He fled Middle East from his enemies to Sijilmasa in Morocco (905), where he started proselytizing under the guise of being a merchant.
In 1099, The Fatimid ruler expelled the native Christian population before Jerusalem was conquered by the Crusaders, who massacred most of its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants when they took the solidly defended city by assault, after a period of siege; later the Crusaders created the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Above all, it demonstrated his superiority over his great rivals, the Fatimids of Ifriqiya in Northern Africa.
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Abd ar-Rahman III ordered the construction of this city at a time when he had just finished consolidating his political power in the Iberian Peninsula and was entering into conflict with the Fatimid dynasty for the control of North Africa.
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A female scholar in her own right, her title az-Zahra (the brilliant) was given to the oldest functioning university in the world, the al-Az'har/al-Azhar University in Cairo in 968, built by the Fatimids.
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As such, the Fatimid dynasty of North Africa adorned many buildings and even towns with her name.
Abbasid Caliphate | Fatimid Caliphate | Caliphate | Caliphate of Córdoba | Umayyad Caliphate | Almohad Caliphate | Rashidun Caliphate | caliphate | Afshin (Caliphate General) |
The early Fatimid Caliphate was nearly overthrown in the 10th century by the rebel Abu Yazid, known as the "Man on the Donkey", while in Morocco the 12th century founder of the Almohad movement, Ibn Tumart, insisted on riding a donkey.