Major Caliphates. During the 8th century, Islam spread throughout North Africa much like it had spread throughout the Middle East and Asia: quickly. [citation needed] At its height, in addition to Egypt, the caliphate included varying areas of the Maghreb, Sicily, the Levant and the Hejaz. Bernard Lewis, “An interpretation of Fatimid History” 2. : a descendant of Fatima, a daughter of Muhammad, and Ali, the cousin of Muhammad and fourth caliph of Islam, regarded by the Shiʽites as a true heir to the caliphate especially : a member of the Fatimid dynasty ruling portions of North Africa during the period a.d. 909–1171. Fatimid Empire and the Role of Shi-ism. mite A Muslim dynasty that ruled North Africa and parts of Egypt . Start studying The Fatimids. Examples of The Fatimid Caliphate in the following topics: Post-Byzantine Egypt. The Fatimid Caliphate was an Isma'ili Shi'i caliphate, originally based in Tunisia, that extended its rule across the Mediterranean coast of Africa and ultimately made Egypt the centre of its caliphate. Caliphate, the state comprising the Muslim community in the centuries after the death of Muhammad. Fatimid (făt`ĭmĭd) or Fatimite (–ĭmīt), dynasty claiming to hold the caliphate caliphate, the rulership of Islam; caliph, the spiritual head and temporal ruler of the Islamic state.In principle, Islam is theocratic: when Muhammad died, a caliph [Arab.,=successor] was chosen to rule in his place. The Fatimid Caliphate was 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. See more.

Key Terms Sunni : The branch of Islam that believes that a caliph should be elected by Muslims or their representatives and that Abu Bakr was the first caliph. The Fatimid Caliphate (noun) 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.

A major Ismaʿili Shiʿite dynasty, the Fatimids founded their own caliphate, in rivalry with the ʿAbbasids, and ruled over different parts of the Islamic world, from North Africa and Sicily to Palestine and Syria. 1. The Muslim conquest of Egypt took place shortly after Muhammad's death, but it was three centuries later, under the Fatimid Caliphate, that the region became the center of the Islamic world. The dynasty ruled across the Mediterranean coast of Africa, and it was under its rule that Egypt became the center of the caliphate. The Shi'a Muslims formed the Fatimid Caliphate around 1258 in North Africa but it eventually spread to western Arabia and Syria. Muslim armies conquered most of Arabia by 633, followed by north Africa, Mesopotamia, and Persia, significantly shaping the history of the world through the spread of Islam.

The petty remnants of the Fatimid state were brought to a final end by the Sunni Saladin in 1171 A.D. FOOTNOTES.

The Fatimid rulers saw themselves as rival caliphs to the Abbasids, and their avowed aim was to replace them as rulers of the entire Muslim world. ; The Rashidun Caliphate was the Islamic caliphate in the earliest period of Islam, comprising the first four caliphs. The World of the Fatimids also marks the first major exhibition on the Fatimid dynasty to go on view in North America. Song Dynasty Chinese History including developments in politics, economics, culture, social life, religion and art. Caliph Umar conquered more than 2,200,000 km² area in less than ten years and is known as the most powerful caliph in the history of Islam.

Buyids and Seljuqs In the 10th century a tribal group from northern Iran, the Buyids, swooped on Baghdad and more or less confined the caliphs to a ceremonial role while they wielded effective power. The Fatimid conquest of Egypt took place in 969, as the troops of the Fatimid Caliphate under the general Jawhar captured Egypt, then ruled by the autonomous Ikhshidid dynasty in the name of the Abbasid Caliphate.. mite A Muslim dynasty that ruled North Africa and parts of Egypt .