The Initial Destination of the Fatimid caliphate: The Yemen or The Maghrib?
Keywords: Da‘wa in Yemen, Da‘wa in Maghrib, Fatimid caliphate, al-Mahdi
The writer argues that imam al-Mahdi intended Yemen to be the seat of the imamat, giving political as well as topographical reasons for this preference. But certain unforseen developments in Yemen at that time caused a change in plans, and instead of going to Yemen, al-Mahdi proceeded to the Maghrib. The factors behind this change and the effects of this change are discussed in the article as well as the key role of imam al-Mahdi, and his predecessors at Salamiyya, in Syria, in driving the Ismaili da'wa of the period.
Author
Dr Shainool Jiwa
Head of Constituency Studies Research Unit and Associate Professor
Dr Shainool Jiwa is a specialist in Fatimid studies, and an Associate Professor at The Institute of Ismaili Studies. Dr Jiwa’s latest publication, The Fatimids 2: The Rule from Egypt (2023), is a World of Islam series title, for which she also serves as the series General Editor. She is the author of The Fatimids: The Rise of a Muslim Empire (2018), and co-editor of The Shi‘i World: Pathways in Tradition and Modernity (2015), and The Fatimid Caliphate: Diversity of Traditions (2017).
