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End of the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt (1169)
After Shirkuh seized Cairo in 1169 and died suddenly, his nephew Saladin became vizier and gradually purged the Fatimid court;…
Timeline
- 1169Cairo · EgyptAfter Shawar was executed, Shirkuh led Zengid forces into Cairo, and Fatimid caliph al-Adid was forced to appoint him vizier. Crusader reinforcements failed to prevent the Ayyubid army from taking control of Egypt's capital, and Fatimid secular power effectively collapsed.
- 1169Cairo · EgyptShirkuh died of illness only months after becoming vizier. Under pressure from Nur ad-Din, al-Adid appointed Saladin as successor vizier; the Ayyubid family formally took over Egypt's administrative center, and Fatimid court ministers and the army were gradually replaced.
- 1169Cairo · EgyptSaladin purged old Fatimid officials, reorganized the army, and cut the caliph off from the outside world. al-Adid was placed under house arrest, and Shi'a call to prayer and festival ceremonies were abolished. By late 1169 Egypt was effectively ruled by the Sunni Ayyubid regime, ending two centuries of Fatimid rule in Egypt.
Sources
- The Cambridge History of Egypt, Volume 1: Islamic Egypt, 640–1517 — Carl F. Petry (1998)
- Saladin: The Life, the Legend and the Islamic Empire — John Man (2015)