Fatimid Cairo's al-Azhar

Timeline

1. 970–972Cairo · CairoFatimid caliph al-Mu'izz ordered the construction of al-Azhar mosque in Cairo as the core religious building of the new capital; after completion it quickly became the symbolic center for the spread of Ismaili doctrine and Fatimid religious legitimacy.
2. 1071–1080Cairo · CairoDuring the long reign of Fatimid caliph al-Mustansir, al-Azhar gathered a large body of Ismaili scholars teaching theology, jurisprudence, and Arabic literature, serving as the core node of the Shia scholarly network in North Africa and the Levant, and forming a Sunni-Shia scholarly standoff with Baghdad's Nizamiyya college.
3. 1171–1200Cairo · CairoAfter Saladin overthrew the Fatimid dynasty, al-Azhar gradually shifted to Sunni Shafi'i education and ceased Ismaili missionary work, but retained its status as Egypt's highest religious institution of learning, laying the groundwork for its expansion and institutionalization under the later Mamluks.