Cairo was the capital founded by the Fatimid general Jawhar north of Fustat after the Fatimid conquest of Egypt in 969. Designed to receive Imam al-Mu'izz, it contained a palace, a palatine mosque later known as al-Azhar, and barracks for separate army corps. The city became the political center of Fatimid Egypt and, together with Fustat, formed the dual urban core of a wealthy empire.
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The Story
Cairo was founded by Jawhar immediately after the Fatimid conquest of Egypt. Its position north of Fustat created a new political center rather than simply taking over the older Egyptian capital. Jawhar built a palace for Imam al-Mu'izz, a palatine mosque later known as al-Azhar, and barracks for the different army corps. The early construction program was completed by 971.
Imam al-Mu'izz entered Cairo in Ramadan 362/June 973 and took possession of the new capital and its palace. The city thereby became the seat of Fatimid authority in Egypt. Its foundation represented the institutionalization of conquest, joining dynastic residence, religious ceremony, military organization, and urban administration in one carefully planned center.
By the reign of al-Hakim, Cairo and Fustat together had become the dual capital of what the passage calls the richest empire of the period. Berber, Turkish, and Black soldiers lived alongside Iraqi and Syrian merchants, artisans, mosque officials, and other administrators. Tribute from the provinces and taxes on traffic crossing Egypt brought precious metal into these cities, although the fiscal burden fell heavily on the countryside and provincial artisans.
Cairo was the capital founded by the Fatimid general Jawhar north of Fustat after the Fatimid conquest of Egypt in 969. Designed to receive Imam al-Mu'izz, it contained a palace, a palatine mosque later known as al-Azhar, and barracks for separate army corps. The city became the political center of Fatimid Egypt and, together with Fustat, formed the dual urban core of a wealthy empire.
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The Story
Cairo was founded by Jawhar immediately after the Fatimid conquest of Egypt. Its position north of Fustat created a new political center rather than simply taking over the older Egyptian capital. Jawhar built a palace for Imam al-Mu'izz, a palatine mosque later known as al-Azhar, and barracks for the different army corps. The early construction program was completed by 971.
Imam al-Mu'izz entered Cairo in Ramadan 362/June 973 and took possession of the new capital and its palace. The city thereby became the seat of Fatimid authority in Egypt. Its foundation represented the institutionalization of conquest, joining dynastic residence, religious ceremony, military organization, and urban administration in one carefully planned center.
By the reign of al-Hakim, Cairo and Fustat together had become the dual capital of what the passage calls the richest empire of the period. Berber, Turkish, and Black soldiers lived alongside Iraqi and Syrian merchants, artisans, mosque officials, and other administrators. Tribute from the provinces and taxes on traffic crossing Egypt brought precious metal into these cities, although the fiscal burden fell heavily on the countryside and provincial artisans.
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