13:00 The Fatimid Caliphate was a Shi'a caliphate, very much opposed to the Abbasids (which still existed but had become politically irrelevant at this point) and other Sunni powers, like the Turkish Seljuk Empire that would soon dominate Persia. The Fatimids started out in the Maghreb (northwest Africa) before conquering Egypt and Syria from the Sunni, Abbasid-aligned Ikhshidid dynasty of Turkish origin. They then lost the Maghreb and Sicily to Berber/Amazigh dynasties like the Zirids and the Kalbids. Honestly they were pretty chill with the Byzantines once they got bigger problems in the form of the Seljuks and other Turkish/Turcoman peoples rolling up in their territories. The whole "persecuting the Christians" thing was kind of a one-off from a Fatimid caliph that was widely rumored to have been insane (al-Hakim). Constantinople and Cairo had fairly extensive diplomatic and commercial ties. Enemy of my enemy, strange bedfellows, whatever you want to call it.
![The Last Viking - The Campaigns of Harald Hardrada [FULL DOCUMENTARY]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/uYsmHdgD5V4/mqdefault.jpg)
It is stories like that, that make you think there really is some main characters throughout history.
13:00 The Fatimid Caliphate was a Shi'a caliphate, very much opposed to the Abbasids (which still existed but had become politically irrelevant at this point) and other Sunni powers, like the Turkish Seljuk Empire that would soon dominate Persia. The Fatimids started out in the Maghreb (northwest Africa) before conquering Egypt and Syria from the Sunni, Abbasid-aligned Ikhshidid dynasty of Turkish origin. They then lost the Maghreb and Sicily to Berber/Amazigh dynasties like the Zirids and the Kalbids.
Honestly they were pretty chill with the Byzantines once they got bigger problems in the form of the Seljuks and other Turkish/Turcoman peoples rolling up in their territories. The whole "persecuting the Christians" thing was kind of a one-off from a Fatimid caliph that was widely rumored to have been insane (al-Hakim). Constantinople and Cairo had fairly extensive diplomatic and commercial ties. Enemy of my enemy, strange bedfellows, whatever you want to call it.