ٰAslishoQurboniev, Research Associate in theDepartment ofAcademic ResearchatThe Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS), took part in two international academic events in late 2025 that examined the history of Islamic Sicily withinthebroader Mediterranean and Fatimid contexts.
Middle East Studies AssociationConference
From22–25 November 2025,ٰQurbonievparticipatedin the annual(MESA) Conference, where heco-organiseda panel titledNavigating Ruptures: Continuity and Change in Fatimidڰī羱ⲹand Sicily. The panel explored questions of continuity and change following the relocation of the Fatimid caliphateThe Muslim political institution or state centred around the caliph, which came to an end, historically, in 1924 with the disappearance of the Ottoman Empire. fromڰī羱ⲹto Egypt, with particular attention to documentary practices, elite networks, and political structures in regions such as Sicily.
The papers presented examined how established administrative practices continued tooperatedespite shifts in political authority, highlighting Sicily’s ongoing importance withintheFatimid andthepost-Fatimidworld.
Workshop on Islamic Sicily in the MediterraneanContext
Following the conference, ٰQurbonievpresented an expanded version of his research at a workshop held inPalermo, Italy, titledHarmonising Sources, Reframing Narratives: Islamic Sicily in the Mediterranean Context(4–5 December 2025). Hosted by the Giovanni XXIII (FSCIRE)at theBiblioteca Giorgio La Pira, the workshop brought together scholars working on Islamic Sicily from Mediterranean and comparative perspectives. IIS scholars Dr Shainool Jiwa and ,experts on the FatimidsMajor Muslim dynasty of Ismaili caliphs in North Africa (from 909) and later in Egypt (973–1171) More and Islamic Sicily,also participated in the workshop and presented papers. Dr Jiwa presented a paper titled Fatimid Relations with ڰī羱ⲹ, Sicily and Spain during the reign of the fifth Fatimid sovereign al-‘Azīz billah (d. 386/996 CE).
The historiography of Islamic Sicilywasprincipallyshapedbyone Italian scholar, Michele Amari (1806-1889), who largely depended on later non-Fatimid Arabic sources, which tend to overlook the interdependence of Sicily and Fatimid IfriqiyaMediaeval Muslim name for modern-day Tunisia; also the area where the Fatimids founded their state in the early tenth century. and Egypt. One of the workshop’s objectives was to reconsider this trend. Drawing on Fatimid textual sources, Dr Qurboniev’s paper examined the configuration of elite networks and power brokerage during the transfer of the caliphal capital fromṢabraal-Manṣūriyyainڰī羱ⲹ(modern Tunisia) tothe newly foundedcapitalal-Qāhiraal-Muʿizziyyain Egypt. The discussion situated Sicily within these wider political and intellectual transformations.
ٰQurboniev’sparticipationis part ofIIS’ continued engagement with international scholarly research on Islamic history and the Fatimid period.
