Fatimid architecture
The heartland of architectural activity and expression during Fatimid rule was at al-Qahira (Cairo), on the eastern side of the Nile, where many of the palaces, mosques and other buildings were built.
Several surviving tombs, mosques, gates and walls, mainly in Cairo, retain original elements, although they have been extensively modified or rebuilt in later periods.
Although heavily influenced by architecture from Mesopotamia and Byzantium, the Fatimids introduced or developed unique features such as the four-centred keel arch and the squinch, connecting square interior volumes to the dome.
Their mosques followed the hypostyle plan, where a central courtyard was surrounded by arcades with their roofs usually supported by keel arches, initially resting on columns with leafy Corinthian order capitals.
They typically had features such as portals that protrude from the wall, domes above mihrabs and qiblas, and façade ornamentation with iconographic inscriptions, and stucco decorations.
[4] Recently, a "Neo-Fatimid" style has emerged,[5] used in restorations or in modern Shia mosques by the Dawoodi Bohra,[6] which claims continuity from the original Fatimid architecture.
[8] He was supported by a militant named Abu Abd Allah al-Shi'i, who organized a Berber uprising that overthrew the Tunisian Aghlabid dynasty, and then invited al-Mahdi to assume the position of imam and caliph.
[10] The other buildings erected nearby at that time have since disappeared, but the monumental access gate and portico in the north of the mosque are preserved from the original structure.
[17] Aided in part by funds generated through his father al-Mu'izz's tax reforms, Al-Aziz is credited with at least 13 major building works during this reign, including palaces, a mosque, a fortress, a belvedere, a bridge and public baths.
[17] Durzan is also credited with ordering construction of the Qarafa Palace, a public bath, cistern, or pool, and a royal garden and hydraulic pump for the Abu'l-Ma'lum fortress.
While Samarran (Abbasid) and Byzantine motifs were major sources of inspiration, Fatimid ornamentation evolved to be less repetitive, more complex, and more specially tailored to suit the surface being decorated.
[34][c] The remains of Fatimid stucco decoration inside al-Azhar Mosque, for example, show the lingering influence of Abbasid motifs but also display Byzantine and Coptic elements.
It is generally believed that the painted decoration of the muqarnas ceiling of the Norman-built Cappella Palatina (12th century) in Palermo, Sicily, which includes figural images, was adopted from the style and techniques of the Fatimid court.
[40] A contemporary writer, Qadi al-Nu'man, recounted that Caliph al-Mu'izz ordered the transportation of huge antique columns from Sousse to al-Mansuriyya, to be used in the construction of a new "Great Hall".
[41] The palace complex was accompanied by a mausoleum or cemetery, Turbat al-Za'faraan ("The Saffron Tomb"), where the caliphs were buried, whose site is occupied today by the Khan el-Khalili market.
[42] In the 12th century, near the end of the Fatimid period, the head of Husayn was transferred from Ascalon and housed in a shrine (now part of Al-Hussein Mosque) inside the cemetery.
[43] The palaces had gold rafters to support the ceilings and Caliphs typically asked for a golden throne encased with a curtain similar to those of the rulers of the Abbasids and Byzantines.
[30] Furniture and ceramics were elegantly adorned with motifs of birds and animals which were said to bring good luck, and depictions of hunters, and musicians and dancers of the court which reflected the exuberance of Fatimid palace life.
[30] In North Africa, the Fatimids also relied on local Berber commanders to govern the western regions of their empire, such as Ziri ibn Manad, the founder of the Zirid dynasty.
Inside, it has a central square courtyard onto which opens a reception hall consisting of an elongated iwan, about 7.1 metres (23 ft) high, finishing in an apse-like projection at the back.
[49] The mosques followed the hypostyle plan, where a central courtyard was surrounded by arcades with their roofs usually supported by keel arches, initially resting on columns with Corinthian capitals.
[50][51] Scholar Jonathan Bloom and others have argued that the early Fatimids rejected such structures because they were seen as unnecessary innovations that were symbolically associated with Abbasid architecture at the time.
[55] Minarets later evolved to the characteristic mabkhara (incense burner) shape, where a lower rectangular shaft supported an octagon section that was capped by a ribbed helmet.
[28] The Great Mosque of Mahdiya was built in Mahdia, Tunisia, in 916 CE (303–304 in the Islamic calendar), on an artificial platform "reclaimed from the sea" as mentioned by the Andalusian geographer Al-Bakri, after the founding of the city in 909 by the first Fatimid imam, Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah.
The caliph al-Hafiz (1129–1149) made significant further changes, adding a fourth arcade with keel arches, and a dome with elaborate carved stucco decorations in front of the transept.
The building underwent a major renovation and reconstruction in the late 20th century, from which originate the present-day mihrab and the right-side (southern) half of the exterior façade.
It was originally intended to act as a new shrine to hold the head of Husayn ibn Ali, but the relic was never transferred and instead remained at the al-Hussein Mosque near the palaces.
[25] The most plausible theory is that the monument commemorates the victories of Badr al-Jamali, whose title, Amir al-Juyush ("Commander of the Armies"), is invoked in the foundation inscription.
Aside from respecting their heritage, the purpose of the campaign to restore Fatimid architecture in Cairo is to encourage ziyaret, a pilgrimage which aims to increase the cohesion of the Bohra community internationally.
[102] In November 1979 the first newsletter of the Society for the Preservation of the Architectural Resources of Egypt wrote a scathing report of the Bohras' renovation of the al-Hakim mosque, saying "Though their method of financing the project is intriguing, their concrete arcades can only be deplored."
