Al-Sayyida al-Mu'iziyya

Al-Sayyida al-Mu'iziyya, mainly known as Durzan,[1] was the main consort of Fatimid Caliph al-Muizz[2] and the mother of the Fatimid imam-caliph al-Aziz.[3][4] She was known as the first patroness of Fatimid architecture. Durzān also founded the second great Fățimid mosque of Cairo, a congregational mosque (no longer extant) located in the Qarafa.[5][6]

Al-Sayyida al-Mu'iziyya
Mother of the Imam-caliph
Tenure975–995
BornMahdia, Tunisia
Diedc. 995
Cairo, Egypt
Spouseal-Mu'izz li-Din Allah
Childrenal-Aziz
Names
Al-Sayyida al-Mu'iziyya Durzan

Biography

Durzan was born in the city of Mahdia, on the coast of modern-day Tunisia, in 955,[7] and was brought as a slave, or jariya, to the Fatimid court. It is said that, because of her beautiful singing, she was also called Taghrid (lit.'Singing As A Bird').[7] Although many Fatimid sources were destroyed, material evidence and literary sources exist that confirm the vastness of her patronage.

In 976,[8] Durzan inaugurated the first phase through the building of the Jami al-Qarafa Mosque with her daughter, Sitt al-Malik. As Cortese and Calinedri argue, this inauguration of the Jami al-Qarafa Mosque marked the first of the two main phases of Fatimid female architectural patronage. Durzan also sponsored a qasr (palace), a bath, a watering pool and a mausoleum.[9][10]

Delia Cortese and Simonetta Calderini have noted Fatimid women’s patronage of public monuments and the link between piety – or religious propaganda – and charity during the delicate early stage of Fatimid rule.

In 973 she moved to the newly established Cairo to the court of the Caliph,[7] where later she died in 995.[11] It is said that when she died in Cairo, her daughter Sitt al-Malik mourned for a month.[11]

References

Sources
  1. "Splendour of Fatimid architectural legacy in Egypt remains vibrant". the.Ismaili. 2017-02-13. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  2. Hasan, Masudul; Waheed, Abdul (1974). An Introduction to the Study of Islam: 1001 Questions & Answers. Ferozsons. p. 121.
  3. Grabar, Oleg (1987). Muqarnas: An Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture. BRILL. p. 16. ISBN 978-90-04-08155-0.
  4. Bloom, Jonathan M. (2007). Arts of the City Victorious: Islamic Art and Architecture in Fatimid North Africa and Egypt. Yale University Press. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-300-13542-8.
  5. Cortese 2006, p. 167.
  6. Reassessing the Roles of Women as 'Makers' of Medieval Art and Architecture. BRILL. 2012-05-07. p. 662. ISBN 978-90-04-22832-0.
  7. Pomerantz & Shahin 2015, p. 99.
  8. Bloom, Jonathan M. (1986-01-01). "The Mosque of the Qaraf a in Cairo". Muqarnas Online. 4 (1): 7–20. doi:10.1163/22118993-90000205. ISSN 0732-2992.
  9. Cortese 2006, p. 168.
  10. Bloom, Jonathan M. (1983). "The Mosque of al-Ḥākim in Cairo" (PDF). Muqarnas. 1: 15–36. doi:10.2307/1523069. ISSN 0732-2992. JSTOR 1523069.
  11. Pomerantz & Shahin 2015, p. 100.
Bibliography

Further read

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