法蒂玛王朝(909～1171年)

Fatimid dynasty

曾在北非和中东建立的一个政教合一的什叶派王朝。王室成员系出法蒂玛的後裔。他们是什叶派信徒，拒绝承认逊尼派阿拔斯王朝的哈里发，所以决定取而代之。他们把政治势力从叶门扩张至北非和西西里，909年他们的伊玛目进而宣称成立新王朝。前四代法蒂玛王朝的哈里发的首都设在突尼斯，969年征服埃及後，修筑开罗城建为帝国新都。王朝在鼎盛时期控制了麦加、麦地那、叙利亚、巴勒斯坦和非洲红海沿岸。为了推翻阿拔斯王朝，法蒂玛王朝在阿拔斯领土内维系了一个使节和代理人网络。1057～1059年有一位将军在阿拔斯首都巴格达宣称拥护法蒂玛的哈里发，但法蒂玛帝国的国运自此走下坡，伊斯玛仪什叶教派最後还是不见容於逊尼派穆斯林。哈里发的权势因十字军、土耳其人和拜占庭人的进攻，以及军队内部派系斗争而削弱了。阿萨辛派的崛起决定了帝国的命运，1171年最後一个哈里发过世。亦请参阅Saladin。

English version：

909～1171年

Fatimid dynasty

Political and religious Ismaili Shiite dynasty of North Africa and the Middle East. Its members traced their descent from Fatima. As Shii Muslims, they opposed the Sunni Abbasid caliphate, which they were determined to supplant. From Yemen they expanded into North Africa and Sicily, and in 909 their imam emerged to proclaim the new dynasty. The first four Fatimid caliphs ruled from Tunisia, but the conquest of Egypt in 969 occasioned the building of a new capital, Cairo. At its height, the dynasty controlled Mecca and Medina, Syria, Palestine, and Africa's Red Sea coast. Seeking to overthrow the Abbasids, the Fatimids maintained a network of missionaries and agents in Abbasid territories. In 1057-59 the Fatimid caliph was briefly proclaimed in Baghdad, the Abbasid capital, but Fatimid fortunes declined thereafter, Ismaili Shiism ultimately proving unacceptable to Sunni Muslims. Attacks by crusaders, Turks, and Byzantines and factionalism in the armed forces weakened the caliphate, and the rise of the Assassins sealed its fate. The last caliph died in 1171. See also Saladin.