Egypt and Yemen: The Jewish and Kārimī Networks

Under the Fatimids, who took power in 914, Egypt’s influence inched upward, and this was felt throughout the western Indian Ocean. Fusṭāṭ was “the initiator of international trade” at that time (Fu‘ad-Sayyed and Gayraud 2000: 152). The Fatimids ceded control over Syria to the Seljuks in 1070, maintaining control over Egypt until the installation of the Ayyūbid dynasty (1171–1260). The Mamluks, who were Turkish slaves of the Ayyūbid sultans, later reigned over Egypt, creating the Bahrite dynasty (1260–1382): pretexting the ideological “defense of endangered Islam, a military class confiscated power for its own benefit” (Garcin 1995b: 343).