Textiles from the first centuries of the Islamic era survive mainly in the form of fragments, including tiraz, with their characteristic embroidered or woven Arabic inscriptions supplying the name and titles of the ruler. Tiraz textiles were produced in factories, both private and public, and were the exclusive preserve of the caliph. The reigning monarch would gift such cloths, or more often robes of honor bearing inscriptions on the sleeves of the garment, to members of his court.
Due to the fragmentary state of this tiraz, the inscription is incomplete but fortunately preserves much key historical information. The text is typically rendered in the kufic script and is divided into two lines written opposite one another: “Praise to God, Lord of the Worlds, may God bless Muhammad the Prophet. Assistance [from God] to Nizar Abu Mansur, the Imam al-Aziz billah, Commander of the Faithful, God’s blessing upon him and upon [his pure ancestors]. From what was ordered by the respectable vizier Abu’l-Faraj Ya‘qub ibn Yusuf [ibn Killis], vizier of the Commander of the Faithful, to be made in the year [three hundred] seventy-one.”
The Fatimid caliph named here is al-‘Aziz (r. 975−96). His vizier, or chief minister, Ibn Killis (served 977−90) was of Jewish origin, reflecting the ecumenical nature of Fatimid society. He was renowned for the financial reforms that helped bring enormous prosperity to Egypt as well as to himself.
