Fatimids

“ It is then possible that the elevated eclecticism of the Ikhwan as-safa was the real doctrine of the Fatimids, the [170] Assassins, the Qarmatians and the Druses; certainly, wherever we can test them there is the most singular agreement. It is a mechanical and æsthetic pantheism, a glorification of Pythagoreanism, with its music and numbers; idealistic to the last degree; a worship and pursuit of a conception of a harmony and beauty in all the universe, to find which is to find and know the Creator Himself. ”

“ For one thing, when the Khalif reigned at Bagdad (750–1258) the Nestorians were the most powerful non-Moslem community at hand. Moreover, they were very useful. They had a higher tradition of civilization than their masters. Nestorians were used at court as physicians, scribes, secretaries, as Copts were in Egypt under the Fatimids (p. 227) . ”

“ But while the Fatimids imposed some reserve upon themselves in their own proper kingdom, where the Shíites were certainly in the minority, they gave a free hand to their partisans elsewhere. The Karmatians in Arabia utilised the plundering zeal of the Bedouins for their own ends, threatened the capital of the Abbásids, fell upon the pilgrim caravans, and finally, during the pilgrim festival, forced their way on one occasion into Mecca, perpetrated a horrible massacre, and carried off the black stone of the Caaba (930) . This was an open breach with Islam. ”

“ Their problem, as in the case of the Fatimids, seems rather to have been how much the people might be taught with safety. Their solution of the problem—here we proceed on conjecture, but the basis is tolerably sound—was that the bulk [252] of the people should be taught nothing but the literal sense of the Qur’an, metaphors, anthropomorphisms and all; that the educated lay public, which had already some inkling of the facts, should be assured that there was really no difference between philosophy and theology—that they were two phases of one truth ”

“ In A.D. 909, the Fatimites, so designated from one Obaid Allah, a real or pretended descendant of Ali and Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, established themselves in the North of Africa, and consolidated their power there. In A.D. 972 Al-Moizz, or Abu Tamim, a great-grandson of Obaid Allah, the founder of the Fatimite dynasty at Tunis, sent his general Jawhar with an army to invade Egypt. The country was conquered, the city of Cairo built, the seat of government was transferred there, and the title of Khalif assumed by the Fatimites. ”

“ If there was ever a romance in history, it is the story of the founding of the Fatimid dynasty in Egypt; if there was ever the survival of a petrifaction in history, it is the survival to the present day of the Assassins and the Druses; if there was ever the persistence of an idea, it is in the present Shi‘ite government in Persia and in the faith in that Mahdi for whom the whole world of Islam still looks to appear and bring in the reign of justice and the truth upon the earth. All these have sprung from the devotion to Ali and his children on the part of their followers twelve centuries ago. ”

“ Fatma gazed at the new-comer's features, and her heart grew light within her. She recognized Sultan Akhmet Khan, who had ridden in one night from Kiafir Kounik to Bouináki.
"May the sand fill my eyes that did not recognize their old master!" she replied, respectfully crossing her arms on her breast. "To say truth, they are blinded by tears, for her country—for Avár! Forgive an old woman, Khan!"
"What old age is yours, Fatma? I remember you a little girl, when I myself could hardly reach the young crows from their nests."
"A strange land makes every one old, Khan. ”

“ It may be that we have read wrongly the whole history of the Fatimid movement; that it was in reality a deeply laid and slowly ripened plan to bring the rule of the world into the control of a band of philosophers, whose task it was to be to rule the human race and gradually to educate it into self-rule; that they saw—these unknown devotees of science and truth—no other way of breaking down the barriers of Islam and setting free the spirits of men. ”

“ The Fatimite dynasty in Africa had risen to power with a rapidity astonishing even to an age accustomed to the ever-varying phenomena of Moslem revolution. Its head, Obeydallah, who traced a fictitious descent from Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet, assumed the sacred name and character of Madhi,—the inspired and holy personage whose coming had been announced by Mohammed. The cruelties perpetrated by the Fatimites upon their enemies are incredible. No torture was too severe, no persecution too sanguinary, for those who dared to resist their demands. ”

“ She seemed to him a hundred times more beautiful than any description he had heard of her in Bagdad.
In the midst of her grief Fatma retained her woman's curiosity, and on hearing the youth's voice, cast one glance at him over her father's shoulder. The first impression seemed not unfavourable. She eyed his slender form as he stood leaning on his sword, and gradually ceased her sobbing. She even raised herself and took hold of the Caliph's arm. "Father," she said, "do with me what you will; not without cause do the people call you 'The Wise One.'" ”

“ When the Lady Bedrulbudour saw this, she cried out and said to him, "What hath this holy anchoress done, that thou burthenest thyself with the sore burden of her blood? Hast thou no fear of God, that thou dost this and hast slain Fatimeh, who was a holy woman and whose divine gifts were renowned?" Quoth he to her, "I have not slain Fatimeh; nay, I have slain him who slew her; for that this is the brother of the accursed Maugrabin enchanter, who took thee and by his sorcery transported the palace with thee to the land of Africa. ”

“ Moslem historians seem to delight in the obscurity which hangs over the ladys last resting-place, as if it were an honour even for the receptacle of her ashes to be concealed from the eyes of men. Some place her in the Harim, relying upon this tradition: Fatimah, feeling about to die, rose up joyfully, performed the greater ablution, dressed herself in pure garments, spread a mat upon the floor of her house near the Prophets Tomb, lay down fronting the Kiblah, placed her hand under her cheek, and said to her attendant, I am pure and in a pure dress ”

“ That's why I do not like to be reminded of Fathouma—and Sidi Abd el-Latif."
"You know his name?"
"Assuredly."
"But"—Roger de Villemot was bewildered—"I don't understand——"
"I am a just man," the other went on, "so just. Fathouma has given me a year or two of happiness. She spread silver and gold across the dust of my declining years. Thus I am grateful to her. But she is young and eager and hot-blooded. And so she deceives me. I know it. Perhaps she knows that I know. But you, Monsieur le Marquis, why should you know?" ”

“ While the Abbāsid dynasty was thus dying out in shame and degradation, the Fātimites, in the person of Moʽizz li-dīn–allah (or Moʽizz Abu Tamin Maʽadd) (“he who makes God’s religion victorious”) , were reaching the highest degree of power and glory in spite of the opposition of the Carmathians, who left their old allegiance and entered into negotiations with the court of Bagdad, offering to drive back the Fātimites, on condition of being assisted with money and troops, and of being rewarded with the government of Syria and Egypt. ”

“ Almost at the beginning of his reign the affairs of the Latin kingdom became complicated with those of Egypt; and the Christians are seen fighting by the side of one Mahomedan race, tribe, or faction against another." The Fatimite caliphs of Egypt had become mere puppets in the hands of their viziers, and when one grand vizier, Shawer, deposed by a rival, Dargham, appealed to the sultan of Aleppo (Noureddin, son of Zenghi) , the latter embraced eagerly the opportunity to stretch his strong hand towards the Fatimite throne. ”

“ Reveal to me the close at hand story of Egypt.”
A sigh escaped the white lips ere she said softly: “There will be an exodus of many besides the Israelites. The idiot King, the fair young Prince, Zelas the High Priest, Hatsu and Miriam shall go on, and Alric alone shall be left to abide in the land of his father, lo, these many years. Zelas and Hatsu shall be caught up in a chariot of fire, and the King and the Prince shall die, to ransom Israel, and in that same hour a merciful shaft from heaven shall set Miriam free.” She stretched out her arms and cried: “I pray thee, good master, let me go! ”

“ The Fatimite caliphs had lofty and pretentious claims to the allegiance of the Moslem world. They traced their descent from Fatima, a daughter of the Prophet, whom Muhammed himself regarded as one of the four perfect women. At the age of fifteen she married Ali, of whom she was the only wife, and the partisans of Ali, as we have seen, disputed with Omar the right to the leadership of Islam upon the Prophet’s death. ”

“ After the death of al-Ādid, the last Fatimite caliph in Egypt, some attempts were made to place on the throne a member of the family, and at one time there seemed a chance of the Assassins, who formed a branch of the Fatimite sect, assisting in this project. In 1174 a conspiracy for the restoration of the dynasty was organized by ʽUmarah of Yemen, a court poet, with the aid of eight officials of the government: it was discovered and those who were implicated were executed. ”

“ Hatsu, there is above, about, and around us, an eternal force, and it created that which we call humanity. We of Israel call this force ‘God’—the ‘All Father’—and ‘Jehovah,’ and though our bondage under Egypt’s yoke seems to human understanding intolerable, we feel spiritually that we are the children of this King of Kings and Lord of Lords. ”

“ The black hand (erroneously called the hand of Fatma, Mohammed’s favourite daughter) painted on the walls of houses and on the prows of fishing boats is designed to avert the evil eye, and a tiny hand is often tattooed on the cheek or worn in the form of a brooch fastened in the folds of the turban. A piece of paper with a verse or two of the Koran written on it is put above the door to warn off scorpions, and many carry round their necks or in their turbans small amulets containing verses of the holy writings. These are also often hung round the necks of horses and camels. ”

“ The belief exists throughout Palestine and is common all over this part of the world. Every house in Jerusalem, whether Jew, Moslem, or Christian, contains charms to ward off such spells. Every man, woman, and child carries a talisman to keep off the witches. Some of these charms are in the shape of a hand, because of an old Jewish saying that the hand of God will arrest all disasters, and a Mohammedan habit of calling upon the hand of Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet, to guard the Faithful from evil. ”

“ It was Hatsu who replied: “It is well,” she said slowly, “that we have one among us so keen [Pg 75] for the welfare and interest of his brother the King and for the little Prince, the King that is to be, and while all the words that thou hast spoken are wise, the King shall, in his own good time, say HIS royal will.” It was at this juncture that the child spoke.
“My mother,” he said, “how can the Israelites do good work for Egypt when they are being famished and beaten? and why do you, my good uncle, wish to bring suffering upon our dear Miriam, for Miriam is an Israelite? ”

“ What right, he thought, had this middle-aged, rather ugly Arab to the woman whom he loved?
He could not sleep that night. He could neither lie nor sit, could hardly stand still. He had only just enough resolution to resist the mad impulse to rush to Sidi Mahmoud's house, to batter in the gates, to take Fathouma by force.
Love? Yes. But also the blow to his selfishness, his conceit. She had refused him. A breach was left in his emotional defenses. He must repair it. He must bend his energies to that one task. ”

“ Moslems, though they regard women with unspeakable contempt, agree to reverence Fatima as a very holy and almost worshipful person, and her dust renders Kûm a holy place, attracting tens of thousands of pilgrims every year, although, unlike pilgrimages to Meshed and Kerbela, Kûm confers no lifelong designation on those by whom it exists. Its estimated population is 10,000 souls, and at times this number is nearly doubled. ”

“ At that moment Fatimah came from the kitchen, which had been shut up since the day after Helena's departure for the Soudan, to say that half the cooking-tins had disappeared.
"Just what I expected! Stolen by those rascally Egyptian cooks, no doubt. Rascally Egyptians! That's what I call them. Excuse the word, my dear. I speak my mind. They'd steal the kohl from your eyes—if you had any. And these are the people who are to govern the country! But I say nothing—not I, indeed! The virtue of a woman is in holding her tongue.... Fatimah, now that you are here, you might make yourself useful. ”

“ The joyful news was sent to the Fatimite Caliph on swift dromedaries, together with the heads of the slain. Coins were struck with the special formulas of the Fatimite creed—"Ali is the noblest of [God's] delegates, the wazir of the best of apostles"; "the Imam Maadd calls men to profess the unity of the Eternal"—in addition to the usual dogmas of the Mahometan faith. For two centuries the mosques and the mint proclaimed the shibboleth of the Shiahs.
Gawhar set himself at once to restore tranquillity and alleviate the sufferings of the famine-stricken people. ”

“ Noor-ed-deen, thinking the time was come for establishing the spiritual sway of the house of Abbas, sent directions to Saladin to fill all the offices which had been occupied by the Sheähs with the orthodox, and hear prayer celebrated in the name of the Khalif of Bagdad; but this prudent chief, who knew that the great majority of the people of Egypt were firmly attached to the belief of the Fatimites being the rightful successors of the Prophet, hesitated to comply. At length the death of the Fatimite khalif occurred most opportunely to free him from embarrassment. ”