Fatimid architecture

The Fatimid Caliphate after the conquest of Egypt, around 969 CE

The Fatimid Caliphate originated in an Ismaili Shia movement launched in Salamiyah, on the western edge of the Syrian Desert, by Abd Allah al-Akbar, a claimed eight generation descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, through Muhammad's daughter Fatimah. In 899 his grandson, to be known as Abd Allah al-Mahdi, became leader of the movement. He fled from his enemies to Sijilmasa in Morocco, under the guise of being a merchant.[5] He was supported by a militant named Abu Abd Allah al-Shi'i, who organized a Berber uprising that overthrew the Tunisian Aghlabid dynasty, and then invited al-Mahdi to assume the position of imam and caliph. The empire grew to include Sicily and to stretch across North Africa from the Atlantic to Libya.[6] The Fatimid caliphs built three capital cities, which they occupied in sequential order: Mahdia (921–948) and al-Mansuriya (948–973) in Ifriqiya and Cairo (973–1169) in Egypt.

Mahdia was a walled city located on a peninsula that projected into the Mediterranean from the coast of what is now Tunisia, then part of Ifriqiya.[lower-alpha 1][7]

The Carthaginian port of Zella had once occupied the site. Mahdia was founded in 913 by Abdallah al-Mahdi Billah, the first Fatimid imam-caliph. Al-Mahdi built the Great Mosque of Mahdiya, the earliest Fatimid mosque, in the new city.[7] The other buildings erected nearby at that time have since disappeared, but the monumental access gate and portico in the north of the mosque are preserved from the original structure.[8]

Al-Mansuriya, near Kairouan, Tunisia, was the capital of Fatimid Caliphate during the rules of the Imams al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah (r. 946–953) and al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah (r. 953–975).[9] Built between 946 and 972, it was a circular walled city holding elaborate palaces surrounded by gardens, artificial pools and water channels.[10]

After the Fatimid conquest of Egypt in 969, the caliph al-Mu'izz moved from the city to the new city of al-Qāhira (Cairo) in 973, but al-Mansuriya continued to serve as the provincial capital.[11] In 1057 it was abandoned and destroyed. Any useful objects or materials were scavenged during the centuries that followed. Today only faint traces remain.[12]

1830 view of the gate of Bab al-Nasr, Cairo, built by Badr al-Jamali in 1087

The Fatimid general, Jawhar al-Siqilli, built a new palace city near to the old capital of Fustat upon conquering Egypt in 969, which he at first called al-Mansuriya after the capital in Tunisia. When al-Mu'izz arrived in 973, the name was changed to al-Qāhira (Cairo). The new city incorporated elements of the design of al-Mansuriya, although it was rectangular rather than circular in plan.[13] Both cities had mosques named al-Azhar after Muhammad's daughter, Fatima al-Azhar, and both had gates named Bab al-Futuh and Bab Zuwaila.[6] Both cities had two palaces, for the caliph and for his heir, opposite and facing each other.[13]

Al-Aziz Billah (r. 955–996) is generally considered to have been the most prolific of Fatimid builders.[14] Aided in part by funds generated through his father al-Mu'izz's tax reforms, Al-Aziz is credited with at least 13 major building works during this reign from 975 until his death, including the Golden Palace, the Cairo Mosque, a fortress, a belvedere, a bridge and public baths.[14] His mother, Durzan, widow of al-Mu'izz, was also responsible for ordering the commencement of building projects, mainly in the Qarafa area, ordering construction of the second mosque in Cairo, Jami al-Qarafa Mosque, in 975.[14] Similar to the first mosque, Al-Azhar Mosque, it had some fourteen gates but was later destroyed by fire, leaving only its "green mihrab".[14] Durzan is also credited with ordering construction of the Qarafa Palace, a public bath, cistern, or pool, and a royal garden and hydraulic pump for the Abu'l-Ma'lum fortress.[15] She also ordered a well to be built in the courtyard of Ibn Tulun Mosque in 995, a pavilion overlooking the Nile called Manazil al-izz, and her own mausoleum in Qarafa.[15]

The Armenian vizier Badr al-Jamali was also a noted builder, sponsoring numerous state architectural projects and restoration works during his rule from 1074 to 1094, particularly with mosques, restoring minarets in Upper Egypt and building mosques in Lower Egypt.[16] He also built many of the gates and fortifications in Cairo.

The Great Mosque of Mahdiya was built in Mahdia, Tunisia, in 916 CE (303–304 in the Islamic calendar), on an artificial platform "reclaimed from the sea" as mentioned by the Andalusian geographer Al-Bakri, after the founding of the city in 909 by the first Fatimid imam, Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah.[38] Internally, the Great Mosque had a layout similar to other mosques in the region. A transverse aisle paralleled the qibla wall, with nine aisles at right angles to the transverse. The original qibla wall was destroyed by sea erosion and had to be rebuilt, reducing the size of the prayer hall.[7] Like other mosques in the region, the orientation of the qibla differs significantly from the "true" great circle route to Mecca.[39]

Unlike other North African mosques, the Great Mosque did not have minarets, and had a single imposing entrance.[7] This is the first known example of a projecting monumental porch in a mosque, which may have been derived from the architecture of secular buildings.[40] The mosque at Ajdabiya in Libya had a similar plan, although it did not have the same monumental entrance. Like the Mahdiya mosque, for the same ideological reasons, the Ajdabiya mosque did not have a minaret.[41]

Al Azhar Mosque and University

The Al-Azhar Mosque was commissioned by the Caliph al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah for the newly established capital city of Cairo. Its named after Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad.[42] Jawhar al-Siqilli, commander of the Fatimid army started construction of the mosque in 970. It was the first mosque established in the city.[43][lower-alpha 2] The first prayers were held there in 972, and in 989 the mosque authorities hired 35 scholars, making it a teaching centre for Shia theology.[43] A waqf for the mosque was established in 1009 by Caliph al-Hakim.[34]

The Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo seems to have had a similar projecting entrance to the Great Mosque of Mahdiya.[45] The original building had an open central courtyard with three arcades. Its layout was similar to the Kairouan and Samarra mosques. These had round arches on pre-Islamic columns with Corinthian capitals.[43] There were three domes (indicative of the location of the prayer hall), two at the corners of the qibla wall and one over the prayer niche, and a small brick minaret over the main entrance. The gallery around the courtyard had series of columns and the prayer hall, which had the domes built over it, had five more rows of five pillars.[42]

Minor alterations were made by the caliphs al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah in 1009 and al-Amir bi-Ahkami l-Lah in 1125. The caliph al-Hafiz (1129–1149) made significant further changes, adding a fourth arcade with keel arches, and a dome with elaborate carved stucco decorations in front of the transept.[46] Since then, the mosque has been greatly enlarged and modified over the years.[43] Of the original building little remains other than the arcades and some of the stucco decoration.[46]

An unusually detailed description of the mosque of the Qarafa in Cairo, built by two noblewomen in 976, has been left by the historian al-Quda'i, who died around 1062–1065.[47] He said,

This mosque had a lovely garden to its west, and a cistern. The door by which one enters has large mastabas. The middle [of the mosque] is under the high manar, which has iron sheets on it. [It runs] from the door right up to the mihrab and the maqsurah. It has fourteen square doors of baked brick. In front of all the doors is a row of arches; each arch rests on two marble columns. There are three ṣufūf.[lower-alpha 3] [The interior] is carved in relief and decorated in blue, red, green and other colors, and in certain places, painted in a uniform tone. The ceilings are entirely painted in polychrome; the intrados and the extrados of the arcades supported by columns are covered with paintings of all different colors.[47]

It seems probable from this description that the mosque had a portal that projected from the wall, as did the earlier Great Mosque of Mahdiya. In other respects it seems to have resembled the al-Azhar mosque in layout, architecture and decoration.[47] Although the geographers al-Muqaddasi and Ibn Hawqal both praised this mosque, neither left specific descriptions of this or any other mosque. Thus Ibn Hawqal says of it only that, "It is one of the mosques distinguished by the spaciousness of its court, elegance of construction, and the fineness of its ceilings."[35]

Interior courtyard of the Al-Hakim Mosque, Cairo

The Al-Hakim Mosque is named after Imam Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (985–1021), the third Fatimid caliph to rule in Egypt. Construction of the mosque started in 990.[34] In 1002–3 Caliph al-Hakim ordered completion of the building. The southern minaret has an inscription with his name and the date of 393 (1003). Significant changes were made to the minarets in 1010. At first the mosque was outside the city walls, but when Badr al-Jamali rebuilt the walls he enclosed a larger area, and the north wall of the mosque became part of the new stone city wall. The mosque was badly damaged in the 1303 earthquake, and suffered further damage in later years. By the nineteenth century it was ruined, but has since been reconstructed.[48]

The mosque is an irregular rectangle with four arcades that surround the courtyard. As with the Ibn Tulun mosque, the arches are pointed and rest on brick piers. It resembles the al-Azhar mosque in having three domes along the qibla wall, one at each corner and one over the mihrab. Also like al-Azhar, the prayer hall is crossed by a transept at right angles to the qibla.[48] This wide and tall central aisle leading to the prayer niche borrows from the Mahdiya mosque's design.[49] The al-Hakim mosque differs from the al-Azhar and Ibn Tulun mosques in having two stone minarets at the corners of the stone façade, which has a monumental projecting portal like the Mosque of Mahdiya.[48]

Chamfered corner of the Aqmar mosque in Cairo

The Lulua Mosque, located in the southern cemetery of the Moqattam hills, was built in 1015–16 during the reign of the third Caliph al-Hakim. The mosque was built on a promontory of limestone and consisted originally of a three-storey tower-like structure built over a rectangular plan. It exhibited typical aspects of the Fatimid architectural style, with portals with slight protrusions, mihrabs and qibla walls, several domes, and columned porches with triple arches or keel-shaped arches. The mosque partially collapsed in 1919, but was later refurbished in 1998 by the Dawoodi Bohras.[50][51]

The Juyushi Mosque was built by Badr al-Jamali, the "Amir al Juyush" (Commander of Forces) of the Fatimids. The mosque was completed in 1085 under the patronage of the then Caliph and Imam Ma'ad al-Mustansir Billah. It was built on an end of the Mokattam Hills which would ensure a view of the Cairo city.[52]

The Aqmar Mosque was built under vizier al-Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi during the caliphate of Imam Al-Amir bi-Ahkami l-Lah. The mosque is located on north Muizz Street. It is notable for its façade, which is elaborately decorated with inscriptions and geometric carving. It is the first mosque in Cairo to have such external decoration and also the first whose external façade is at a different angle than the alignment of the mosque's interior (which is oriented to the qibla) in order to follow the alignment of the street.[53][54]

The Mosque of al-Salih Tala'i, located south of Bab Zuweila, was commissioned by the vizier Tala'i ibn Ruzzik in 1160 and is the last surviving major Fatimid monument to be built. The mosque, raised on a platform above the original level of the street, has a familiar hypostyle form inside but features an exterior portico on its front entrance – a feature which was unique in Cairo before the Ottoman period. It was originally intended to act as a new shrine to hold the head of Husayn ibn Ali, but the relic was never transferred and instead remained at the al-Hussein Mosque near the palaces.[55][54][53]

Bab al-Futuh in Cairo 2008

Bab al-Futuh is a gate in the north wall of the old city, built in 1087. It stands at the northern end of Muizz Street.[56] The name "Futuh" means "conquest".[60] the gate had rounded towers, with both of their façades incorporating a design of two parallel carved lines with loops between them. No earlier use of this decorative style is known, although it became common in the Mamluk period. There are carved brackets above the entrance arch, two of which have the head of a ram. This appears to be a survival of pre-Islamic symbolism.[60] However, Fatimid arabesques decorate the brackets.[56]

Bab al-Nasr is a massive fortified gate built in 1087 with rectangular stone towers. The name means "Gate of Victory". The entrance vestibule is cross-vaulted. There are two shallow domes over the upper levels of the towers. The walls are decorated with shields and swords, possibly Byzantine in design.[59] Many French inscriptions on the Bab al-Nasr indicate use of the fort by Napoleon's soldiers, including "Tour Courbin" and "Tour Julien".[56]

Bab Zuweila (or Zuwayla) is a medieval gate built in 1092. It is the last remaining southern gate from the walls of Fatimid Cairo.[61] The gate is today commonly called Bawabet El Metwalli.[62] Its name comes from bab, meaning "door", and Zuwayla, the name of a North African tribe. The towers are semi-circular. Their inner flanks have lobed arches as decorations, a North African motif introduced to Egypt by the Fatimids. The vestibule to the right contains a half-domed recess with elegantly carved arches at each corner.[58] The gates were massive, weighing four tons.[62] The gates today have two minarets, open to visitors, from which the area may be viewed.[63][lower-alpha 4] Additions were made during the 15th century.[64]