The Financial Sources of the Fatimid State

Undoubtedly, a decisive factor in survival of states, whether religious or non-religious, is a healthy economy. Following its establishment in Egypt and Syria, the Fatimid state had to find new ways to meet the high expenses of its Lsmaili missionaries, and the immense costs of its court and competition with the Abbasids in Baghdad and the Umayyads in Spain. Therefore, in addition to the customary and legitimate finances of the past like khums, zakah, jizyah, mawghufat etc., it innovated new means of fund-raising such as ihtikar, najwa, usury (riba') and the like. Thus, it managed to extend its life span and duration in the history of Islam considerably.This paper discusses the various sources of government income in the fatimid state