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Fatimid Cairo

Type Object Region Egypt Time 969–1000

Cairo was founded by the Fatimids in 969 CE as a new capital, replacing Fustat as Egypt's political and religious center and becoming a hub of the Is…

Timeline

  1. 969Cairo · EgyptAfter conquering Egypt, the Fatimid general Jawhar al-Siqilli built the new city of Cairo (al-Qāhirah) northeast of Fustat as the capital and administrative center of the Shia Fatimid caliphate.
  2. 970–1000Cairo · EgyptThe al-Azhar Mosque was completed in 970 with an attached academy, becoming a base for Fatimid Shia religious scholarship and da'wa, drawing scholars from North Africa and Western Asia and establishing Cairo's status as a scholarly center.
  3. c. 980–1000Cairo · EgyptBy the end of the 10th century, Cairo linked the Mediterranean, the Arabian Peninsula, and East Africa via the Nile and Red Sea trade routes; its palace district and markets flourished, making it the strategic capital through which the Fatimid empire controlled Egypt and Syria.

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