The architectural patronage of the Fāṭimid queen-mother Durzān (d. 385/995): an interdisciplinary analysis of literary sources, material evidence and historical context

This paper on Fāṭimid female architectural patronage is divided into two parts. The first contains an analysis of the link between historical sources and epigraphic evidence, the second interprets such evidence in the light of the political and economic climates in which such patronage took place. The figure this paper focuses on is Durzān. She was the consort of the Fāṭimid imam-caliph al-Mu‘izz (r. 341-365/953-975) and mother of his successor, the imam-caliph al-‘Azīz (r. 365-386/975-996) and the first and most prolific of the Fāṭimid patronesses.

This is the author's post-peer reviewed manuscript of a chapter published in 'Material Evidence and Narrative Sources: interdisciplinary studies in the history of the Muslim Middle East' by Brill. The manuscript is made available in this repository in accordance with the publisher's Green open access policy.

Related work: Cortese, Delia and Calderini, Simonetta (2011) The architectural patronage of the Fāṭimid queen-mother Durzān (d. 385/995): an interdisciplinary analysis of literary sources, material evidence and context of her building activity’. In: Material Evidence and Narrative Sources: Interdisciplinary Studies of the History of Islamic Societies. The 14th Annual Workshop of the Department of Middle East Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 30 Jun - 03 Jul 2009, Beer Sheva, Israel