Aliyya al-Badawiyya it is simply stated that the latter continuing Fatimid struggle for power against Byzantium, the hailed from an Arab tribe in Upper Egypt (Cortese & Abbasids and — in the first hundred years — the Qarmatians Calderini 87-88, after al-Maqrizi). More factual information (Halm 100). A case in point is that of the Kilab tribe, which on Arab tribes in this area (Rabi¨a, Mu∂ar, Bali, Hilal, was the most significant political factor in Northern Syria for Sulaym and others), given by the geographer al-Bakri can a long time (Halm 270-272, 275), as well as that of the now be properly assessed thanks to recent research by Jean- ™ayyiˆ, who in the times of al-¨Aziz controlled much of Pales- Charles Ducène.41) tine, and the Murra and Fazara who dominated the southern- most areas of present-day Syria. Basing himself on a variety 3. Women and the Fatimids of primary sources as well as on studies by Marius Canard and particularly by Thierry Bianquis, Halm here meticulously The Fatimid dynasty owes its very name to a woman: reconstructs the interventions and actions of the various tribal Fa†ima, daughter of the Prophet MuÌammad, wife of the elements, such as the ™ayyiˆ and the Kilab, with special atten- imam ¨Ali, and mother of al-Îasan and al-Îusayn. This fact tion to the Îamdanid dynasty of Mosul and Aleppo and the in itself is interesting enough as an identity marker, but subtle political play of a figure as Sa¨d al-Dawla b. Îamdan, Cortese & Calderini moreover convincingly demonstrate, at who by imposing the Shi¨i call to prayer sought to appeal to regular intervals, how the dynasty’s special link with Fa†ima the local population with its long-standing Shi¨i sympathies, effectively manifests itself in various matters related to as well as to the Fatimids and to the Twelver Shi¨i Buyids women, marriage and procreation. The fact that Fa†ima’s who at that time were still the de facto rulers in Baghdad. All name, as the authors remind us, only came into effective use this, as Halm occasionally reminds us, cannot be seen in iso- once the dynasty had been well established in Cairo (Cortese lation from the Byzantine ambitions in Northern Syria (Halm & Calderini 5) by no means diminishes the importance of her 102, 149-157, 160-165). function as a symbol and a female role model in Isma¨ilism To Halm’s analysis we would like to add one episode in and in Shi¨a Islam as a whole. Indeed, al- Mu¨izz had which Îamdanid identity once again comes to the fore, and Fa†ima’s name mentioned in the Friday sermon, and for a few this time with a dramatic outcome. In a recent study, we have years, prior to his relocation to Egypt, he even had her hon- argued that the devastating Sunnite uprising instigated dur- orary title al-zahraˆ al-batul “the Radiant, the Virgin” ing al-sidda al-¨uÂma, the “Great Crisis” by NaÒir al-Dawla inscribed on coins, a propaganda device which was discon- (see above, 1.2), was partly motivated by the humiliation the tinued as part of his earlier mentioned shift in approach in latter had endured as a Îamdanid Arab prince, on account of accommodating his Sunni subjects (Cortese & Calderini 106- repeated failing support by the Fatimid authorities in the face 107, see above 1.2). of his equally Arab Bedouin (Kilabi) rivals.39) The authors argue that the Fatimid preoccupation with We cannot adequately cover here a historically probably blood ties and genealogy motivated their jurists and other even more significant development, duly dealt with by Halm scholars to give special attention to women and indeed grant in an elaborate section: the migration of the Hilal and Sulaym them a more favourable position than their counterparts in tribal confederations westwards. The main issue in Halm’s other pre-modern Islamic political settings. Fa†ima, then, account is that this wave of migration was masterminded by

40) K. Versteegh, The Arabic Language, Edinburgh 1997, 164-169. 38) Cf., e.g., for a brief overview of the Egyptian case only, J.-Cl. Garcin, 41) Al-Bakri’s section equally deals with the Nubians and the Beja of “L’arabisation de l’Égypte”, Revue de l’Occident Musulman et de la the Eastern Desert in the eleventh century. See J.-Ch. Ducène, “La descrip- Méditerranée 43 (1987), 130-137. tion de l’Égypte (à l’exception d’Alexandrie) dans le Kitab al-Masalik wa- 39) See the two articles on NaÒir al-Dawla referred to above, note 17. l-Mamalik d’al-Bakri”, Annales Islamologiques 39 (2005), 231-248. 0993-8_BIOR_2008/1-2_01 21-04-2008 14:39 Pagina 33

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holds a central position in this development: Shi¨i, and par- the position of women, and more particularly of women ticularly Isma¨ili legal practice as applied by the Fatimids, related to the court and other women possessing wealth. endorses extended inheritance rights to women, and most sig- Besides the function of Fatimid royal women as “human nificantly the right to inherit land, on account of the discus- deposit banks” for family wealth (Cortese & Calderini 156), sion in early Islam about whether Fa†ima could inherit an the importance of outward appearance is apparent in the legal orchard called Fadak after the Prophet’s death. According to recommendation that women should wear their jewellery Shi¨i thought, blood ties must prevail, in the process favour- while praying (34, 155). The link is not made specific, but ing Fatima, the Prophet’s daughter (Cortese & Calderini 29, this legal point of view, quoted from al-Qa∂i al-Nu¨man, 43-69, 159, 213-214). seems to be completely in line with this authority’s recom- While Cortese & Calderini certainly grant the personality mendation to lavishly decorate the Ìarim, the women’s quar- of Fa†ima adequate attention within the scope of their ters of the caliphal palace. Since the qa∂i, by contrast, states research project, we must also point at another recent study that the men’s quarters should be simply furnished, an equa- that explores this theme from a different methodological tion between luxury and the world of women appears to mark angle: Bärbel Beinhauer-Köhler, narrows down her investi- his thinking on relations between the sexes. gation entirely to the figure of Fa†ima, whose image she then Implicitly and sometimes explicitly referring to present- examines in a variety of chronological, geographical and cul- day discussions on the vast topic of the position of women tural settings.42) in Muslim societies, the authors present a host of interesting and occasionally astonishing details on women as profes- 3.1. Women, religion and knowledge sionals in a variety of sectors. In the relevant sections, the Among Cortese’s & Calderini’s numerous notes on aspects women of the Fatimid court figure most prominently, as it is of religious practices, some are related to Isma¨ili Islamic law, about them that the sources inform us best. Some of these which is largely identical to Shi¨i Imami law. The authors list ladies could be highly influential in decision making, such as and comment some exceptions, notably in the domain of mar- in the case of the appointment of a da¨i (Cortese & Calderini ital law. One significant case of divergence between the two 32-33, with an additional note on female preachers). The systems is the plain and categorical rejection, in Fatimid women at the court belonged to various categories: wives, Isma¨ili law, of the notorious temporary mut¨a marriage female relatives (whose, apparently young, sons lived with (Cortese & Calderini 208-213). As regards the Fatimid da¨wa them in the Ìarim), and concubines, from the highest royal (propaganda), in al-Mahdi’s “Golden Age” at the very begin- ranks of sayyida (lady) or giha (lit. “side”, i.e., “Highness”) ning of Fatimid rule in Ifriqiya, women generally were seen as to slave-girls — often taken as booty or received as gifts — “participants to an extent rarely found in other domains of the who would be employed as servants (gariya) (Cortese & medieval Islamic world” (Cortese & Calderini 17). The authors Calderini 73-79). As not all categories are given with the argue that the early da¨wa was gender-inclusive, as can be seen appropriate Arabic term, some slight confusion subsists in in the works of the earlier mentioned ideologue al-MaluÒi (see this section as far as the exact status of concubines and ser- above, 2.1; Cortese & Calderini 29-30, cf. also 32, 35-36). vants is concerned. Meri’s study also contains a short section on the specific There is a separate section on female staff working for the contribution of women to the cult of saints in Islam (168-171). palace in general, unrelated to the Ìarim. Such staff worked In this context, he announces (168 n. 195) a forthcoming study in factories that exclusively served the court, in the fields of on medieval Muslim women and the ziyara (ritual visit of tailoring, food manufacture and preparation. Other women tombs). Particularly significant is his dismissal of an earlier were employed as treasurers, standing attendants, or wet view according to which this practice was supposed to have nurses (Cortese & Calderini 80-83). offered an alternative for women to communal prayer. Due to the specifics of pre-modern Islamic societies such Cortese’s & Calderini’s section on “Women’s Education as the Fatimid one, women often had to carry out their work and Educated Women” includes some important information within gender boundaries. Cortese & Calderini list and as well. For instance, the statement that “initiated women describe a number of typical female professions, such as war- would be further introduced to the core Isma¨ili doctrinal den of women’s prisons, bath attendants, wailing mourners, tenets” implies that the exclusive or secretive character of cooks, nurses, singers and dancers, or traders in their own Isma¨ili lore was not restricted to men alone (205). Besides right (201-205). Their claim (202) that in the later Fatimid this specifically Isma¨ili issue, it is equally interesting to read period women were involved in keeping up discipline in mar- about women being instructed in Koran recitation, Ìadi† kets, however, unfortunately must be rejected due to the transmission, and calligraphy (Cortese & Calderini 205-208). incorrectness of the translation “it was customary that every That women could indeed be instructors in their own right is year a jariya would close all the wine shops in the capital at attested at least for the Jewish community, in documents the end of the month of Jumada II, warning against the pur- proving that some well educated Jewish women could work chase of wine”. The beginning of al-Maqrizi’s passage runs as teachers or calligraphers.43) as follows: wa-kanat al-¨adatu gariyatan (…), which liter- ally translates, “the custom used to be current that…” etc., 3.2. The position of women in Fatimid society and thus has nothing to do with women of any kind. This last point brings us to the issue of women, work, and Coming back to slave women and girls, the authors observe wealth. Perusing mostly original Isma¨ili sources, Cortese & that, naturally, in the Fatimid period, slaves were “a com- Calderini review interesting data on such material aspects of modity” and “a second-class group of people” but neverthe- less enjoyed a certain degree of protection and personal free- dom, including in financial and religious terms (Cortese & 42) B. Beinhauer-Köhler, Fatima bint Muhammad. Metamorphosen einer Calderini 203-205). No reference is made here to a general frühislamischen Frauengestalt, Wiesbaden 2002. 43) Reif, A Jewish Archive 226-228. study on slavery in the Arab World, a hardly less sensitive 0993-8_BIOR_2008/1-2_01 21-04-2008 14:39 Pagina 34

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and controversial topic than that of the position of women in empire” (Cortese & Calderini 91). In this case, Paula Islam.44) It would therefore be recommendable to further elab- Sanders’s work on Cairo as ritual public space is implicitly orate the authors’ observations on the specific situation of projected on an aspect of gender relations. Further on in the (particularly female) slaves in the Fatimid period, by linking same chapter (94), and independently of the context of mar- it to the more general issue of slavery and slave trade in the riage, the authors further elaborate this idea by postulating, pre-modern Arab and Muslim World.45) admittedly using circumstantial evidence, the participation of With regard to the institute of marriage, it is to Halm (314) court women in both religious and secular State sponsored that we owe insight into to the fact that regular royal spouses festivals for which the ritual city of Cairo was designed. had no significant part to play and that almost all Fatimid Moral or ethical aspects of matrimony receive less atten- caliphs were the sons of slave women, who would gain con- tion. One interesting exception is the insistence of al-Mu¨izz siderable status by such a royal birth and were consequently on the virtues of monogamy, as recorded in a speech to his referred to as umm walad “mother of a [royal] son”. As a Kutama Berber followers. To be sure, this is not to be mis- rule, Fatimid princesses were unmarried, “so as to curb par- interpreted as excluding concubines besides the official allel genealogical counter-claims”, as Cortese & Calderini spouse, since just a few lines further down, one of the imam’s rephrase it, while adding a financial motif, i.e. the aim of pre- consorts is cited as having borne him a son (Cortese & venting the loss of family patrimony (Cortese & Calderini Calderini 52). 151). Such matrimonial policies — a wide-spread phenome- The section on “Feminine Hygiene and Sexuality in Legal non worldwide and across history — are highlighted fre- Theory and Medical Practice” is of major importance from quently, and not only within the context of the dynasty itself. the perspective of cultural history, in that it contains a num- For instance, with regard to the Sunnite uprising, which was ber of observations that are not only valid for Isma¨ili or Shi¨i part of the “Great Crisis” under al-MustanÒir, Cortese & but also for Sunni Islam. In some cases, the implications for Calderini (64) suggest that Ildeguz, commander (zimam) of present-day problematics are obvious. Thus, valuable infor- the Turks in Cairo, married off one his daughters to the rebel mation is given on the permissibility of internal and external chief, the Arab emir NaÒir al-Dawla b. Îamdan, in order to physical examination of women by (male) doctors (Cortese help “seal a brief alliance between the leaders of two rival & Calderini 217, 218-219) and the general “lack of stigma factions”. Since it is not quite clear which these two factions attached to the use of contraceptives and abortifacients in the should be in this case — the Turks’ new allies against the medieval Islamic world” (221). Today’s highly controversial Africans were the Lawata Berbers —, we would rather regard issue of female genital mutilation is mentioned in passing, this move as an expression of allegiance to the guide of the simply as a practice condoned by Fatimid law. The core ques- revolution and would-be ruler of an Egypt restored to tion as to whether it is regarded as compulsory or as merely Abbasid sovereignty. Nevertheless, the strategic purpose of recommended, however, does not seem to be addressed or this kind of wedlock is manifest, and confirmed by the fact indeed possible to ascertain. We should like to mention, in that, while setting up his counter-government in the Delta, this context, the compact comprehensive overview of sources NaÒir al-Dawla is also reported to have married a woman of by Jonathan Berkey, who quite explicitly links his findings the Banu Sinbis, an Arab or Lawata Berber clan that we have to present-day discussions.46) not been able to identify so far. Once the Sunnite uprising had been efficiently crushed, 3.3. Women in power: three cases studies and Badr al-Gamali had comfortably set up his autocratic At the Fatimid court in Cairo, effective power was exer- regime, he himself also engaged in matrimonial policy, by cised by women twice. Moreover, the ∑ulayÌid dynasty of marrying off his own daughter to the caliphal prince who Yemen, which ruled on behalf of the Fatimids, has seen one later was to become the imam al-Musta¨li. Badr’s ability to case of a woman invested with official authority: the famous take such an initiative corroborates what has been stated ear- Queen Arwa. Although a fair amount of scholarly interest has lier about the shift in balance of power: the military vizier been granted previously to the Princess Sitt al-Mulk, al-Mus- now was the absolute ruler, and it is interesting to see that tanÒir’s mother RaÒad, and this Yemenite queen, Cortese & his increased authority had its gender-related facets as well: Calderini have now come up with a systematic overview and “Beyond the political sphere, this change would affect a a new interpretation of the data on these three powerful broad range of domains including genealogical issues, dynas- women within one methodological framework. tic marriage patterns, the influence of the harem, the female The ethnic strife that disrupted the army under al-Mus- use of wealth and the landscaping of Cairo.” (Cortese & tanÒir during the “Great Crisis” of 1066-1073 did not come Calderini 55-56). out of the blue. For a long time, the ethnically defined regi- Royal weddings, as in many other cultures until today, at ments had lived through moments of tension and rivalry. Dur- the same time had the prominent function of involving — and ing the reign of al-Îakim, at the beginning of the eleventh impressing — the population by means of public ceremonial century, the Magariba — a term by which the Kutama and wedding parades, as is attested for the reign of al-¨Aziz: Berbers must be meant —, were often at odds with the more his nuptial tour of the city is presented within “an overall pol- recently recruited Orientals, mostly Turkish soldiers, and it icy to use Cairo as the centre of an expanding Fatimid is fascinating to observe how the imam-caliph’s sister, known as Sitt al-Mulk, “the Lady of the Kingdom”, used her posi- tion to employ powerful men to her own advantage and how 44) This can be seen quite clearly from the contents and presentation of the apparently often consulted Wikipedia lemma http://en.wikipedia.org/ she interfered in the Magariba’s endeavour to maintain their wiki/Arab_slave_trade. 45) See, for instance, M. Gordon, L’esclavage dans le monde arabe, du VIIe au XXe siècle, Paris 1987 (English version Slavery in the Arab world, 46) J. Berkey, “Circumcision Circumscribed: Female Excision and Cul- New York 1989) or B. Lewis, Race and Slavery in the Middle East, Oxford tural Accommodation in the Medieval Near East”, International Journal of 2002. Middle East Studies 28 (1996), 19-38. 0993-8_BIOR_2008/1-2_01 21-04-2008 14:39 Pagina 35

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prominence in the face of the Orientals (Cortese & Calderini to be the last place the Fatimid caliph’s mother would have 119-121). This position, to be sure, was one of de facto resorted to during this Sunnite uprising, but she may still have absolute rule as long as her much younger brother was still been able to seek refuge far away from the suffering Fatimid a child invested with the infallible authority of imam-caliph. capital: without establishing a link to this passage, the authors At age fifteen, al-Îakim started to rule effectively as well as in a different context (161) do report that some ladies of the officially, soon to turn into the enigmatic and historically con- Fatimid court fled to other countries during this period of troversial despot that is so well known (see below, 3.4), but chaos. Couldn’t the caliph’s mother, after all, have been one despite an inevitable retreat from her temporarily privileged of them? Once again, further scrutiny of the relevant histor- position, Sitt al-Mulk was somehow able to maintain her ical narratives could shed at least some new light on this influence on her younger brother. From ca 1011 onwards, question. however, friction increased between them, and al-Îakim at The major problem, however, regarding RaÒad concerns times, in his efforts to counter his sister’s remaining assertive- the extent of her political influence. Cortese & Calderini ness, went as far as publicly questioning her moral conduct (113), in a number of intelligent remarks demonstrate the dif- (Cortese & Calderini 121-124). No wonder, then, that later ficulty of a satisfactory answer to the historical question of chroniclers and historians have implicated her in the assassi- whether, and to what extent, the imam-caliph’s mother really nation, or mysterious “disappearance” of al-Îakim, which can be held accountable for the “Great Crisis” as certain was concealed from the population for no less than six weeks. authors have claimed. That RaÒad’s power was phenomenal, Halm had already given a masterly analysis of this medieval nevertheless, is established beyond doubt. Her capacity of detective story in an earlier study, which is now integrated in confiscating money from viziers (Cortese & Calderini 161) the book considered here (297-304). This issue is taken up stands out as the only case of such oppression cited by the once again by Cortese & Calderini (124-125), with a wel- authors throughout their book. And it is highly remarkable come focus on how the sources contradict each other. that Badr al-Gamali’s takeover, which changed the course of The first two sections of Halm’s chapter on the caliphate Fatimid history, did not prevent RaÒad from reappearing on of al-Åahir (1021-1036) cover its first two years, in which the scene and being involved in diplomacy: in 471, after Badr Sitt al-Mulk once again held the effective regency (Halm al-Gamali had added the Isma¨ili da¨wa to his personal pack- 305-316). As Cortese & Calderini further illustrate, these age of accumulated responsibilities, it was the caliph’s years signified the zenith of her power and influence (125- mother who signed an official document that was dispatched 127). Particularly important is their observation that Isma¨ili to Queen Arwa of Yemen, reassuring her of her son’s con- authors themselves are almost totally silent about the tinued support for the ∑ulayÌid dynasty (Cortese & Calderini princess, in contrast to the rich and sometimes fanciful nar- 38, 107-109). ratives of non Isma¨ili authors, whose accounts should be It is to the latter that Cortese & Calderini consecrate the studied with due caution (Cortese & Calderini 117). most extensive section on an individual woman (127-140). The second powerful Fatimid lady to be mentioned here is Queen Arwa’s reign is situated just outside Halm’s chrono- the African former slave girl RaÒad, who bore al-Åahir the logical framework, but is also discussed in Daftary’s recent son that became the imam-caliph al-MustanÒir (see above, study.48) 2.3). Halm’s section on her and other prominent slave women The famous Arwa, also known as al-Sayyida al-Îurra or producing male royal offspring (umm walad) (305-316) con- “the Free Lady”, became queen consort for ten years and sub- tains some dearly needed clarifying and demystifying obser- sequently ruled as the ∑ulayÌid queen of Yemen for no less vations concerning harems, eunuchs and slave women that than half a century. Throughout this long period, she main- are relevant for a correct comprehension of pre-modern tained a personal style characterized by diplomacy, centralised Islamic societies in general. power, pragmatism with regard to territorial losses (which, we Despite Halm’s as well as Cortese’s & Calderini’s (45-46, should add, may well have been informed by Badr al- 110-114) clarifying observations, we nevertheless must point Gamali’s policy in Cairo), and unwavering commitment to the at some remaining difficulties in our understanding of Isma¨ili cause — at a later stage culminating in her sponsor- RaÒad’s biography. The question that was raised above (2.3) ship of its ™ayyibi branch. This account, which is largely as to whether she was of “Sudanese”, Abyssinian or Nubian based on the late Fatimid chronicler and poet ¨Umara al- stock is not without relevance for a more substantial investi- Yamani, contains a number of singularly relevant data, only gation into her relations with the African military contingents. a few of which can be referred to here. One interesting issue A possible method of investigation would be the kind of from a point of view of the history of ideas is the commen- detailed comparative approach that the present reviewer has tary the authors add to Arwa’s reported protestations when applied to other episodes of the caliphate of al-MustanÒir.47) she was urged to assume political responsibility. Her formal Likewise, the sources appear to contradict each other with refusal, as a woman “who is [still] desirable in bed” to run regard to RaÒad’s temporary flight during the “Great Crisis”. the state is interpreted as reflecting a general view that does According to Ibn Muyassar, as well as to Ibn Åafir, she was not per se exclude women from supreme power but restricts arrested in 464/1071, whereas others have it that she fled to it to elder women “of post-childbearing age” (Cortese & Baghdad. Cortese & Calderini (113) are probably correct in Calderini 130). ¨Umara also has an interesting passage in considering the latter representation of affairs to be which he compares Arwa’s marriage to the da¨i Sabaˆ b. “unlikely”. Indeed, the “lion’s den” of Abbasid rule seems AÌmad al-∑ulayÌi, instigated by al-MustanÒir, to the Qur’anic passage on the queen of Sheba (22:30-32). The authors ingen- uously and convincingly argue that this comparison hints at 47) Den Heijer, “MuÌammad b. As¨ad al-Gawwani and his Report on Cannibalism” (see above, note 16); idem, “La rébellion de l’émir al-AwÌad (477/1084): étude comparative des sources historiques”, in Chr. Décobert (ed.), Médiévale 3 (Études Alexandrines 16), Le Caire 2008 (in the press). 48) Cf. Daftary, Ismailis in Medieval Muslim Societies 89-103. 0993-8_BIOR_2008/1-2_01 21-04-2008 14:39 Pagina 36

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Arwa’s continued effective independence as “the master of wished to implement a particularly strict interpretation of her own people” in spite of her obedience to the imam’s Islamic law in its Fatimid Isma¨ili variety. authority (Cortese & Calderini 132).49) Similarly, regarding al-Îakim’s measures specifically tar- Probably the most important historical problem of Arwa’s geting Jews and Christians (see above, 1.3), the merit of rule is the thorny question whether or not her undisputable Halm’s analysis is twofold here. In the first place, he metic- worldly power was supplemented by spiritual authority as a ulously separates fact from fiction, by arguing that the supreme guide with the title of Ìugga (Cortese & Calderini reported obligation for non-Muslims to wear distinctive 136-138). While remaining reluctant to come up with a final markers most probably has a kernel of historic truth in it but verdict, the authors, by way of a useful comparison of four that the indications of the size of the crosses and bells, which contemporary and later sources, and partly drawing upon ear- Christians and Jews were to wear, respectively, in public lier textual criticism by S.M. Stern of ¨Umara’s text, con- baths, are grossly exaggerated. Furthermore, he implicitly cisely but skilfully show how the respective Arabic texts shows that such acts of discrimination cannot be seen in iso- implicitly display various ideological stances. In a recent con- lation from al-Îakim’s other decrees, which concerned either ference paper, Simonetta Calderini has further elaborated this the Sunnite Muslims or the population at large — or again, point, linking it to present-day discussions on Muslim indeed, women irrespective of denomination (Halm 186-194, women’s issues.50) 217-228). One particular measure can be explained within the historical context of Fatimid-Byzantine relations: the demo- 3.4. Al-Îakim and his measures lition of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, as Within the framework of this review article, we cannot do ordered by al-Îakim in 1010 (Halm 127).52) Perhaps this justice to what the books discussed have to say about al- episode can also be connected to the spectacle of miraculous Îakim, and more particularly to Halm’s observations on the fire, for which the church was famous, but which was legends surrounding this ruler’s character and mental state, unmasked as pious fraud (cf. Halm 145-146). Another recent or to Cortese’s & Calderini’s further elaboration of those publication by Jean-Charles Ducène contains a translation of, issues that directly or indirectly concern women. While we and a commentary on, one (rather concise) version of this hope to add some further comments to these discussions else- well-known account, due to the geographer al-Bakri.53) The where, we shall only briefly examine here some of the imam-caliph’s reported fury could be explained rather as a, authors’ remarks on the connections between al-Îakim’s atti- certainly excessive, aversion against things fraudulent or pur- tudes with regard to Sunni Muslims, to the non-Muslim pop- portedly supernatural, than as a manifestation of mental ill- ulation and to women in general (i.e., not specifically aiming ness. The same attitude manifests itself in his seemingly awk- at women belonging to any particular social class or confes- ward ban on astrology. sional group). In a number of other cases, Halm also explains al-Îakim’s In Halm’s book, the twenty-five years (996-1021) in which decisions as motivated by either his strict observance of the al-Îakim held the Fatimid caliphate are analysed in particu- law (Halm 189-190) or, as in the case of his order to kill all larly great detail (Halm 167-304). Halm’s primary concern is stray dogs in Old Cairo, his policy is rather to be understood to give a final verdict on the traditional image of al-Îakim as a pressing campaign to impose Islamic law in all its details, as a deranged ruler, a kind of “Muslim Nero”: many of the combined with measures meant to improve public hygiene medieval authors who wrote about al-Îakim’s reported and health conditions (Halm 187). unusual measures, display a tendency to ascribe such oddi- This latter point is taken up with admirable creativity by ties and cruelties to mental illness and lack of stability. In Cortese & Calderini, in their section on “Women’s Restric- Halm’s view, it is particularly this “pathological” explana- tions under al-Îakim” (192-199). Halm (187-188) had tion of al-Îakim’s reputed behaviour that should be seen as already given some qualifying interpretations of such restric- a result of hostile propaganda, produced by Sunnite and tions. Ten years after the curfew for women, ordered in 1004, Christian opponents, and often reproduced more or less women were banned from appearing in public altogether. uncritically by modern scholarship. According to Halm, then, Here, however, Halm demonstrates that this ban meant very al-Îakim’s seemingly unstable policy towards his Sunni sub- little since numerous professional groups and other categories jects, which varied from blunt confrontation to a much more of women, such as widows, were exempted right from the accommodating approach, can in fact be understood as quite start. Moreover, there is sufficient evidence to conclude that a pragmatic reaction to current events and notably to the anti- the prohibitions were hardly put into effect and that after just Isma¨ili uprising instigated by Abu Rakwa (an episode, inci- four years they had become quite irrelevant. As for the often- dentally, that has recently been further investigated by Stijn cited ban on the production of women’s shoes so as to pre- Van Nieuwenhuyse).51) Moreover, in his endeavour to be rec- vent them from leaving their homes, Halm dismisses this as ognized as the Imam of all Muslims, al-Îakim at times a legend that only occurs in much later sources. Apparently, the same would go for the story according to which, at one time, doors and windows of public baths were sealed off, so 49) With regard to ¨Umara, the authors refer the reader to several of Pieter Smoor’s articles on his poetry, see their bibliography, 252; his mono- graph Killer of Many Husbands is now in the press at the Institut français 52) Halm refers to al-Maqrizi for this episode. As a more contemporary d’archéologie orientale (Cairo). source, MiÌaˆil, bishop of Tinnis may be added here, see J. den Heijer, 50) S. Calderini, “‘Proving’ Queen Arwa’s Ìujja-ship: a review of the “MiÌaˆil, évêque de Tinnis, et sa contribution à l'Histoire des Patriarches sources”, paper presented at the Sixteenth Colloquium on the History of d'Alexandrie”, in Kh. Samir (ed.), Actes du troisième congrès international Egypt and Syria in the Fatimid, Ayyubid and Mamluk Eras (10th - 15th cen- d'études arabes chrétiennes (Louvain-la-Neuve, septembre 1988), Parole turies), Ghent 9-11 May 2007. de l'Orient 16 (1990-1991), 179-188. 51) S. Van Nieuwenhuyse, “The Uprising of Abu Rakwa and the 53) J.-Ch. Ducène, “La description géographique de la Palestine dans le Bedouins against the Fa†imids”, Acta Orientalia Belgica 17 (2003), 245- Kitab al-Masalik wa-l-Mamalik d’Abu ¨Ubayd al-Bakri (m. 487/1094), 264. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 62 (2003), 181-191. 0993-8_BIOR_2008/1-2_01 21-04-2008 14:39 Pagina 37

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that a large gathering of women were trapped inside and per- texts that contain valuable, albeit often complex information ished. It is in line with Halm’s rationalizing analysis of al- on history, religion or statehood. Without, for the time being, Îakim’s decrees that he does not even consider this legend being in a position to consider any particular source to be worth mentioning. About these two accounts, nowadays any more important, relevant, or complete than other texts, we historian would certainly be inclined to agree with Halm, but cannot help noticing that in numerous studies, including two this does not mean that, from the perspective of literary his- out the three volumes reviewed here, the famous Egyptian tory or the history of ideas, it would not be worth the effort historian, Taqi al-Din al-Maqrizi is quoted and commented to investigate the provenance and transmission of these and upon with great frequency. Against this background, a few similar narratives. Yet, according to the present reviewer, all remarks on recent and ongoing textual research pertaining to Halm’s relativising explanations make perfect sense and give al-Maqrizi do not seem out of place here.56) a fresh and more reasonable picture of al-Îakim’s attitude to Until not so long ago, the only complete edition of al- women, with the possible exception of the ban on public Maqrizi’s Îi†a† was the uncritical Bulaq edition. In recent baths, for which the author does not really offer such a ratio- years, Ayman Fu’ad Sayyid has produced a new, critical edi- nalizing explanation. tion that has the advantage of adding the page numbers of the Interestingly, Cortese & Calderini go one step further in Bulaq edition in the margin, so that quotations in older stud- this direction, as can best be illustrated with the following ies can still be conveniently checked.57) In a rapidly growing quotations: “Many of al-Îakim’s restrictions appear to fit series of articles focusing on autograph manuscripts, Frédéric with a public health ‘programme’ that (…) aimed at pre- Bauden has given us amazing insight into al-Maqrizi’s work- venting or remedying the occurrence of famine and the ing method and hence of the composition of his texts.58) A spreading of disease”, (196, an observation that is linked to few years ago, an entire conference was dedicated to al- the suggestion “that al-Îakim’s restrictions upon women’s Maqrizi, the proceedings of which constitute a complete issue movement were motivated by his intention to control market of the Mamluk Studies Review. But, as stated above (1.2), forces”); “… by limiting typical forms of mass gathering and only a small portion of this and other scholarly work directly restricting the movement of women that went with them (…) concerns the Fatimid period. Consequently, we should like al-Îakim’s shifting between the enforcement and the relax- to urge here for more research, to be based on the already ation of measures is therefore a reflection of this arduous eco- considerable effort of recent years, but specifically focussing nomic balancing act.” (198). on al-Maqrizi as a source on the Fatimids. What needs to be further explored is the question in how far, and in which con- 4. Conclusion texts, al-Maqrizi, by perusing, quoting and adapting earlier texts, proceeded as an archivist or compiler and to what In the preceding sections on religious, ethnic and gender extent he had the habit of commenting on the events reported identities, we have encountered various cases where the or displaying his own attitudes by more subtle means. scholars in question point at the ideological bias of the nar- Turning our attention once more to matters of historic con- rative sources, which are generally considered to take a hos- tent, we shall conclude with a final comment on how these tile stance towards the Isma¨ili Fatimid caliphs and their three studies, taken together with other works referred to here, caliphate.54) There can be no doubt that this insight into the increase our understanding of the population of the Fatimid state of mind of medieval Arab and Muslim historians or reli- territories and more particularly of Egypt, not only in the gious scholars — who mostly were geographically or chrono- period itself but also when considered within a larger chrono- logically remote from the Fatimid realm — has been most logical framework. helpful in providing new, and at times more rational, inter- pretations of phenomena that earlier modern scholarship was inclined to take at face value. Al-Îakim’s measures towards 56) Cf. the highly useful assessments of al-Maqrizi as an authority on non-Muslims, towards women, but also towards his subjects the Fatimid period in Walker, Islamic Empire 152-153, and especially 164- at large, are a case in point that we have sought to study in 169. this review. The evident pertinence of such a critical approach 57) al-Maqrizi, al-Mawa¨i wa-l-I¨tibar fi∂ikr al-Îi†a† wa-l-A†ar I-II, ed. to the ancient authorities notwithstanding, it is equally impor- Bulaq 1272/1853; ed. A.F. Sayyid, I-IV + index, London 2002-2004. Cf. the reviews by Sylvie Denoix in Revue des mondes musulmans et de la tant for the modern scholar to realize that occasionally, Méditerranée 107-110 (2006), 503-504 and by Frédéric Bauden in Mam- medieval Middle Eastern authors do not really display a sys- luk Studies Review 11 (2007), 169-176. Cf., too, A.F. Sayyid, “L’évolution tematically negative attitude towards the Fatimids and their de la composition du genre de Khitat en Egypte musulmane”, in Hugh institutions. It is precisely the excellent sections devoted to Kennedy (ed.), The Historiography of Islamic Egypt (C. 950-1800) (= The Medieval Mediterranean, 31), Leiden - Boston - Köln 2001, 77-92. the various categories of sources that can be found in the 58) F. Bauden, “Maqriziana I. Discovery of an autograph MS of al- respective works of Halm, Walker and Daftary55) that should Maqrizi: Towards a Better Understanding of his Working Method: Descrip- make us all the more aware of just how complex many of tion: Section 1” in Mamluk Studies Review 7 (2003), 21-68; idem, these historiographical works are, not just in terms of textual “Maqriziana I. Discovery of an autograph MS of al-Maqrizi: Towards a Better Understanding of his Working Method: Description: Part 2” in history but equally with regard to the attitudes (in the sense Mamluk Studies Review 10 (2006), 81-139; idem, “The Recovery of Mam- of mentalités) expressed in them. luk Chancery Documents in an Unsuspected Place” in M. Winter & A. Lev- Much more research ought to be carried out on a consid- anoni (eds.), The Mamluks in Egyptian and Syrian Politics and Society, Lei- erable number of, sometimes lengthy, pre-modern Arabic den 2004, 59-76; idem, “Maqriziana IV. Le carnet de notes d’al-Maqrizi: l’apport de la codicologie à une meilleure compréhension de sa constitu- tion”, in F. Déroche & F. Richard (eds.), Scripts, page settings and bind- ings of Middle-Eastern Manuscripts. Papers of the Third International Con- 54) Further interesting remarks on the sources can be found in Cortese ference on Codicology and Paleography of Middle-Eastern Manuscripts & Calderini 4, 27, 28, 73, 123, 199-200. (Bologna, 4-6 October, 2000), Part 2 = Manuscripta Orientalia (St. Peters- 55) Halm 473-478; Daftary, Ismaili Literature 1-83; Walker, Islamic burg) 9 (2003), 24-36. No less than twelve forthcoming studies by the same Empire 93-185. author also deal with aspects of al-Maqrizi and his working method. 0993-8_BIOR_2008/1-2_01 21-04-2008 14:39 Pagina 38

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From the point of view of interconfessional interaction, scholarly standards of exhaustiveness and depth in retrieving, ethnic identity and gender issues, the results of these three processing and interpreting primary sources and secondary and other recent studies are important in themselves and literature. Consequently, the modern reviewer’s task cannot gain further importance when considered in combination, as be one of a critic blaming his or her peers for having over- has been attempted occasionally in this review article. The looked or supposedly misinterpreted specific details, but intertwined yet distinct parallel processes of (cultural and rather one of a colleague sharing whatever additional data he linguistic) Arabisation and (religious) Islamisation of the or she has happened to encounter or whatever alternative whole Middle East and North Africa, and the migration of point of view or interpretation he or she may be able to offer, migrant Jewish and Christian civilians, mostly towards on the basis of his or her own personal research experience. Egypt, can be fruitfully linked to the mobility of ethnically One such constructive way of reviewing recent research, and defined groups of (male) soldiers of the Fatimid army and hence of stimulating the further development of one’s disci- of (male and female) slaves of all kinds. With regard to the pline, then, is to focus on remaining problems and unan- decades preceding the “Great Crisis” of 1066 to 1073 and swered questions. The present reviewer, whose own modest the subsequent arrival of Badr al-Gamali and mass migra- production so far mainly concerns textual and intertextual tion of Armenians to Egypt, it is quite striking that the main phenomena, has endeavoured to do so here by suggesting, in respective ethnic groups of males and females are actually a few instances in this review (and in some articles cited the same. We have already hinted at the demographic impli- there), some possibilities for tackling such remaining ques- cations of the presence, in Egypt particularly, of Kutama tions as are related to the source texts and their interpreta- Berber and African “Oriental” soldiers (see above, 2.1, 2.3). tion. Hopefully, other specialists will be encouraged to come Whereas one can only speculate about similar developments up with similar suggestions and thus help defining and refin- with regard to other military entities (Turks and other “Ori- ing agendas for further research on the fascinating interdis- entals” and Armenians), it seems promising for future ciplinary field of Fatimid and other medieval Middle Eastern research to further investigate such data in the light of studies. Cortese’s and Calderini’s remark on female slaves and their ethnic backgrounds (204). According to the latter authors, Université Catholique de Louvain, the highest demand on the slave market was for Sudanese Louvain-la-Neuve and Nubian women, then for Europeans, and then again, for November 2007 “a few from India”. Various qualities were ascribed to black (African), Byzantine, Persian, and Arab female slaves. Indian and Armenian women were considered less suitable for work as slaves. It is a question of common sense to pre- sume that slave women of all these ethnic backgrounds served as concubines and thus bore children to their mas- ters, but with regard to Berber women specifically, the authors explicitly state that they were appreciated for “housework, sex and childbearing”. From this, it would fol- low that at least for the two centuries of Fatimid rule, the nations mentioned above have regularly and massively con- tributed to the ethnic make-up of the Egyptian population, at least in the classes that could afford to keep slaves, and that the Berber element in it was particularly strong in this regard. Even though we have been compelled to omit the many aspects of these three books that are not directly related to our key themes, there can be no doubt that these and other recent studies mentioned in this review article are to be wel- comed as very valuable contributions to the study of the period considered and, moreover, can be highly recom- mended to anyone interested in Middle Eastern or general history, be it social, religious or cultural. In the few cases where we had to point at issues that the authors have failed to interpret or contextualize in a fashion we can agree with, it should be emphasized that such remarks are by no means intended to question the quality and value of the studies examined. In this vein, it might not be entirely inappropriate to state here, in general terms, that in the aca- demic world of the twenty-first century — a world of dead- lines, of increasing teaching loads combined with an absolutely justified pressure to develop and implement new didactic methodologies, of considerable administrative and management duties and of perpetual institutional change and financial pressure —, professionals in our sector can hardly be expected anymore to unfallibly meet the full range of