September 1171 · Cairo
End of the Fatimid Caliphate
In September 1171 Saladin had the Friday sermon in Cairo read in the name of the Abbasid caliph al-Mustadi. A few days later the last Fatimid caliph, al-Adid, died; the two-century Isma'ili Fatimid caliphate ended and Egypt was brought into the Sunni Abbasid order.
RESEARCH DOSSIER
Historical analysis of the event
Background
The Fatimids had ruled Egypt since 969, maintaining from Cairo an Isma'ili caliphate rivalling the Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad. By the 1160s the caliphate had collapsed politically and militarily. Nur al-Din, a Sunni ruler, had long been asking Saladin to remove the Fatimid caliph's name from the Friday sermon.
Course of events
Wary of a possible backlash, Saladin first founded Sunni madrasas in Cairo and dismissed pro-Fatimid judges. On the first Friday of September 1171, in Muharram of the year 567, the sermon was read for the first time in the name of the Abbasid caliph al-Mustadi. No significant resistance was seen.
The gravely ill caliph al-Adid died a few days later, on 13 September 1171, without being told of the change. Members of the Fatimid family were placed under watch within the palace, and the dynasty was prevented from returning to power.
Outcome and significance
The end of the Fatimid caliphate brought Egypt within the same framework of legitimacy as the Sunni political and religious order in Syria. Saladin distributed much of the Fatimid treasury and directed Egypt's revenues to his own army.
This transformation completely removed the Kingdom of Jerusalem's ability to exploit rivalry between Syria and Egypt. It also turned the relationship between Saladin and Nur al-Din increasingly into a rivalry.
Sources and debates
Ibn al-Athir, Abu Shama and Imad al-Din al-Isfahani report the events; later historians such as Ibn Abi Tayyi and al-Maqrizi also reflect the Fatimid side's view. The exact date of the first sermon varies by a few days in the sources. Rumours about al-Adid's death are unconfirmed.
Dates, places and figures in this record compare the principal narrative sources with modern scholarship. Where the sources disagree this is stated in the text; for a thesis or publication, consult the relevant edition and page reference.