Cities of the Fatimid World

The Fatimid state arose in 909 in Ifriqiya. The purpose-built coastal capital al-Mahdiyya was established under al-Mahdi around 920 and included a palace complex and naval facilities. Al-Mansur founded al-Mansuriyya, near Qayrawan, in the middle of the tenth century. These precedents are important in the history of Fatimid urban planning.

In 969 Jawhar al-Siqilli entered Egypt and founded a planned capital. Al-Muʿizz himself arrived in 973. Cairo and the older settlement of Fustat were related but distinct urban centres. Later dynasties expanded the metropolis beyond the Fatimid core.

Modern ruins or restored buildings should not be presented as unchanged medieval originals. Sources and surviving fabric may belong to different building phases.

The following historical and scholarly sources support this entry. The original publications are linked for independent verification.

1. Shainool Jiwa, The Fatimids 1 — IISEarly rulers and cities
2. Shainool Jiwa, The Fatimids 2 — IISEgyptian era of the Fatimids
3. Historic Cairo — UNESCOFatimid monuments and urban heritage
4. The Ismaili Imamat: A Brief History — IIS1094 succession and institutions