Delia Cortese, “Re-visiting the pre-Islamic past: A tour of ancient sites with medieval Muslim rulers”

Delia Cortese
Dr Delia Cortese is Senior Research Fellow at Middlesex University, London and is affiliated to The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. Her work focuses on topics ranging from the interrogation of gender issues in Ismaili history to the transmission and dissemination of knowledge in the Fatimid period. Her books include Women and the Fatimids in the World of Islam (with S. Calderini) (Edinburgh University Press, 2006) and a forthcoming monograph The Fatimids. Portrait of a Dynasty (Reaktion Books, 2025).

Re-visiting the pre-Islamic past: A tour of ancient sites with medieval Muslim rulers
This lecture explores the attitudes of medieval Muslim rulers towards ruins of pre-Islamic civilizations within their territories. Through a virtual tour of select ancient sites, guided by accounts on and eyewitness reports by these rulers, we delve into their varied responses. Our primary focus will be on the Fatimid imam-caliphs during the North African phase of their dynasty’s history (909-969). Situated within a socio-cultural historical framework, our analysis of these testimonies reveals a spectrum of reactions—from ideologically-driven appreciation and agenda-free aesthetic contemplation to religiously and politically motivated actions. We will uncover a complex, non-normative engagement with the pre-Islamic past that challenges conventional perceptions of Islamic responses to ancient historical sites.