Fatimid history is a chapter of both Mediterranean and Islamic history. In the period covered by the book (10th-12th centuries) profound changes took place in the Eastern Mediterranean affecting the history of the region.
Divided into three parts this study deals with the political history of the Fatimid period, the structure of the Fatimid state and the interplay between state and society.
The book is a contribution to the study of Islamic military history addressing such topics as: the formation and upkeep of black slave armies, the role of Christian-Armenian troops in twelfth-century...

This volume focusses on the interplay between war and society in the Eastern Mediterranean, in a period which witnessed the Arab conquests, the Seljuk invasion, the Crusades, and the Mongol incursions. The military aspects of these momentous events have not been fully discussed so far. For the first time this book offers a synthesis of trends in military technology and its effect on society in the period from the Arab conquests to the establishment of an Ottoman hegemony. War and Society in the Eastern Mediterranean provides for medievalists an Oriental context to the military aspects...

This volume focuses on the interplay between urban society and material culture in the medieval and Ottoman Middle East. The history of Jerusalem in the middle ages is discussed by a number of papers as well as Mamluk Tripoli and the urban history of Palestine during the Crusades. The multi-role of the cadi in the Muslim city is illuminated by two studies cases concerning the Fatimid and Mamluk periods. Three aspects of material culture; the production and spread of paper, textiles and the trade in medicinal substances also are dealt with.