An apocalyptic history of the early Fatimid empire /

An apocalyptic history of the early Fatimid empire /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:	Velji, Jamel A., author.
Imprint:	Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, [2016] ©2016
Description:	x, 172 pages ; 24 cm.
Language:	English
Series:	Edinburgh studies in Islamic apocalypticism and eschatology Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Apocalypticism and Eschatology.
Subject:	Islamic eschatology. Fatimites -- History. Islam -- Africa, North -- History. Fatimites. Islam. Africa, North. History.
Format:	Print Book
URL for this record:	http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/10881970

Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:	9780748690886 0748690883
Notes:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary:	How can religion transform a society? This book investigates the ways in which a medieval Islamic movement harnessed Quranic visions of utopia to construct one of the most brilliant and lasting empires in Islamic history (979-1171). The Fatimids' apocalyptic vision of their central place in an imminent utopia played a critical role in transfiguring the intellectual and political terrains of North Africa in the early tenth century. Yet the realities that they faced on the ground often challenged their status as the custodians of a pristine Islam at the end of time. Through a detailed examination of some of the structural features of the Fatimid revolution, as well as early works of ta'wil, or symbolic interpretation, Jamel Velji illustrates how the Fatimids conceived of their mission as one that would bring about an imminent utopia. He then examines how the Fatimids reinterpreted their place in history when the expected end never materialised. The book ends with an extensive discussion of another apocalyptic event linked to a Fatimid lineage: the Nizari Ismaili declaration of the end of time on August 8, 1164. This is the first volume in our new series, Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Apocalypticism and Eschatology, edited by David Cook and Christian Lange.

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Call Number:	BP166.8 .V455 2016
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