4.611/13 Civil Architecture in Islamic History (HASS)
Instructor: Nasser Rabbat

6-Fustat Houses:

Al-Qata’i‘ (the Wards or the Fiefs): the new settlement built north of Fustat and al-‘Askar by Ahmad ibn-Tulun (868-884), the Turkish governor of Egypt sent by the Abbasids, who claimed semi-independence.  The center of this new settlement was occupied by Ibn Tulun's palace complex, his hippodrome, and a stately mosque that still stand today.

 

Fustat Houses: The name given to a group of houses excavated in the Fustat general area but dated to the Tulunid and early Fatimid periods.

The predominance of the majlis-type residences.

The Samarra model continued.

Majlis:  an architectural unit which consists of a T-shaped space made of a large and deep central hall, flanked by two smaller, and shallower spaces. The three spaces are fronted with a portico (riwaq) which opens onto the courtyard.  The façade of the majlis reflects the spatial arrangement through the existence of three doors, a central large one and two lateral small ones.  The type is called in the texts al-Hiri (attributed to Hatra in Northern Mesopotamia) and is believed to have been imported from Samarra to Egypt by Ibn Tulun.

Fatimid Palatial Architecture in Cairo:

The Fatimids: an Isma‘ili dynasty whose founder claimed descent from Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet and wife of ‘Ali, hence the name.  They established a counter-caliphate in Ifriqiya, which was later expanded under al-Mu‘izz to include Egypt and southern Syria.

Al-Qahira (Cairo): the new capital city of Egypt established north of Fustat by the Fatimids upon their conquest of the country in 969.

The Palaces of Fatimid Cairo:

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).