Editing Cairo (section)

=== Fustat and other early Islamic settlements ===
{{Further|Egypt in the Middle Ages}}
[[File:CairoFustatHouses.jpg|alt=A man on a donkey walks past a palm tree, with a mosque and market behind Mohamed kamal|thumb|Excavated ruins of [[Fustat]] (2004 photo)]]

The [[Muslim conquest of Egypt|Muslim conquest of Byzantine Egypt]] was led by [[Amr ibn al-As]] from 639 to 642. Babylon Fortress was besieged in September 640 and fell in April 641. In 641 or early 642, after the surrender of [[Alexandria]] (the Egyptian capital at the time), he founded a new settlement next to Babylon Fortress.{{Sfn|Raymond|1993|p=16-18}}{{Sfn|Kennedy|2007|p=161}} The city, known as [[Fustat]] ({{Langx|ar|الفسطاط|translit=al-Fusṭāṭ|lit=the tent}}), served as a garrison town and as the new administrative capital of Egypt. Historians such as [[Janet Abu-Lughod]] and [[André Raymond]] trace the genesis of present-day Cairo to the foundation of Fustat.{{Sfn|Raymond|1993|p=13}}{{Sfn|Abu-Lughod|1971|p=7}} The choice of founding a new settlement at this inland location, instead of using the existing capital of Alexandria on the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] coast, may have been due to the new conquerors' strategic priorities. One of the first projects of the new Muslim administration was to clear and re-open Trajan's ancient [[Canal of the Pharaohs|canal]] in order to ship grain more directly from Egypt to [[Medina]], the capital of the [[Rashidun Caliphate|caliphate]] in [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]].{{Sfn|Raymond|1993|p=19}}{{Sfn|Kennedy|2007|p=160}}{{Sfn|AlSayyad|2011|p=42}}{{sfn|Gabra|van Loon|Reif|Swelim|2013|p=21}} Ibn al-As also founded a mosque for the city at the same time, now known as the [[Mosque of Amr ibn al-As|Mosque of Amr Ibn al-As]], the oldest mosque in Egypt and Africa (although the current structure dates from later expansions).<ref name="Bloom-2009"/>{{sfn|Gabra|van Loon|Reif|Swelim|2013|p=280}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Campanini |first=Massimo|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2003 |isbn=9780195125580|editor-last=Esposito|editor-first=John L.|chapter=Cairo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=O'Kane|first=Bernard|title=The Mosques of Egypt|publisher=American University of Cairo Press |year=2016|isbn=9789774167324|page=2}}</ref>

In 750, following the overthrow of the [[Umayyad caliphate]] by the [[Abbasids]], the new rulers created their own settlement to the northeast of Fustat which became the new provincial capital. This was known as [[al-Askar]] ({{Langx|ar|العسكر|lit=the camp}}) as it was laid out like a military camp. A governor's residence and a new mosque were also added, with the latter completed in 786.{{Sfn|Raymond|1993|p=30-31}} The Red Sea canal re-excavated in the 7th century was closed by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur in [[al-Mansur]] ({{Reign|754|775}}),{{Sfn|Raymond|2000|p=16}} but a part of the canal, known as the [[Khalij (Cairo)|Khalij]], continued to be a major feature of Cairo's geography and of its water supply until the 19th century.{{Sfn|Abu-Lughod|1971|p=134}}<ref name="Bloom-2009" /> In 861, on the orders of the Abbasid caliph [[al-Mutawakkil]], a [[Nilometer]] was built on [[Roda Island]] near Fustat. Although it was repaired and given a new roof in later centuries, its basic structure is still preserved today, making it the oldest preserved Islamic-era structure in Cairo today.{{Sfn|Williams|2018|p=42}}{{Sfn|Behrens-Abouseif|1992|p=50}}

[[File:Kairo_Ibn_Tulun_Moschee_BW_5.jpg|alt=|thumb|The [[Mosque of Ibn Tulun]], built by [[Ahmad ibn Tulun|Ahmad Ibn Tulun]] in 876–879 AD]]

In 868 a commander of [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] origin named Bakbak was sent to Egypt by the Abbasid caliph [[Al-Mu'tazz|al-Mu'taz]] to restore order after a rebellion in the country. He was accompanied by his stepson, [[Ahmad ibn Tulun]], who became effective governor of Egypt. Over time, Ibn Tulun gained an army and accumulated influence and wealth, allowing him to become the ''[[de facto]]'' independent ruler of both Egypt and [[Syria (region)|Syria]] by 878.{{Sfn|Swelim|2015|pp=28-32}}{{Sfn|Raymond|1993|p=33}}<ref name="Bloom-2009a">{{Cite book|title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2009|isbn=9780195309911|editor-last=Bloom |editor-first=Jonathan M.|chapter=Tulunid |editor-last2=Blair|editor-first2=Sheila S.}}</ref> In 870, he used his growing wealth to found a new administrative capital, [[al-Qata'i]] ({{Langx|ar|القطائـع|lit=the allotments}}), to the northeast of Fustat and of al-Askar.<ref name="Bloom-2009a"/>{{Sfn|Swelim|2015|p=37}} The new city included a palace known as the ''Dar al-Imara'', a parade ground known as ''al-Maydan'', a [[bimaristan]] (hospital), and an [[Aqueduct (water supply)|aqueduct]] to supply water. Between 876 and 879 Ibn Tulun built a great mosque, now known as the [[Mosque of Ibn Tulun]], at the center of the city, next to the palace.{{Sfn|Raymond|1993|p=33}}{{Sfn|Swelim|2015|p=37}} After his death in 884, Ibn Tulun was succeeded by his son and his descendants who continued a short-lived dynasty, the [[Tulunids]]. In 905, the Abbasids sent general Muhammad Sulayman al-Katib to re-assert direct control over the country. Tulunid rule was ended and al-Qatta'i was razed to the ground, except for the mosque which remains standing today.{{Sfn|Swelim|2015|pp=32-37}}{{Sfn|Raymond|1993|p=34}}