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An Apocalyptic History of the Early Fatimid Empire

Online ISBN:
9781474427104
Print ISBN:
9780748690886
Publisher:
Edinburgh University Press
Book

An Apocalyptic History of the Early Fatimid Empire

Jamel A. Velji
Jamel A. Velji
Claremont McKenna College
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Published:
1 August 2016
Online ISBN:
9781474427104
Print ISBN:
9780748690886
Publisher:
Edinburgh University Press

Abstract

The Fatimids’ apocalyptic vision of their central place in an imminent utopia played a critical role in transfiguring the intellectual and political terrains of North Africa in the early tenth century. Yet the realities that they faced on the ground often challenged their status as the custodians of a pristine Islam at the end of time. Through an examination of a variety of sources including works of taʾwīl or symbolic interpretation, this book illustrates some of the specific structures and functions of Fatimid apocalypticism. It then examines how various components of the apocalyptic myth—especially the utopia that it promised—evolved in response to shifting historical circumstances. The book also focuses on how the evolution of apocalyptic symbolism was related to the Fatimids’ consolidation of authority. The book ends with an extensive analysis of both the ritual and textual dimensions of another apocalyptic event linked to a Fatimid lineage: the Nizari Ismaili declaration of the end of time on August 8, 1164.

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