Famine and Civil War in Fatimid Egypt: The "Great Crisis" - A book talk by Dr. Rachel Howes

In the medieval Islamic world, famines were devastating and so were civil wars. In eleventh-century Egypt, the two combined into a man-made and environmental disaster that was known to later medieval historians as "the Great Crisis." The turmoil of the period between 1058 and 1074CE was a turning point in Fatimid and Middle Eastern history.

By examining this crisis from political, environmental, intellectual, and social angles, using historical and literary sources, Dr. Howes shows us the causes and effects of this crisis on both the state and the individual level. She gives a deeper understanding of how Medieval Middle Easterners coped with and understood the trauma of natural and man-made disasters in both practical and literary terms.

This faculty research event is organized by the Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies
program. For questions email khanum.shaikh@csun.edu