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180-508: The Citadel of Cairo was a massive fortified complex and royal residence begun by Salah ad-Din (Saladin) in 1176 CE and most likely finished by al-Kamil at the beginning of the 13th century. The Citadel was the centerpiece of a new extensive defensive system for Cairo which included building a long wall around both Cairo and the older city of Fustat and connecting it to the Citadel. Salah ad-Din, or one of his Ayyubid successors, also developed

360-429: A bent entrance . Today, the inside of the gate's dome-vault is covered in plaster with painted inscriptions belonging to Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad and dated to 1310. It was also on this gate that a foundation inscription was discovered which dates the completion of the Citadel to 1183–1184. Nonetheless, construction of one kind or another almost certainly continued under Saladin's Ayyubid successors. Construction of

540-424: A cistern . It has an inscription that memorializes the victory of Sultan Qaytbay's army over Ottoman forces at Adana in a battle in 1486 . Today it is cut off from the Citadel and stands stranded between two highways (Salah Salem road and Kobri al-Ebageah) which pass right next to the Citadel on its eastern side. There are four main mosques in the Citadel today, some of which are open to visitors: The mosque

720-399: A maydan , a long open square or "hippodrome", to the west and south of the Citadel which was used for equestrian training and military parades. This was on the same site that Ahmad Ibn Tulun established a similar hippodrome in the 9th century. This work established the overall plan of the Citadel area for centuries to come: the northern part of the citadel was devoted to military functions,

900-506: A new aqueduct system . This system consisted of a number of water wheels on the Nile which raised water to the top of an hexagonal tower (built by his predecessor al-Ashraf Khalil), from which the water was then transported along a series of raised aqueducts to the base of the Citadel. From the foot of the Citadel, the water was then carried up to the palaces via another system of waterwheels. However, since this water supply could not be guaranteed in

1080-536: A steam jack driven by a rudimentary steam turbine , it was under Muhammad Ali in the early 19th century that steam engines were introduced to Egyptian industrial manufacturing. While there was a lack of coal deposits in Egypt, prospectors searched for coal deposits there, and manufactured boilers which were installed in Egyptian industries such as ironworks , textile manufacturing , paper mills and hulling mills. Coal

1260-457: A collection of unique Royal Carriages attributed to different historical periods, from the reign of Khedive Ismail until the reign of King Farouk , in addition to other collection of unique antiques related to the carriages. The museum (also sometimes referred to as the Prison Museum) is just north of the gate known as Bab al-'Alam, on a terrace commanding sweeping views of the city below. It

1440-499: A deathblow to the system of monopolies, though the application of the treaty to Egypt was delayed for some years. Another notable fact in the economic progress of the country was the development of the cultivation of cotton in the Delta in 1822 and onwards. The cotton grown previously had been brought from the Sudan by Maho Bey . By organizing the new industry, within a few years Muhammad Ali

1620-574: A desire to make it appear even more prominent and monumental, as well as to perhaps accommodate larger ceremonies. In any case, he demolished it (either entirely or in part) and rebuilt it yet again in 1333, and it is this incarnation of the Great Iwan which survived up until the 19th century (when it was destroyed during Muhammad Ali's constructions). It was frequently cited by chroniclers as the most impressive structure in Cairo, more monumental than almost any of

1800-537: A disc shaped symbol as their banner. By the end of the Century these factions were well established and wielded a significant amount of influence over Ottoman governors. By the 18th century, the importance of the pasha was superseded by that of the Mameluk beys; two offices, those of Shaykh al-Balad and Amir al-hajj —which were held by Mamluks—represented the real headship of the community. The process by which this came about

1980-474: A few years after he had dismantled the Fatimid Caliphate ). This also emulated a feature of many Syrian cities, such as Damascus and Aleppo , which had walled citadels that acted as the seat of power and which Saladin was familiar with. Saladin also set out to build a wall, around 20 kilometres long, that would surround both Cairo and Fustat (the nearby former capital), and is recorded as saying: "With

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2160-516: A fleet and in training, under the supervision of French instructors, native officers and artificers. By 1823, he had succeeded in carrying out the reorganization of his army on European lines, the turbulent Turkish and Albanian elements being replaced by Sudanese and fellahin . The effectiveness of the new force was demonstrated in the suppression of an 1823 revolt of the Albanians in Cairo by six disciplined Sudanese regiments; after which Muhammad Ali

2340-640: A force of 12,000 men, to be employed by the Porte in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 . It was suggested at Constantinople, however, that Ali would employ securing his own independence, and a messenger was sent by the Porte to the pasha with orders for Ali's execution. Ali, being apprised of the despatch of this messenger by his agents in Constantinople, ordered that the messenger be waylaid and killed. The despatches were seized and read by Ali before an assembly of

2520-530: A joint attack on Cairo, but Bonaparte arrived in time to defeat it. In the last week of July, he inflicted a crushing defeat on the Turkish army that had landed at Aboukir , aided by the British fleet commanded by Sir Sidney Smith . Shortly after his victory, Bonaparte left Egypt, having appointed Kléber to govern in his absence—which he informed the sheiks of Cairo was not to last more than three months. Kléber regarded

2700-462: A kilometer the aqueduct then joins the old canal which was constructed along the top of Salah ad-Din's city wall. This new system increased the amount of water brought to the Citadel, allowing al-Nasir Muhammad to carry out his major building projects in the Citadel , such as his mosque and the great palace known as the Qasr al-Ablaq ("Striped Palace"). In 1480, Sultan Qaytbay undertook major repairs on

2880-468: A large part of the Citadel to the public and initiated refurbishment programs to convert some of its old buildings into museums, though the military retains a presence. It is now a major tourist site for both Egyptians and foreigners alike. To supply water to the Citadel, Saladin built an 85-metre-deep (280 ft) well known as the Well of Joseph (or Bir Yusuf), so-called because Saladin's birth name, Yūsif,

3060-511: A military parade ground. Its outline is still visible in the layout of the roads (mainly Salah ad-Din Street) on this side of the Citadel. At the northern end of this hippodrome was another square or plaza known as Rumayla Square ( Maydan/Midan Rumayla ), today known as Salah al-Din Square ( Midan Salah ad-Din ) or Citadel Square ( Midan al-Qal'a ). This was used as a horse market (due to its adjacency to

3240-644: A more elaborate and more exclusive royal complex. A part of the Southern Enclosure became reserved for the harem , the private and domestic area of the sultan and his family, while another part became the site of more monumental structures whose functions were more public, ceremonial, or administrative. Among the structures he built here was one called the Dar al-Dhahab ("the Hall of Gold"), which he seems to have used as his private reception hall and which may have been located in

3420-804: A quasi-independent state under Ottoman suzerainty until the British occupation of 1882. Nevertheless, the Khedivate of Egypt (1867–1914) remained a de jure Ottoman province until 5 November 1914, when the Sultanate of Egypt was declared a British protectorate in reaction to the Young Turks of the Ottoman Empire joining the First World War on the side of the Central Powers (October–November 1914). After

3600-449: A rejoinder came in the same style as the first message, he had the leader of the deputation arrested and imprisoned. The garrison of Alexandria then attacked the castle and rescued the prisoner, whereupon Çeşteci Ali Pasha was compelled to reembark on his ship and escape. Shortly thereafter, a rescript arrived from Constantinople confirming Kara Mustafa Pasha in the governorship. Mustafa was succeeded by Bayram Pasha in 1626. Officers in

3780-454: A second conquest of Egypt for the Ottomans. A great financial reform was then effected by Kara Mehmed Pasha, who readjusted the burdens imposed on the different communities of Egypt in accordance with their means. With the troubles that beset the metropolis of the Ottoman Empire, the local Mamluk beys began to dominate the Egyptian administration, being placed in charge of the treasury and given

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3960-479: A set of massive stone corbels at the foot of the walls northwest of the Mosque of Muhammad Ali would have once supported the upper levels of the palace. More recently, Nasser Rabbat argued that a much more likely site is the partly ruined terrace just below the mosque's southwestern corner (inaccessible but partly visible to visitors today), which shelters a vast space of vaulted halls. These halls would likely have been

4140-460: A structure known as the Dar al-Niyaba which served as the palace of the sultan's vice-regent. He also demolished Baybars' Qubba al-Zahiriyya and replaced it with his own domed structure, the Qubba al-Mansuriyya . More significantly in the long run, Qalawun was the first to create elite regiments of mamluks (soldiers of slave origin) who resided in the various towers of the Citadel, which earned them

4320-451: A terrible plague raged in Cairo and elsewhere in Egypt, to which Ismail Bey and most of his family fell victims. Owing to the need for competent rulers, Ibrahim Bey and Murad Bey were sent for, and resumed their dual government. They were still in office in 1798 when Napoleon Bonaparte entered Egypt. The ostensible object of the French expedition to Egypt was to reinstate the authority of

4500-532: A virtual monopoly over the various provincial administrations. In addition, Mamluk beys came to hold important military positions within Egypt, giving them a power source with which to challenge Ottoman-appointed governors. The governors appointed thence came to be treated by the Egyptians with continually decreasing respect. In July 1623, an order came from the Porte dismissing Kara Mustafa Pasha , and appointing Çeşteci Ali Pasha governor in his place. The officers met

4680-722: A wall I will make the two [cities of Cairo and Fustat] into a unique whole, so that one army may defend them both; and I believe it is good to encircle them with a single wall from the bank of the Nile to the bank of the Nile." The Citadel would be the centerpiece of the wall. While the Citadel was initially completed in 1183–1184, the wall Saladin had envisioned was still under construction in 1238, long after his death. It does not appear to have ever been fully completed after this, though long segments were built. Saladin charged his chief eunuch and close confidant, Baha al-Din Qaraqush , with overseeing

4860-515: Is a competition for power between the Mamluks and the representatives of the Ottoman Sultan . The register by which a great portion of the land was a fief of the Mamluks was left unchanged, allowing the Mamluks to quickly return to positions of great influence. The Mamluk emirs were to be retained in office as heads of 12 sanjaks , into which Egypt was divided; and under the next sultan, Suleiman

5040-463: Is housed in the Citadel's former prison and contains exhibits on topics such as famous political assassinations and displays of the murder weapon used. 30°01′46″N 31°15′41″E  /  30.02944°N 31.26139°E  / 30.02944; 31.26139 Ottoman Egypt Ottoman Egypt was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire after the conquest of Mamluk Egypt by

5220-461: Is likely to have extended around this well and around the current site of al-Nasir Muhammad's mosque (making the original enclosure slightly bigger than the existing Northern Enclosure today). The carved image of a double-headed eagle, found near the top of one of the towers of the western walls (near the Police Museum), is a curious feature which is popularly attributed to Salah ad-Din's reign. It

5400-461: Is now a preserved historic site, including mosques and museums. In addition to the initial Ayyubid -era construction begun by Saladin in 1176, the Citadel underwent major development during the Mamluk Sultanate that followed, culminating with the construction projects of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad in the 14th century. In the first half of the 19th century Muhammad Ali Pasha demolished many of

5580-525: Is obscure, owing to the want of good chronicles for the Turkish period of Egyptian history. In 1707, the shaykh al-balad, Qasim Iywaz , was the head of one of two Mameluke factions, the Qasimites and the Fiqarites , between whom the seeds of enmity were sown by the pasha of the time, with the result that a fight took place between the factions outside Cairo, lasting eighty days. At the end of that time, Qasim Iywaz

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5760-590: Is one of the most prominent monuments on Cairo's skyline to this day. Another obvious change that Muhammad Ali enacted pertained to the uses of the Citadel's northern and southern enclosures: during the Mamluk period the Southern Enclosure was the royal residential area and the Northern Enclosure was mostly military, but Muhammad Ali built his Harem Palace (which now houses the National Military Museum ) in

5940-415: Is sometimes referred to as the "Citadel of Muhammad Ali" ( Arabic : قلعة محمد علي Qalaʿat Muḥammad ʿAlī ). It contains the Mosque of Muhammad Ali , which he built between 1828 and 1848, perched on the summit of the citadel. This Ottoman-style mosque was built in memory of Tusun Pasha , Muhammad Ali's second son who died in 1816. However, it also represents Muhammad Ali's efforts to erase symbols of

6120-484: Is the Arabic equivalent of Joseph. His chief eunuch and confidant, Qaraqush, who oversaw construction of the Citadel, was also responsible for digging the well. The well is considered a masterpiece of medieval engineering and still exists today. Its shaft was divided into two sections, almost all of which is cut out of the rock itself. The upper part has a wider shaft which is surrounded by a long spiral staircase, separated from

6300-448: Is today's Northern Enclosure, although not all elements of the Northern Enclosure's current walls are original. The southeast and northeast sections of these walls are likely the closest to their original forms. Also from Saladin's time is the so-called Yusuf's Well, a deep underground well accessed through a spiral staircase which provided water for the fortress. The original southwestern section of Saladin's enclosure has disappeared but

6480-577: The Battle of the Pyramids ), at which the forces of both Murad Bey and Ibrahim Bey were dispersed, the populace readily plundered the houses of the beys. A deputation was sent from Al-Azhar Mosque to Bonaparte to ascertain his intentions; these proved to be a repetition of the terms of his proclamation, and—though the combination of loyalty to the French with loyalty to the sultan was incompatible—a good understanding

6660-584: The Citadel's Nile aqueduct . He also restored or reconfigured the Mamluk hippodrome at the southwestern foot of the Citadel, where he installed a vast pool which received water from the restored aqueduct. Egypt was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1517 and remained under Ottoman rule for centuries. Sultan Selim I stripped the monumental Mamluk buildings of their precious materials, especially their marble panels and decoration, and shipped them to Istanbul for use in his own building projects. During this period

6840-514: The National Military Museum is located today), and the Southern Enclosure (where the Mosque of Muhammad Ali is located today). The Northern Enclosure was historically reserved for military garrisons, while the Southern Enclosure was developed as the residence of the sultan. There is also a lower, western enclosure which was historically the site of the royal stables of the Mamluks. However, these functional distinctions were largely erased in

7020-508: The Ottoman Sultans to control, due in part to the continuing power and influence of the Mamluks , the Egyptian military caste who had ruled the country for centuries. As such, Egypt remained semi-autonomous under the Mamluks until Napoleon Bonaparte 's French forces invaded in 1798. After Anglo-Turkish forces expelled the French in 1801, Muhammad Ali Pasha , an Albanian military commander of

7200-494: The Qa'a al-Baysariyya , which was completed in 1360. It was over 50 metres tall and, in addition to a main hall covered by a dome, it also had a tower with an apartment for the sultan which was decorated with ivory and ebony. Other private apartments also had domes, while paintings and portraits decorated the walls. Both Isma'il and Hasan were sons of al-Nasir Muhammad. Sultan Hasan also built his massive madrasa-mosque just northwest of

7380-516: The Ummayyad Mosque and Mausoleum of Baybars in Damascus . (During excavations the mosaics were removed for study and restoration. ) The hall also had a central octagonal fountain of marble and the floor was paved with marble mosaics arranged in geometric patterns. It was one of the few structures in this area which al-Nasir Muhammad did not destroy but instead re-used for various purposes, and in

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7560-415: The al-Gawhara Palace today) for the palaces, private courtyard, and garden devoted to his harem (wives and concubines ), probably as Baybars had done, called al-Qusur al-Jawwaniyya . He also commissioned new palaces outside the Citadel but nearby for his favourite amirs , and his projects encouraged the development of areas near the Citadel, such as al-Darb al-Ahmar . In 1312 al-Nasir also ordered

7740-452: The 19th century under Muhammad Ali Pasha, who overhauled the entire site and constructed buildings of various functions throughout the Citadel. To the west and southwest of the Citadel was a long open field frequently referred to as the "hippodrome" by historians or as the Maydan ("plaza" or "square"). For centuries this was maintained as a training ground (especially for horsemanship) and as

7920-497: The 2000s. As of 2018, there are also plans to redevelop and refurbish the area around the aqueduct so as to highlight it as a heritage monument. Cairo Citadel The Citadel of Cairo or Citadel of Saladin ( Arabic : قلعة صلاح الدين , romanized :  Qalaʿat Salāḥ ad-Dīn ) is a medieval Islamic -era fortification in Cairo , Egypt , built by Salah ad-Din (Saladin) and further developed by subsequent Egyptian rulers. It

8100-532: The Ayyubid Citadel appears to have continued under Sultan al-'Adil ( r.   1200–1218), Saladin's brother and later successor, and was probably finished under the reign of al-Kamil (1218–1238). Al-'Adil had already supervised some of the construction under Saladin, while al-Kamil in turn probably worked on the Citadel during al-'Adil's reign when the latter gave him the viceroyship of Egypt in 1200 (a prelude to becoming sultan later). The rounded towers in

8280-544: The Burji Mamluk period it seems to have replaced the Dar al-Niyaba as the palace of the vice-regent. Al-Ashraf also, once again, demolished the qubba or domed throne hall of his father Qalawun and replaced it with his own structure, the Iwan al-Ashrafiyya (the word " iwan " seems to have been used from then on for this particular type of building). This new throne hall differed from previous incarnations in one notable respect: it

8460-456: The Citadel again and built himself a new fortified enclosure on Roda Island (which also became the barracks of the Bahri Mamluks who took power after him). Only under the Mamluks , who ruled from 1250 to 1517, did the Citadel finally become the permanent residence of the sultans. Under the early Bahri Mamluks , the Citadel was continuously developed and the Southern Enclosure in particular

8640-637: The Citadel and into a reservoir known as the Bi'r al-Sa'b Sawaqi ("Well of the Seven Waterwheels"), inside the Citadel's Southern Enclosure (near the harem area) and southwest of the famous Spiral Well of Salah ad-Din. From this reservoir, water was distributed by an underground network to the rest of the buildings in the Citadel. The aqueduct itself consisted of a channel carried along the top of large stone piers and arches, which ran for about one-and-a-half kilometers due east before turning northeast, and after half

8820-572: The Citadel was neglected and many Mamluk structures fell into ruin, although some of the Citadel walls were rebuilt or extended in the 16th–17th centuries. Due to rivalries between different military corps in the Ottoman forces , the Citadel was divided into three areas to house three different elements of the Ottoman garrison: the Northern Enclosure housed the barracks of the Janissaries , the Southern Enclosure

9000-415: The Citadel, off Rumayla Square, in the 1350s and early 1360s (and still standing today). It was so large and tall that in later years it was reportedly used by rebels as a platform from which to bombard the Citadel on more than one occasion. The Burji Mamluk period saw little construction in the Citadel by comparison with the earlier Mamluk period. The private harem courtyard in the southeastern corner of

9180-533: The Citadel. Among the most important constructions was the Ablaq Palace ( Qasr al-Ablaq ; sometimes translated as the "Striped Palace"), built in 1313–1314. Its name derived from the red-and-black ablaq masonry that marked its exterior. It may have been partly inspired by the palace of the same name that Sultan Baybars had built in Damascus in 1264 and in which al-Nasir resided when he visited that city. The palace

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9360-459: The Flag), across the terrace from the current Police Museum. The remains indicate that the walls of the hall were decorated with multi-coloured marble paneling along the lower walls (a dado ), above which was a small frieze of marble mosaics with mother-of-pearl and other marble reliefs, and above all this were panels of glass mosaics with scenes of trees and palaces which are reminiscent of the mosaics of

9540-537: The French evacuated Egypt, the country became the scene of more severe troubles, a consequence of the Ottomans' attempts to destroy the power of the Mamluks. In defiance of promises to the British Government, orders were transmitted from Constantinople to Hüseyin Pasha to ensnare and put to death the principal beys. According to the Egyptian contemporary historian al-Jabarti , they were invited to an entertainment on board

9720-409: The French fleet at the Battle of the Nile , and the failure of the French forces sent to Upper Egypt (where they reached the first cataract) to obtain possession of the person of Murad Bey, shook the faith of the Egyptians in their invincibility. In consequence of a series of unwelcome innovations, the relations between conquerors and conquered grew more strained daily, until at last—on the occasion of

9900-543: The Islamic world, reaching its golden age in the 14th century." The Citadel was built on a promontory beneath the Muqattam Hills , a setting that made it difficult to attack. The efficacy of the Citadel's location is further demonstrated by the fact that it remained the heart of Egyptian government until the 19th century. During this long period, the layout and structure of the Citadel was repeatedly altered and adapted to suit

10080-564: The Magnificent , two chambers were created, called the Greater Divan and Lesser Divan , in which both the army and the ecclesiastical authorities were represented, to aid the pasha by their deliberations. Six regiments were constituted by the conqueror Selim for the protection of Egypt; to those Suleiman added a seventh, of Circassians . It was the practice of the Sublime Porte to change

10260-486: The Mamluk legacy that he sought to replace. Many of the former Mamluk structures, including the Great Iwan and the Ablaq Palace of al-Nasir Muhammad, were demolished in 1825 to make way for his new mosque and its renovated surroundings. Muhammad Ali himself was eventually buried in the mosque. His mosque also replaced the nearby Mosque of al-Nasir Muhammad as the Citadel's official main mosque. Muhammad Ali's mosque, with its large dome and tall pencil-like Ottoman minarets,

10440-471: The Mamluk mosques. It served as the sultan's public and ceremonial throne room and continued to be used (albeit less consistently) by Mamluk sultans after him. Lastly, al-Nasir's other most notable contribution, and the only major structure of his reign still preserved at the Citadel, was the Mosque of al-Nasir , also situated in the Southern Enclosure. This was built in 1318 on the site of an earlier Ayyubid main mosque which he demolished in order to serve as

10620-485: The Mamluks had no great share. In the future, all posts in Egypt were to be open to all classes of the inhabitants; the conduct of affairs was to be committed to the men of talent, virtue, and learning; and to prove that the French were sincere Muslims, the overthrow of the papal authority in Rome was suggested. That there might be no doubt of the friendly feeling of the French to the Porte, villages and towns which capitulated to

10800-454: The Mamluks were not reinstated. The pasha, and ultimately Sultan Selim III , repeatedly tried to either ensnare them or to beguile them into submission. These efforts failing, Husrev took the field and a Turkish detachment 7,000 strong was dispatched against the Mamluks to Damanhur —whence they had descended from Upper Egypt—and was defeated by a small force under either al-Alfi or his lieutenant al-Bardisi . Their ammunition and guns fell into

10980-541: The Northern Enclosure, erasing the old functional division between the two sections of the Citadel. He also built or rebuilt some of the walls. Notably, he rebuilt the Bab al-Qulla gate and the surrounding wall which separated the Northern and Southern enclosures from each other, giving it its current look. The gate's form today once again emulates the appearance of Bab al-Futuh but introduces some Turkish elements. In 1825 he also built

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11160-467: The Ottoman Egyptian army were appointed locally from the various militias, and had strong ties to the Egyptian aristocracy. Thus Ridwan Bey, a Mamluk emir , was able to exercise de facto authority over Egypt from 1631 to 1656. In 1630, Koca Musa Pasha was the newly appointed governor, when the army took it upon themselves to depose him, in indignation at his execution of Kits Bey , an officer who

11340-548: The Ottoman army in Egypt, seized power in 1805 , and established a quasi-independent state. Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty remained nominally an Ottoman province. In reality, it was practically independent and went to war twice with the empire—in 1831–33 and 1839–41 . The Ottoman sultan granted Egypt the status of an autonomous vassal state or Khedivate in 1867. Isma'il Pasha (Khedive from 1867 to 1879) and Tewfik Pasha (Khedive from 1879 to 1892) governed Egypt as

11520-503: The Ottoman period. The mosque was built by the Mamluk amir Ahmad Katkhuda in 1697, but it has been argued that it incorporates, or was a renovation of, an earlier Mamluk mosque or religious structure. Although not publicly accessible, it can be spotted by its pointed Ottoman-style minaret. The Citadel also contains several museums: The official museum of the Egyptian Army . The museum

11700-407: The Ottomans in 1517. The Ottomans administered Egypt as a province ( eyalet ) of their empire ( Ottoman Turkish : ایالت مصر , romanized :  Eyālet-i Mıṣr ). It remained formally an Ottoman province until 1914, though in practice it became increasingly autonomous during the 19th century and was under de facto British control from 1882. Egypt always proved a difficult province for

11880-436: The Southern Enclosure, known as the hosh , became increasingly used to build new reception halls and other structures with slightly more public functions. The late Burji sultans Qaytbay and al-Ghuri built palaces in this part of the Citadel, on the site of what is now the 19th-century al-Gawhara Palace . Al-Ghuri also restored many other structures in and around the Citadel, including a major restoration/reconstruction of

12060-573: The Sublime Porte and suppress the Mamluks ; in the proclamation, printed with the Arabic types brought from the Propaganda press and issued shortly after the taking of Alexandria, Bonaparte declared that he revered God, Muhammad , and the Qur'an far more than the Mamluks revered them, and argued that all men were equal except so far as they were distinguished by their intellectual and moral excellences—of which

12240-591: The Tower of the Lions ( Burj al Siba' ), a round tower which featured a stone-carved frieze of lions (Baybars' emblem) along its upper parts. The tower was obscured by later construction but its remains, including the lion carvings, were rediscovered in the late 20th century and are now visible on the northwestern side of the Police Museum. Sultan al-Mansur Qalawun ( r.   1279–1290) either built or significantly renovated

12420-476: The Turkish flagship and then attacked; however, Sir Robert Wilson and M.F. Mengin stated that they were fired upon in open boats in Abu Qir Bay . They offered resistance, but were overpowered, and some killed; others were made prisoners. Among the prisoners was Osman Bey al-Bardisi , who was severely wounded. The British General Hutchinson, informed of this treachery, immediately took threatening measures against

12600-459: The Turks agreed to a convention on 24 January 1800, by virtue of which the French were to quit Egypt. The Turkish troops advanced to Bilbeis , where they were received by the sheiks from Cairo; the Mamluks also returned to Cairo from their hiding-places. Before the preparations for the departure of the French were completed, orders came to Smith from the British government forbidding the carrying-out of

12780-401: The Turks, causing them to surrender the killed, wounded, and imprisoned Egyptians to him. At the same time, Yusuf Pasha arrested all the beys in Cairo, but soon the British compelled him to release them. Koca Hüsrev Mehmed Pasha was the first Ottoman governor of Egypt after the expulsion of the French. The form of government, however, was not the same as that before the French invasion, for

12960-458: The Turks, was soon able to return to the capital. On 14 April he bombarded Bulaq, and proceeded to bombard Cairo itself, which was taken the following night. Order was soon restored, and a fine of 12 million francs was imposed upon the rioters. Murad Bey sought an interview with Kléber, and succeeded in obtaining the government of Upper Egypt from him. Murad Bey died shortly afterwards and was succeeded by Osman Bey al-Bardisi . On 14 June, Kléber

13140-614: The aqueduct and the Khalij canal continued to provide water for Cairo up until 1872. In the 20th century, parts of the aqueduct were lost or destroyed due to disrepair and modern constructions; in particular, the final section of the aqueduct near the Citadel has disappeared. Much of the aqueduct's course, except for the section near the Citadel, can still be seen today, as can the massive hexagonal water intake tower from al-Ghuri's renovations. The monument has suffered from neglect and modern encroachments, but underwent some restoration and repairs in

13320-460: The aqueduct. More significantly, from 1506 to 1508 Sultan al-Ghuri embarked on a major overhaul of the aqueduct system. He expanded or rebuilt the water intake tower, increasing the number of waterwheels from 4 to 6, and placed his emblem on the tower's walls. The tall arched openings in the western sides of the tower, as seen today, are where the waterwheels were once located. At the top of the tower were other wheels which were turned by oxen to power

13500-486: The area of the present Police Museum. Another important structure he built in the area is referred to as the Qubba al-Zahiriyya ("the Dome of al-Zahir"), a monumental and richly decorated hall with a central dome which acted as an audience hall or throne hall. It may have been a new structure or an addition to an existing Ayyubid structure, and it was probably the predecessor of al-Nasir Muhammad's "Great Iwan". Baybars also built

13680-496: The army and the pasha, who had loyal regiments on his side and the Bedouins . The soldiers went so far as to choose a sultan, and to provisionally divide the regions of Cairo between them. They were defeated by the governor Kara Mehmed Pasha , who, on 5 February 1610, entered Cairo in triumph, executed the ringleaders, and banished others to Yemen , earning him the nickname Kul Kıran ("Slavebreaker"). Historians speak of this event as

13860-472: The army then devolved on General Jacques-Francois Menou , a man who had professed Islam , and who endeavoured to conciliate the Muslim population by various measures—such as excluding all Christians (with the exception of one Frenchman) from the divan , replacing Copts who were in government service with Muslims, and subjecting French residents to taxes. Whatever popularity might have been gained by these measures

14040-455: The beys were killed. Ibrahim and Rilwan escaped and compelled the pasha to resign his governorship and return to Constantinople. Ibrahim was assassinated shortly afterwards by someone who had aspired to occupy one of the vacant beyships, which had instead been conferred upon Ali—who, as Ali Bey al-Kabir , was destined to play an important part in the history of Egypt. The murder of Ibrahim Bey took place in 1755, and his colleague Ridwan perished in

14220-443: The beys, who were assured that the order for execution applied to all alike, and he urged them to fight for their lives. His proposals were received with enthusiasm by the beys whom he had created. Egypt was declared independent, and the pasha given 48 hours to quit the country. Zahir al-Umar, Pasha of Acre, to whom official information of the step taken by Ali Bey was sent, promised his aid and kept his word by compelling an army sent by

14400-532: The chief cities of Palestine and Syria, ending with Damascus , but at this point he appears to have entered into secret negotiations with the Porte, by which he undertook to restore Egypt to Ottoman suzerainty . He proceeded to evacuate Syria, and marched with all the forces he could collect to Upper Egypt, occupying Assiut in April 1772. Having collected additional troops from the Bedouins, he marched on Cairo. Ismail Bey

14580-474: The chief products of the country. He set up a number of factories and began digging in 1819 a new canal to Alexandria, called the Mahmudiya (after the reigning sultan of Turkey). The old canal had long fallen into decay, and the necessity of a safe channel between Alexandria and the Nile was much felt. The conclusion in 1838 of a commercial treaty with Turkey, negotiated by Sir Henry Bulwer (Lord Dalling), struck

14760-460: The chiefs of the insurgents, and Muhammad Ali ordered that the sufferers by the disturbances should receive compensation from the treasury. The project of the Nizam Gedid (New System) was, in consequence of this mutiny, abandoned for a time. While Ibrahim was engaged in the second Arabian campaign the pasha turned his attention to strengthening the Egyptian economy. He created state monopolies over

14940-630: The command of his son Tusun , a youth of sixteen, against the Saudis in the Ottoman–Saudi War . By the end of 1811, Tusun had received reinforcements and captured Medina after a prolonged siege. He next took Jeddah and Mecca , defeating the Saudi beyond the latter and capturing their general. After the death of the Saudi leader Saud , Muhammad Ali concluded a treaty with Saud's son and successor, Abdullah I in 1815. Tusun returned to Egypt on hearing of

15120-469: The condition of the French invaders as extremely perilous, and wrote to inform the French Republic of the facts. A double expedition was sent by the Porte shortly after Bonaparte's departure for the recovery of Egypt: one force being dispatched by sea to Damietta , while another under Yousuf Pasha took the land route from Damascus by al-Arish . The first force had some success, in consequence of which

15300-430: The conduct of affairs. The result was a complete defeat for his army, after which he declined to leave his tent; he was captured after a brave resistance and taken to Cairo, where he died seven days later. After Ali Bey's death, Egypt became once more a dependency of the Porte, governed by Abu-'l-Dhahab as Sheikh al-Balad with the title pasha . He shortly afterwards received permission from the Porte to invade Syria, with

15480-417: The confiscation, begun in 1808, of almost all the lands belonging to private individuals, who were forced to accept instead inadequate pensions. By this revolutionary method of land nationalization Muhammad Ali became proprietor of nearly all the soil of Egypt. The pasha also attempted to reorganize his troops on European lines, but this led to a formidable mutiny in Cairo. The revolt was reduced by presents to

15660-501: The conquest of Egypt in 1517, the Ottoman Sultan Selim I left the country. Grand Vizier Yunus Pasha was awarded the governorship of Egypt . However, the sultan soon discovered that Yunus Pasha had created an extortion and bribery syndicate, and gave the office to Hayır Bey , the former Mamluk governor of Aleppo , who had contributed to the Ottoman victory at the Battle of Marj Dabiq . The history of early Ottoman Egypt

15840-580: The construction of the new fortifications. Most of the structure was built with limestone quarried from the surrounding Muqattam Hills; however, Qaraqush also quarried a number of minor pyramids at Giza and even as far away as Abusir in order to obtain further materials. He also made use of labour provided by Christian prisoners of war captured in Saladin's victories against the Crusaders. The initial fortress built in Saladin's time consisted essentially of what

16020-416: The convention unless the French army were treated as prisoners of war. When these orders were communicated to Kléber, he cancelled the orders previously given to the troops and proceeded to put the country in a state of defence. His departure, with most of the army, to attack the Turks at Mataria led to riots in Cairo. The national party was unable to gain possession of the citadel, and Kléber, having defeated

16200-511: The country. He consolidated power through a famous and violent coup in 1811 which eliminated the remaining Mamluk class that still formed the country's elites. One of the most pivotal events of this coup took place in the Citadel. Muhammad Ali invited the Mamluk leaders to a celebration banquet in the Citadel, and as they were leaving and passing along the road leading from the upper Citadel to Bab al-Azab, regiments of his Albanian gunmen opened fire from above and massacred all of them. The Citadel

16380-557: The court to the new 'Abdin Palace , located in the newly created districts of downtown Cairo , in 1874. For many years up to the late 20th century, the Citadel was closed to the public and used as a military garrison and base; at first by the British Army during the British occupation and afterward up to 1946, and since then by the Egyptian military . In 1983, the Egyptian government opened

16560-405: The deputy of the newly appointed governor and demanded from him the customary gratuity; when the deputy refused, they sent letters to the Porte declaring that they wished to have Kara Mustafa Pasha, and not Çeşteci Ali Pasha, as governor. Meanwhile, Çeşteci Ali Pasha had arrived at Alexandria and was met by a deputation from Cairo telling him that he was not wanted. He returned a mild answer; when

16740-405: The designs of new rulers and new regimes, which makes it difficult to reconstitute its original plan or even its plan in subsequent periods. There have been three major construction periods leading to the Citadel's current form: 12th-century Ayyubid (starting with Saladin ), 14th-century Mamluk (under al-Nasir Muhammad ), and in the 19th century under Muhammad Ali . The Citadel stopped being

16920-502: The earlier Mosque of Sidi Sariyya built by Abu-Mansur Qasta, an amir in the Fatimid era (predating the Citadel). Qasta's tomb, dated to 1140 CE, still exists in the mosque today. This lesser-known mosque is situated right behind the main western gate, Bab al-'Azab. Both are named after the Ottoman military regiments known as 'Azaban (or Azaps) who were housed in this part of the Citadel during

17100-416: The early Bahri Mamluk period, as the royal mosque of the Citadel where the sultans of Cairo performed their Friday prayers, today this hypostyle mosque is still similar to how it looked in the 1300s though many repairs have been made and only some of its original decoration has been restored. The parts of the building relying on plastered walls have been reinforced. There have also been attempts to restore

17280-418: The early 14th century the Citadel was expanded and several important palaces and monuments were built within and around it. In 1311 or 1312, al-Nasir Muhammad ordered the renovation and improvement of the Citadel's aqueduct. His predecessor and brother, Sultan al-Ashraf Khalil , was likely responsible for having already built the water intake tower but was likely killed before he could do more. Al-Nasir completed

17460-416: The event of a siege, Saladin's well was still an essential water source. This small domed building just outside the Citadel to the east was built in 1495–96 by an amir called Ya'qub Shah al-Mihmandar, a man originally from Erzincan ( Turkey ) who joined the Mamluk ranks under Sultan Qaytbay . Because of its dome, the building has the look of a mausoleum but it is actually a structure covering access to

17640-470: The fleet of the Kapudan Pasha Hüseyin . A combined English and Turkish force was sent to take Rashid . On 30 May, General A. D. Belliard , the French commander in Cairo, was assailed on two sides by British forces under General John Hely Hutchinson and Turks under Yusuf Pasha; after negotiations, Belliard agreed to evacuate Cairo and to sail with his 13,734 troops to France . On 30 August, Menou

17820-440: The friendship of the governor of Acre , Zahir al-Umar , who obtained for him the goodwill of the Porte and reinstatement in his post as Sheikh al-Balad. In 1766, after the death of his supporter, the grand vizier Raghib Pasha , he was again compelled to flee from Egypt to Yemen, but in the following year he was told that his party at Cairo was strong enough to permit his return. Resuming his office, he raised 18 of his friends to

18000-490: The gate known as Bab al-Jadid (the "New Gate") at the point where a new carriage road entered the Citadel from the north. Around the same time he built the Bab al-Wastani (or Bab al-Wustani ) ("Middle Gate") where the same road continues into the Southern Enclosure (just north of the Bab al-Qulla). The Citadel eventually ceased to act as the residence of Egypt's ruler after Khedive Isma'il (Muhammad Ali's son and successor) moved

18180-527: The governor of Egypt at very short intervals, after a year or less. The fourth governor, Hain Ahmed Pasha , hearing that orders for his execution had come from Constantinople , endeavoured to make himself an independent ruler and had coins struck in his own name. His schemes were frustrated by two of the emirs whom he had imprisoned and who, escaping from their confinement, attacked him in his bath and attempted to kill him; although Ahmed Pasha escaped wounded, he

18360-427: The graves of Sufi saints, sparking a religious movement that was not crushed for three years until 1714. In 1724, Ismail was assassinated through the machinations of the pasha, and Shirkas Bey —of the opposing faction—was elevated to the office of Sheikh al-Balad in his place. He was soon driven from his post by one of his own faction called Dhu-'l-Fiqar , and fled to Upper Egypt . After a short time, he returned at

18540-520: The hands of the Mamluks. This led to a long civil war between the Albanians, Mamluks, and Ottomans. One Mamluk, Al-Alfi was reported by al-Jabarti to marry Bedouin women many times, sending those back he did not like and keeping those that pleased him. Many Bedouin women mourned his death. Muhammad Ali took advantage of Al-Alfi's death to try to assert authority over the Bedouins. Two Ottoman era Mamluks, Iwaz Bey's Mamluk Yusuf Bey al-Jazzar and Jazzar Pasha were known for massacring Bedouins and given

18720-493: The head of an army, and in the last of the ensuing battles Shirkas Bey met his end by drowning. Dhu-'l-Fiqar was himself assassinated in 1730. His place was filled by Othman Bey , who had served as his general in this war. In 1743, Othman Bey was forced to flee from Egypt by the intrigues of two adventurers, Ibrahim and Ridwan Bey , who—when their scheme had succeeded—began a massacre of beys and others thought to be opposed to them. They proceeded to govern Egypt jointly, holding

18900-475: The idea of bringing water from the Nile to the Citadel by building a canal along the top of this wall. The aqueduct started from the wall's western end near Fustat (at the shore of the Nile), where water was raised through a series of waterwheels , and ran from there to the Citadel. This project was likely carried out or finished by al-Kamil (even though the full course of the defensive wall Salah ad-Din had envisioned

19080-411: The intention of the Porte to invade the country with the object of recovering it by force, Bonaparte resolved on his Syrian expedition, and appointed governors for Cairo, Alexandria, and Upper Egypt, to govern during his absence. Bonaparte returned from that ill-fated expedition at the beginning of June. Murad Bey and Ibrahim Bey had taken advantage of this opportunity to collect their forces and attempt

19260-474: The introduction of a house tax on 22 October 1798—an insurrection broke out in Cairo. The headquarters of the insurrection were in the University of Azhar . On this occasion, the French general Dupuy , lieutenant-governor of Cairo, was killed. The prompt measures of Bonaparte, aided by the arrival from Alexandria of General Jean Baptiste Kléber , quickly suppressed this rising; but the stabling of French cavalry in

19440-456: The invaders were required to hoist the flags of both the Porte and the French republic, and in the thanksgiving prescribed to the Egyptians for their deliverance from the Mamluks, prayer was to be offered for both the sultan and the French army . It does not appear that the proclamation convinced many Egyptians of the truth of these professions. After the Battle of Embabeh (also commonly known as

19620-525: The land between Aswan and Asyut , and a force of 20,000 men was sent to conquer Yemen . An officer named Ismail Bey was sent with 8,000 men to acquire the eastern shore of the Red Sea , and Ilasan Bey was sent to occupy Jedda . In six months, the greater part of the Arabian peninsula was subject to Ali Bey, and he appointed a cousin of his own as Sharif of Mecca —who bestowed on Ali by an official proclamation

19800-465: The light-blue color of the ceiling. It is located in the Southern Enclosure and is open to the public. Built in 1528, it was first of the Citadel's Ottoman-style mosques and is one of the few structures in Cairo closely resembling the "classical" Ottoman style of the 16th century. It is located in the Northern Enclosure, just northeast of the Harim Palace (Military Museum). It was built on the ruins of

19980-489: The lower levels of the palace, acting as a substructure supporting the main palace above. If this is correct, then a part of the Mosque of Muhammad Ali today would likely overlap with the former location of the palace. Al-Nasir demolished, yet again, the Iwan al-Ashrafiyya (throne hall) of his brother al-Ashraf in 1311, and replaced it with his own structure known as the Great Iwan ( al-Iwan al-Kabir ). This may have been out of

20160-473: The main shaft only by a thin wall of rock. For this reason, the well is also known as the Spiral Well ( Bir al-Halazon ). The stairs could be covered with earth to make it into a ramp for oxen to travel down to its bottom. The lower part of the well was another shaft descending to the level of underground water seeping in from the Nile. At the bottom of the upper section, two oxen turned a waterwheel that brought

20340-562: The military revolt at Cairo , but died in 1816 at the early age of twenty. Muhammad Ali, dissatisfied with the treaty concluded with the Saudis, and with the non-fulfillment of certain of its clauses, determined to send another army to Arabia. This expedition, under his eldest son Ibrahim Pasha , left in the autumn of 1816 and captured the Saudi capital of Diriyah in 1818. During Muhammad Ali's absence in Arabia his representative at Cairo had completed

20520-525: The mosque of Azhar gave great and permanent offence. In consequence of this affair, the deliberative council was suppressed, but on 25 December a fresh proclamation was issued reconstituting the two divans which had been created by the Turks; the special divan was to consist of 14 persons chosen by lot out of 60 government nominees, and was to meet daily. The general divan was to consist of functionaries, and to meet on emergencies. In consequence of dispatches that reached Bonaparte on 3 January 1799, announcing

20700-524: The name "Burji" Mamluks (Mamluks of the Tower). It was these cohorts of mamluks who would eventually dominate the sultanate during the Burji Mamluk period. Sultan al-Ashraf Khalil built a qa'a (reception hall) in 1291–1292, referred to as the Qa'a al-Ashrafiyya. Its remains were excavated in the late 20th century and are still visible today, just west of the present-day gate called Bab al-'Alam (Gate of

20880-628: The name "butcher" (al-Jazzar) for it. After Muhammad Ali defeated the Mamluks and Bedouin, the Bedouin went on a destructive rampage against the Egyptian fellahin peasantry, destroying and looting crops and massacred 200 townsmen in Belbeis in Al-Sharqiya province and also rampaging through al-Qaliubiyya province. Acknowledging the sovereignty of the Ottoman sultan and at his command, Muhammad Ali dispatched an army of 20,000 men (including 2,000 horses) under

21060-438: The new grand mosque of the Citadel. Al-Nasir renovated his mosque again in 1335. Some of its huge columns were also re-used from Pharaonic-era buildings, much like the columns of the Great Iwan. While its structure is well preserved, most of its rich marble paneling decoration was stripped away and shipped to Istanbul by the Ottoman sultan Selim I after his conquest of Egypt . Subsequent sultans continued to build or add to

21240-408: The new palaces and structures he built. He is responsible for several major works in the Citadel, though unfortunately most of them fell into ruin during the Ottoman period and were finally demolished by Muhammad Ali in the 19th century. In addition to his official palaces and his semi-public monuments in the Southern Enclosure, al-Nasir reserved the southeastern corner of the enclosure (the location of

21420-449: The newer Bab al-Jadid gate. It was originally the main gate of the Citadel, but today it is obscured by later constructions from Muhammad Ali 's time, including the Bab al-Jadid ("New Gate"). Its name was derived from the carved stone steps ( darraj ) which led up to it from the path that connected the Citadel to the city below. Like other gateways in Ayyubid military architecture, it had

21600-412: The offices of Sheikh al-Balad and Amir al-Hajj in alternate years. An attempt by one of the pashas to remove these two by a coup d'état failed, owing to the loyalty of the beys' armed supporters, who released Ibrahim and Ridwan from prison and compelled the pasha to flee to Constantinople. An attempt by a subsequent pasha, in accordance with secret orders from Constantinople, was so successful that some of

21780-487: The older buildings and built new palaces and monuments all across the site, giving it much of its present form. In the 20th century it was used as a military garrison by the British occupation and then by the Egyptian Army until being opened to the public in 1983. In 1976, it was proclaimed by UNESCO as a part of the World Heritage Site Historic Cairo ( Islamic Cairo ) which was "the new centre of

21960-430: The outer walls of the Northern Enclosure date from Saladin's initial construction while the large rectangular towers date to al-Adil's reign. The two large round towers in the far northeastern corner of the enclosure, known as Burj al-Ramla ("Tower of Sand") and Burj al-Hadid ("Tower of Iron") are towers from Saladin's time which al-Kamil subsequently reinforced in 1207. More significantly, al-Kamil built or completed

22140-504: The palace complex. From here one could access three "inner palaces" with the same layout but located on different levels, with the last two reached by stairs. These palace sections were lined up in a row and all faced in the same direction, apparently so that every qa'a had a similar view of the city from its northwestern iwan. From these inner palaces the Sultan could also access the buildings of his harem (where his wives and concubines lived) in

22320-403: The palace consisted of a large qa'a (reception hall) courtyard with two unequal iwans (vaulted chambers open on one side) facing each other and a central dome in the middle. The larger iwan, on the northwestern side, gave access to the outside loggia with views of the city, while the southeastern one gave access to the private passage to the Great Iwan. This also served as the throne room of

22500-431: The palace, acted as the effective outer wall of the Citadel at its western corner. Because of this, al-Nasir was able to build a loggia on the side of the palace from which he could freely observe the activities in the stables and in the maydan (hippodrome) at the foot of the Citadel below, as well as a private door and staircase which gave him direct access between the palace and the hippodrome. The interior layout of

22680-460: The palaces and administrative buildings inside the Citadel, though rarely with the same ambition as al-Nasir Muhammad. Sultan al-Salih Isma'il (a son of al-Nasir who reigned from 1342 to 1345) built a richly decorated palace or hall known as al-Duhaysha (the "little wonder") which was inaugurated in February 1344. Likewise, Sultan Hasan (another son of al-Nasir) built a lavish domed palace known as

22860-401: The palaces in the southern section of the Citadel, and became the first ruler to actually move there in 1206. In addition to the palaces, a number of other structures were built, including a mosque, a royal library, and a "hall of justice". In 1213 al-Kamil also established a horse market on what became Rumayla Square (the square between the Citadel and Sultan Hasan's mosque today), as well as

23040-469: The pasha of Damascus against Egypt to retreat. The Porte was not able to take active measures at the time for the suppression of Ali Bey, who endeavoured to consolidate his dominions by sending expeditions against marauding tribes in both north and south Egypt, reforming the finance, and improving the administration of justice. His son-in-law, Abu-'l-Dhahab , was sent to subject the Hawwara , who had occupied

23220-630: The port and, in accordance with the agreement which he had made with the Russian Empire, he was supplied with stores, ammunition, and a force of 3,000 Albanians. He sent one of his officers, Ali Bey al-Tantawi, to recover the Syrian towns evacuated by Abu-'l-Dhahab now in the possession of the Porte. He himself took Jaffa and Gaza , the former of which he gave to his friend Zahir al-Umar. On 1 February 1773, he received information from Cairo that Abu-'l-Dhahab had made himself Sheikh al-Balad, and in that capacity

23400-542: The project. The intake tower was located on the shore of the Nile in the area now known as Fumm al-Khalig, north of Fustat (or " Old Cairo " today) and further north than the Ayyubid-era wall and canal. This was where the former Khalij (or Khalig ), an ancient canal that once joined the Nile with the Red Sea, branched off the river. The intake tower is hexagonal and featured four waterwheels ( saaqiyya s) which raised water to

23580-417: The rank of bey—among them Ibrahim and Murad, who were afterwards at the head of affairs—as well as Muhammad Abu-'l-Dhahab , who was closely connected with the rest of Ali Bey's career. Ali Bey used very severe measures to repress the brigandage of the Bedouins of Lower Egypt . He endeavoured to disband all forces except those which were exclusively under his own control. In 1769, a demand came to Ali Bey for

23760-407: The renovation of the water aqueduct which brought water from the Nile to the Citadel. His predecessor, al-Ashraf, is responsible for building an octagonal water intake tower on the shores of the Nile, from which water was raised and transferred along the aqueduct, but al-Nasir completed the project. This improvement of the infrastructure allowed him in turn to embark on more ambitious projects within

23940-500: The royal stables), but also as an official square for royal and religious ceremonies. It is occupied today by a large roundabout next to which are the massive mosques of Sultan Hassan and al-Rifa'i . The Citadel was begun by the Kurdish Ayyubid ruler Salah al-Din ( Saladin ) between 1176 and 1183 CE in order to protect Cairo from potential Crusader attacks and to provide a secure center of government for his new regime (only

24120-482: The seat of government when Egypt 's ruler, Khedive Ismail , moved to his newly built Abdin Palace in the new downtown Cairo in 1874. Despite its elaborate defenses, the Citadel never ended up being subjected to a true siege, though it was implicated on various occasions in the political conflicts within Cairo or Egypt. In general, the fortress complex is divided into two parts: the Northern Enclosure (where

24300-553: The small western gate called Bab al-Jabal ("Gate of the Mountain") which was built by the Ottoman governor Yakan Pasha in 1785 when he rearranged the area to build a new palace. Yakan also rebuilt a small stretch of the adjoining wall south of here. Muhammad Ali was a pasha of Albanian origin who was appointed by the Ottoman sultan in 1805 to restore order after the French occupation of Egypt (1798–1801). However, he subsequently established himself as de facto independent ruler of

24480-527: The soldiers, and his head set on the Bab Zuweila , earning him the epithet Maktul , "the Slain". The reason for these mutinies was the attempt made by successive pashas to put a stop to the extortion called the tulbah , a forced payment exacted by the troops from the inhabitants of the country by the fiction of debts requiring to be discharged, which led to grievous ill-usage. In 1609, a conflict broke out between

24660-469: The southeastern part of the Citadel. According to historical chronicles, the palace complex was richly decorated with marble floors, marble and gold paneling ( dadoes ), windows of coloured glass from Cyprus , Arabic inscriptions, colorful mosaics with mother-of-pearl that featured floral patterns, and gilded ceilings painted in lapis lazuli blue. The location where the palace once stood has not been identified beyond doubt. Creswell suggested that

24840-457: The southern part to the sultan's private residence and the state administration, and outside, at the southwestern foot of the Citadel, was the parade ground which remained for centuries. Al-Kamil was likely also responsible for building or completing the first water aqueduct which ran along the top of Saladin's city walls to the southwest and brought water from the Nile to the Citadel. Sultan al-Salih (r. 1240–1249) subsequently moved away from

25020-633: The spring of 1619, pestilence is said to have killed 635,000 persons and, in 1643, completely desolated 230 villages. The 17th Century saw the development of two distinct factions within Egypt who continually vied for power - the Faqari and the Qasimi. The Faqari had strong links to the Ottoman cavalry and donned white colours and used the Pomegranate as their symbol. Conversely, the Qasimi were aligned with native Egyptian troops and donned red as their colour and adopted

25200-609: The subsequent disputes. Ali Bey, who had first distinguished himself by defending a caravan in Arabia against bandits, set himself the task of avenging the death of his former master Ibrahim. He spent eight years in purchasing Mamelukes and winning other adherents, exciting the suspicions of the Sheikh al-Balad Khalil Bey, who organised an attack upon him in the streets of Cairo—in consequence of which he fled to Upper Egypt. Here he met one Salib Bey , who had injuries to avenge upon Khalil Bey, and

25380-410: The sultan's domain, fiefs, land for the maintenance of the army, and lands settled on religious foundations. The constant changes in the government seem to have caused the army to get out of control at an early period of the Ottoman occupation, and at the beginning of the 17th-century mutinies became common; in 1604, governor Maktul Hacı Ibrahim Pasha (then known just as Ibrahim Pasha) was murdered by

25560-469: The titles Sultan of Egypt and Khan of the Two Seas. In 1771, in virtue of this authorisation, he then struck coins in his own name and ordered his name to be mentioned in public worship. Abu-'l-Dhahab was sent with a force of 30,000 men in the same year to conquer Syria , and agents were sent to negotiate alliances with Venice and Russia . Reinforced by Ali Bey's ally Zahir al-Umar, Abu-'l-Dahab easily took

25740-414: The top of the tower, from where it flowed along a set of channels along the aqueduct. Along the way, al-Nasir built another tower with three more waterwheels raising the water to an even higher level, after which it continued to run along an aqueduct until it reached the foot of the citadel, at which point it was yet again raised by waterwheels in another tower. From this last tower the water then entered into

25920-500: The two brothers. The kashif of Qalyub killed another Arab Bedouin shaykh , 'Ali al-Asmar ibn Abi'l-Shawarib. At a council of Arab shaykh s, one of the shaykh s, Husam al-Din ibn Baghdad, accused the Mamluks of murdering the Bedouin for their Ottoman sympathies. In 1527, the first survey of Egypt under the Ottomans was made, the official copy of the former registers having perished by fire; this new survey did not come into use until 1605. Egyptian lands were divided into four classes:

26100-468: The two organised a force with which they returned to Cairo and defeated Khalil. Khalil was forced to flee to Iaifla , where for a time he concealed himself; eventually he was discovered, sent to Alexandria, and finally strangled. After Ali Bey's victory in 1760, he was made Sheikh al-Balad. He executed the murderer of his former master Ibrahim; but the resentment which this act aroused among the beys caused him to leave his post and flee to Syria , where he won

26280-583: The view of punishing Ali Bey's supporter Zahir al-Umar, and left Ismail Bey and Ibrahim Bey as his deputies in Cairo—who, by deserting Ali at the Battle of Salihiyya, had brought about his downfall. After taking many cities in Palestine, Abu-'l-Dhahab died, the cause being unknown; Murad Bey , another of the deserters at Salihiyya, brought his forces back to Egypt on 26 May 1775. Ismail Bey now became Sheikh al-Balad, but

26460-493: The water up from the bottom of the well, while another waterwheel at the top of the well, also powered by oxen, brought the water up the rest of the way. During the reign of al-Nasir Muhammad , Saladin's well was insufficient to produce enough water for the Citadel's growing population and for al-Nasir's envisioned construction projects. To increase the volume of water, al-Nasir renovated an Ayyubid aqueduct system (probably originally completed by al-Kamil ) and extended it with

26640-424: The waterwheels below. Al-Ghuri also rebuilt many of the aqueduct's arches, and the section of aqueduct closest to the Nile is attributed to him. The aqueduct continued to be used during the Ottoman period , but fell into disuse during the French occupation of Egypt by Napoleon between 1798 and 1801 when the water intake tower was adapted for use by the French as a fort. According to art historian Caroline Williams,

26820-409: Was able to extract considerable revenues. Efforts were made to promote education and the study of medicine. To European merchants, on whom he was dependent for the sale of his exports, Muhammad Ali showed much favor, and under his influence the port of Alexandria again rose into importance. It was also under Muhammad Ali's encouragement that the overland transit of goods from Europe to India via Egypt

27000-561: Was accessed from the west through the monumental gate called Bab al-'Azab , which was built by Radwan Katkhuda al-Julfi in 1754, probably on the site of an earlier Mamluk gate known as Bab al-Istabl (Gate of the Stables). The gate was modeled on the old Fatimid gate of Bab al-Futuh in the north of Cairo, but its interior facade was later remodeled into a neo-Gothic style during the Khedival period . The present-dat visitor entrance goes through

27180-551: Was also imported from overseas, at similar prices to what imported coal cost in France, until the 1830s, when Egypt gained access to coal sources in Lebanon , which had a yearly coal output of 4,000 tons. Compared to Western Europe, Egypt also had superior agriculture and an efficient transport network through the Nile . Economic historian Jean Batou argues that the necessary economic conditions for rapid industrialization existed in Egypt during

27360-420: Was assassinated by Suleiman al-Halabi , and was said to have been incited to the deed by a Janissary refugee at Jerusalem , who had brought letters to the sheikhs of Al-Azhar. Although they gave him no support, three of the sheikhs were executed by the French as accessories-before-the-fact . The assassin himself was tortured and impaled, despite the promise of a pardon if he named his associates. The command of

27540-423: Was at first established between the invaders and the Egyptians. A municipal council was established in Cairo, consisting of persons taken from the ranks of the sheiks, the Mamluks, and the French. Soon after, delegates from Alexandria and other important towns were added. This council did little more than register the decrees of the French commander, who continued to exercise dictatorial power. The destruction of

27720-522: Was built between 1830 and 1848, although not completed until the reign of Said Pasha in 1857. It is located in the Southern Enclosure and is open to the public today. The architect was Yusuf Bushnak from Istanbul and its model was the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in that city. Muhammad Ali Pasha was buried in a tomb carved from Carrara marble , in the courtyard of the mosque. His body was transferred here from Hawsh al-Basha in 1857. Built in 1318, during

27900-515: Was built by Ibrahim Pasha (the later Grand Vizier under Suleiman the Magnificent ) in 1525 and is known as the Burj al-Muqattam ("Tower of the Muqattam Hills"). The round tower at the other corner of the two enclosures (between Bab al-Qulla and Bab al-Wastani), known now as Burj al-Wastani ("Middle Tower"), may also date from this time. The first mosque built in the Citadel after the Mamluk period

28080-509: Was compelled to accept similar conditions, and his force of 10,000 left Alexandria for Europe in September. This was the termination of the French occupation of Egypt, as the French in defeat would never return to Egypt during Napoleon's rule. The chief permanent monument of the occupation was the Description de l'Egypte , compiled by the French savants who accompanied the expedition. Soon after

28260-488: Was counteracted by his declaration of a French protectorate over Egypt, which was to count as a French colony. In the first weeks of March 1801, the English under Sir Ralph Abercromby effected a landing at Abu Qir , and proceeded to invest Alexandria, where they were attacked by Menou; the French were repulsed, but the English commander was mortally wounded in the action. On the 25th, fresh Turkish reinforcements arrived with

28440-481: Was designed and constructed by artisans contracted from a variety of countries, including Greeks , Turks , Bulgarians and Albanians . Muhammad Ali's official divan or audience hall, where the pasha received guests, contains a 1,000 kg chandelier sent to him by Louis Philippe I of France. The palace also contains the throne of Muhammad Ali Pasha that was a gift from the King of Italy. Inaugurated in 1983, it houses

28620-597: Was established in 1937 at the old building of the Egyptian Ministry of War in downtown Cairo. It was later moved to a temporary location in the Garden City district of Cairo. In November 1949 the museum was moved to the Harem Palace at the Cairo citadel. It has been renovated several times since, in 1982 and 1993. Also known as Bijou Palace, is a palace and museum commissioned by Muhammad Ali Pasha in 1814. The palace

28800-508: Was expanded and became the site of important monumental structures. Al-Zahir Baybars , al-Mansur Qalawun , al-Ashraf Khalil and al-Nasir Muhammad each built or rebuilt the audience hall (throne hall), the main mosque, the palaces, or other structures. Unlike the earlier Ayyubid buildings, the Mamluk buildings were increasingly designed to be visible from afar and to dominate the city's skyline. Many of these structures have not survived, with few exceptions. Baybars ( r.   1260–1277)

28980-401: Was killed and the office which he had held was given to his son Ismail. Ismail held this office for 16 years, while the pashas were constantly being changed, and succeeded in reconciling the two factions of Mamelukes. In 1711, an event known to chroniclers as the "Great Sedition" and the "revolution" occurred, when a religious fanatic preacher began to publicly denounce the practice of praying at

29160-455: Was never fully finished). This aqueduct system was built in addition to the famous Spiral Well built by Salah ad-Din (also known as the Bi'r Yusuf ) inside the Citadel, which could provide water in times of siege in case the aqueduct was cut off. During the Mamluk period, the Citadel was further developed by successive sultans into an even more elaborate complex, with more ambitious buildings. In particular, under Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad in

29340-601: Was never rebuilt. The Ablaq Palace was used more productively as a manufacturing center for weaving the Kiswah , the rich cloth covering the Kaaba in Mecca , which continued to come from Cairo until the 20th century. Some notable structures were still created during this period. The huge round tower near the visitor entrance today, standing at the corner of the Southern and Northern Enclosures,

29520-743: Was no more troubled with military mutinies. Egypt under Muhammad Ali in the early 19th century had the fifth most productive cotton industry in the world, in terms of the number of spindles per capita. The industry was initially driven by machinery that relied on traditional energy sources, such as animal power , water wheels , and windmills , which were also the principle energy sources in Western Europe up until around 1870. While steam power had been experimented with in Ottoman Egypt by engineer Taqi ad-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf in 1551, when he invented

29700-410: Was occupied by the 'Azaban soldiers, and contains the Mosque of al-'Azab which was built by Ahmad Katkhuda in 1697. (It is possible that Ahmad Katkhuda merely renovated an existing early Burji Mamluk mosque and added the present-day Ottoman-style minaret to it. ) The rest of the area is presently occupied by various 19th-century buildings, including storehouses and old factories. The lower enclosure

29880-443: Was painted with pictures of al-Ashraf's amirs (commanders), each with their rank inscribed above his head. The greatest builder of the Citadel during the Mamluk period was al-Nasir Muhammad , another son of Qalawun, who was sultan three times over a period of nearly fifty years between 1293 and 1341. It was most likely under his reign that the borders of the Southern Enclosure expanded to their current outline, in order to accommodate

30060-435: Was practising unheard-of extortions, which were making Egyptians call for the return of Ali Bey. He accordingly started for Egypt at the head of an army of 8,000 men, and on 19 April met the army of Abu-'l-Dhahab at Salihiyya Madrasa . Ali's forces were successful at the first engagement, but when the battle was renewed two days later, he was deserted by some of his officers and prevented by illness and wounds from himself taking

30240-424: Was probably located elsewhere originally and then moved here at some point when the walls were rebuilt in Muhammad Ali's time. The eagle's heads are missing today, but their original appearance was noted by chroniclers. Only one original gate, Bab al-Mudarraj , has survived to the present day. It is located along the walls of the Northern Enclosure, nowadays between the Harem Palace (National Military Museum) and

30420-521: Was resumed. Sultan Mahmud II was also planning reforms borrowed from the West, and Muhammad Ali, who had had plenty of opportunity of observing the superiority of European methods of warfare, was determined to anticipate the sultan in the creation of a fleet and an army on European lines. Before the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence in 1821, he had already expended much time and energy in organizing

30600-574: Was sent by Ali Bey with a force of 3,000 to check his advance, but Bastin Ismil and his troops joined Abu-'l-Dhahab. Ali Bey intended at first to defend himself as long as possible in the Cairo Citadel , but receiving information that his friend Zahir al-Umar was still willing to give him refuge, he left Cairo for Syria on 8 April 1772, one day before the entrance of Abu-'l-Dhahab. At Acre, Ali's fortune seemed to be restored. A Russian vessel anchored outside

30780-446: Was sent by the Porte to restore Ottoman supremacy in Egypt. Murad Bey attempted to resist, but was easily defeated. He, with Ibrahim, decided to flee to Upper Egypt and await the trend of events. On 1 August, the Turkish commander Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha entered Cairo, and after violent measures, had been taken for the restoration of order; Ismail Bey was again made Sheikh al-Balad and a new pasha installed as governor. In January 1791,

30960-410: Was soon captured and executed by the Ottoman sultan's forces. In 1519, Mamluks like the kashif (provincial governor) of Gharbiyya, Inal al-Sayfi Tarabay, started slaughtering Arab Bedouin shaykh s like Shukr and his brother Hasan ibn Mar'i in revenge for the Bedouin betraying the Mamluks to the Ottomans. They executed another brother of the two in Cairo and at Bab al-Nasr they hoisted the heads of

31140-439: Was soon involved in a dispute with Ibrahim and Murad—who, after a time, succeeded in driving Ismail out of Egypt and establishing a joint rule similar to that which had been tried previously (as Sheikh al-Balad and Amir al-Hajj, respectively). The two were soon involved in quarrels, which at one time threatened to break out into open war, but this catastrophe was averted and the joint rule was maintained until 1786, when an expedition

31320-585: Was the Mosque of Sulayman Pasha in the Northern Enclosure, built by the Ottoman governor in 1528 for use by the Janissaries. It is one of the few mosques in Cairo that represents something close to the classical Ottoman architectural style . The lower, western enclosure which can be seen today below the Mosque of Muhammad Ali was historically the area which housed the stables of the Citadel. It's not clear when walls were first built around it, though they were likely already enclosed in Mamluk times. This enclosure

31500-457: Was the first one to split the Citadel into two areas by building the Bab al-Qulla , the gate and wall which today separates the Southern and Northern Enclosures of the Citadel. It was named after a keep tower which he built nearby and which was later torn down by Qalawun. The gate itself was rebuilt again by al-Nasir Muhammad in 1320. The gate was intended to control access to the newly delimited Southern Enclosure which Baybars then developed into

31680-407: Was the governor unsupported by the sultan against the troops, but each new governor regularly inflicted a fine upon his outgoing predecessor, under the name of money due to the treasury; the outgoing governor would not be allowed to leave Egypt until he had paid it. Besides the extortions to which this practice gave occasion, the country suffered greatly in these centuries from famine and pestilence. In

31860-500: Was the seat of government in Egypt and the residence of its rulers for nearly 700 years from the 13th century until the construction of Abdeen Palace in the 19th century. Its location on a promontory of the Mokattam hills near the center of Cairo commands a strategic position overlooking the city and dominating its skyline. When it was constructed it was among the most impressive and ambitious military fortification projects of its time. It

32040-449: Was to have commanded an Egyptian force required for service in Persia . Koca Musa Pasha was given the choice of handing over the executioners to vengeance, or to resigning his place; as he refused to do the former, he was compelled to do the latter. In 1631, a rescript came from Constantinople, approving the conduct of the army and appointing Halil Pasha as Koca Musa Pasha's successor. Not only

32220-428: Was used by the Ottoman pasha (governor) and his own troops, and another lower western enclosure, which contained the stables, housed the 'Azaban (or Azap) corps. Each section had its own mosque and facilities. In between them was a virtual no-man's-land where some of the former grand Mamluk buildings stood abandoned or under-used. This included the Great Iwan of al-Nasir Muhammad, whose large dome collapsed in 1521 and

32400-461: Was used for regular receptions and private ceremonies. It was connected to the Great Iwan (see below) by a private passage or corridor which led to the sultan's entrance in the back wall of the Iwan. The walls of the palace itself formed a part of the new outer boundary of the Citadel's enclosure: it was located on an escarpment overlooking the city below, and the escarpment, along with the foundation walls of

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