Who was Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah?
The caliph al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah sent the Fatimid campaign to Egypt, and after its success Jawhar al-Siqilli began building Cairo in 358 AH to receive the caliph and serve as the new seat of the Fatimid state. Al-Mu'izz arrived in Egypt once the first stage of the city was complete, and Cairo changed from a camp and a young royal city into the capital of a caliphate.
His reign also saw the beginning of al-Azhar Mosque in the heart of the new city. Al-Muizz Street did not carry his name in Fatimid times; it was named after him in the modern era, in memory of the founder of Fatimid rule in Egypt and the reign that saw Cairo's birth.
How did they shape Cairo?
Al-Mu'izz's mark on Cairo is foundational rather than a single building. The Fatimid city – its central axis, quarters, palaces and first walls – was created to serve his political project. As dynasties changed, this heart survived and absorbed Ayyubid, Mamluk and Ottoman architecture.
Today al-Muizz Street is one of the clearest places to understand how a city of Fatimid palaces turned into a many-layered centre of trade, religion and everyday life.
Monuments linked to Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah
Where to see their legacy today
Follow the legacy of al-Mu'izz's era along al-Muizz Street and al-Azhar Mosque, then compare the early Fatimid plan with the stone gates Badr al-Jamali added later.