Posted at Nov 28/2007 03:13PM:
aviad: The Fatimid dynasty was the ruling Muslim dynasty in what is now present day Egypt.

The Fatimids are a Shi’i group (seveners sect) of the Ismai’li branch. They trace their ancestry back to a different member of the Prophet’s family than Sunni Muslim groups, and in this way claim a spiritual legitimacy for themselves that is distinct.

In 909 the dynasty established itself in North Africa and by 969 they conquered Egypt and founded a rival caliphate in al-Quahira (Cairo). Cairo proved to be a city for the Shi’i elite, and it was separated significantly with walls and gates from the Sunni commoner city of Fustat. Fatimid cities are significant for the way they separate elites and commoners, and for the centrality of the palace to city planning and to developing an architectural sign of legitimacy and power.

Posted at Dec 10/2007 08:30AM:
ian: Archaeoloogically the brought the form of the royal city to North Africa. In this way their style came to rival that of the Abbasid's in mesopotamia, having so much influence as to be a major force in the buildings of places such as Norman Sicily.