The Reasons for the Flourishing of Multicultural Art in the Fatimid Murals

The spread of Islam from the Arabian Peninsula to the east and west had a great impact on the region's communications; Thus, the intercultural and multicultural feature is one of the main features of Islamic art, especially in the Mediterranean area, where the three continents of Asia including Europe and Africa are connected by Mediterranean Sea. The Shiite Fatimid Caliphate (297-567 A.H) that ruled parts of southern Italy, northern Africa, the Levant and parts of Saudi Arabia for more than two and a half centuries is one of the best examples of intercultural and multicultural interaction in the history of Islamic art. Although the geographical feature of the Fatimids provided the basis for the growth of the multicultural character of their murals, such a profound transformation required other causes and reasons as well. Descriptive-analytical method for writing and library study has been used to collect data in this theoretical research. Contextualism also provides a good framework for analyzing works of art in their historical context. The outcome of this research clarifies those schools and techniques of different cultures, sects and races that were present simultaneously in the Fatimid lands. Instead of indigenous opportunities of Mediterranean region, the flourishing multicultural art of the Fatimid murals was derived from political transition, freedom of religion, backing Shia Muslims and economic growth of the era which provided fertile ground for foreign painters from Iraq, the Byzantium Empire and the Armenians.