Saladin Citadel of Cairo

Timeline

1. 1176–1183Mokattam Hill · CairoSaladin dismantled parts of the old Fatimid palace for building materials and raised walls, towers, and barracks on the heights overlooking Cairo, moving the center of military power out of the city and laying the defensive layout of the Ayyubid capital.
2. 1240–1250Saladin Citadel, Cairo · CairoIn the 1240s Ayyubid sultan al-Salih Ayyub resided in the citadel, with Mamluk troops garrisoned there; as Egypt's political and military hub, the citadel coordinated defenses against the Mongol threat and remaining Crusader forces.
3. 1251–1401Saladin Citadel, Cairo · CairoSuccessive Mamluk sultans expanded the citadel, building grand structures such as the Muhammad Ali Mosque, and the citadel continued as a symbol of sultanate power and military command center.