Recruiting Crews in the Fatimid Navy (909-1171)
By David Bramoullé
Medieval Encounters, vol. 13:1 (2007)
Abstract: Recruiting crews for the fleet was always problematic for medieval rulers. The Ismai’le Fatimids were no exception. In spite of every kind of adversity, from civil war to Sunni resistance and the crusades, they succeeded in building one of the most powerful navies of their time (tenth-twelfth centuries). The recruitment system, based mostly on financial attraction of crews and the organization of navies, partly explains both the success and the final failure of the Fatimids.
Click here to read/download this article (PDF file)
Related posts:
- Serving in the Fleet: Crews and Recruitment Issues in the Catalan-Aragonese Fleets During the War of Sicilian Vespers (1282-1302)
- Corsairs’ Crews and Cross-Cultural Interactions: The Case of the Pisan Trapelicinus in the Twelfth Century
- From Dubrovnik (Ragusa) to Florence: Observations on the Recruiting of Domestic Servants in the Fifteenth Century
Tags: Maritime Studies, Military History
