Fatima.Mernessi_The-Forgotten-Queens-of-Islam-EN

160 The Arab Queens
With hands covered with the dynasty's most precious jewels and
skin perfumed with rare fragrances, she was adorned by hundreds
ofjawawho had the task of making her even more beautiful. They
draped her in tunics of the finest silk, linen and royal brocade,
specially designed by an industry that served only the dynasty. 4 The
strange thing is that the Fatimids, who took power in Egypt promising
simplicity and asceticism as an alternative to Abbasid pomp,
which according to their propaganda was a sign of decadence,
rapidly became engulfed in a life of luxury unequalled up to then
in the Muslim Empire. And Sitt al-Mulk, like the rest of the princely
family, patronized the government costume supply house founded
by her grandfather al-Mu'izz, where master artisans were assigned
the task of creating clothes of dazzling brilliance, in accordance with
the official Fatimid imagery of luminous splendour and divine light.
The Fatimids dressed in white to show their difference from the
Abbasids, whose ceremonial robes were black, but the white was
enhanced by gold and silver embroidery spangled with precious
stones to reflect the luminosity of the divine. 5 Born in 359/970, at
the height of their success, and just one year after the conquest of
Egypt by her grandfather, Sitt al-Mulk reflected their luxurious life
and their influence. From the first she was caught up in the power
that encircled her.
The first to succumb to the charm of Sitt al-Mulk was her father,
Caliph al-'Aziz, the fifth Fatimid caliph (365/975-411/1020). He
added two of its most beautiful palaces, Qasr al-Bahr (the river
palace) and Qasr al-Dhahab (the golden palace), to the Cairo
created in 359/970 by his predecessor, his father al-Mu'izz. Sitt al-
Mulk spent her happy childhood years in the extraordinary Qasr al-
Bahr, the river palace designed by the royal astrologers to be in
alignment with the stars, which had no equal in the East or the
West.
Her father was so in love with her mother that the character of
their relationship influenced the political practices of his reign. 6 In
fact, this love was considered pernicious by some dignitaries, for
Sitt al-Mulk's mother was a Christian jarya of Byzantine origin,
proud of it and determined to remain Christian. Many looked with
a jaundiced eye on the amorous frolicking of a Shi'ite imam-caliph,
in principle still involved in a holy war against the Byzantines, and
on an enemy jarya laying down the law in his palace. 7 The xenophobia
of the court fanatics was exacerbated by the fact that al-
'Aziz, who 'loved pardon and used it often', 8 extended his political
tolerance to Christians. Under his rule non-Muslims - Christians