The Indian Ocean in the Eyes of a Fāṭimid Intellectual
Rümeysa PekerThe Book of Curiosities (orig. Kitāb Gharā’ib al-funūn wa-mulaḥ al-ʿuyūn) is a reference work written by an anonymous author in 11th century Fāṭimid Cairo. The work consists of two volumes that examine the celestial and terrestrial worlds. The second volume focuses on the earth and is a unique geographical source with a historical context that reflects the political, social, economic, and religious perspectives of the time. The book includes many colorful maps and diagrams of the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean and Caspian Seas, the Nile, Tigris, Euphrates, Oxus, Indus and Ganges rivers; and the major lakes of the world. The original structure of these drawings and the textual content of the work reflect how the Fāṭimids perceived the world and strategized against foreign states in the 11th century. Although the Fāṭimids are known to have developed remarkable strategies in the Mediterranean basin and to have competed for supremacy even with great states in the region such as Byzantium, the information on their activities in the Indian Ocean is quite limited. Considering the Fāṭimids’ ambitions to expand to the far East and the many struggles in which they engaged for this purpose, the Indian Ocean is also thought to have been important for this state. This study will examine how the Indian Ocean is depicted in The Book of Curiosities and in this way, will argue the Fāṭimid State to have had various ambitions in this region despite its weak direct relations and sphere of activity, and to have viewed this naval basin as a gateway to the East and a land of wonders that led to other worlds.
Fâtımî Bir Entelektüelin Gözünden Hint Okyanusu
Rümeysa PekerMeraklar Kitabı, XI. yüzyılın Fâtımî Kahiresi’nde, anonim bir müellif tarafından telif edilmiş bir kaynak eserdir. Çalışma, göksel dünyayı ve yerküreyi inceleyen iki kitaptan oluşur. Yerküreye odaklanan ikinci kitap özgün bir coğrafî kaynak niteliğinde olup dönemin siyasî, toplumsal, ekonomik, dini bakış açısını yansıtan tarihsel bir bağlama sahiptir. Eserde Hint Okyanusu, Akdeniz, Hazar Denizi; Nil, Dicle, Fırat, Ceyhun, İndus, Ganj nehirleri ve yeryüzündeki önemli göllere dair pek çok renkli harita ve diyagram yer alır. Bu çizimlerin özgün yapısı ve kitaptaki metinsel içerik, XI. yüzyılda Fâtımîlerin dünyayı nasıl algıladığını ve diğer devletlere karşı nasıl strateji geliştirdiğini yansıtır niteliktedir. Eserin yazıldığı dönemde Fâtımîlerin Akdeniz havzasında dikkate değer politikalar geliştirdiği, bu bölgede Bizans gibi büyük bir imparatorluğa karşı üstünlük mücadelesine girdiği bilinmekle birlikte; bu devletin Hint Okyanusu hakkındaki faaliyetlerine dair malumat oldukça kısıtlıdır. Fâtımîlerin Uzak Doğu’ya açılma emelleri ve bu amaçla giriştikleri pek çok mücadele göz önünde bulundurulduğunda, Hint Okyanusu’nun da hilâfet için önem arz ettiği görülecektir. Bu çalışmada Fâtımî bir entelektüelin gözünden Meraklar Kitabı’nda Hint Okyanusu’nun nasıl tasvir edildiği incelenecektir. Bu sayede Şiîlerin, mezkûr su coğrafyasını doğuya açılmak için bir kapı ve diğer dünyalara ulaştıran bir mucizeler diyarı olarak gördüğü ifade edilecektir.
The Fāṭimids defended the Shiʻa understanding against the Sunnī caliphate and claimed that themselves to be the true representatives of Islam. In this sense, they put the Shiʻa caliphate against the ʻAbbāsid Caliphate and considered this to be one of the purposes of their existence. In fact, one of the most extensive and comprehensive organizations of the Fāṭimids was the dā‘ī organization. The dā‘ī were a secret organization that carried out missionary activities aiming to convey Ismāʻīli thought to the farthest reaches of the world. The influence of this organization expanded greatly over time, first spreading to the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East, then to the Indus region, India, and China. As early as the 9th century, the dā‘ī were sent from Yemen to Sind. Simultaneously with the conquest of Egypt, an Ismāʻīli missionary captured Multan on the banks of the Indus in the 960s. By the late 10th century, the two capitals of Sind (i.e., Mansura and Multan) had effectively fallen under Fāṭimid control. Their rapid expansion beyond Baghdād also unsettled the Indian rulers. In the Fāṭimid imagination, India stood out as an important enemy, a fertile land for transformation, and a source of cosmological wisdom.
The Book of Curiosities is noteworthy for providing serious data on the Fāṭimids’ ambitions to reach the far East. Because they had a secret missionary organization, information on the Fāṭimids’ eastern goals is quite limited. However, the information found in The Book of Curiosities offers researchers a different perspective on evaluating the Fāṭimids’ eastern strategies.
The Book of Curiosities is an anonymous source work written under Fāṭimid patronage in Cairo in the first half of the 11th century when the state had entered a period of stagnation. It was unknown to modern scholars until a notable manuscript copy was discovered in the early 2000s. The work was unearthed by Emilie Savage-Smith and Yossef Rapoport and is essentially a geographical as well as a historical source containing meaningful data on the Fāṭimids’ strategies for expanding into the world. This is because instead of conveying mathematical geographical data, the work evaluates geographical elements within their strategic context. In this sense and unlike other geographical sources written until that period, The Book of Curiosities focuses on water basins rather than land masses.
In line with other medieval works, The Book of Curiosities is dominated by the understanding that celestial movements affect events on earth. Thus, while the first volume of the work deals with celestial events, the second volume is an explanation of events on earth. While these separate volumes complement one other, the second volume serves as an independent geographical source.
The historical context of the work gains a meaningful dimension in this second volume. First of all, the globe is divided into seven regions, and each region is analyzed in terms of its climate and plant and animal species, as well as the social structure, religious understanding, physical structure, and the prevalent diseases. The second volume also mentions famous trade routes and strategic locations and includes maps and diagrams can be mentioned among the most important elements that make the work remarkable. Supported by long explanations and labels, these maps provide detailed information about the regions mentioned. The Book of Curiosities contains 14 separate colored maps, as well as many diagrams. These illustrations include maps and diagrams of the Indian Ocean; the Mediterranean and Caspian Seas; the Nile, Tigris, Euphrates, Oxus, Indus, and Ganges Rivers; and many lakes on earth, as well as maps and diagrams of the islands of Sicily and Cyprus, the cities of Mahdiyya and Tinnīs, and a rectangular world map. As can be seen, the work has a particular focus on water resources and water basins and provides remarkable information about the 11th century.
This study evaluates the economic, social, commercial, political, and religious significance of the Indian Ocean for the Fāṭimids in the 11th century in light of the data in The Book of Curiosities and attempts to reveal how the state developed policies in these regions.
