The Fātimids During the Period of Caliph Mansūr-Billāh
Following the birth of Islam, dynasties and states affiliated with different sects such as Sunnīte, Shi‘īte and Khāricī were established in the Maghrib lands, which came under the rule of Muslims in the 1./7. century. One of them, the Fātimids, who had a Shi‘īte Ismā‘īlī understanding, reached an influential power in the Islamic world by conquering lands such as Maghrib, Sicily, Egypt, Syria and Hijaz within sixty-odd years after their establishment in 297 (909) in Ifrīqiyya in the Maghrib. The root of these political and military achievements of the Fātimid State is based on the contributions of the first caliphs (Mahdī, Qāim, Mansūr) in the process of establishing the state and expanding the areas of dominance. The strug-gle of the Fātimids, who were regarded as ‘opponents of Islam’ through-out history due to their Ismā‘īlī approach, to impose their authority on the tribes in the Maghrib since the first Caliph al-Mahdī, as well as their rivalry with the Andalusian Umayyad State and the Byzantine Empire in order to have a say in the Western Mediterranean, was arduous and long-lasting. Many tribes belonging to different ethnicities and sects, who did not accept the political and religious practices of the Fātimids during the Mahdī and Qāim periods, shook the authority of the state by organis-ing major rebellions. The rebellion of the Khāricite Abū Yazīd al-Nuqqārī, one of them, brought the state to the brink of destruction. The third Fātimid Caliph al-Mansūr-Billāh, whose life is the subject of this study, suppressed this rebellion, which had great effects, and reestablished the Fātimid State, so to speak. Mansūr, who succeeded in suppressing all the revolts that broke out during his reign with great determination and per-severance, made the state dominant in Maghrib again, thus preventing the Andalusian Umayyad State from expanding in Maghrib to the detriment of the Fātimids. He also successfully fought against the Byzantine Empire in the Western Mediterranean and established his authority in the re-gion. In order to crown his achievements, the Caliph built the capital city named Mansūriyya in his own name, got along well with the Sunnite subjects during his short caliphate, and followed a policy of caring for their support. Caliph al-Mansūr, whose personality and actions were appreciated by many Sunnī authors, took his place among the most remarkable caliphs of the Fātimids.
Keywords: Shi‘īte; Ismā‘īlism; Fātimids; Mansūr; Maghrib