Remarks on the Blacks in the Fatimid Army, Tenth–Twelfth Century CE

Abstract

ABSTRACT:In this article, I revisit some aspects of the organization of the Fatimid army, and more specifically to the role played by its black contingents, who are still often considered the most faithful supporters of the dynasty. Wherever they came from and regardless of their social and legal status, black soldiers, whose Egyptian-ness was indisputable, were major players in the history of the Fatimid Caliphate. Medieval authors, who sometimes conveyed negative representations linked with racial bias, and who are not necessarily accurate in dealing with other races, even acknowledged this role.