“Fatimid claims to the caliphate were weaker than those of the ‘Abbasids and of the Umayyads of Spain.” Discuss.

The question requires that candidates offer a considered and balanced review of the argument that Fatimid claims to the caliphate were weaker than those of the ‘Abbasids and the Umayyads of Spain. In support of the statement, candidates may consider the merits of Ismaili Shi‘a claims to the caliphate through the line of Fatima al-Zahra, Muhammad’s daughter. ‘Abbasid claims to the caliphate were through Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, the Prophet’s uncle. The ‘Abbasids refuted the Fatimid claim as invalid because it was through the female line. In 929 the Spanish Umayyad ruler Abd ar-Rahman III made a claim to the caliphate based on old Umayyad claims through Umayya ibn Abd Sham, another uncle of the Prophet. Candidates may discuss the realities of the power politics of the era and the need to establish the legitimacy of a dynastic line. Declining Fatimid strength in the late 11th century made their claims difficult to pursue and enforce.