Evaluate the importance of economic and social factors in the rise to power of the Fatimids.

Candidates will make an appraisal of economic and social factors, weighing up their importance or otherwise to the rise to power of the Fatimids. Candidates may offer equal coverage of economic and social factors, or they may prioritize their discussion of one over the other. However, both aspects must be a feature of the response. Candidates may or may not choose a comparative approach. They may consider economic factors such as commercial activity and trade and the expansion of the navy, which supported their trading power in the Mediterranean and Red Sea. Social factors may include the divisions within the ‘Abbasid Empire that enabled the Fatimids to recruit supporters even among non-Muslims, or the Fatimid’s emphasis on religious learning, culture and intellectual development, which also attracted much support. Both strengths/importance and limitations must be clearly indicated but there need not be an equal focus on each.