Intellectual Life during the Reign of the two Fatimid Caliphs: al-?āmir bi-?A?kām Allāh and al-?āfi? li-Dīn Allāh
Saleh Kharanbe, Ph.D.; Eisam Asaqli, Ph.D.

Abstract
The present paper sheds light on the intellectual life in Egypt in the time of the two Fatimid Caliphs: al-?āmir bi- ?A?kām Allāh (1101-1130 AD) and al-?āfi? li-Dīn Allāh (1130-1149 AD). The findings suggest that the Fatimid caliphs were eager to support scientific research and scholarship in Egypt. The caliphs built and took mosques as platforms to advocate the Fatimid beliefs and encourage research and intellectual life. They were also interested in the Arabic language and literature, and so they built schools and libraries and printed thousands of books. Under the Fatimid caliphs, Egypt made impressive strides in the field of medicine, and physicians from the East and the West were brought in by the Fatimid caliphs and were allocated monthly salaries. At the same time, the Fatimid caliphs renovated existing hospitals and built new ones. Finally, the paper found remarkable astronomical achievements, well-evidenced by astronomical observatories built at that time.

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