A Topographical Study of Cairo Under the Ayyubids (Egypt).

Abstract

This study of the physical growth of Cairo under the Ayyubid dynasty of Egypt (1168-1250 A.D.) concentrates on al-Qahirah, Fustat, and their immediate suburbs. The study includes: (1) a survey of the Fatimid substructure and the Ayyubid historical setting; and (2) a detailed investigation of l and use and population changes, especially in regard to the military, the administration, water resources, religious institutions, and commerce. Primary sources for this study include the works of al-Maqr(')iz(')i, Ibn Duqmaq, and Qalqash and (')i, in addition to various historians, geographers, and travelers of the Fatimid and Ayyubid periods. Archeological evidence--in terms of both st and ing monuments and excavations--is also presented, expecially in relation to the topographical studies of the French Archeological Institute of Cairo and the architectural studies of K. A. C. Creswell. The physical changes in Cairo under the Ayyubids were fundamentally ones of contraction rather than expansion. Major Fatimid urban development had been seriously undermined by the famines and the political crises of the reign of al-Mustansir and the gradual political and economic decline leading to the intervention of the Crusaders and the Zangids and culminating in the rule of Saladin and the Ayyubid dynasty. Saladin attempted to create a new "greater Cairo" by building a massive enceinte (never completed) based upon his citadel to include al-Qahirah, Fustat, and the intervening ruins. Many institutions were established in both al-Qahirah and Fustat for the reintroduction of orthodox Islam, and the encouragement of foreign trade fostered new commerical establishments. However, these foundations remained in the same areas as under the previous dynasty. New centers of administration--Saladin's citadel and the citadel of al-Malik al-Salih on the Isl and of Rhodah--attracted support groups of no lasting significance. Recurrent famines and political unrest negated the urban consolidation envisaged by Saladin.