Exam II HIST 209 Fall, 2026

The Fatmid Caliphate

The Conquest of Egpyt and Palestine

Underground Isma’ili Shei’i sect form Tunisia. Fatimid Empire in 910, captures Ifriqiya. By the late 11th cent, Fatimids fade into geopolitical irellvance

943- Berber revolt, put a hold on the Fatimids in the Maghrib.

Jawhar al-Rumi, a former greek slave became the Empires general who took Egypt. 969

Fustat made into an imperial city. They build the city of Ciaro

They claim the calphite title from Fatima, Muhamuds daughter.

Relgious Polices

Overtime, there was little challenge to Sunni practice in Egypt despite previous episode of violence.

Under the reign of al-Mustansir (1036-94) Isma”ilite activives reached their peak.

New Egpytian Economy

Egpyt was the center of Famtimid trade.

As Europe experinced population growth, so did their desire for Eastern trade contacts. This was done largely through the Italian city-states.

Ominous Developments

mid-11th cent. confict between newly inported turk soilders and privleged Kutamas

The conflict effectively surrender Palestine and postioned the Millitary above the caliph-Imam.

Saladin (Salah al-Din) 1137-1193

Connected to the decline of the Fatimid Calphite

Nur al-Din captures Cario to prevent a Crusader state. 1069. Appoints Saladin as the Egpytian wazir.

Nur al-Din dies in 1174 before he could try Saladin on suspiscion, leaving Saladin as ruler.

Saladin was a kurd, this was signifgant for that group of people. He was left to consolidate Muslims in Egpyt and Syria against Crusaders.

Conflict with Franks under Reynal of Chatillon- Saladin wins Jerusalem 1187 after Battle of Hattin.

evental truce between the crusader states, now bannered behind Richard the Lionheart, and Saladin.

Saladins dynasty, the Ayyubids, lasted until 1250.

Signifgantly, Saladin was gernally respected in Europe.

The Mongol Conquest of Baghdad

Chinggis grandson, Hulagu was sent to conquer Southwest Asia in 1253. Fought with the Nizari Isma’ili state there.

Alamut fortress is segied in 1256. Hulagu violates several moral codes like killing the Imams family.

Baghdad was seiged next 1258. The caliph, al-Musta’sim, was reportedly trampeled in a carpet by horses after the people pleaded that his blood not be spilled.

Baghdad was subsequently looted and pillaged for three days.

Musta’sims death brought a terminal close to the Abbasid dynasty. This event is signifgant because sunni international order declines and muslims come under non muslim rule.

A considerable degree of scentifc and inllectical knowledge was lost after the citys distruction.

Al-Ghazali (Algazel)

Ibn Sina (980-1037) Philospher who infused Neoplatnic ssytems with Arstotelian content. Although he tried to reconcile his system with Islam, it posed a threat to it partly becuase of its intellectial popularity.

The defense of faith fell to al-Ghazali (1058-1111) Born in Tus

Lecturer in jurisprudence and theo. Appointed to a collage in Baghdad.

Wrote a ciritism of Neoplatoism and Ibn Sina called Inchorence of Philosophers.

His early work, Intentions of the Philosphers, was so clear that it was misunderstood in Europe as part of the Neoplatonic tradtion.

Waqf

A relgious endowment provided by private indviuals.

They generally funded hosptials, neighborhood mosques, foundations, khans (roadside inn), and public baths.

Islamic cities did not develop municipal institutions to deal with governing. As such, inhabits of each urban quarter were responisble for servies, funds, sanatation, tax etc.

Once a property is considedered a Waqf, it is not owned by any person, only G-d.

The prevelance of this system created contuinity across Islamic cities.

Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406)

Born in Tunis from a promiante Sevile family

Served advisory postions for small principalities in Morocco and Algeria. His job was very dangous with ample enemies.

Feld to Egypt in 1382 where he was appointed as Maliki qadi (judge) by Sultan Barquq who established Circassian power for the Mamluks.

1400-Khaldun is sent on mission to repeal Timur. But, he is left in a defensless Damascas and becomes a “scholar in resideence” to Timur.

Authored Muqaddima “introdcution” to the history of Arabs and Berbers. The work had a major influence on Egyptian and later Ottoman histroians.

Invented the term Asabiyyah meaning “social cohesion.” He developed a theroy of generational loss and renewal of socital incentive

Nomaic - dynamic, urban community - corruped by vices of urban life- rejection of loyalty-baed politcal authroity- loss of spirt and vunerablity to Nomadic people

Khaldun was signifgant in his develop in a very modern sensed social sceince. He developed further theories of how geogtaphy, economics, and ecology affect the chacter of a given group.

Devshirme

Bayezit I (1389-1402) introduced the devshirme system. Mehmet II (1451-1481) greatly inproved apon the system.

Boys and young men were taken from the Balkans largely of Christian faith. They were then sent to Istanbul to serve the Sultan and other high offices.

Devoutly loyal to the Sultan (napkin story). Once trained, they entered the Jannisary rank

Their rank was signifgantly a standing army devoutly dedicated to the Sultan. Each devshirme was trained in Islamic studies, weaponary, and firearms.

Those who passed the second screening (about 10 percent) would consitute high office and military postions.

Devshirme grandually replaced the use of Turkic forces in highly skilled millitary postions although they remained the basis of the callvery (sipahis).

The ruling Devshirme set the polices that the sipahis had to follow regarding peasants and farmers.

Signifgantly, the Devshirme gained their role through extensive training, not through ehtnicity or class alone.

The Ottoman Qanun (Kanun) and Shari’a (şerîat)

Kanun laws, dicatated by the Sultan, were based on rational not relgious teachings. They were created largely for the public and adminstrative shepre.

There was frequnet dispute between the nessicity of the Kanun and Sharia.

Modified in order to prevent the greater evil because Shari’a states “pick the option that is better for soceity.”

An example of this was fratricde and “cutting ones hands” which the Ottomans prefered not to do.

Another example is the Qu’ran telling followers not to use intrest. However, it states that intrest can not be harmful, not entierly disallowed.

They gain this authority of assisment from sultanic preogative, the ability to pass legal judgements.

This preogative is common in Steppe soceities. The notion of nearly divine authroity of the leader.

fermâns- the absulte decrees of the Sultan.

After conquering a new territory, the Ottomans gnerally retained local legal practices to ensure tax revenue as long as they were not in major conflcit with the seriat or Kanun rulings.

The Ghazi Fronteir Culture

The Mongol invasion of Anatolia introduced turcoman migrants to the region. 1240s. People consoldated around the Bystuime hinterlands.

In an effort to gain wealthy Bzytine land, destitue farmers and poltical regees alike consolated into gazas (Holy Wars) lead by influental gazi leaders like Osman.

Culttal, the Turcomen people were central asian. There was an emphies on leader authroity. This would manifest later as the Kunun rulings of the Sultan. Loyality was essentially to the tribal cheif or bey.

After adopting Sunni islam, they retained certain pre-islamic central aisain practices like myscrism.

1302, Osman seiges Nicaea, gaining the attention and assmilation of other gazis.

Generally, there was a culture of assimlation

Although they concertrated their effort towards Gaza, the Ottomans were toleant and later a protective force for differnt, non-muslim faiths. (example of the Jewish rescue from Spain)

Adoption of near eastern poltics and cilvilzations such as the Seljuks.

The Millet System

The Ottoman Empire consolated various relgious groups. Although Muslims were favored, these communities were largely left to their own decisions in order to ensure both the least relgious friction and the highest tax revuene.

Millet refers to defined reglious community. Mehmet II began the porcess of orgnizing Millets after caputring Constanopile- 1453.

Millets were given their own relgious authroity and they presided over their own civil and relgious laws.

The largest millet was the Orthodox Church. It would eventually splinter into diffrent sects. After the collpose of the Byzitine state, the Orthodox Church lost its social retnetion. Many former christians converted to Islam given the abcensces of a chrsitan welfare system.

The Catholic Millet was veiwed with suspicion by the Ottomans (conflcit with the Hapsburgs) they were wrongfully merged under Armenian authroity. This proved to be humilating to Catholics who veiwed them as hertics.

Signifigantly, the Millet allowed for relgious and ethnic autonomy that was historically seldom gained. Jews, expelled from Spain in 1492, were welcomed by the Ottomans.