T he ninth and tenth centuries were not an easy time for the Arab world. They ceased to achieve spectacular victories, their political unity was shattered and the state found itself in a vortex of struggle between ambitious pretenders vying for the hearts and minds of Muslims. The turbulent vicissitudes of the Middle East did not bypass Egypt, which in 969 was conquered by the caliph of the Shi'ite Fatimid dynasty of Tunisian origin.

Under the rule of the Fatimids, Egypt became the centre of an empire that included, at its apogee, North Africa, Sicily, Jordan, the Levant, African coast of the Red Sea, Tihamah, Hejaz, Yemen, with Multan (in modern-day Pakistan) being its most distant territorial reach. Egypt flourished and the Fajtimids developed an extensive trade network in both the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. Their commercial and diplomatic links, stretching as far as China. The Fatimids' focus on agriculture increased their wealth even further and allowed the Egyptians to flourish under their rule.

For a time, the Fatimids’ victories on the battlefield were made possible primarily thanks to the military support of the warlike Berbers, especially from the Kutama tribe, which in the early 10th century formed a coalition with the Shiite Fatimids against the Sunni Aghlabids, who ruled Ifriqiya (Arab Africa) and supported the Abbasids. The Kutama became fierce defenders of the Fatimids. In 973, the capital of the caliphate was moved to the newly founded city of Cairo (al.-Kahira - ‘Victory’) In the vicinity of the capital were stationed the well-trained Berber troops that the new rulers of Egypt had brought with them. Although the tribesmen were the military mainstay of their rule, the Fatimid caliphs had a diverse army at their disposal in terms of weaponry and ethnic lines. In the first decades, the Fatimids, in an attempt to emulate the traditional Abbasid organization of the army, maintained a large pool of cavalry, which consisted mainly of native Arabs who retained their clothes and armament. They wore a white, thick robe and turban. Protection from enemy weapons was provided by a wooden shield of circular shape reinforced with leather. Some horsemen had shields made of wicker or woven reeds. Since the above materials could, at best, protect the warrior from arrows or lighter blades, shields made of tortoise shell or thick rhino skin were the most prized, though not commonly used. The Arab horsemen were deployed in the most strategic areas of the state, i.e. northern Egypt and Syria.

Structure

The backbone of the Fatimid army, however, were the North African Berbers, thanks to whom they had gained power in Egypt. The strong political and military position of the Berbers, was not to the liking of the Fatimids, and they began to counterbalance their position by bringing in mercenaries from foreign countries and creating slave troops directly subordinate to them. These were the Mamelukes, mainly of Turkish origin, and black African warriors. The existing Berber troops lost their privileged position, as did the soldiers of Arab origin. However, the influence of soldiers of these nations in the navy remained significant. There was also a second very important reason for the changes that took place in the military of the Egyptian caliph state. It needs to be mentioned that the Fatimids were one of the first rulers in the Middle East who appreciated the need for a professional army. The requirements imposed on the military were so high that the numerous but no so well-trained urban militia and tribal troops could not meet them. Lessons learned from the battles against the Seljuk Turks in Syria and the Abbasid Caliphate, which involved - for the first in history - warlike slave soldiers (Mamelukes) in their enemies ranks, helped to reform the army: the Berbers and Arab cavalries turned out to be no match for the mameluks and the city guards were not always able to defend their cities against these professionals. The solution was to create their own units of slave-soldiers. The military reform was initiated by Abu Mansura Nizar al-Aziz (975-996), whose reign saw the peak of the state's power, which rivalled that of the Abbasid caliphate. Al-Aziz began to introduce mercenaries from the Islamic East, especially Turks. However, the Fatimids did not have sufficient enough access to the pool of Memelukhs for their army - despite having adequate funds from their wealthy Egyptian possession and maritime trade. The attitude of the Turks adopted on the issued of recruitment slave-soldiers proved to be a serious obstacle for the Fatimids, so their army was a mixture of mercenaries and slaves. Military units were generally divided along ethnic lines, so the Berbers consisted of light cavalry and infantry scouts, while the Turks played the role of mounted archers and made up the heavy cavalry (Mamelukes). Black Africans, Syrians and Arabs generally served as heavy infantry and foot archers.

The infantry consisted mainly of black Nubian, Eritrean and Ethiopian warriors collectively referred to in Arabic sources as Sudani. The African warriors, due to their high loyalty to the dynasty, also formed the palace guard. Infantrymen were also recruited from Slavic and Byzantine slaves.

Also serving in the ranks of the army, as the cavalry and infantry fighting with bows, were the Armenians, who themselves had to flee from the Seljuk Turks. Few in number, but valued detachments of the Egyptian army were also the Daylamites, a warlike and brave people who were famous for being very good infantrymen. This people from the mountainous regions of northern Iran had a long history of military activity dating back to the Sassanid Empire where they played the role of mercenaries inflicting heavy losses on Arab armies attacking Persia. During battle, the Daylamites usually carried a sword, a shield and three spears. Moreover, they were also known for forming a huge shield formation that was difficult to break. In Egypt, they most likely formed a unit called naffatun - archers using flaming arrows and spears. The Fatimids themselves were eager to see the Daylamites in the ranks of their army, since like them they were Shiites.

The Egyptian Caliphate therefore preferred a less numerous but better trained and armed army. At its apogee, the army numbered several thousand of soldiers.

State and military crisis

A myriad of nationalities in the army not only failed to strengthen the position of the Fatimid rulers but eventually led to their downfall. To weaken the position of the Berbers, the Fatimids granted military commanders of the Mamelukes lands (ikta) from state domains, initially temporarily, until by the end of the dynasty's reign they actually became hereditary domains. As in the Abbasid state or other Arab lands, there was a tremendous increase in the number of Mameluke guards with the consequence that the caliph's position was dependent on the commanders of these slave-soldiers. Infighting and clashes between different national groups were the order of the day. The adoption of the ghilman system of deploing slaves as soldiers had far-reaching consequences, as the Turkish ghilman took high positions in the state and began to compete with the Berbers for influence, especially as the influx of new recruits from their homeland was limited and from 988 there was even a large exodus of them. As a result, a fierce antagonism developed between the two groups, who started to be called Maghariba (“Westerners”) and Mashariqa (“Easterners”) respectively, which became apparent after the death of Abu Mansur Nizar (996). Although the multi-ethnic army was generally successful on the battlefield, it began to have a negative impact on internal politics. After the death of the caliph AL-Hakim (1021), there was complete anarchy in Egypt and the army. As a result of internal fighting, Egypt was broken up. Traditionally, the Berber element of the army, had the greatest influence on political affairs, but when the Turkish slave-soldiers became stronger, the Berber position was challenged. Black African soldiers also tried to come to prominence. Different parts of the country were taken over by different groups: the Berbers took the Nile Delta, the Turks took Cairo, the Blacks took Lower Egypt.

The political and military crisis in the structures of the state coincided with economic problems and a change in the situation of the state in the international arena. Owing to successful military expeditions, the Crusaders settled in the coastal part of Syria, capturing Jerusalem for Christianity. Also, the Fatimids gradually lost the Emirate of Sicily to the Normans who completely overran the island by 1091. Egypt lost its commercial position in the Mediterranean to the Italian cities. In the 1040s, the governors of North Africa declared their independence from the Fatimids and recognition of the Sunni Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad, leading the Fatimids to launch devastating Banu Hilal invasions in North Africa. After 1070, the Fatimid position was as well threatened on the Levant coast and parts of Syria first by Turkish invasions and then by the Crusades, so that Fatimid territory shrank until the dynasty controlled only Egypt.

Fatimid rule lasted until 1171, in which year the Ayyubid dynasty, which ruled from 1171-1250, took over the country. The Fatimid dynasty was abolished and its army almost completely disbanded.