Cairo as a Palace: Rituals of the Fatimid Caliphate
Book Chapter in "Routledge Handbook on Cairo"
Abstract: The Shiite Ismaili imamate established the Fatimid state in present-day Tunisia. Sixty years later, they moved their capital east to Egypt and consolidated their position by expanding into much of the Middle East. In Egypt, the fourth Fatimid caliph, al-Mu’izz li-Din Allah, founded a new princely city, naming it al-Qahira (meaning the triumphant or the victorious) — the name from which Cairo is derived. This chapter is mainly about the city as a palace and by focusing on the rituals of Fatimid Caliphal rule, it discusses how this palatial compound operated with the neighboring city of Fustat during much of the period of Fatimid rule in Egypt.
Author: Ayman Fouad Sayyid
Link to Article: Taylor & Francis — Routledge