{"id":216,"date":"2017-04-18T18:56:02","date_gmt":"2017-04-18T18:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-worldcivilization\/chapter\/post-byzantine-egypt\/"},"modified":"2017-04-18T18:56:02","modified_gmt":"2017-04-18T18:56:02","slug":"post-byzantine-egypt","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-herkimer-worldcivilization\/chapter\/post-byzantine-egypt\/","title":{"raw":"Post-Byzantine Egypt","rendered":"Post-Byzantine Egypt"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Objective<\/h3>\n<ul><li>Discuss the effects of the Islamic conquest on Egypt<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Key Points<\/h3>\n<ul><li>At the onset of the Muslim conquest of North Africa, Egypt\u00a0was part of the Byzantine\/Eastern Roman Empire, with the capital in Constantinople. The province held strategic importance for its grain production and naval yards, and as a base for further conquests in Africa.<\/li>\n \t<li>In 639, Rashidun troops led by Amr ibn al-As\u00a0were sent to conquer Egypt. The Rashidun army crossed into Egypt from Palestine and advanced rapidly into the Nile Delta. The Muslim forces eventually defeated a Byzantine army at the 640 Battle of Heliopolis. Alexandria and the Thebaid\u00a0surrendered shortly after that.<\/li>\n \t<li>Following the first surrender of Alexandria, Amr chose a new site to settle his men, near the location of the Byzantine fortress of Babylon. The new settlement was called Fustat, and quickly became the focal point of Islamic Egypt.<\/li>\n \t<li>The main pillar of the early Muslim rule and control in the country was the military force, or <em>jund<\/em>, provided by the Arab settlers. These were initially the men who had followed Amr and participated in the conquest.<\/li>\n \t<li>The Fatimid Caliphate conquered Egypt in 969, founding a new capital in Cairo, which was intended as a royal enclosure for the Fatimid caliph and his army. Under Fatimid rule, Egypt became the center of the caliphate.<\/li>\n \t<li>Under Fatimid rule, Egypt flourished economically and and culturally, attracting scholars and thinkers from across the world and becoming the center of intellectual debates and freedom of expression.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Terms<\/h3>\n<h4>The Fatimid Caliphate<\/h4>\nAn Ismaili Shia Islamic caliphate that spanned a large area of North Africa, from the Red Sea in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west. The dynasty ruled across the Mediterranean coast of Africa, and it was under its rule that Egypt became the center of the caliphate. At its height the caliphate included, in addition to Egypt, varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz.\n<h4>Byzantine\/Eastern Roman Empire<\/h4>\nThe continuation of the Roman Empire in the East during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, originally founded as Byzantium). It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century CE and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.\n<h4>mamluk<\/h4>\nAn Arabic designation for slaves. While they were purchased, their status was above ordinary slaves, who were not allowed to carry weapons or perform certain tasks. They eventually formed a powerful military caste.\n<h4>Copts<\/h4>\nAn ethno-religious group situated in North Africa and the Middle East, mainly in the area of modern Egypt, where they are the largest Christian denomination. They are also the largest Christian denomination in Sudan and Libya. Historically they spoke the Coptic language, a direct descendant of the Demotic Egyptian spoken in the Roman era, but it has been near-extinct and mostly limited to liturgical use since the 18th century. They now speak Arabic.\n<h4>The Rashidun Caliphat<\/h4>\nThe Islamic caliphate in the earliest period of Islam, comprising the first four caliphs\u2014the \"Rightly Guided\" caliphs. It was founded after Muhammad's death in 632 (year 11 AH in the Islamic calendar). At its height, the caliphate controlled an empire from the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant to the Caucasus in the north, North Africa from Egypt to present-day Tunisia in the west, and the Iranian plateau to Central Asia in the east.\n<h4>caliphate<\/h4>\nAn area containing an Islamic steward known as a caliph\u2014a person considered a religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entire Muslim community. During the history of Islam after the Rashidun period, many Muslim states, almost all of them hereditary monarchies, have claimed the right to be defined as such.\n\n<\/div>\n<h1>Egypt in the Byzantine Empire<\/h1>\nAt the onset of the Muslim conquest of North Africa, Egypt\u00a0was part of the Byzantine\/Eastern Roman Empire, with the capital in Constantinople.\nThe province held strategic importance for its grain production and naval yards, and as a base for further conquests in Africa. Shortly before the Muslim conquest, Egypt had been conquered by the Persian Empire\u00a0(619\u2013629). However, Emperor Heraclius\u00a0re-captured it after a series of campaigns against the Sassanid Persians, only to lose it to the Muslim Rashidun army\u00a0ten years later. Before the Muslim\u00a0conquest of Egypt began, the Byzantines had already lost the Levant\u00a0and their Arab ally, the Ghassanid Kingdom, to the Muslims. All of this left the Byzantine Empire dangerously exposed and vulnerable.\n<h1>Rashidun Conquest<\/h1>\nThe Rashidun Caliphate\u00a0was the Islamic caliphate\u00a0in the earliest period of Islam, comprising the first four caliphs. It was founded after Muhammad's death in 632 (year 11 AH\u00a0in the Islamic calendar). At its height, the caliphate controlled an empire from the Arabian Peninsula\u00a0and the Levant to the Caucasus\u00a0in the north, North Africa\u00a0from Egypt\u00a0to present-day Tunisia\u00a0in the west, and the Iranian plateau\u00a0to Central Asia\u00a0in the east. Caliph Umar conquered more than 2,200,000\u00a0km\u00b2 area in less than ten years and is known as the most powerful caliph in the history of Islam.\n\nIn 639, some 4,000 Rashidun troops led by Amr ibn al-As\u00a0were sent by Umar to conquer the land of the ancient pharaohs. The Rashidun army crossed into Egypt from Palestine and advanced rapidly into the Nile Delta. The imperial garrisons retreated into the walled towns, where they successfully held out for a year or more. But the Muslims sent for reinforcements and the invading army, joined by another 12,000 men in 640, defeated a Byzantine army at the Battle of Heliopolis. Amr next proceeded in the direction of Alexandria, which was surrendered to him by a treaty signed in November 641. The Thebaid\u00a0seems to have surrendered with scarcely any opposition.\n<figure>\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"680\"]<img class=\"atom__components__figure__image\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1745\/2017\/04\/18185601\/dqqlaaydtr2uxbvvsbrp.png\" alt=\"image\" width=\"680\" height=\"330\" \/> Empire of the Rashidun Caliphate at its peak. The Rashidun Caliphate expanded gradually. Within the span of twenty-four years of conquest, a vast territory was conquered comprising Mesopotamia, the Levant, parts of Anatolia, and most of the Sasanian Empire. Unlike the Sasanian Persians, the Byzantines, after losing Syria, retreated back to Anatolia. As a result, they also lost Egypt to the invading Rashidun army.[\/caption]<\/figure><h1>Early Islamic Egypt<\/h1>\nFollowing the first surrender of Alexandria, Amr chose a new site to settle his men, near the location of the Byzantine fortress of Babylon. The new settlement was called Fustat. Fustat quickly became the focal point of Islamic Egypt and\u2014with the exception of the brief relocation to Hulwan during a plague in 689, and the period of 750\u2013763, when the seat of the governor moved to Askar\u2014the capital and residence of the administration. After the conquest, the country was initially divided in two provinces, Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt with the Nile Delta. In 643\/4, however, Caliph Uthman appointed a single governor, resident at Fustat, with jurisdiction over all of Egypt. The governor would in turn nominate deputies for Upper and Lower Egypt. Alexandria remained a distinct district, reflecting both its role as the country's shield against Byzantine attacks and as the major naval base.\n\nThe main pillar of the early Muslim rule and control in the country was the military force, or <em>jund<\/em>, provided by the Arab settlers. These were initially the men who had followed Amr and participated in the conquest. The followers of Amr were mostly drawn from the Yamani. Although limited in number, they held many privileges and a protected status of prestige.\n\nIn return for a tribute of money and food for the occupying\u00a0troops, the Christian inhabitants of Egypt were excused from military service and left free in the observance of their religion and the administration of their affairs. Conversions of Copts to Islam were at first rare, and the old system of taxation was maintained for the greater part of the first Islamic century.\n<h1>Egypt under the Fatimid Caliphate<\/h1>\nThe Fatimid Caliphate\u00a0was an Ismaili Shia Islamic caliphate\u00a0that spanned a large area of North Africa, from the Red Sea\u00a0in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west. The dynasty ruled across the Mediterranean\u00a0coast of Africa and it was under its rule that\u00a0Egypt became the center of the caliphate. At its height the caliphate included, in addition to Egypt, varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz.\n\nThe Fatimid general Jawhar conquered Egypt in 969 and built a new palace city there, near Fus\u1e6dat, founding a new capital in Cairo in 969. Cairo was intended as a royal enclosure for the Fatimid caliph and his army, though the actual administrative and economic capital of Egypt was in Fustat until 1169. Egypt flourished and the Fatimids developed an extensive trade network in both the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. Their trade and diplomatic ties extended all the way to China and its Song dynasty, which eventually determined the economic course of Egypt during the High Middle Ages. The Fatimid focus on long-distance trade was accompanied by a lack of interest in agriculture and a neglect of the Nile irrigation system.\n\nUnlike western European governments in the era, advancement in Fatimid state offices was based more on merit than on heredity. Members of other branches of Islam, like the Sunnis, were just as likely to be appointed to government posts as Shiites. Tolerance was extended to non-Muslims such as Christians and Jews, who occupied high levels in government based on ability. Religious tolerance was set into place also to ensure the flow of money from all those who were non-Muslims in order to finance the caliphs' large army of mamluks (an Arabic designation for slaves)brought in from Circassia by Genoese merchants.\nOver time, mamluks became a powerful military knightly caste, not only in Egypt. In some cases, they attained the rank of sultan, while in others they held regional power.\n<figure>\n\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"680\"]<img class=\"atom__components__figure__image\" src=\"https:\/\/textimgs.s3.amazonaws.com\/BLworldhist\/cmc9lgnq92ubu442gbfn.jpe#fixme#fixme#fixme\" alt=\"image\" width=\"680\" height=\"835\" \/> An Egyptian Mamluk warrior in full armor and armed with lance, shield,\u00a0sabre, and pistols; Georg Moritz Ebers (1837-1898), Picturesque Egypt, Vol. II (1878). In the Middle Ages, soon after the mamluks took up the practice of chivalry, or furusiyya in Arabic, they came to be known as knights (or faris in Arabic), though un-free until after their service. The faris were trained in the use of various weapons and in wrestling. Their martial art skills were to be honed first on foot and then perfected when mounted. They were popularly used as heavy knightly cavalry by a number of different Islamic kingdoms and empires.[\/caption]<\/figure>\nIntellectual life in Egypt during the Fatimid period advanced greatly, with many scholars living in or visiting Egypt and having easy access to sophisticated libraries. Fatimid caliphs gave prominent positions to scholars in their courts, encouraged scholarship, and established libraries in their palaces. Perhaps the most significant feature of Fatimid rule was the freedom of thought, provided that no one infringed on the rights of others. The Fatimids reserved separate pulpits for different Islamic sects, where the scholars expressed their various ideas. They offered patronage to scholars and invited them from all over the world, even when their beliefs conflicted with their own. From the perspective of these developments, the history of the Fatimids is the history of knowledge, literature, and philosophy.\nThe period is also known for producing exquisite art and architecture.\n\nDuring the late 11th century\u00a0and the twelfth century, the Fatimid Caliphate declined rapidly, and in 1171 Saladin\u00a0invaded their territory. He founded the Ayyubid dynasty\u00a0and incorporated the Fatimid state into the Abbasid Caliphate.\n<h4 class=\"bcp-concept--collapsible-header collapsed\"><i class=\"icon-caret-down\" \/>Sources<\/h4>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Objective<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Discuss the effects of the Islamic conquest on Egypt<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Key Points<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>At the onset of the Muslim conquest of North Africa, Egypt\u00a0was part of the Byzantine\/Eastern Roman Empire, with the capital in Constantinople. The province held strategic importance for its grain production and naval yards, and as a base for further conquests in Africa.<\/li>\n<li>In 639, Rashidun troops led by Amr ibn al-As\u00a0were sent to conquer Egypt. The Rashidun army crossed into Egypt from Palestine and advanced rapidly into the Nile Delta. The Muslim forces eventually defeated a Byzantine army at the 640 Battle of Heliopolis. Alexandria and the Thebaid\u00a0surrendered shortly after that.<\/li>\n<li>Following the first surrender of Alexandria, Amr chose a new site to settle his men, near the location of the Byzantine fortress of Babylon. The new settlement was called Fustat, and quickly became the focal point of Islamic Egypt.<\/li>\n<li>The main pillar of the early Muslim rule and control in the country was the military force, or <em>jund<\/em>, provided by the Arab settlers. These were initially the men who had followed Amr and participated in the conquest.<\/li>\n<li>The Fatimid Caliphate conquered Egypt in 969, founding a new capital in Cairo, which was intended as a royal enclosure for the Fatimid caliph and his army. Under Fatimid rule, Egypt became the center of the caliphate.<\/li>\n<li>Under Fatimid rule, Egypt flourished economically and and culturally, attracting scholars and thinkers from across the world and becoming the center of intellectual debates and freedom of expression.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Terms<\/h3>\n<h4>The Fatimid Caliphate<\/h4>\n<p>An Ismaili Shia Islamic caliphate that spanned a large area of North Africa, from the Red Sea in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west. The dynasty ruled across the Mediterranean coast of Africa, and it was under its rule that Egypt became the center of the caliphate. At its height the caliphate included, in addition to Egypt, varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz.<\/p>\n<h4>Byzantine\/Eastern Roman Empire<\/h4>\n<p>The continuation of the Roman Empire in the East during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, originally founded as Byzantium). It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century CE and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.<\/p>\n<h4>mamluk<\/h4>\n<p>An Arabic designation for slaves. While they were purchased, their status was above ordinary slaves, who were not allowed to carry weapons or perform certain tasks. They eventually formed a powerful military caste.<\/p>\n<h4>Copts<\/h4>\n<p>An ethno-religious group situated in North Africa and the Middle East, mainly in the area of modern Egypt, where they are the largest Christian denomination. They are also the largest Christian denomination in Sudan and Libya. Historically they spoke the Coptic language, a direct descendant of the Demotic Egyptian spoken in the Roman era, but it has been near-extinct and mostly limited to liturgical use since the 18th century. They now speak Arabic.<\/p>\n<h4>The Rashidun Caliphat<\/h4>\n<p>The Islamic caliphate in the earliest period of Islam, comprising the first four caliphs\u2014the &#8220;Rightly Guided&#8221; caliphs. It was founded after Muhammad&#8217;s death in 632 (year 11 AH in the Islamic calendar). At its height, the caliphate controlled an empire from the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant to the Caucasus in the north, North Africa from Egypt to present-day Tunisia in the west, and the Iranian plateau to Central Asia in the east.<\/p>\n<h4>caliphate<\/h4>\n<p>An area containing an Islamic steward known as a caliph\u2014a person considered a religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entire Muslim community. During the history of Islam after the Rashidun period, many Muslim states, almost all of them hereditary monarchies, have claimed the right to be defined as such.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h1>Egypt in the Byzantine Empire<\/h1>\n<p>At the onset of the Muslim conquest of North Africa, Egypt\u00a0was part of the Byzantine\/Eastern Roman Empire, with the capital in Constantinople.<br \/>\nThe province held strategic importance for its grain production and naval yards, and as a base for further conquests in Africa. Shortly before the Muslim conquest, Egypt had been conquered by the Persian Empire\u00a0(619\u2013629). However, Emperor Heraclius\u00a0re-captured it after a series of campaigns against the Sassanid Persians, only to lose it to the Muslim Rashidun army\u00a0ten years later. Before the Muslim\u00a0conquest of Egypt began, the Byzantines had already lost the Levant\u00a0and their Arab ally, the Ghassanid Kingdom, to the Muslims. All of this left the Byzantine Empire dangerously exposed and vulnerable.<\/p>\n<h1>Rashidun Conquest<\/h1>\n<p>The Rashidun Caliphate\u00a0was the Islamic caliphate\u00a0in the earliest period of Islam, comprising the first four caliphs. It was founded after Muhammad&#8217;s death in 632 (year 11 AH\u00a0in the Islamic calendar). At its height, the caliphate controlled an empire from the Arabian Peninsula\u00a0and the Levant to the Caucasus\u00a0in the north, North Africa\u00a0from Egypt\u00a0to present-day Tunisia\u00a0in the west, and the Iranian plateau\u00a0to Central Asia\u00a0in the east. Caliph Umar conquered more than 2,200,000\u00a0km\u00b2 area in less than ten years and is known as the most powerful caliph in the history of Islam.<\/p>\n<p>In 639, some 4,000 Rashidun troops led by Amr ibn al-As\u00a0were sent by Umar to conquer the land of the ancient pharaohs. The Rashidun army crossed into Egypt from Palestine and advanced rapidly into the Nile Delta. The imperial garrisons retreated into the walled towns, where they successfully held out for a year or more. But the Muslims sent for reinforcements and the invading army, joined by another 12,000 men in 640, defeated a Byzantine army at the Battle of Heliopolis. Amr next proceeded in the direction of Alexandria, which was surrendered to him by a treaty signed in November 641. The Thebaid\u00a0seems to have surrendered with scarcely any opposition.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div style=\"width: 690px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"atom__components__figure__image\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1745\/2017\/04\/18185601\/dqqlaaydtr2uxbvvsbrp.png\" alt=\"image\" width=\"680\" height=\"330\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Empire of the Rashidun Caliphate at its peak. The Rashidun Caliphate expanded gradually. Within the span of twenty-four years of conquest, a vast territory was conquered comprising Mesopotamia, the Levant, parts of Anatolia, and most of the Sasanian Empire. Unlike the Sasanian Persians, the Byzantines, after losing Syria, retreated back to Anatolia. As a result, they also lost Egypt to the invading Rashidun army.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h1>Early Islamic Egypt<\/h1>\n<p>Following the first surrender of Alexandria, Amr chose a new site to settle his men, near the location of the Byzantine fortress of Babylon. The new settlement was called Fustat. Fustat quickly became the focal point of Islamic Egypt and\u2014with the exception of the brief relocation to Hulwan during a plague in 689, and the period of 750\u2013763, when the seat of the governor moved to Askar\u2014the capital and residence of the administration. After the conquest, the country was initially divided in two provinces, Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt with the Nile Delta. In 643\/4, however, Caliph Uthman appointed a single governor, resident at Fustat, with jurisdiction over all of Egypt. The governor would in turn nominate deputies for Upper and Lower Egypt. Alexandria remained a distinct district, reflecting both its role as the country&#8217;s shield against Byzantine attacks and as the major naval base.<\/p>\n<p>The main pillar of the early Muslim rule and control in the country was the military force, or <em>jund<\/em>, provided by the Arab settlers. These were initially the men who had followed Amr and participated in the conquest. The followers of Amr were mostly drawn from the Yamani. Although limited in number, they held many privileges and a protected status of prestige.<\/p>\n<p>In return for a tribute of money and food for the occupying\u00a0troops, the Christian inhabitants of Egypt were excused from military service and left free in the observance of their religion and the administration of their affairs. Conversions of Copts to Islam were at first rare, and the old system of taxation was maintained for the greater part of the first Islamic century.<\/p>\n<h1>Egypt under the Fatimid Caliphate<\/h1>\n<p>The Fatimid Caliphate\u00a0was an Ismaili Shia Islamic caliphate\u00a0that spanned a large area of North Africa, from the Red Sea\u00a0in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west. The dynasty ruled across the Mediterranean\u00a0coast of Africa and it was under its rule that\u00a0Egypt became the center of the caliphate. At its height the caliphate included, in addition to Egypt, varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz.<\/p>\n<p>The Fatimid general Jawhar conquered Egypt in 969 and built a new palace city there, near Fus\u1e6dat, founding a new capital in Cairo in 969. Cairo was intended as a royal enclosure for the Fatimid caliph and his army, though the actual administrative and economic capital of Egypt was in Fustat until 1169. Egypt flourished and the Fatimids developed an extensive trade network in both the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. Their trade and diplomatic ties extended all the way to China and its Song dynasty, which eventually determined the economic course of Egypt during the High Middle Ages. The Fatimid focus on long-distance trade was accompanied by a lack of interest in agriculture and a neglect of the Nile irrigation system.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike western European governments in the era, advancement in Fatimid state offices was based more on merit than on heredity. Members of other branches of Islam, like the Sunnis, were just as likely to be appointed to government posts as Shiites. Tolerance was extended to non-Muslims such as Christians and Jews, who occupied high levels in government based on ability. Religious tolerance was set into place also to ensure the flow of money from all those who were non-Muslims in order to finance the caliphs&#8217; large army of mamluks (an Arabic designation for slaves)brought in from Circassia by Genoese merchants.<br \/>\nOver time, mamluks became a powerful military knightly caste, not only in Egypt. In some cases, they attained the rank of sultan, while in others they held regional power.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div style=\"width: 690px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"atom__components__figure__image\" src=\"https:\/\/textimgs.s3.amazonaws.com\/BLworldhist\/cmc9lgnq92ubu442gbfn.jpe#fixme#fixme#fixme\" alt=\"image\" width=\"680\" height=\"835\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">An Egyptian Mamluk warrior in full armor and armed with lance, shield,\u00a0sabre, and pistols; Georg Moritz Ebers (1837-1898), Picturesque Egypt, Vol. II (1878). In the Middle Ages, soon after the mamluks took up the practice of chivalry, or furusiyya in Arabic, they came to be known as knights (or faris in Arabic), though un-free until after their service. The faris were trained in the use of various weapons and in wrestling. Their martial art skills were to be honed first on foot and then perfected when mounted. They were popularly used as heavy knightly cavalry by a number of different Islamic kingdoms and empires.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Intellectual life in Egypt during the Fatimid period advanced greatly, with many scholars living in or visiting Egypt and having easy access to sophisticated libraries. Fatimid caliphs gave prominent positions to scholars in their courts, encouraged scholarship, and established libraries in their palaces. Perhaps the most significant feature of Fatimid rule was the freedom of thought, provided that no one infringed on the rights of others. The Fatimids reserved separate pulpits for different Islamic sects, where the scholars expressed their various ideas. They offered patronage to scholars and invited them from all over the world, even when their beliefs conflicted with their own. From the perspective of these developments, the history of the Fatimids is the history of knowledge, literature, and philosophy.<br \/>\nThe period is also known for producing exquisite art and architecture.<\/p>\n<p>During the late 11th century\u00a0and the twelfth century, the Fatimid Caliphate declined rapidly, and in 1171 Saladin\u00a0invaded their territory. He founded the Ayyubid dynasty\u00a0and incorporated the Fatimid state into the Abbasid Caliphate.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"bcp-concept--collapsible-header collapsed\"><i class=\"icon-caret-down\">Sources<\/i><\/h4>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-216\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Boundless World History. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Boundless. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boundless.com\/world-history\/textbooks\/boundless-world-history-textbook\/\">https:\/\/www.boundless.com\/world-history\/textbooks\/boundless-world-history-textbook\/<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":622,"menu_order":2,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Boundless World History\",\"author\":\"Boundless\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.com\/world-history\/textbooks\/boundless-world-history-textbook\/\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-216","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":212,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-herkimer-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-herkimer-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-herkimer-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-herkimer-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-herkimer-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/216\/revisions"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-herkimer-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/212"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-herkimer-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/216\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-herkimer-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-herkimer-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=216"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-herkimer-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=216"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-herkimer-worldcivilization\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}