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The Fatimid Empire

The Fatimid Empire 114 BOOK REVIEWS The subsequent chapters deal with the Fayyum’s farming communities, their identity and changing religious identity. Perhaps one of the most fascinating features of this survey is that, in 1245, the vast majority of the population was Muslim, with only a small Coptic Christian minority. Rapoport highlights the importance of this, noting that during the early Fātimid era, by contrast, the population had been overwhelmingly Coptic Christian. This then raises the question of how, why and when the population converted or changed. This is another major debate and the solution offered here is that the conversion of the Fayyum was brought about for the most part by a hike in the poll tax levied on non-Muslims. This rise took place in the 1130s under the Fāt imids, who implemented a high, but variable rate of tax (with different levels for rich and poor). Under the Ayyūbids, this poll tax was then levied at a flat rate of 2 dinars per person. Such a sum was well beyond the means of the poorest families, thereby compelling them to convert to Islam. Rapoport concludes that this was the major driver for wide-scale conversion. He then builds upon this to http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Al-Masaq: Journal of the Medieval Mediterranean Taylor & Francis

The Fatimid Empire

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The Fatimid Empire

Abstract

114 BOOK REVIEWS The subsequent chapters deal with the Fayyum’s farming communities, their identity and changing religious identity. Perhaps one of the most fascinating features of this survey is that, in 1245, the vast majority of the population was Muslim, with only a small Coptic Christian minority. Rapoport highlights the importance of this, noting that during the early Fātimid era, by contrast, the population had been overwhelmingly Coptic Christian. This then raises the...
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2019 Harry Munt
ISSN
1473-348X
eISSN
0950-3110
DOI
10.1080/09503110.2019.1567814
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

114 BOOK REVIEWS The subsequent chapters deal with the Fayyum’s farming communities, their identity and changing religious identity. Perhaps one of the most fascinating features of this survey is that, in 1245, the vast majority of the population was Muslim, with only a small Coptic Christian minority. Rapoport highlights the importance of this, noting that during the early Fātimid era, by contrast, the population had been overwhelmingly Coptic Christian. This then raises the question of how, why and when the population converted or changed. This is another major debate and the solution offered here is that the conversion of the Fayyum was brought about for the most part by a hike in the poll tax levied on non-Muslims. This rise took place in the 1130s under the Fāt imids, who implemented a high, but variable rate of tax (with different levels for rich and poor). Under the Ayyūbids, this poll tax was then levied at a flat rate of 2 dinars per person. Such a sum was well beyond the means of the poorest families, thereby compelling them to convert to Islam. Rapoport concludes that this was the major driver for wide-scale conversion. He then builds upon this to

Journal

Al-Masaq: Journal of the Medieval Mediterranean – Taylor & Francis

Published: Jan 2, 2019

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