4 - The Foundation of Fatimid al-Qahira

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Concept

The Shi`ites: From shi`a (supporters), who recognized `Ali as the only legitimate imam (political and religious leader) after the Prophet. They developed into several branches which differed primarily in the number of imams they recognized after `Ali. Most important are: 

• The Twelvers Imamis: Who constitute the majority of Shi`ites, and recognize twelve descendants of `Ali as imams.
  
• The Isma`ilis: recognize the first six imams as the Twelvers, but differ with them about the seventh, Isma`il, hence their name. 

The Fatimids: An Isma`ili dynasty whose founder claimed descent from Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet and wife of `Ali, and established a caliphate in Ifriqiya (Tunisia), which was later expanded to include Egypt and southern Syria. 

• Al-Mu`izz li-Din Allah: (953-75) The fourth Fatimid caliph and the first in Egypt. 
• Jawhar al-Siqilli: The Fatimid general who conquered Egypt and founded al-Qahira.

The Great Mosque of Mahdiyya, Tunisia: (ca. 920) Built in the Fatimid new capital, al-Mahdiyya, near Qayrawan, it displays Fatimid monumental additions to a modified hypostyle plan.

Al-Qahira (Cairo): The new royal city of Egypt established north of Fustat by the Fatimids upon their conquest of the country in 969. It had a regular plan running parallel to the Khalij (Canal of the Nile) with a main north-south thoroughfare.

Majlis: A T-shaped architectural unit with a large central hall flanked by two smaller spaces. The three spaces are fronted with a portico (riwaq) which opens onto the courtyard via three doors. The type is believed to have been imported from Samarra to Egypt by Ibn Tulun.

Fatimid (and pseudo-Fatimid) Palaces: 

• The Eastern Palace: (969-72) A huge enclosure with several monumental gates that contained a number of halls set within garden-courtyards.
  
• The Western Palace: (975-96) Built by al-`Aziz, al-Mu`izz's son, as the more private caliphal palace across from the Eastern Palace. The two palaces were separated by an open parade ground called Bayn al-Qasrayn (Between the Two Palaces).
  
• La Zisa Palace, Palermo, Sicily: Built by the Norman king Roger II between 1154-66, it represents the most complete example of a garden pavilion/throne hall built by Muslim craftsmen after the Fatimid model.
  
• La Cuba Palace, Palermo, Sicily: Attributed to Roger II or his successors and dated to 1180, this palace-pavilion sits within a pool. It too echoes the development in reception hall arrangement in the Fatimid realm.  
  

Monuments