Who was Jawhar al-Siqilli?
Jawhar al-Siqilli led the campaign that entered Egypt in the name of the Fatimid caliph al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah. Once the country was under control, in 358 AH he began building a new city north-east of Fustat, al-Askar and al-Qata'i, as the seat of the caliph, his army and his government. The city was named al-Qahira – Cairo – and later became the core around which today's capital grew.
Jawhar oversaw the city's first plan, setting out its main axes, palaces and walls, and in 359 AH he began building al-Azhar Mosque. His name is therefore tied directly to the birth of Cairo as a city distinct from Egypt's earlier Islamic capitals.
How did they shape Cairo?
Jawhar's legacy can be read in the shape of the city itself. Al-Muizz Street is the main axis that ran north to south through the heart of the Fatimid plan, while al-Azhar remains one of the most important institutions founded with the city. The first walls he built were later replaced by wider stone walls, but the city's orientation and main axis lived on.
That makes Jawhar a different case in this guide: he left no palace bearing his name, but he left the plan of an entire city that you can still walk through today.
Monuments linked to Jawhar al-Siqilli
Where to see their legacy today
The best way to read Jawhar's project is to walk from Bab al-Futuh along al-Muizz Street towards al-Azhar, noticing how the historic axis has kept the city in order long after most 4th-century AH buildings disappeared.