AL- FUSTAT: THE SEED OF CAIRO By

The paper discusses the issue of the real beginning of Cairo and defines the proper boundaries of historical Cairo. In fact, ever since civilized man became established in the Nile Valley, there have been important settlements within and close to the present boundaries of the city of Cairo. Memphis which lies 20 km to the south of the centre of Cairo on the west bank of the Nile was the capital of Egypt during the third to sixth dynasties ( 2720 BC to 2420 BC). However, the more recent history of Cairo can be traced from the founding of Al- Fustat in AD 641 which lies towards the southern boundary of the existing city on the east bank of the Nile. When Amr Ibn Al- As defeated the Roman in Egypt in the year 641 AD, he regarded the provisional fortress town of Babylon as a more strategic site than the Greco- Roman capital of Alexandria. He, therefore, founded a garrison town north and east of Babylon named Al- Fustat ( signifying the tent). This was the real beginning of Cairo the capital standing on the east bank of the Nile and replacing ancient Memphis to the west. Later rulers were to add other administrative centres to Fustat. Under the Abbasids, Tulunids and Fatimids subsequent expansion was always to the north east, with the city finally centering around the area lying between the Citadel and Bab Al- Foutouh. The focus of new quarter was always its mosque. In later centuries, subsequent expansion occured under the Abbassids and Tulunids. The Abbassids, in the year 751 A.D., founded their provincial capital known as Al- Askar. It was built little to the north east of Al-Fustat. As the time went on, Al- Askar grew until it joined Al- Fustat. In AD 870, the Tulunids constructed a new suburb to the north of Al- Askar called Al- Qataie. This new suburb was partly destroyed in AD 905. What was left merged with Al- Fustat