The Architecture of Cairo

3 - Abbasids and Tulunids (8th and 9th Century)

Previous Lecture | Next Lecture

Concepts

The Abbasids: the second ecumenical Islamic dynasty (750-1258), were the descendants of al-`Abbas, the Prophet’s uncle, hence the name.
     
Samarra: the new capital established by caliph al-Mu`tasim in 836 to house his growing and much-dreaded personal army of Turkish slave-warriors (mamluks) on the Tigris, 60 miles north of Baghdad. It developed into a conglomeration of secluded caliphal palaces and houses for the troops on a grandiose scale and remained capital until 883 when it was abandoned and Baghdad regained its old position.
     
Al-`Askar: A new garrison town established by the Abbasids in 751 north of Fustat to house their army after they had toppled the Umayyads. It was subsequently absorbed by al-Fustat which was expanding north away from the river.
     
Ahmad ibn-Tulun: A Turkish governor sent by the Abbasids who managed through cunning and superb organization to create a semi-independent principality in Egypt and parts of Syria. His descendants, The Tulunids, formed a dynasty that lasted for almost forty years (868-905).
     
Al-Qata’i` (the wards or the fiefs): The new settlement built north of Fustat around the site of the future Citadel of Cairo by Ahmad ibn-Tulun as his capital. Samarra was probably the prototype for this new settlement. The center of al-Qata’i` was occupied by Ibn Tulun’s palace complex, his hippodrome, and a stately mosque that still stand today.

Baghdad: The round city founded in 762 by al-Mansur (754-75), the second Abbasid caliph, to be his royal center on the western bank of the river Tigris.

The Mosque of Ibn-Tulun: The furthest westerly evidence of the spread of the Abbasid imperial style in its decoration, its construction material, and its minaret, this mosque is perhaps the most serene structure in Cairo. It is distinguished by its brick piers with four engaged brick columns on the four sides (a combination of eastern and western influences), its angularly spiraling minaret, and its ziyadas, or open extensions which ring it on three sides and work as buffers between the streets’ bustle and the religious space inside.

Monuments

General view of al- Mutawakkil mosque with the Malwiyya minaret. Founded by caliph al-Mutawakkil (847-61). It is the largest mosque in Islam (240 by 156 m). The Malwiyya: the famous spiralling, free-standing minaret of the Great Mosque of Samarra. It is usually compared to Mesopotamian Ziggurats. General view of the mosque of Ibn-Tulun from the North-East. The furthest westerly evidence of the spread of the Abbasid imperial style in its decoration, its construction material, and its minaret, this mosque is perhaps the most serene structure in Cairo. It is distinguished by its brick piers with four engaged brick columns on the four sides (a combination of eastern and western influences), its angularly spiralling minaret, and its ziyadas, or open extensions which ring it on three sides and work as buffers between the streets bustle and the religious space inside. The mosque of Ibn-Tulun: View of the mosque courtyard with 13th century fountain dome in the center. The mosque of Ibn-Tulun: View of the mosques spiraling minaret. The mosque of Ibn-Tulun: Samara style #3 stucco decoration on the intrados of the mosque arcade. The mihrab of al-Afdal inside of the mosque Ibn-Tulun dated 1194 C.E.