Historical documentation and archaeological material have revealed that the油Fatimids油once presided over a diverse, multicultural state composed of Muslims, Christians, Jews and other religious traditions, as well as from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. This diversity contributed to the formation of a vibrant environment that stimulated intercultural contact and exchange across the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and the Indian Ocean. These encounters would also profoundly influence Fatimid history, material culture, politics, and religion, among other areas.
The current trend in scholarship has been to discern interdependence among the peoples and cultures of the past in order to gain a better understanding of the context of these connections. This was reflected in scholarship at the 1998 ground-breaking conference油Lgypte fatimide: son art et son histoire油held in Paris, where the focus was primarily on Fatimid artistic and historical associations in Egypt, rather than the entire span of Fatimid rule, and spheres of influence.
This international conference aims to progress the field of Fatimid studies by examining their political, cultural, artistic, social, economic and intellectual interactions. The conference encourages participation from established, as well as early career, scholars specialising in the Fatimid lands of Bild油温鉛-皆鞄偵馨The mediaeval region of Syria, today comprising Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Israel., Egypt,油Ifr朝qiya, Sicily, and other areas across the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and the Indian Ocean. The objective is to promote a broader and deeper understanding of how the cosmopolitan Fatimid milieu contributed to intercultural dialogue as well as to imperial contestations, and therefore impacted the history, material culture, politics, and religions of the region through these nine panels:
1) Fatimid Historiography and Mediaeval Narratives
2) Fatimid Encounters with Contemporary Cultures
3) 酷温岳庄馨庄糸油禽温平敬温油温稼糸油禽偵平朝s油– Part 1
4)油酷温岳庄馨庄糸油禽温平敬温油温稼糸油禽偵平朝s油– Part 2
5) Fatimid Decorative Arts and Archaeological Material – Part 1
6) Fatimid Decorative Arts and Archaeological Material – Part 2
7) The Fatimid State and Statecraft
8) Fatimid Architecture and the Ceremonial
9) The Fatimid Legacy
The participants include:油Dr Olly Akkerman, Freie Universit辰t Berlin;油Dr Miriam Al鱈-de-Unzaga, independent scholar;油Dr Omar Al鱈-de-Unzaga, IIS;油Dr Ali Asgar H Alibhai, University of Texas at Dallas;油Dr Khalil Andani, Augustana College, Rock Island, IL;油Dr Dina Ishak Bakhoum, independent scholar;油Dr Mathew Barber,油Aga Khan油雨稼庄厩艶姻壊庄岳霞;油Dr Daniel Beben, Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan;油Professor Doris Behrens-Abouseif, professor emerita;油Dr Gregory Bilotto, Saint Marys University, London;油Dr Fozia Bora, University of Leeds;油Professor Anna Contadini, SOAS;油Dr Delia Cortese, Middlesex University;油Dr Farhad Daftary, IIS;油Dr Maria de Cillis, IIS;油Dr Steven Gertz, Georgetown University;油Dr Val辿rie Gonzalez, SOAS;油Dr Shiraz Hajiani, Emerson College, Boston, MA;油Dr Sumaiya Hamdani, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA;油Dr Shainool Jiwa, IIS;油Dr Hasan al-Khoee, IIS;油Professor Dr Verena Klemm, University of Leipzig;油Dr Ayala Lester, curator emerita;油Professor Yaacov Lev, professor emeritus;油Dr Anna McSweeny, Trinity College, Dublin;油Professor Bernard OKane, American University in Cairo;油Dr油Simon OMeara, SOAS;油Dr Marcus Pilz,油Veste Coburg Art Collections;油Dr Daryoush Mohammad Poor, IIS;油Professor St辿phane Pradines,油Aga Khan油雨稼庄厩艶姻壊庄岳霞;油Dr Jennifer A Pruitt, University of Wisconsin-Madison;油Dr Aslisho Qurboniev,油Aga Khan油雨稼庄厩艶姻壊庄岳霞;油Professor Yossef Rapoport, Queen Mary University, London;油Professor Marina Rustow, Princeton University;油Professor Paula Sanders, Rice University, Houston, TX;油Professor Ayman Fuad油Sayyid(pl. sda/asyd) Arabic term for lord or master. It is a pre-Islamic term and refers to a person who possesses dignity or enjoys an exalted position among his people. Amongst…, professor emeritus;油Professor Avinoam Shalem, Columbia University;油Dr Fahmida Suleman, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto;油Dr Yasser Tabbaa, independent scholar;油Dr Jamel Velji, Claremont McKenna College, CA;油Professor Shafique N Virani, University of Toronto;油Professor Paul E Walker, University of Chicago;油Dr Gregory Williams, independent scholar.
Cover image:油油datable to the 11th-12th centuries, African elephant ivory.
Image courtesy of the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. Accession no: 71.562, used under a CC BY 2.0 license.
