Fatimids and Their Traditions of Learning, Vol. 2 by Heinz Halm

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Synopsis

The Fatimid period was the golden age of Ismaili thought and literature, when Shi'ite Ismaili Imams ruled over the vast areas of the Muslim world and made important contributions to Islamic civilization. Heinz Halm investigates from a historical perspective the intellectual traditions that developed among the Ismailis from the rise of the Fatimid state in North Africa to the cultural brilliance of what he calls "one of the great eras in Egyptian history and in Islamic history in general." He covers the training of the Ismaili dais or missionaries, the establishment of academic institutions such as al-Azhar and the Dar al-'Ilm (House of Knowledge) through which the Fatimids encouraged learning, and the special "sessions of wisdom" for advanced instruction.

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The culture and art of the caliphate of the Fatimids (909-1171) has been well studied, says Halm (Islamic studies, U. of T<:u>bingen), but not the scholarship and science, which was just as remarkable. He steps up to the plate. The Cairo-based dynasty was the last Ismaili rule until the Iranian revolution. Azizeh Azodi translated from the German. Distributed in the US by St. Martin's Press. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Biography

Heinz Halm is Professor of Islamic History at the University of Tübingen and Editor of Die Welt des Orients.