Fatimid History and Surviving Sites
The Fatimids established an Ismaili Shi’a caliphate in North Africa before conquering Egypt and founding Cairo in 969. Their rulers built congregational mosques and palace cities; later ministers strengthened Cairo with stone walls and monumental gates. Religious foundations also included shrines commemorating members of the Prophet Muhammad’s family.
The sites collection follows this history through buildings in Mahdia, Cairo and other places with surviving Fatimid phases. Individual articles distinguish medieval fabric from later rebuilding and restoration.
Explore Fatimid sites
Find surviving Fatimid mosques, gates and shrines, with articles that distinguish their original architecture from later restoration and rebuilding.
Daily life
Explore how people in the Fatimid world organized their homes, livelihoods and family obligations, and obtained food, transport and medical care.
- Fatimid Families, Gender and Household Property: Marriage, Property and Dependence
- Fatimid Towns, Homes and Living Conditions: Urban Life in Fustat and Cairo
- Fatimid Worship, Festivals and Public Ceremony: Religious Practice and Caliphal Display, 909–1171
- Food, Cooking and Provisioning in the Fatimid World
- Medicine and Healthcare in Fatimid Egypt: Physicians, Diagnosis, and Medical Learning
- Travel in the Fatimid World: Pilgrims, Merchants, and Officials
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History and society
Fatimid caliphs linked religious leadership to government and commerce, building a state that moved from North Africa to the wealthy cities of Egypt.
- Fatimid Culture and Arts
- Fatimid Frontiers and Defense: How the Caliphate Protected Its Territories
- Fatimid Government and the Caliphal Court
- Fatimid History: From North Africa to Egypt
- Fatimid Lands, Communities and Languages: The Geography and Society of the Caliphate
- Fatimid Messages, Roads and Information