ENCYCLOPEDIA MEDIEVAL ISLAMIC PART 6

ESCHATOLOGY

  In accordance with literary apocalypses present in other monotheistic and dualistic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Manichaeism), Muslim apocalyptic narratives are designed to explain

the (usually) difficult circumstances of the present and to overcome them by forging a plausible chain of events that entails the establishment of an ideal messianic society and extends to the very day of judgment. Eschatological narratives appear in both Sunni and Shi‘i Islam, but they have greater import in Shi‘-ism. Like most Muslim religious ideas, eschatology is primarily based on hadith (tradition), which is believed to present sayings and doings of the Prophet Muhammad; a large number of pertinent texts are to be found in the six Sunni canonical hadith collections and in specialized compilations of apocalyptic materials, whereas the Qur’an’s eschatology did not have nearly the same impact.

  In Sunni Islam, specifically apocalyptic works began to appear from the middle of the eighth century onward and expanded, within a century, into voluminous collections; thus the rich apocalyptic heritage of Syria is known thanks to Nu‘aym ibn Hammad alMarwazi (d. 844). Ibn al-Munadi (d. ca. 947), who probably had pro-‘Alid or Shi‘i sympathies, collected a substantial number of Iraqi traditions during the following century, and, subsequently, important works such as those of al-Dani (d. 1052) and al-Qurtubi (d. 1272) were produced in Muslim Spain. The apocalyptic heritage was partially accepted into the six canonical collections, whereas, usually, material that concerned the messianic figure of the Mahdi or that was critical of, for example, the ‘Abbasids (749–1258), was not. More expressly messianic Shi‘i materials are

found in books about the ghayba (occultation) of the Twelfth Imam.

  Sunni Muslim eschatological scenarios usually begin with a historical base that is taken from one of three optional time frames. The first and earliest relates to the period of the late seventh and early eighth centuries, is based in Syria-Palestine, and envisions the beginning of the end of the world starting from the wars between the Muslims and the Byzantine Empire. The foremost goal of this scenario is the conquest of the Byzantine capital of Constantinople and, in a larger sense, the entire Mediterranean basin. These traditions often begin with an alliance between the Byzantine Christians and the Syrian Muslims against the Iraqi Muslims. This alliance, however, breaks down at the question of spoils and whether the cross or Allah was responsible for the victory.

Both groups then return to their homes, and the Byzantines invade the coastal areas of Syria. Eventually the Muslims prevail and conquer Constantinople. However, the entire cycle of historical narratives

includes a great many defeats for the Muslims, some of which involve a temporary Byzantine reconquest of the region of Syria–Palestine. After these events have played out, then the more integrally religious events,

such as the appearance of the messianic figure and the antichrist (see below), are added to the story line.

  The second historical time frame of Sunni apocalyptic literature relates to the events of the middle of the eighth century, when the ‘Abbasid revolution began in the region of Khurasan (eastern Iran and western

Afghanistan). This scenario portrays the appearance of the messianic figure, the Mahdi (see below), during a time of oppressive rule, when he will rise up in revolt and come from this distant land to the center of the

Muslim world in Iraq and liberate the Muslims, thereby ushering in the messianic age. The third time frame is more divorced from history and uses the so-called ‘‘signs of the Hour’’ as a prelude. These signs, which

can also be attached to the other two base scenarios, are those events that will warn Muslims and nonMuslims of the gravity of the times. The signs include political events such as those described above, moral and social decay, religious corruption, natural disasters (earthquakes, droughts plagues), and cosmic phenomena (comets, meteorites, eclipses of the sun and the moon). Any number of these events, when known to occur in close proximity to one another, can trigger apocalyptic anticipation, panic, or speculation, and it is most probable that the Muslim apocalyptic

books produced throughout this period were either in response to or because of these signs.

  After either the historical setting is given or the ‘‘signs of the Hour’’ are listed, then both Sunni and Shi‘i apocalyptic scenarios describe the rise of the Sufyani, a figure who is a descendent of  Mu‘awiya ibn Abi Sufyan (r. 661–680). In general, he represents the messianic aspirations of the Syrian Muslims, but he is considered to be a negative figure by Sunnis

outside of Syria and a malevolently evil one by Shi‘is. He is usually said to rise to power after appearing in the region of the Balqa’ south of Damascus, after which he will conquer most of the Muslim world. Many of the accounts describing his reign give detailed descriptions of his cruelty toward the people of Iraq and especially toward the descendants

of the Prophet Muhammad. In both Sunni and Shi‘i accounts of the Sufyani, he is eventually defeated by the Mahdi, who is the universal messianic figure. The Sufyani is a purely Muslim figure who later appears in eastern Christian apocalypses.

  The Mahdi in Sunni Islam is a warlike figure who will conquer non-Muslim regions of the world and eventually establish an ideal peaceable state that will fill the world with justice and righteousness. As stated

previously, he will appear in either the Hijaz (Medina or Mecca) or Khurasan. Irrespective of his origin, he proceeds to gather an army, march toward the center of the Muslim world (Syria and Iraq), defeat the

Sufyani, and establish his messianic kingdom in Jerusalem. Although the conquest of the Byzantine Empire in some scenarios is accomplished during the historical prelude to the messianic future, in others the Mahdi himself is the conqueror. He is usually said to conquer the entire Mediterranean basin and the difficult to conquer regions of Afghanistan and Central Asia.

  There are differing opinions as to whether the Mahdi will forcibly convert non-Muslims to Islam. Although, according to some texts, he uses force to convert non-Muslims, according to others he governs

each non-Muslim community (e.g., Jews, Christians) according to its own holy book and does not compel its members to accept Islam. The dominant feature of the Mahdi’s rule is that it is characterized by absolute

justice, peace, and plenty, with the evil characteristics of the world during the time of tribulation having passed completely away. However, his rule only lasts for a very short period of time, usually said to be up to nine years.

  In contradistinction to the Sunni Mahdi, the Shi‘i Mahdi (also known as the Qa’im) is more of an absolutely powerful and dominating figure. Shi‘i scenarios usually portray the Mahdi appearing in Medina or Mecca, where he gathers an army of 313 men (the number who fought at the Battle of Badr in 624) to him. These followers, together with the Mahdi, are more interested in vengeance than are their analogous figures in Sunni scenarios, and most of their conquests are directed against the Sunnis. However, eventually the Shi‘i Mahdi will establish a messianic

kingdom in which he will rule throughout the period of his elongated lifetime (usually more than three hundred years). In some accounts, he establishes a dynasty of the Prophet Muhammad’s family to rule this kingdom. Other elements of the Shi‘i messianic age are similar to those of the Sunnis.

In many scenarios, the Dajjal—the Muslim antichrist—appears before the time of the Mahdi, whereas in others he follows the Mahdi. In certain scenarios (especially Shi‘i ones), there are a series of messianic figures or even dynasties of Mahdis (or other lesser messianic figures) that are punctuated by the appearance of the Dajjal. The latter is said to be Jewish, and he has a defect in one of his eyes (usually the left one)

and the word kafir (infidel) written on his forehead. He will appear in the area of Persia or Iraq, and many accounts specify the city of Isfahan. After his appearance, the Dajjal will travel through the entire world

with the objective of tempting every single person whether Muslim or non-Muslim to deny Allah and worship the Dajjal himself. Although there are a few groups that will be capable of resisting his temptation,

most accounts emphasize that he will be successful in seducing large numbers of people. However, he will be unable to enter the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, where true Muslims will take refuge from him.

Another place of refuge will be Jerusalem, where a substantial number of Muslims will be besieged by the Dajjal and his followers. Just when the city is about to fall, Jesus will return from heaven (where he was raised, according to Qur’an 3:55) to kill the Dajjal and disperse his followers. It is very probable that substantial parts of the Dajjal story were influenced

by eastern Christian apocalyptic beliefs.

  In some traditions, as previously noted, this act then opens the messianic age or allows it to continue. Jesus then prays behind the Mahdi, ensuring that his presence on earth does not come into conflict with the

doctrine of khatam al-nubuwwa (the finality of Muhammad’s prophethood). Many accounts then describe Jesus’ actions with regard to the Christians: breaking the crosses, killing swine, and facilitating their conversion to Islam. After this period, Jesus will live out his life as an ordinary Muslim and be buried in the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, together with Muhammad, Abu Bakr, and ‘Umar.

  Usually the appearance of the nomadic tribes of Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38–9, Revelation 20:7–10) follows the death of Jesus. Gog and Magog will appear suddenly after the barrier Dhu ’l-Qarnayn built

to restrain them (Qur’an 21:96) is allowed to collapse.

  These tribes will overcome the entire world and destroy it. They will originate in either the north or to the east of the region of Central Asia and make straight for Jerusalem, which they will not be able to take. God will cause them to die by means of a worm that will invade their bodies. A large part of the Gog and Magog stories owe their provenance to the

Alexander Romance,which was popular throughout the Middle East. In general, Muslim apocalyptic literature and scenarios do not include a picture of the actual end of the world nor do they bridge between the cataclysmic events of the last days and the resurrection of the dead and the Last Judgment.

  After these early apocalyptic scenarios, the genre of the apocalypse continued to be significant for both Sunni and Shi‘i Muslims. New works on the subject were written in the wake of the Crusader and Mongol

invasions, most notably by Ibn Kathir (d. 1378); his collection is often seen as the most authoritative one by contemporary Sunnis. It is not always easy to find unity in Muslim apocalyptic or eschatological material, because there are few literary apocalypses that could serve to standardize the tradition as a whole, and there are numerous internal contradictions. However, Muslim scholars, especially those working

on hadith criticism and commentary (e.g., al-Nawawi [d. 1277], Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani [d. ca. 1438]), established a more-or-less accepted timetable.

Further Reading

Cook, David. ‘‘An Early Muslim Daniel Apocalypse.’’

Arabica49 (2002): 55–96.

———.Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic. Princeton: Darwin

Press, 2002.

Al-Dani, Abu ‘Amr ‘Uthman ibn Sa‘id.al-Sunan al-Warida

fi al-Fitan wa-Ghawa’iliha wa-l-sa‘a wa-Ashratiha. Riyad:

Dar al-‘Asima, 1995.

Ibn al-Munadi, Ahmad ibn Ja‘far.al-Malahim. Qumm: Dar

al-Sira, 1997.

Al-Marwazi, Nu‘aym ibn Hammad.Kitab al-Fitan. Beirut:

Dar al-Fikr, 1993.

Madelung, Wilferd. ‘‘The Sufyani between History and

Legend.’’Studia Islamica63 (1986): 5–48

ESPIONAGE

  The earliest accounts of spies, known as ‘uyun (eyes), refer to individuals in the pre-Islamic period who collected intelligence that could be used by the tribes in their continual skirmishes. During the early Islamic period, the eyes spied on enemies of the state both within and outside of its borders. Under the Rashidun, a system of night watchers (‘asas) was introduced; this consisted of a network of guards who

were responsible for ensuring security after dark. Later, the watchers were used to observe the whereabouts, activities, and opinions of individuals, developing into a web of secret agents that was associated

with the office of ‘‘Postmaster,’’ which was responsible for supervising the mail and intelligence services during the Umayyad Caliphate.

  Mu‘awiyya ibn Abi Sufyan was the first to use intelligence for political goals during his war against Ali ibn Abi Talib. This practice contributed greatly to his eventual victory. After assuming the Caliphate, Mu‘awiyya focused his attention on his two archenemies, the Shi‘is and the Kharijites.

  Spying was used by the Umayyads for a variety of purposes, with each caliph having his own network of spies to gather information about opponents and supporters alike. Others also used spies; for example,

the well-known governor Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan was the first to inflict punishments on the basis of suspicion or intelligence reports. His son ‘Ubayd Allah and al-Hajjaj ibn Yusif developed a network of agents to

deal with political unrest in Iraq and the eastern provinces of the caliphate. Later, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan developed the postal system to provide him with regular news, which helped him to outmaneuver

his rivals.

  The later Umayyads, however, failed to detect the clandestine activities of the ‘Abbasid movement, the members of which managed to build an extensive intelligence network that helped them to topple the Umayyads. Suspicious by nature, al-Mansur, the second ‘Abbasid caliph, developed the existing eyes into a disciplined corps of spies who reported directly to

him. This is attested to by the appearance in Arabic of the term Sahib al-Khabar to refer to the caliph’s secret agents, whose main tasks were to gather information, protect the caliph and his authority, and defame or

liquidate opponents.

  During his long struggle (749–762 AD) with a lNafs al-Zakiyya, al-Mansur developed innovative techniques, such as sending letters in his rival’s name to opponents in Khurasan and Hijaz, using spies for a

single mission only, and recruiting merchants and women to gather information. He also monitored charity groups in Iraq and spread rumors in Hijaz about planned revolts; this forced al-Nafs al-Zakiyya to rebel prematurely.

  The ‘Abbasids chose spies for specific missions, selecting only those whose allegiance was unquestioned. Slaves were sometimes used for delicate missions: by al-Mansur, for example, when he had Abi Muslim killed, and by Harun al-Rashid in his dealings with the Baramkids. The ‘Abbasids also used women to compromise high-ranking statesmen, eyes to monitor merchants and strangers in markets, travelers to investigate distant provinces, and beggars to monitor the leaders of religious sects.

  Opposition movements, such as the Shi‘is and the Ibadis, developed elaborate strategies to deceive the authorities and their spies, most notably by adopting the religious principle of taqiyya (concealing their true religious and political inclinations). They met secretly and dispatched more than one messenger on every mission to guarantee delivery of the message; they also used codes in case messages were intercepted.

Their success can be seen in the establishment of states in areas that were remote from the center of caliphal power, such as those of the Idrisids in

Morocco, the Fatimids in Egypt, and the Ibadi imams in Oman.

  During the later ‘Abbasid era, almost everyone fell under suspicion, and spying was frequently used for political purposes, with allegations of treason or atheism used as the pretext to liquidate opponents. As a

result, the secret service sharply deteriorated in quality, while plots and conspiracies flourished. The practice of espionage itself became dangerous as a result of the emergence of rival authorities to the ‘Abbasid

state in Baghdad. If caught, spies faced torture or death. Some became turncoats or double agents.

  Many opposition movements emerged, the most important of which was the hashashin (assassins), who relied on a widespread network of spies to assassinate statesmen and other powerful figures. After the fall of Baghdad to the Mongols in 1256 AD, the institutions of the ‘Abbasid state collapsed. The Mamluks, who eventually took power in parts of

the former ‘Abbasid state, had to rebuild the intelligence services from scratch, and they eventually came to rely on these services to consolidate their power.

Futher reading

Abd al-Ghani, A.Nuzum al-Istikhba¯ra ¯t ‘ind al-‘Arab wa

al-Muslimı¯n. Beirut: Mu’assasat al-Risa ¯lah, 1991.

Al-‘Araji, M.H.Jiha¯z al-Mukha¯bara¯t fi al-Hada ¯rah alIsla ¯miyya. Beirut: Dar al-Mada, 1998.

Leder, S. ‘‘The Literary Use of Khabar.’’ InThe Byzantine

and Early Islamic Near East, ed. A. Cameron and Conrad, 277–315. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,

1992.

Al-Naboodah, H.M. ‘‘Sa¯hib al-Khabar: Secret Agents and

Spies During the First Century of Islam.’’Journal of

Asian History, forthcoming.

Sadeue, S.F. ‘‘Development of al-Barid or Mail-post during

the Reign of Baybars I of Egypt.’’Journal of the Asiatic

Society of Pakistan14 (1969): 167–83.

Sourdel, D. ‘‘Barid.’’ InEncyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition, vol. I, The First Century of Islam, 1045–6.

Wensinck, A.J. ‘‘Khabar.’’ InEncyclopaedia of Islam, New

Edition, vol. IV, 895.

FARABI, AL- (ALFARABIUS OR AVENNASAR)

  Despite uncertainty about Alfarabi’s place of birth and the early years of his life, there is general agreement that he was born in approximately 870 CE, beyond the Oxus River—either in Farab, Kazakhstan, or Faryb, Turkestan. In the course of his life, Abu Nasr Muchamad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Tarkh n Ibn Awzalagh al-Farabi resided in Bukhara, Marv, Haran, Baghdad, Constantinople, Aleppo, Cairo, and Damascus, where he died in 950. He studied Islamic jurisprudence and music in Bukhara then moved to Marv, where he began to study logic with a Nestorian

Christian monk, Yuhanna Ibn Hayln.

  While in his early 20s, Alfarabi went to Baghdad and continued to study logic and philosophy with Hayln. At the same time, he improved his grasp of Arabic by studying with the prominent philologist Ibn alSarraj, and followed the courses of the famous Nestorian Christian translator and student of Aristotle Matta Ibn Yunus.

  Around the year 905 or 910, Alfarabi left Baghdad for Constantinople, where he remained for approximately eight years studying Greek sciences and philosophy. On his return to Baghdad, he busied himself with teaching and writing. In about 942, political upheavals forced him to seek refuge in Damascus. Political turmoil in Damascus drove him to Egypt two or three years later, where he stayed until returning to Damascus in 948 or 949, a little over a year before his death.

  Generally known as ‘‘the second teacher,’’ that is, second after Aristotle, Alfarabi must be accounted the most important philosopher within the Arabic Islamic tradition. His writings, charming yet deceptively subtle, use simple language and straight forward sentences. Most often, he expounds what resembles a narrative, a story about natural and conventional things that is simply unobjectionable. As the exposition unfolds, the reader discovers that Alfarabi has accounted for the natural order, political leadership, prophecy, moral virtue, civic order, the order of the sciences, and even the philosophic pursuits of  Plato or Aristotle—in short, all the major subjects of interest to humans in an unprecedented and seemingly unobjectionable manner. Often, it sets forth the reasons

that human beings live in civic association, how it can best be ordered to meet the highest human needs, the way most actual regimes differ from this best order, and why philosophy and religion deem this order

best.

  These writings, extraordinary in their breadth and deep learning, extend through all the sciences and embrace every part of philosophy. Alfarabi’s interest in mathematics is evidenced in commentaries on the

Elementsof  Euclid and Almagest of Ptolemy, as well as in several writings on the history and theory of music. Indeed, his Large Book on Musi cmay well be the most significant work in Arabic on that subject.

He also wrote numerous commentaries on Aristotle’s logical writings, was knowledgeable about the Stagirite’s physical writings, and is credited with an extensive commentary in Nicomachean Ethics,which has not survived. In addition to accounts of Plato’s and Aristotle’s philosophy, he composed a commentary on Plato’sLaws. Alfarabi’s distinction as the founder of Arabic–Islamic political philosophy is due to his being the first philosopher within Islam to explore he challenge to traditional philosophy presented by revealed religion, especially in its claims that the Creator provides for human well-being by means of an inspired prophet legislator. Those who now contest that distinction turn a blind eye to the way he sets forth two accounts of the old political science in the last chapter of a popular writing, Enumeration of the Sciences. Both presuppose the validity of the traditional separation between practical and theoretical science, but neither is adequate for the radically new situation created by the appearance of revealed religion. The two accounts explain in detail the actions and ways of life needed for sound political rule to

flourish but are silent about opinions especially the kind of theoretical opinions set forth in religion and thus are unable to point to the kind of rulership needed now that religion holds sway. Nor can either speak about the opinions or actions addressed by the jurisprudence and theology of revealed religion. These tasks require a political science that combines theoretical and practical science, along with prudence, and shows how they are to be ordered in the soul of the ruler.

  In other writings—most notably in his Book of  Religion and Aphorisms of the Statesman Alfarabi outlines this broader political science. It speaks of religious beliefs as opinions and of acts of worship as actions, noting that both are prescribed for a community by a supreme ruler or prophet. The new political science views religion as centered in a political community whose supreme ruler is distinct in no way from the founder of a religion. Indeed, the goals and prescriptions of the supreme ruler are identical to those of the prophet lawgiver. Everything said or done by this supreme ruler finds constant justification in philosophy, and religion thus appears to depend on philosophy theoretical and practical. Similarly, by

presenting the art of jurisprudence as a means to identify particular details the supreme ruler did not regulate before his death, Alfarabi makes it depend on practical philosophy and thus be part of this broader political science. In sum, his new political science offers a comprehensive view of the universe and indicates what kind of practical acumen permits the one who possesses this understanding, either the supreme ruler or a successor endowed with all of his qualities, to rule wisely. Able to explain the various ranks of all the beings, this political science also stresses the importance of religion for uniting the citizens and for helping them attain the virtues that prolong decent political life. Then, in Political Regimeand

Principles of the Opinions of the Inhabitants of the Virtuous City, he illustrates how this new political science might work. A general overview of this whole undertaking is provided in Attainment of Happiness—the first part of his famous trilogy Philosophy of  Plato and Aristotle—where he declares that ‘‘the idea of the philosopher, supreme ruler, prince, legislator, and imam is but a single idea.’’

Further Reading

Alfarabi’s Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, trans. Muhsin

Mahdi. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2002.

Enumeration of the Sciences, trans. Charles E. Butterworth.

In Alfarabi, The Political Writings: ‘‘Selected Aphorisms’’ and Other Texts, ed. and trans. Charles E. Butterworth, 71–84. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press,

2001.

Butterworth, Charles E. ‘‘The Rhetorician and His Relationship to the Community: Three Accounts of Aristotle’s Rhetoric.’’ In Islamic Theology and Philosophy:

Studies in Honor of George F. Hourani, ed. Michael

E. Marmura, 111–136. Albany, NY: SUNY Press,

1984.

Mahdi, Muhsin S.Alfarabi and the Foundation of Islamic

Political Philosophy: Essays in Interpretation. Chicago:

University of Chicago Press, 2001.

———. ‘‘Alfarabi.’’ InHistory of Political Philosophy, eds.

Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey, 160–180. Chicago:

Rand McNally and Co., 1963.

FATIMIDS

  The Fatimids were a major Isma‘ili Shi‘i dynasty that ruled over different parts of the Islamic world, originally from Ifriqiyya and later Egypt, from AH 297/909 CE until 567/1171. Comprised of the following fourteen caliphs, the Fatimids were also acknowledged as Isma‘ili imams:

1. al-Mahdi (297–322/909–934)

2. al-Qa’im (322–334/934–946)

3. al-Mansur (334–341/946–953)

4. al-Mu‘izz (341–365/953–975)

5. al-‘Aziz (365–386/975–996)

6. al-Hakim (386–411/996–1021)

7. al-Zahir (411–427/1021–1036)

8. al-Mustansir (427–487/1036–1094)

9. al-Musta‘li (487–495/1094–1101)

10. al-Amir (495–524/1101–1130)

11. al-Hafiz

As regent (524–526/1130–1132)

As caliph (526–544/1132–1149)

12. al-Zafir (544–549/1149–1154)

13. al-Fa’iz (549–555/1154–1160)

14. al-‘Adid (555–567/1160–1171)

  The Fatimids traced their ancestry, through the early Shi‘i imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (d. 148/765), to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib and his wife Fatima, the Prophet Muhammad’s daughter and the eponym of the dynasty.

  Foundation and North African Phase

  By the middle of the third/ninth century, the Isma’ilis had organized a dynamic, revolutionary movement, designated as al-da‘wa al-hadiya, the rightly guiding mission, or simply as al-da‘wa. The aim of this movement, led secretly from Salamiyya in Syria, was to install the Isma‘ili imam to a new caliphate, in rivalry with the ‘Abbasids. The Isma‘ili imams claimed to possess sole legitimate religious authority as the divinely appointed and infallible spiritual guides of Muslims; hence they regarded the ‘Abbasids, like the Umayyads before them, as usurpers who had deprived the rightful ‘Alid imams of their claims to leadership. The message of the Isma’ili da‘wa was spread in different parts of the Muslim world, from Transoxiana and Sind to North Africa, by a network

Of da‘is, religiopolitical propagandists.

  The early Isma’ilida‘waachieved particular success in North Africa due to the efforts of Abu ‘Abdullah al-Shi‘i, who was active as ada‘iamong the Kutama Berbers of the Lesser Kabylia, in present day eastern Algeria, since 280/893. He converted the bulk of the Kutama Berbers and transformed them into a disciplined army, which later served as the backbone of the Fatimid forces. By 290/903, Abu ‘Abdullah had commenced his conquest of Ifriqiyya, covering today’s Tunisia and eastern Algeria. The Sunni Aghlabids had ruled over this part of the Maghrib, and Sicily, since 184/800 as vassals of the ‘Abbasids. By Rajab 296/March 909, when Abu ‘Abdullah entered Qayrawan, the Aghlabid capital, Aghlabid rule was ended. Meanwhile, the Isma‘ili imam ‘Abdullah alMahdi, had embarked on a long and historic journey. He left Salamiyya in 289/902, avoiding capture by the ‘Abbasids, and after brief stays in Palestine and Egypt, he had been living in Sijilmasa, today’s Rissani in southeastern Morocco, since 292/905. ‘Abdullah continued to hide his identity while maintaining contact with the da‘i Abu ‘Abdullah. In Ramadan 296/ June 909, Abu ‘Abdullah set off at the head of his

army to Sijilmasa, to hand over the reins of power to ‘Abdullah al-Mahdi. ‘Abdullah al-Mahdi entered Qayrawan on 20 Rabi‘ II 297/4 January 910, and was immediately acclaimed as caliph. This represented a great achievement for the Isma‘ilis whose da‘wa had finally led to the establishment of a dawla, or state, headed by the Isma‘ili imam.

  In line with their universal claims, the Fatimid caliph–imams did not abandon their da‘wa activities on assuming power. Aiming to extend their authority and rule over the entire Muslim community(umma) and others, they retained their network of da‘is, operating both within and outside Fatimid dominions. However, the da‘wa was reinvigorated only

after the Fatimids transferred the seat of their state to Egypt. The first four Fatimid caliph–imams, ruling from Ifriqiyya, encountered numerous difficulties while consolidating their power. In addition to the continued

hostility of the ‘Abbasids, and the Umayyads of Spain, who as rival claimants to the caliphate had their own designs for North Africa, the early Fatimids had numerous military encounters with the Byzantines in Sicily and elsewhere. The Fatimids were also obliged to devote much of their energy during their North African period to subduing the rebellions of the Khariji Berbers, especially those belonging to the Zanata confederation, and the hostilities of the Sunni inhabitants of Qayrawan and other cities of Ifriqiyya led by their Maliki jurists. As a result, the Fatimids could not control any region of the Maghrib, beyond Ifriqiyya, for any extended period. The Fatimids were city builders and founded Mahdiyya and Mansuriyya, which served as their new capitals in Ifriqiya. As successors to the Aghlabids, the Fatimids inherited their fleet and the island of Sicily (Siqilliyya). Thus, from early on, the Fatimid state was also a sea power with Mahdiyya serving as a naval base.

  Fatimid rule was firmly established in north Africa only during the reign of al-Mu‘izz, who was able to pursue successful policies of war and diplomacy, resulting in territorial expansion. He contributed significantly to the development of the state’s political, administrative, and financial institutions, in addition to concerning himself with the da‘waactivities. Indeed, al-Mu‘izz succeeded in transforming the Fatimid caliphate from a regional power into a great empire. He made detailed plans for the conquest of Egypt, then ruled by the Ikhshidids on behalf of  the ‘Abbasids, a hitherto perennial objective of the Fatimids as the first phase in their eastern strategy of conquest. Jawhar, a commander of long services to the dynasty, led the Fatimid expedition to Egypt in 358/969. Jawhar’s campsite outside of Fustat rapidly developed into a city, Cairo (al-Qahira). Al-Mu‘izz had supervised the plan of the new royal city, with

its palaces, gates, and the mosque of al-Azhar and special buildings for government departments and the Fatimid armies. Al-Mu‘izz arrived in his new capital in 362/973, marking the end of the North African phase of the Fatimid caliphate (292–362/909–973).

  Egyptian Phase

  The rule of al-Mu‘izz in Egypt lasted just more than two years, during which he entrusted Ibn Killis with the task of reorganizing the state’s finances. The consolidation and extension of  Fatimid power in Syria, at

the expense of the ‘Abbasids and the Byzantines, was the primary foreign policy objective of al-Mu‘izz’s son and successor, al-‘Aziz, the first Fatimid caliph imam to begin his rule in Egypt in 365/975. In spite of al-‘Aziz’s hard-won victory in Syria, however, Damascus remained only nominally in Fatimid hands for some time and the Fatimids failed to seize

Aleppo in northern Syria. In North Africa, the Zirids who ruled on behalf of the Fatimids had already begun to detach themselves from the Fatimid state. Despite these setbacks, by the end of al-‘Aziz’s reign in 386/996 the Fatimid empire attained its greatest extent, at least nominally, with the Fatimid sovereignty recognized from the Atlantic and the western Mediterranean to the Red Sea, the Hijaz, Syria, and Palestine. At the same time,da‘is acting as secret agents of the Fatimid state had continued to preach the Isma’ili da‘wain many eastern regions, notably Persia and Iraq. Al-‘Aziz was the first member of his dynasty to use the Turks in the Fatimid armies, to the strong dissatisfaction of the Berber officers, and with catastrophic consequences. Al-‘Aziz adopted a tolerant policy toward non-Muslims, also utilizing the services of capable men irrespective of their ethnicities or religious persuasions. The assignment of numerous high administrative and juridical positions to Sunni Muslims, as well as Christians and Jews, in a Shi‘i state, in fact, was a distinctive practice of the Fatimids. Ibn Killis (d. 380/991), a convert from Judaism, became the first Fatimid vizier under al-‘Aziz in 367/

977. The credit for utilizing al-Azhar as a university also belongs to Ibn Killis. The last of al-‘Aziz’s viziers was a coptic Christian, ‘Isa ibn Nasturus (385–386/ 995–996).

  Al-‘Aziz’s son and successor, al-Hakim, faced numerous difficulties during his long and controversial reign, including factional conflicts within the Fatimid armies and confrontations with different religious

groups. One of his most important acts was, however, the foundation of the  Dar al-‘Ilm (the House of Knowledge) in 395/1005. This became an institution of learning with a fine library, where Shi‘is and Sunnis

studied a variety of sciences. The Isma‘ili da‘is also received part of their training there. In al-Hakim’s time, the Isma‘ili da‘waspread successfully in Iraq and Persia through the efforts of  Hamid al-Din alKirmani and other learned da‘is. It was also in his reign that certain da‘is began to preach extremist ideas, culminating in the proclamation of al-Hakim’s

divinity and the formation of the Druze movement, which met with the opposition of the Fatimid state and the da‘wa organization in Cairo.

  Fueled by factional fighting within the Fatimid armies, the Fatimid caliphate embarked on its decline during the long reign of al-Mustansir, who was eventually obliged to call on Badr al-Jamali for help. In 466/1074, Badr arrived in Cairo with his Armenian troops and quickly succeeded in subduing the unruly Turkish troops and restoring relative peace and stability to the Fatimid state. Badr became the commander

of the armies (amir al-juyush), also acquiring all the highest positions of the Fatimid state. Badr (d. 487/ 1094) ensured that his son, al-Afdal (d. 515/1121), would succeed him in due course as the real master

of the Fatimid state. Hence, the viziers, rather than caliphs, exercised effective power in the Fatimid state. Territorially, too, the overall extent of the Fatimid empire began to decline in al-Mustansir’s reign. The

Fatimids lost parts of Syria and, in North Africa their dominions were practically reduced to Egypt. On the other hand, the Isma‘ilida‘wa activities outside of Fatimid dominions reached their peak in al-Mustansir’s time, with much success in Yaman, Persia, and Transoxiana. The da‘wa was organized hierarchically, with the Fatimid caliph–imam as its supreme leader. A chief da‘i (da‘i al-du‘at) acted as the executive head of theda‘waorganization centered in Cairo. The regions outside the Fatimid state were divided into twelve islands (jaziras) for da‘wa

purposes, each one placed under the charge of a high-ranking officer, calledhujja(proof, guarantor), who headed a hierarchy of subordinateda‘is and assistants.

  The organization of the Fatimid state remained rather simple during its North African phase, when the caliph–imams acted as the supreme heads of the government administration and commanders of  the armies, and the highly centralized administration was normally situated at the Fatimid palace. From the early years in Egypt, the organizational structure of

administration and finance introduced by Jawhar and Ibn Killis provided the basis of a complex system of institutions. The Fatimid system of administration in Egypt remained centralized, with the caliph and his vizier at its head, while the provincial organs of government were under the strict control of central authorities in Cairo. The central administration of the Fatimids was carried on through various ministries and departments, known asdiwans. Foremost among these units were the diwan al-insha, or chancery of state, responsible for issuing and handling various types of official documents; the diwan al-jaysh, the department of the army; and the diwan al-amwal, the ministry of finance. The officials of the Fatimid state, both civil and military, were organized in terms

of strict hierarchies. The Fatimids also developed an elaborate system of rituals and ceremonials. They established a vast network of trade and commerce after settling down in Egypt, providing the state with a significant economic base. In Egypt, the Fatimids patronized intellectual activities, transforming Cairo into a flourishing center of Islamic scholarship, sciences, art, and culture.

  On the death of al-Mustansir in 487/1094, the Isma’ilis permanently subdivided into Nizari and Musta’li factions, named after al-Mustansir’s sons who claimed his heritage. Hence, the Nizari and Musta‘li Isma’il is recognized different lines of imams. The Musta‘lis of Egypt and elsewhere acknowledged al-Musta‘li, al-Mustansir’s son and successor to the Fatimid throne, as their imam. By 526/1132, in the aftermath of al-Amir’s assassination and the irregular succession of his cousin al-Hafiz, the Musta‘li Isma‘ilis were split into the Tayyibi and Hafizi branches.

Only the Hafizi Musta‘lis, situated mainly in Fatimid Egypt, recognized al-Hafiz and the later Fatimids as their imams.

  The final phase of the Fatimid caliphate, 487–567/ 1094–1171, was a turbulent one. Reduced to Egypt proper, the Fatimid state was now almost continuously beset by political and economic crises worsened by

intense disorders within the Fatimid armies and the arrival of the invading Crusaders. The later Fatimids all died prematurely, and they remained puppets in the hands of their powerful viziers, who controlled the

armies. The last Fatimid caliph–imam, al-‘Adid, was only nine years old at the time of his succession and his nominal reign represented the most confusing period in Fatimid history. Power remained in the hands of several short-lived viziers, who continuously intrigued against one another. The crusading Franks also had almost succeeded in establishing a virtual protectorate over Fatimid Egypt, while the Zangids of Syria had resumed their own invasions. Ironically, it was left to the last Fatimid vizier, Salah al-Din (Saladin) to terminate Fatimid rule on 7 Muharram

567/10 September 1171, when he had the khutba read in Cairo in the name of the reigning ‘Abbasid caliph, symbolizing the return of Egypt to the fold of Sunni Islam. A few days later, al-‘Adid, the fourteenth and final Fatimid caliph–imam, died after a brief illness while the Isma’ilis, who had always remained a minority in Egypt, began to be severely persecuted. The Fatimid state had thus come to a close after 262 years. Subsequently, Egypt was incorporated into the Sunni Ayyubid state founded in 569/1174 by Salah al-Din.

Primary Sources

Ibn al-Haytham. Kitab al-Munazarat, ed. and trans.

W. Madelung and P. E. Walker (asThe Advent of the

Fatimids.) London, 2000.

Al-Maqrizi, Taqi al-Din Ahmad.Itti‘az al-Hunafa,’ ed.

J. al-Shayyal and M.H.M. Ahmad. 3 vols. Cairo, 1967–

1973.

Al-Nu’man ibn al-Muhammad, al-Qadi Abu Hanifa.Iftitah

al-Da‘wa, ed. W. al-Qadi. Beirut, 1970

Further Reading

Barrucand, Marianne, ed.L’Egypte Fatimide, son art et son

histoire. Paris, 1999.

Brett, Michael.The Rise of the Fatimids. Leiden, 2001.

Daftary, Farhad.The Isma’ilis: Their History and Doctrines.

Cambridge, MA, 1990.

Halm, Heinz.The Empire of the Mahdi: The Rise of the

Fatimids. Translated by M. Bonner. Leiden, 1996.

———.Die Kalifen von Kairo. Die Fatimiden in A¨

gypten

973-1074. Munich, 2003.

Sanders, Paula.Ritual, Politics and the City in Fatimid

Cairo. Albany, NY, 1994.

Sayyid, Ayman Fu’ad.Al-Dawla al-Fatimiyya fi Misr. 2nd

ed. Cairo, 2000.

Walker, Paul E.Exploring an Islamic Empire: Fatimid

History and Its Sources. London, 2002.

FERDOWSI

  Ferdowsi, the major epic poet of Persian civilization, was born in 940 CE near the town of Tus in Khorasan, where he apparently spent most of his life. The date of his death is unknown, but it is traditionally given as ca. 1020. His epicShahnameh, a retelling of the pre-Islamic myths, legends, and history of  Iran, is one of Persian literature’s most significant works.

  Ferdowsi began Shahnameh when Khorasan was still ruled by the Samanids, who fostered an interest in Iran’s pre-Islamic past and were the first significant patrons, after the Islamic conquest, of literature in Persian. The Samanid domains were overrun by the Ghaznavid Turks under Mahmud of  Ghazni during Ferdowsi’s lifetime—a number of anecdotes recounted by medieval writers concerning Ferdowsi’s bad relations with Mahmud are probably apocryphal.

  The epic Shahnamehis in the masnavi (couplet) form and uses themotaqarebmeter (one of only two medieval Persian meters that do not derive from an Arabic model;motaqarebmay derive from a pre-Islamic

Persian meter). Manuscripts of the poem differ widely in length, with the longest containing up to sixty thousand couplets; earlier and more reliable manuscripts tend to have approximately forty thousand couplets. After relatively conventional introductory matter, the poem divides into three unequal sections: a short mythical section, a legendary section, and a

Quasi historical section. Ferdowsi cites both written and oral sources; it is clear that he relied heavily on written sources for the quasihistorical section, but the earlier sections seem to owe much to oral tradition.

  In contrast to other contemporary authors concerned with Iran’s pre-Islamic past, Ferdowsi’s cosmogony is wholly Persian, and he makes no attempt to integrate Persian creation myths, or Persian legendary material, with Qur‘anic accounts of the world’s early history. Evil is present at the opening of the poem in the form of supernatural beings(div); the first evil person in the poem is the demon king Zahhak, identified as an Arab, and at the poem’s end a commander who has foreseen Persia’s defeat in the

seventh-century Arab invasion prophesies the moral and political disasters that will come to Iran at the Arabs’ hands. The poem is thus framed by a fairly overt hostility to Arab culture.

  Shahnameh is structured as a king list, and the reigns of fifty monarchs are described, some very briefly, others at considerable length (for example, the reign of the legendary king Kavus covers three of the nine volumes of the standard edition). The earliest stories of the mythical and legendary sectionsn go back to a prehistoric Indo-European past and have

some parallels in other Indo-European mythologies (such as Hindu and Greek). The legendary section incorporates into the narrative a separate cycle of tales concerned with the rulers of  Sistan (southeastern

Iran, Afghanistan south of the River Helmand), the most famous of whom is Rostam, who was in all probability a Parthian hero whose tales of exploits had survived in oral form. The prophet Zoroaster enters the narrative (in the one section of the poem not written by Ferdowsi, but by his predecessor Daqiqi) during the reign of the legendary king, Goshtasp (possibly to be identified with the Achaemenid Hystaspes), and the religious milieu of the poem is generally Zoroastrian, although Ferdowsi shows little detailed knowledge of Zoroastrian beliefs and makes frequent anachronistic references to the religion. The emphatically ethical orientation of many of the tales of the legendary section (such as those of Kaveh, Iraj, Seyavash, and Kay Khosrow) may be considered in part as a legacy of pre-Islamic Zoroastrianism.        

  The quasihistorical section begins approximately with Alexander the Great’s conquest of  Iran. From this point on, rulers mentioned in the poem correspond with historical personages, but often in a romanticized or garbled way (for example, Alexander is given a Persian father; Ferdowsi confuses the reigns of the Sasanian kings Shapur I and Shapur II). This section is much less smoothly constructed than the poem’s earlier portions, and the narrative contains frequent self-contradictions (for example, the founder of the Sasanian dynasty is given two differing genealogies). The Parthians, who in reality ruled Iran longer than any other dynasty, are very summarily dealt with (their almost five hundred-year reign is compressed into a couple of generations), and this is

certainly due to the Sasanian attempt to obliterate the Parthians from the historical record. The legendary grandeur of the poem’s opening half gives way to tales of royal hedonism (such as during the reign of Bahram Gur) and detailed accounts of court intrigues, rebellions, and palace revolutions.

Further Reading

Banani, Amin. ‘‘Ferdowsi and the Art of Tragic Epic.’’

In Persian Literature, ed. E. Yarshater. New York,

1988.

Davidson, Olga M.Poet and Hero in the Persian Book of

Kings. Ithaca, 1994.

Davis, Dick.Epic and Sedition. Fayetteville, 1992.

Safa, Zabihollah.Hemaseh Sarai dar Iran (Epic in Iran).

Tehran, 1369/1990.

FEZ

  The city of Fez (Fas in Arabic) was founded by the Idrisid dynasty at the end of the AH second/eighth CE century, in the north of Morocco. It was composed of  two cities separated by the Wadi Fas. It had considerable strategic significance in the fight between the Umayyads of al-Andalus and the Fatimids of Ifriqiyya. At the beginning of the eleventh century,

Fez was taken by the Berber tribe of the Zanata, and at the end of the same century, it fell into the hands of the Almoravids. Fez then became the Almoravids’ main military base in Morocco. It is also in this period

that the Qarawiyyin mosque began to acquire increasing significance as a center of learning. Many of the ‘ulama’ representatives of  Western Malikism were trained in this center. During the Almohad period, the old city of Fez grew to its present proportions. In the thirteenth century, Fez became part of the Marinids’ territories, who made it their capital and under whose government it reached its highest economic development. The Marinids built a new urban center, Fas al-Jadid, to the west of the old city. Fas al-Jadid came to be the administrative and military center, whereas Fas al-Bali (old Fez), also known asalMadina, remained the center for commercial activities. In the aftermath of the Christians conquest of Cordova and Seville, important Andalusi, families learned men and landowners migrated to Fez and other cities in Morocco. When the Sa‘dids took Fez in 955/1459, the city became the center of Sharifism,

radiating its influence out to the rest of Morocco. The success of this movement is linked to the personality of Idris II (d. 828), considered to be a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. He was the founder

of the city and ‘‘sultan’’ of its saints. What was principally indicative of the beginning of the veneration of Idris was the discovery of his tomb in 1438, in the Shurafa’ mosque. By the middle of the sixteenth century the situation in Fez had deteriorated while retaining certain prosperity. Many Hispanic Jews found refuge in Fez after the expulsion of 1492.

Further Reading

Beck, H.L.L’Image d’Idris II, ses Descendants de Fas et la

Politique Sharifienne des Sultans Marinides (656-869/

1258-1465). Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1989.

Bennassar, B. ‘‘La Vida de los Renegados Espan˜oles y

Portugueses en Fez (hacia 1580-1615).’’ EnRelaciones

entre la Penı´nsula Ibe´rica con el Norte de A

´

frica (siglos

XIII-XVI),ed. M. Garcia Arenal and M. J. Viguera,

665–678.Actas del Coloquio, Madrid, 17–18 Diciembre

1987. Madrid, 1988.

Berque, J. ‘‘Ville et universite´. Aperc ¸u sur l’histoire de

l’e ´cole de Fe`s.’’ Revue Historique du Droit Franc¸ais et

Etranger(1949): 64–116.

Blache`re, R. ‘‘Fe`z chez les ge´ographes Arabes du MoyenAge.’’Hespe´ris18 (1934): 41–48.

———. ‘‘Fe`s, ou le destin d’une me ´dina.’’De l’Euphrate a`

l’Atlas. Parı ´s, 1978.

Burckhardt, T. ‘‘Fez.’’ EnLa Ciudad isla´mica, ed. R. B.

Serjeant, 209–221. Barcelona, 1982.

———.Fez, City of Islam, trans. W. Stoddardt. Cambridge,

MA: The Islamic Texts Society, 1992.

Calasso, G. ‘‘Genelogie e Miti di Fondazione: Note sulle

Origini di Fas secondo le Fonti Merinide.’’ InLa Bisaccia dello Sheikh. Omaggio ad Alessandro Bausani Islamista nel sessantesimo compleanno. Venecia, 1981, 17–27.

Cigar, N. ‘‘Societe´ et Vie politique a` Fe`s dans les premiers

‘Alawites (ca. 1660/1830).’’ Hespe´ris-Tamuda18 (1978–

1979): 93–172.

The Encyclopaedia of Islam s.v.‘‘Fas’’ [R. Le Tourneau] and

[H. Terrase].

The Encyclopaedia of Islam s.v. ‘‘al-Karawiyyin’’ [G. Deverdun].

Gaillard, H.,Une Ville de l’Islam: Fez. Parı ´s, 1905.

Garcı´a-Arenal, M. ‘‘The Revolution of Fas in 869/1465 and

the Death of Sultan ‘Abd al-Haqq al-Marini.’’Bulletin of

the School of Oriental and African Studies41 (1978): 43–66.

———. ‘‘Les Bildiyyin de Fe`s, un Groupe de Ne`omusulmans

d’origine Juive.’’Studia Islamica66 (1987): 113–143.

———. ‘‘Mahdi, murabit, sharif: L’ave`nement de la dynastie Sa‘dienne.’’Studia Islamica71 (1990): 74–114.

———. Saintete´ et Pouvoir Dynastique au Maroc: la re´sistance de Fe `s aux Sa‘diens.’’Annales ESC(1990–1994):

1019–1042.

Garcı´a-Arenal, M., y Wiegers, G.Entre el Islam y Occidente. Vida de Samuel Pallache, judı´o de Fez. Madrid:

Siglo Veintinuno, 1999.

Gerbert, J.S.Jewish Society in Fez (1450–1700): Studies in

Communal and Economic Life. Leiden, 1980.

Ibn Suda, ‘A.S. ‘‘Buyutat Fas qadiman wa hadithan.’’AlBahth al-‘ilmi22 (1973): 23(1974) y 25(1976).

Kably, M.Socie´te ´, pouvoir et religion au Maroc a ` la fin du

Moyen Age. Paris, 1986.

Le Tourneau, R.Fe`s avant le Protectorat: E

´tude E

´

conomique

et Sociale d’une Ville de l’Occident Musulman. Parı ´s, 1949.

Mezzine, M.Fas wa Badiyatuha. Musahama fi ta’rikh alMaghrib al-Sa‘di.Rabat, 1986.

———. ‘‘Les re´lations Entre les Places Occupe ´es et les

Localite´sdelaRe´gion de Fe`s aux XVe`me et XVIe`me

sie`cles a partir des Documents Locaux Ine´dits: les

Nawazil.’’ En Relaciones entre la Penı´nsula Ibe´rica con

el Norte de A

´

frica (siglos XIII-XVI), ed. M. Garcı ´aArenal and M. J. Viguera, 539–560.Actas del Coloquio,

Madrid, 17–18 diciembre 1987. Madrid, 1988.

Naciri, M. ‘‘La Me`dina de Fe`s: Trame Urbaine en Impasses

et Impasse de la Planification Urbaine,’’ in Present et

avenir des me`dinas (de Marrakech a` Alep), ed. J. Bisson

and J.-F. Troin. Tours, 1982, 237–254.

Nwya, P.Un Mystique Pre´dicateur a` la Qarawiyyin de Fe `s:

Ibn ‘Abbad de Ronda (1332-1390). Beirut, 1961.

Peretie, M. A. ‘‘Les me´drasas de Fe`s.’’Archives Marocaines

18 (1912): 257–372.

Powers, D.Law, Society and Culture in the Maghrib, 1300–

1500. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Revault, J. L. Golvin, and A. Amahan.Palais et demeures

de Fe`s. Epoques Me´rinide et Saadienne (XIV–XVII sie`-cles). Parı ´s, 1985.

Rodrı´guez Mediano, F.Familias de Fez (ss. XV–XVII).

Madrid: CSIC, 1995.

Shatzmiller, M. ‘‘Les Premiers Me´rinides et le Milieux

Religieux de Fe`s: l’Introduction des Me´dersas.’’Studia

Islamica43 (1976): 109–118.

Al-Tazi, M.L’Universite´ Qarawiyyin. Mohammedia, 1980

FLOODS

  Any assessment of economic life in the Islamic world in the Middle Ages, whether rural or urban, is incomplete without considering numerous natural disasters occurring throughout the region and the period. With the exception of work on plague epidemics and the

writings of professors N.N. Ambraseys and Charles Melville about earthquakes in the Middle East, there is a dearth of literature about disasters in Islamic / Middle East history. This article is a modest attempt

to fill at least one gap in the historiography of the Near East and Islamic Spain in the era prior to 1700. The purpose of the present study is to indicate the nature and impact of floods in Muslim lands between

600 and ca. 1600 CE, to address the consequences, both direct and indirect, of these floods, and to assess their role in the lives of the affected areas. The focus will be on floods as disasters rather than, for example, the benign effects of the annual Nile flood, with its attendant benefits of water for irrigation and alluvial soil.

  The first and obvious point is that floods occurred primarily in the two great river valley systems of  the Near East. Hence, most floods were associated with the areas of the Tigris and Euphrates and with the Nile Valley. It should be understood, however, that floods were not confined to these regions. Damaging floods occurred in other places, such as Arabia and Iran. An overwhelming number, however, were centered in Iraq and Syria. When unusually heavy rain came, the result was often devastation for cities or villages on or near rivers or streams.

  Floods were an equal menace to people and property. In 960, Egyptian pilgrims drowned in a flood. In the city of Samarra (Iraq), many people perished in the terrible flood of 841. A flood in Jubba, Khuzistan

in 902 also killed many people. Examples could be multiplied. Suffice it to say that, like famines, epidemics, and earthquakes, floods were lethal. Again, that one is dealing with a life-threatening event must be recalled when analyzing demographic trends or patterns in the early Islamic period. The sources provide virtually no mortality statistics for floods, but it is evident that losses could be severe and, as a result, flood mortality must be factored into systematic discussions of mortality patterns.

  The economic historian must also consider the destruction of property and animals occasioned by especially severe floods. One reads of numerous examples of destroyed shops and houses, livestock killed,

and crops devastated. In 43/742, shops were ruined and houses damaged along the Tigris in northern Iraq. In 46/845, similarly, Mosul experienced a terrible flood that ravaged market areas and residences. Sources also record instances of destruction of goods in the shops, for example, in Hamah, Syria, in 44/ 1343. Frequently, cultivation was disrupted or wiped out by floods. Destruction might result from the inundation of fields or demolition of irrigation works or dams. In 1104, the Tigris flooded, with crops, houses, and other property damaged. A flood hit Andalusia in Islamic Spain in 848–849, devastating dams, barrages,

and mills. Frequently, animals perished, confronting affected societies with a loss of power, food, and transportation. Also, populations were deprived of revenues from the sale of the animals.

  Communications systems were disrupted at times with the inundation of roads and destruction or damaging of bridges. This impeded the movement of travelers and negatively affected the movement of goods

to market. Coupled with the actual loss of crops, this no doubt had an impact on supplies and prices in contiguous market areas, as reflected, for example, in the price rises associated with the Baghdad flood of 1325.

  Floods also disrupted normal educational and religious life. On any number of occasions, mosques and madrasas were damaged or demolished. The Baghdad flood of 1159 damaged mosques, whereas a flood of 1242–1243, in the same city, damaged the Nizamiyya Madrasa, a main center of learning in the Islamic East. Madrasas in Damascus were destroyed in the flood of 1316. Obviously, the normal functioning of

religious and educational institutions was hampered or nullified by these events.

  Ultimately the worst damage was personal loss suffered by citizens of various regions. Chronicles are replete with statements of private dwellings being destroyed or damaged. One reads of the destruction of

gardens or trees and other personal property that

could be used to supplement diet or, at the very

least, to make life more pleasant. Furthermore, survivors of floods were prey to fears and stress associated with the catastrophe. In the Tigris flood of 1207– 1208, one reads of the fright experienced by the people affected. When the Nile flooded in 1371–1372 people went to the Mosque of ‘Amr and prayed that God would cause the waters to recede. Floods caused

trauma and disease. Cemeteries were inundated and damaged. Floods overwhelmed sewers and plumbing in Baghdad, with serious disease outbreaks or epidemics ensuing. The Baghdad flood of 1495 caused

the spread of throat disease, fever, and even typhoid fever. In this way, floods sparked another major disaster touching the Muslim world: epidemic disease. Here, again, one sees evidence that one catastrophe

could contribute to or reinforce others.

  In the final analysis, floods served as another source of disruption and loss for those living in the medieval Islamic regions. Earthquakes, epidemics, famines, and other disasters caused a great deal of suffering and trauma between 600 and 1500. Floods, although not as devastating as outbreaks of bubonic plague or particularly powerful earthquakes,

took their share of lives and destroyed property in a serious fashion. Revenues for private individuals, landlords, governments, and military establishments fell prey to this catastrophe, as they did to others. Suffering exceeded a simple loss of revenue. Floods, like other disasters, affected lives in the most fundamental emotional and psychological ways. Chronicles cannot help us quantify this, if such a thing was possible, but they show us the existence of deeper effects.

Primary Sources:

Arib ibn Sa‘d Katib al-Qurtubi.Silat ta’rikh al-Tabari.

Leiden, 1965.

Al-‘Ayni.Ta’rikh al-Badr. British Library Ms. Or. Add.

22: 368.

Al-Bayhaqi.Tarikh-i Masud, trans. as Istorija Masuda,by

A. K. Arends. Tashkent, 1962.

Al-Dhahabi.Kitab al-‘ibar fi khabar man ghabara. Bibliotheque Nationale Ms. Arabes, 5819.

Dionysus of Tell-Mahre.Chronique. Trans. J. B. Chabot.

Paris, 1895.

Ibn al-Athir, ‘Izz al-Din.Al-Kamil fi al-Ta’rikh. Vols VII–

VIII. Beirut, 1965–1966.

Ibn al-Dawadari.Kanz al-Durar wa Jami‘ al-Ghurar. Part 8.

Freiburg, 1971.

Ibn al-Fuwati.Hawadith al-Jami‘a. Baghdad, 1932.

Ibn Idhari.Bayan Al-mughrib. Vol II. Beirut, 1967.

Ibn al-Jawzi. Al-Muntazam fi Ta’rikh al-Muluk wa alUmam. Vol. IX. Beirut, 1967

Ibn Kathir. Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya. Vol. XII. Cairo, no

date.

Ibn Qadi Shuhbah.Dhayl ‘ala Ta’rikh al-Islam. Bibliotheque Nationale Ms. Arabes 1598.

Michel le Syrien.Chronique. Trans. J. B. Chabot. Beirut,

1963.

Sibt ibn al-‘Ajami.‘‘Les Tresors d’Or’’ de Sibt ibn al-Ajami.

Vol. II. Trans. Jean Sauvaget. Beirut, 1950.

Further Reading

Ambraseys, N.N. and C.P. Melville.A History of Persian

Earthquakes. Cambridge, MA, 1982.

Ambraseys, N.N., C.P. Melville, and R.D. Adams.The

Seismicity of Egypt, Arabia and the Red Sea: A Historical

Review. Cambridge, MA, 1994.

Borsch, Stuart. ‘‘Nile Floods and the Irrigation System in

Fifteenth-Century Egypt.’’Mamluk Studies Review.IV

(2000): 131–145.

Sousa, Ahmad.Fayadanat Baghdad fi al-ta’rikh. Vols. I and

II. Baghdad, 1963–1965.

Tucker, William F. ‘‘Natural Disasters and the Peasantry in

Mamluk Egypt.’’J.E.S.H.O. XXIV, ii (1981): 215–224.

———. ‘‘Environmental Hazards, Natural Disasters, Economic Loss, and Mortality in Mamluk Syria.’’Mamluk

Studies ReviewIII (1999): 109–128

FRANKS, OR IFRANJ

  Frankis a term used by the Muslim Middle East to denote the inhabitants of Western Europe generally, rather than specifically, the people of the Holy Roman Empire: Christian descendants of  barbarian tribes. However, the term was not normally used of Spanish Christians, who were referred to by Muslim writers as Rum, a name also used for the Byzantines.

  The looseness of the designation would seem to reflect the low level of Muslim interest in western Christendom, except on the part of Arab writers in the Iberian Peninsula. Elsewhere in the Muslim world, eastern Christendom commanded more immediate attention, at least at the start of the Islamic era. The victory of the Franks, under their leader Charles

Martel at the Battle of Poitiers in western France in AH 114/732 CE, seems to have mattered much less to the defeated Arabs than the latter’s failure to take Constantinople from the Byzantines. The Balat al-Shuhada’ (Thoroughfare of the Martyrs), as the Arabs call the setback at Poitiers, is first mentioned in the eleventh century, and then only in SpanishArab chronicles.

  There are remarkably few reported encounters between Muslims and western Europeans before the Reconquista and the Crusades. The Frankish chronicles mention an exchange of envoys that may have

taken place at the beginning of the ninth century between Martel’s grandson Charlemagne, king of the Franks and Holy Roman emperor, and the fifth ‘Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid. More certainly, one hundred years later, the seventeenth ‘Abbasid caliph al-Muktafi received in Baghdad an embassy from the daughter of the Frankish ruler of Lorraine.

For much of this period, any precise knowledge the Arabs had of the peoples, languages, geography, and history of Europe mostly concerned Muslim Andalusia. Information about the rest of  Europe is largely

fable, with the exception of some geographical data, based largely on Greek sources. The first Arab writer to touch on the history of  Western Europe was al Mas‘udi in the middle of the tenth century. In his

historical and geographical survey, Muruj al-dhahab (The Meadows of Gold), al-Mas‘udi gives a list of Frankish kings from Clovis to Louis IV, based apparently on a Frankish source.

  Reinforcing the lack of Muslim interest in medieval Europe was the reluctance of Muslims to travel in Christian lands. It was left to a Spanish Jew, Ibrahim b. Ya‘qub, from Tortosa near Barcelona in Arab Spain, to provide the Muslim world with the first detailed eyewitness information about Western Europe. In the middle of the tenth century, Ibrahim travelled, perhaps on official business for the ruler of Andalusia, through France, Holland, northern Germany, Bohemia, Poland, and northern Italy. The account of his travels, which he wrote in Arabic, survives only in fragments that were incorporated into the work of later writers. Ibrahim b. Ya‘qub was the source for many subsequent Islamic descriptions of Western Europe.

  Toward the end of the eleventh century, there began a period of more direct encounters, beginning with the Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula and culminating in the Crusades, as a result of which

western Europeans occupied parts of the Muslim Near East. Muslim personal impressions of the intruders were added to the written record, notably those of the Syrian belle-lettrist Usama Ibn Munqidh, and the Andalusian traveler Ibn Jubayr. However, the Muslims evinced little interest in the polities of the Crusader states, the differences between the various nationalities, and the places in Europe from which the Crusaders had come. By contrast, the thriving mercantile relationship between East and West, established as a result of the European settlement of the Levant, would continue even after the Muslims had regained the sovereignty of the region.

  There is a section on Frankish history in the early fourteenth-century Persian chronicle of  Rashid al-Din Tabib, the Jami‘ al-tawarikh (The Universal History), based on written and oral European sources. Otherwise, the level of Muslim intellectual interest in the West would remain the same until the sixteenth century, when the Ottoman Turks embarked on their pragmatic engagement with Europe.

Further Reading

Hillenbrand, Carole.The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives.

Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1999.

Ibn Munqidh, Usama.Kitab al-i‘Tibar. Translated by P. K.

Hitti, asMemoirs of an Arab-Syrian Gentleman. Beirut,

1964.

Lewis, Bernard.The Muslim Discovery of Europe. London:

Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1982.