TheGreat Palaces of the Fatimid Caliphs (orGreat Fatimid Palaces, among other name variants) were a vast and lavish palace complex built in the late 10th century inCairo,Egypt, to house theFatimid caliphs, their households, and the administration of their state. There were two main palace complexes, the Eastern and the Western Palace. They were located in the center of the walled city of Cairo around the area still known today asBayn al-Qasrayn ("Between the Two Palaces").
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TheFatimids were aShiaMuslimCaliphate that initially controlledIfriqiya, where they founded their first capital atMahdia. They thenconqueredEgypt in 969CE with a North AfricanKutamaBerber army under the command of the generalJawhar al-Siqilli. In 970, Jawhar was responsible for planning, founding, and constructing a new city to serve as the residence and center of power for the Fatimid caliphs. The city was namedal-Mu'izziyya al-Qahira, the "Victorious City ofal-Mu'izz", later simply called "al-Qahira", which gave us the modern name ofCairo.[1]: 80 The new city was located northeast ofFustat, the previous capital and main city of Egypt. Jawhar organized the city so that the caliphal palace complex was at its center, in addition to the main mosque,al-Azhar, to the southeast.[1]: 96
The palace complex consisted of two main parts: theEastern Palace (or Great Palace), the first to be laid out in 970 by Jawhar for the arrival of the triumphant Caliph al-Mu'izz, and theWestern Palace, which was added under his successor, Caliphal-'Aziz (r. 975–996).[1]: 96 Together they served as the residences of the caliphs and their family throughout the Fatimid period, and were thus also known as theDar al-Khilafa ("Abode of the Caliphate").[2] Information about the layout and appearance of these palaces comes from a few written reports, and especially from the chronicles of theArab historianMaqrizi and of thePersian travelerNasir Khusraw.[2]
The two palaces faced each other across an open square or plaza which became known asBayn al-Qasrayn (meaning "Between the Two Palaces"), on a pattern repeated from the original Fatimid royal city atal-Mahdiya,Tunisia.[1][3][2] This square was rectangular and measured 105 by 255 meters (344 by 837 ft), taking up over 2.5 hectares (6.2 acres).[4]: 58 It had great public and symbolic significance, and was the site of various ceremonies related to the dynasty. The grand official entrance to the Great Eastern Palace, known asBab al-Dhahab ("The Golden Gate"), was located here.
The Eastern Palace, also known as the Great Palace (al-Qasr al-Kabir),[5] was the larger of the two, and is believed to have occupied about 9 ha (22 acres), or one-fifth of the total area of Cairo at the time.[4][2] It was begun under al-Mu'izz and finished under al-Aziz, although work of various kinds continued for decades, even underal-Hakim and under thevizieral-Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi in the 12th century.[2][4] The palace opened to the rest of the city through nine gates (three to the west, one to the north, three to the east, and two to the south),[4] but it was also separated from the city around it by gardens and open squares. This sprawling but secluded layout in the center of the city kept with a tradition, already established by theAbbasid caliphs, of isolating the caliph from the public sphere.[6] Members of theIsma'ili religious establishment (scholars and clerics) were also housed in or around the palace, which had its ownmuezzin and thus did not rely on thecall to prayer of the al-Azhar Mosque.[2]The Eastern Palace was composed of many great halls, the most important of which were preceded by courtyards (calleddihliz).[2] The palace also featured many gardens or courtyards, often bordered byporticos and featuring pavilions and fountains, where court life unfolded. Visitors who wrote about the palaces reported marble pavements of different colors, central fountains, gold fixtures and ornamentation, and animals on display to impress guests.[4]
The palace's official grand entrance was through its central western gate calledBab al-Dhahab ("The Golden Gate"), which opened off theBayn al-Qasrayn plaza. (Its location would have been facing the present-dayMausoleum of Qalawun across the street.[7]) It apparently featured gold brought fromIfriqiya (present-day Tunisia).[4] Above the gate was a balcony at which the caliph would appear to the public on occasions.[1] This entrance led to the "Golden Hall" (Qa'at al-Dhahab orDar al-Dhahab) via a vaulted passage around 30 meters long.[4] The Golden Hall acted as a throne room where the caliph held his daily audiences and where official receptions and some religious festivals took place.[1][2] Another important hall was known as the Great Iwan, which was crowned by a dome. This was the venue were the Isma'ili clerics and missionaries (da'is) would hold sermons for the palace residents, as well as some of the most important religious festivals. In this hall the caliph's seat was hidden behind a screen or grille known as theShubbak al-Khalifa ("Caliph's Window").[2] Both the Golden Hall and the Great Iwan were built or completed under al-Aziz.[2][4]
About one quarter of the palace to the northeast was taken up by a great square calledRahbat al-Eid ("Festival Square"), measuring 157 by 105 meters, which was the starting point for the caliph's processions through the city.[4] One of the eastern gates, calledBab al-Zumurrud ("Emerald Gate"), opened off this square and gave access to the part of the palace known as the Emerald Palace, the private residence of the caliph.[4] Another gate opening off the southern side of the square was calledBab al-Eid. An arsenal hall, calledKhizanat al-Bunud (roughly the "Arsenal of Banners/Flags"), lay to the east of the palace, as did a gate known asBab Qasr al-Sharq ("Eastern Palace Gate").[4] The southeastern gate,Bab Daylam ("Gate of theDaylamites"), led to the monument that later became the shrine ofal-Husayn (see below), while the southwestern gate was calledBab Turbat al-Za'faraan (orBab al-Za'faraan), after the name of the adjacent royal mausoleum (see below).[4][7] The southwestern part of the palace was occupied by the kitchens, which also provided food for the poor during the fasting month ofRamadan. The southernmost of the western gates, located here, became known asBab Zuhuma, named after the odors of food emanating from the kitchens.[4] The only northern gate of the palace,Bab al-Rih ("Gate of the Wind"), was the entrance used by theda'is. This gate may also have been the last one to disappear in the post-Fatimid period, having survived at least until 1408 and having been seen by Maqrizi.[4]
In the 12th century, the vizier al-Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi (in office from 1122 to 1125) added three more pavilions to the palace. He was also responsible for building theal-Aqmar Mosque, which still stands today, at the northwestern edge of the palace.[4]
Attached to the southern end of the eastern palace was a mausoleum known asTurbat al-Za'faraan ("The Saffron Tomb"), which served as the burial site of the caliphs.[8][4]: 57 Even the remains of the Fatimid caliphs in Tunisia were transferred here when the caliphate moved to Egypt.[2] The tombs were eventually completely demolished by theMamlukamir Jaharka al-Khalili to make way for theKhan al-Khalili in the late 14th century, which gave its name to the surroundingsouq area still present today.[7][9] Jaharkas reportedly disposed of the bones of the Fatimid royal family by throwing them into the rubbish hills east of the city.[4]
Also adjacent to the caliphs' mausoleum was the later 12th-century shrine which allegedly housed the head of al-Husayn, the son ofAli ibn Abi Talib who was slain at theBattle of Karbala in 680 and is revered as a martyr by theShi'a. His head was originally believed to be interred atAscalon, but the Fatimids brought it to Cairo in 1153 when Ascalon was threatened by theCrusaders.[9][4] Since the Fatimids claimed descent through al-Husayn's mother,Fatima, the creation of this shrine was an important symbolic and religious act.[2] The shrine still exists today (albeit rebuilt many times) in theal-Hussein Mosque, which is heavily visited by Muslims.[9]
The smaller Western Palace, also known as the Lesser Palace (Qasr al-Saghir al-Gharbi),[5][4] was initially built as a residence for one of Caliph al-Aziz's daughters,Sitt al-Mulk (who was alsode facto ruler between 1021 and 1023).[4] It covered about 4.5 hectares and had two wings which wrapped around the south and north sides of theBayn al-Qasrayn plaza.[4] Less is known overall about this palace, as it was quickly replaced by other structures in the post-Fatimid era.[4] The palace was built on the site of a vast, previously existing garden calledal-Bustan al-Kafur (oral-Bustan al-Kafuri),[6] which was originally established here by theIkhshidid rulerAbu'l-Misk Kafur, who ruled Egypt before the Fatimids. The western part of the garden was retained for the Fatimids' pleasure and was initially reserved for the caliph's family.[6][2] The Eastern and Western Palaces, as well as these gardens to the west, were all connected by large tunnels that allowed the caliphs to get from one to the other by horse.[2][4] The Western Palace was refurbished in 1064 by Caliphal-Mustansir who had hoped to house the Abbasid caliphs, hisSunni rivals, after having briefly deposed them inBaghdad for a year (in 1058–59); however, this purpose was never served.[4][10] The palace was also known asQasr al-Bahr ("Palace of the Sea/River") in reference to the fact that it lay near theKhalij canal, which passed next to Cairo and which once extended to theRed Sea.[6]
Throughout the Fatimid period various other minor palaces and establishments were also built in the areas surrounding the caliphs' palaces. To the south of both palaces were a set of stables.[4] Thevizier's palace, theDar al-Wizara, was located northeast of the Eastern Palace, on the site of the currentKhanqah of Sultan Baybars al-Jashnakir and the Madrasa of Amir Qarasunqur.[9] It was built by the vizieral-Afdal (son of the famous vizierBadr al-Gamali) after 1094.[4] Caliphal-Hakim (between 996 and 1021) oral-Amir (in 1116)[4] added next to the southern end of the Western Palace an academy known as theDar al-'ilm (roughly "House of Knowledge/Science").[2] Another palace known asal-Qasr al-Nafi'i was located to the south of the eastern palace on a site occupied today by the 19th-centuryWikala al-Silahdar inside Khan al-Khalili.[7] The Fatimids also built leisure palaces along the shores of theNile and along theKhalij canal, such as theLu'lu'a or Pearl Palace built byal-'Aziz and rebuilt byal-Zahir. (It was later used as the residence for Salah ad-Din's father.)[2] The mother of al-'Aziz also built a large palace withinal-Qarafa, the vast necropolis and cemetery of the main city ofFustat to the south.[1]
Cairo was definitively opened to all peopleunder the rule ofSalah ad-Din (Saladin), who dismantled the Fatimid Caliphate in 1171 and embarked on the construction of a new fortified citadel (the currentCitadel of Cairo) further south, outside the walled city, that would house Egypt's rulers and state administration. This ended Cairo's status as an exclusive palace-city and started a process by which the city became an economic center inhabited by ordinary Egyptians and frequented by foreign travelers.[7] The old Fatimid palaces in the city became obsolete as caliphal residences and were opened up to redevelopment. Salah ad-Din initially transformed them into residences for the aristocracy of his ownAyyubid dynasty, as well as intomadrasas, akhanqah, and a hospital.[11]: 51 The Ayyubid sultansal-Kamil andal-Salih built important madrasas in different areas of the site of the former palaces. In theMamluk period the transformation of the area continued and most of the palaces disappeared and were replaced with various urban structures, and transformed into new city neighbourhoods. Some remnants of the palace remained standing for centuries after the fall of the Fatimids.
Nonetheless, the main north–south street of Cairo, theQasaba (al-Muizz Street), remained a fixture and the former area ofBayn al-Qasrayn remained a privileged site for the construction of royal architectural complexes such as theMaristan-Mausoleum-Madrasa complex of Sultan Qalawun. TheBayn al-Qasrayn square itself, however, steadily disappeared and became essentially another stretch of the Qasaba street, as construction on either side filled up the previously open space.[4]
Practically nothing remains of the palaces today, other than the occasional toponym and a few minor physical fragments. Most of the buildings in theBayn al-Qasrayn area were built on top of the foundations or ruins of the palaces. One of the main courtyards in themaristan (hospital) of Sultanal-Mansur Qalawun (built in 1285) incorporates remnants of the Western Fatimid Palace, in particular some carvedstucco windows in its easterniwan, probably part of what was originally a palace courtyard which had four iwans arranged in a cross formation.[9][4]: 58 Likewise, the lobed fountain in the middle of the courtyard of Qalawun's madrasa (in the same complex) also belonged to that palace.[9] The 13th-centuryMadrasa of al-Salih Ayyub was built in part over the former kitchens of the palace.[9] TheKhanqah of Sultan Baybars al-Jashnakir (built in 1306–1310) and the Madrasa of Amir Qarasunqur (built in 1300) stand on the site of the former residence of the Fatimid viziers, which faced a western gate of the Eastern Palace.[11] The large iron windowgrille in the exterior facade of the mausoleum of Baybars al-Jashnakir's khanqah was originally an artifact brought from the Abbasid palaces in Baghdad and used in the Fatimid viziers' palace.[9] The old Ayyubid minaret at the entrance of the al-Hussein Mosque is built over one of the Fatimid Eastern Palace's former gates (cited as the "Bab al-Akhdar" but perhaps the same as theBab al-Daylam) as the shrine of al-Hussein was originally adjoined to the palace.[9]
Some artifacts and architectural fragments from the Fatimid Great Palaces are now on display in Cairo'sMuseum of Islamic Art, including wooden panels and beams found in theMaristan complex of Qalawun and in theMadrasa of al-Nasir Muhammad.[12][9]
