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Fustat
Fusṭāṭ ( ar, الفُسطاط ''al-Fusṭāṭ''), also Al-Fusṭāṭ and Fosṭāṭ, was the first capital of Egypt under Muslim rule, and the historical centre of modern Cairo. It was built adjacent to what is now known as Old Cairo by the Rashidun Muslim general 'Amr ibn al-'As immediately after the Muslim conquest of Egypt in AD 641, and featured the Mosque of Amr, the first mosque built in Egypt. The city reached its peak in the 12th century, with a population of approximately 200,000.Williams, p. 37 It was the centre of administrative power in Egypt, until it was ordered burnt in 1168 by its own vizier, Shawar, to keep its wealth out of the hands of the invading Crusaders. The remains of the city were eventually absorbed by nearby Cairo, which had been built to the north of Fustat in 969 when the Fatimids conquered the region and created a new city as a royal enclosure for the Caliph. The area fell into disrepair for hundreds of years and was used as a rubbish dump ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metropolitan area, with a population of 21.9 million, is the 12th-largest in the world by population. Cairo is associated with ancient Egypt, as the Giza pyramid complex and the ancient cities of Memphis and Heliopolis are located in its geographical area. Located near the Nile Delta, the city first developed as Fustat, a settlement founded after the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 640 next to an existing ancient Roman fortress, Babylon. Under the Fatimid dynasty a new city, ''al-Qāhirah'', was founded nearby in 969. It later superseded Fustat as the main urban centre during the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods (12th–16th centuries). Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life, and is titled "the city of a thousa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
'Amr Ibn Al-'As
( ar, عمرو بن العاص السهمي; 664) was the Arab commander who led the Muslim conquest of Egypt and served as its governor in 640–646 and 658–664. The son of a wealthy Qurayshite, Amr embraced Islam in and was assigned important roles in the nascent Muslim community by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The first caliph Abu Bakr () appointed Amr as a commander of the conquest of Syria. He conquered most of Palestine, to which he was appointed governor, and led the Arabs to decisive victories over the Byzantines at the battles of Ajnadayn and Yarmouk in 634 and 636. Amr launched the conquest of Egypt on his own initiative in late 639, defeating the Byzantines in a string of victories ending with the surrender of Alexandria in 641 or 642. It was the swiftest of the early Muslim conquests. This was followed by westward advances by Amr as far as Tripoli in present-day Libya. In a treaty signed with the Byzantine governor Cyrus, Amr guaranteed the security of Egyp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amr Ibn Al-As
( ar, عمرو بن العاص السهمي; 664) was the Arab commander who led the Muslim conquest of Egypt and served as its governor in 640–646 and 658–664. The son of a wealthy Qurayshite, Amr embraced Islam in and was assigned important roles in the nascent Muslim community by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The first caliph Abu Bakr () appointed Amr as a commander of the conquest of Syria. He conquered most of Palestine, to which he was appointed governor, and led the Arabs to decisive victories over the Byzantines at the battles of Ajnadayn and Yarmouk in 634 and 636. Amr launched the conquest of Egypt on his own initiative in late 639, defeating the Byzantines in a string of victories ending with the surrender of Alexandria in 641 or 642. It was the swiftest of the early Muslim conquests. This was followed by westward advances by Amr as far as Tripoli in present-day Libya. In a treaty signed with the Byzantine governor Cyrus, Amr guaranteed the security of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fatimid Caliphate
The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dynasty of Arab origin, trace their ancestry to Muhammad's daughter Fatima and her husband ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, the first Shi‘a imam. The Fatimids were acknowledged as the rightful imams by different Isma‘ili communities, but also in many other Muslim lands, including Persia and the adjacent regions. Originating during the Abbasid Caliphate, the Fatimids conquered Tunisia and established the city of " al-Mahdiyya" ( ar, المهدية). The Ismaili dynasty ruled territories across the Mediterranean coast of Africa and ultimately made Egypt the center of the caliphate. At its height, the caliphate included – in addition to Egypt – varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and the Hijaz. Between 902 to 909 the foun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Qatta'i
Al-Qaṭāʾi ( ar, القطائـع) was the short-lived Tulunid capital of Egypt, founded by Ahmad ibn Tulun in the year 868 CE. Al-Qata'i was located immediately to the northeast of the previous capital, al-Askar, which in turn was adjacent to the settlement of Fustat. All three settlements were later incorporated into the city of Cairo, founded by the Fatimids in 969 CE. The city was razed in the early 10th century CE, and the only surviving structure is the Mosque of Ibn Tulun. History Each of the new cities was founded with a change in the governance of the Middle East: Fustat was the first Arab settlement in Egypt, founded by Amr ibn al-A'as in 642 following the Arab conquest of Egypt. Al-Askar succeeded Fustat as capital of Egypt after the move of the caliphate from the Umayyad dynasty in Damascus to the Abbasids in Baghdad around 750 CE. Al-Qata'i ("The Quarters") was established by Ahmad ibn Tulun when he was sent to Egypt by the Abbasid caliph to assume the governor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Cairo
Old Cairo (Arabic: مصر القديمة , Miṣr al-Qadīma, Egyptian pronunciation: Maṣr El-ʾAdīma) is a historic area in Cairo, Egypt, which includes the site of a Roman-era fortress and of Islamic-era settlements pre-dating the founding of Cairo proper in AD 969. It is also considered part of what is referred to as " Historic Cairo" or "Islamic Cairo", and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. History and description Roman fort and Coptic Cairo The Babylon Fortress is a Roman fortification around which many of the Egyptian Christians' oldest churches were built. It is unrelated to ancient Babylon or its empire. The area of Coptic Cairo is also part of Old Cairo. It comprises ruins of Roman fortifications and many old churches. Modern tourists visit locations such as the Coptic Museum, the Babylon Fortres, the Hanging Church and other Coptic churches. Count Gabriel Habib Sakakini Pasha (1841–1923), who had become a household name in his time, built a palace and a churc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mosque Of Amr
The Mosque of Amr ibn al-As ( ar, جامع عمرو بن العاص), or Taj al-Jawame' ( ar, تاج الجوامِع, lit=Crown of Mosques), or Masjid Ahl ar-Rayah ( ar, مسجد اهل الرّاية, lit=Mosque of the Banner Bearers), or Jame’ al-Ateeq ( ar, جامِع العتِيق, lit=the Old Mosque), was originally built in 641–642 AD, as the center of the newly founded capital of Egypt, Fustat. The original structure was the first mosque ever built in Egypt and the whole of Africa. For 600 years, the mosque was also an important center of Islamic learning until Al-Muizz's Al-Azhar Mosque in Islamic Cairo replaced it. Through the twentieth century, it was the fourth largest mosque in the Islamic world. The location for the mosque was the site of the tent of the commander of the Muslim army, general Amr ibn al-As. One corner of the mosque contains the tomb of his son, 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As. Due to extensive reconstruction over the centuries nothing of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mosque Of Amr Ibn Al-As
The Mosque of Amr ibn al-As ( ar, جامع عمرو بن العاص), or Taj al-Jawame' ( ar, تاج الجوامِع, lit=Crown of Mosques), or Masjid Ahl ar-Rayah ( ar, مسجد اهل الرّاية, lit=Mosque of the Banner Bearers), or Jame’ al-Ateeq ( ar, جامِع العتِيق, lit=the Old Mosque), was originally built in 641–642 AD, as the center of the newly founded capital of Egypt, Fustat. The original structure was the first mosque ever built in Egypt and the whole of Africa. For 600 years, the mosque was also an important center of Islamic learning until Al-Muizz's Al-Azhar Mosque in Islamic Cairo replaced it. Through the twentieth century, it was the fourth largest mosque in the Islamic world. The location for the mosque was the site of the tent of the commander of the Muslim army, general Amr ibn al-As. One corner of the mosque contains the tomb of his son, 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As. Due to extensive reconstruction over the centuries nothing of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Askar
Al-‘Askar ( ar, العسكر) was the capital of Egypt from 750–868, when Egypt was a province of the Abbasid Caliphate. History Background After the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 641, Fustat was established, just north of Coptic Cairo and the regional capital of Egypt was moved from Alexandria to the new city on the eastern side of the Nile. Abbasid regional capital (750-868) The Rashiduns were followed by the Umayyads, who ruled until they were overthrown by the Abbasids in 750, when the Umayyad regional capital of Fustat was replaced with an Abbasid city slightly north of it, al-‘Askar. Its full name was ar, مدينة العسكري, Madinatu l-‘Askari, lit=City of Cantonments or City of Sections. Intended primarily as a city large enough to house an army, it was laid out in a grid pattern that could be easily subdivided into separate sections for various groups, such as merchants and officers. The peak of the Abbasid dynasty occurred during the reign of Harun al R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muslim Conquest Of Egypt
The Muslim conquest of Egypt, led by the army of 'Amr ibn al-'As, took place between 639 and 646 AD and was overseen by the Rashidun Caliphate. It ended the seven-century-long period of Roman reign over Egypt that began in 30 BC. Byzantine rule in the country had been shaken, as Egypt had been conquered and occupied for a decade by the Sasanian Empire in 618–629, before being recovered by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius. The caliphate took advantage of Byzantines' exhaustion and captured Egypt ten years after its reconquest by Heraclius. During the mid-630s, the Romans had already lost the Levant and its Ghassanid allies in Arabia to the Caliphate. The loss of the prosperous province of Egypt and the defeat of the Byzantine armies severely weakened the empire, resulting in further territorial losses in the centuries to come. Background With the death of Muhammad in 632 AD, the Muslim world began a period of rapid expansion. Under the rule of the first caliphs, the Rashidu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shawar
Shawar ibn Mujir al-Sa'di ( ar, شاور بن مجير السعدي, Shāwar ibn Mujīr al-Saʿdī; died 18 January 1169) was an Arab ''de facto'' ruler of Fatimid Egypt, as its vizier, from December 1162 until his assassination in 1169 by the general Shirkuh, the uncle of the Kurdish leader Saladin, with whom he was engaged in a three-way power struggle against the Crusader Amalric I of Jerusalem. Shawar was notorious for continually switching alliances, allying first with one side, and then the other, and even ordering the burning of his own capital city, Fustat, just so that the enemy could not have it. Biography Hailing from the Banu Sa'd branch of Hawazin tribe, Shawar was born in Egypt and became the vizier at the end of the Fatimid caliphate, while al-Adid was caliph. In the mid-12th century, the Fatimid caliphate was crumbling, and Egypt had descended into a condition of near anarchy. The official head of state was the Caliph, but the true power was the Egyptian vizie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Historical Capitals Of Egypt
The current capital of Egypt is Cairo. Over the course of history, however, Egypt's capital has changed. List of Egyptian capitals *Thinis: (3150 BC – 2686 BC) – I and II dynasties * Memphis: (2686 BC – 2160 BC) – III dynasty to VIII dynasty * Heracleopolis Magna: (2160 BC – 2040 BC) – IX and X dynasties * Thebes: (2135 BC – 1985 BC) – XI dynasty * Itjtawy: (1985 BC – c.1700 BC) – XII dynasty and XIII dynasty * Avaris: (1725 BC – 1550 BC) – XIV dynasty and XV dynasty (Hyksos) * Thebes: (c.1700 BC – c. 1353 BC) – XVI dynasty to XVIII dynasty before Akhenaten * Akhetaten: (c. 1353 BC – c. 1332 BC) – Akhenaten of XVIII dynasty * Thebes: (c. 1332 BC – 1279 BC) – XVIII dynasty and XIX dynasty until Seti I * Pi-Ramesses: (1279 BC – 1078 BC) – XIX dynasty starting from Ramesses II and XX dynasty * Tanis: (1078 BC – 945 BC) – XXI dynasty * Bubastis/Tanis: (945 BC – 715 BC) – XXII dynasty * Leontopolis/Thebes: (818 BC – 715 BC ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
