Research Information System
Ankara Universitesi Ilahiyat Fakultesi Dergisi, vol.64, no.1, pp.177-201, 2023 (Scopus)
It can be said that there is a parallelism between the political, economic and social development of Muslims and their increasing interest in fine arts, especially music, since the early periods of Islamic civilization. After the Umayyad period (r. 41-132/661-750), which saw an increase in the number of people professionally interested in music and the emergence of famous musicians, there was a marked increase in the number of works written about the theoretical and practical aspects of music during the ?Abbāsid period (r. 132-656/750-1258). This development in music continued during the Fātimid period. While many famous musicians emerged and significant developments in music took place during the ?Abbāsids, it can be assumed that the music of the Fātimids (r. 297-567/909-1171), who lived at the same time as the ?Abbāsids and left a deep mark on political, religious, cultural, and social life during their three centuries in history, was overshadowed by the ?Abbāsids. Looking at the works written about the historical development of music in Islamic civilization, we find that they provide information about musical culture and famous musicians of each period, starting with the pre-Islamic period with a chronological division. It goes without saying, however, that the musical culture of the Fātimid period, which was centered in North Africa and caused a great stir in the Islamic world due to the rapid conquest of Egypt when the Abbasid state began to weaken in the 10th century, has not been sufficiently mentioned in works on music history. In our literature search, we did not find any comprehensive study on the musical culture of the Fātimids. The main reasons for this, in our opinion, are that the Fātimids emerged at a time when the ?Abbāsids were still the most powerful state in the Islamic world, and that sources on the music of the Fatimid period are insufficient or scattered with little information in various sources. This study will first briefly discuss the state of the Fātimid period in the fields of architecture, fine arts, and literature. Then, in order to shed light on the musical culture of the period, the place of music in the Fatimid court and the patronage of musicians, the use of music in religious ceremonies, the status of music in social life, the works on music in the Fātimid period, and the instruments used by musicians at that time will be evaluated in the light of the information we have been able to identify. The main purpose of this study is to try to reveal the relationship of the Fātimids with the art of music in the history of Islamic civilization and thus to contribute to the gap in the history of music in terms of the Fātimid period and to raise awareness for other academic studies.