Tag Archives: Egypt

Egypt: Another Ismaili Split, 1132-40

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Ruth

The Fatimid dynasty always tried to combine pragmatic secular rule with idealistic religion. The Caliph/Imam was not only the war leader and ruler, he was also the holiest descendant of Ismail. We’ve already seen one major split among Ismailis, when … Continue reading →

Posted in Islam History D: Crusades | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Egypt: Another Ismaili Split, 1132-40

Another Ismaili split: Nizaris, 1095

Posted on July 4, 2022 by Ruth

Al-Hakim’s son ruled after him, then his grandson al-Mustansir. Caliph al-Mustansir ruled for sixty years in Cairo, starting when he was only an infant. His reign was the longest among Muslim rulers, but he controlled only Egypt, rather than an … Continue reading →

Posted in Islam History C: the Abbasids | Tagged , | Comments Off on Another Ismaili split: Nizaris, 1095

Ahmad ibn Tulun in Egypt, 868-905

Posted on April 14, 2022 by Ruth

Among the Turkish slave officers in Baghdad and Samarra was a Uyghur named Tulun, whose son Ahmad received a good Islamic education and became a protégé of one of the top Turkish generals. Of course he joined the army, where … Continue reading →

Posted in Islam History C: the Abbasids | Tagged | Comments Off on Ahmad ibn Tulun in Egypt, 868-905

Egypt’s Revolt, 644-6

Posted on May 25, 2021 by Ruth

During Uthman’s rule, it became obvious that if the Islamic State was going to maintain its place among the nations, it needed to create a navy. East and South Arabians had always been sea-going, but their cultural ways were not … Continue reading →

Posted in Islam History B: the Umayyads | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Egypt’s Revolt, 644-6

Conquest of Egypt, 636-42

Posted on April 29, 2021 by Ruth

We need a wide range of dates to cover the conquest of Egypt because histories conflict so much as to when things happened and in what order. General Amr ibn al-As, who had led his army to Gaza in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Islam History B: the Umayyads | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Conquest of Egypt, 636-42

Letters of Foreign Policy

Posted on January 30, 2021 by Ruth

Medina under Muhammad had become a nascent Islamic city-state, with growing outside territories and alliances around coastal and central Arabia. But Muhammad felt that he had been given a vision of an even larger Islamic state that included Egypt, Syria, … Continue reading →

Posted in Islam History A: the Prophet | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Letters of Foreign Policy

Roman medical care before conversion

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Ruth

What was the effect of Christianity on Western medicine? I’m approaching this question via Rodney Stark’s 1996 book, The Rise of Christianity. It looks at the “Jesus Movement” among Hellenistic Jews in the first three centuries, examining sociological evidence to … Continue reading →

Posted in Med. and Magic | Tagged , | Comments Off on Roman medical care before conversion