Mansouria, Tunisia in the context of "Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah"

The Fatimid Caliphate (/ˈfætɪmɪd/; Arabic: الخلافة الفاطمیّة, romanized: al-Khilāfa al-Fāṭimiyya), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa and West Asia, it ranged from the western Mediterranean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids traced their ancestry to the Islamic prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatima and her husband Ali, the first Shi'a imam. The Fatimids were acknowledged as the rightful imams by different Isma'ili communities as well as by denominations in many other Muslim lands and adjacent regions. Originating during the Abbasid Caliphate, the Fatimids initially conquered Ifriqiya (roughly present-day Tunisia and north-eastern Algeria). They extended their rule across the Mediterranean coast and ultimately made Egypt the center of the caliphate. At its height, the caliphate included—in addition to Egypt—varying areas of the Maghreb, Sicily, the Levant, and the Hejaz.

Between 902 and 909, the foundation of the Fatimid state was realized under the leadership of da'i (missionary) Abu Abdallah, whose conquest of Aghlabid Ifriqiya with the help of Kutama forces paved the way for the establishment of the Caliphate. After the conquest, Abdallah al-Mahdi Billah was retrieved from Sijilmasa and then accepted as the Imam of the movement, becoming the first Caliph and founder of the dynasty in 909. In 921, the city of al-Mahdiyya was established as the capital. In 948, they shifted their capital to al-Mansuriyya, near Kairouan. In 969, during the reign of al-Mu'izz, they conquered Egypt, and in 973, the caliphate was moved to the newly founded Fatimid capital of Cairo. Egypt became the political, cultural, and religious centre of the empire and it developed a new and "indigenous Arabic culture". After its initial conquests, the caliphate often allowed a degree of religious tolerance towards non-Shi'a sects of Islam, as well as to Jews and Christians. However, its leaders made little headway in persuading the Egyptian population to adopt its religious beliefs.

The Fatimid architecture that developed in the Fatimid Caliphate (909–1171 CE) of North Africa combined elements of eastern and western architecture, drawing on Abbasid architecture, Byzantine, Ancient Egyptian, Coptic architecture and North African traditions; it bridged early Islamic styles and the medieval architecture of the Mamluks of Egypt, introducing many innovations.

The wealth of Fatimid architecture was found in the main cities of Mahdia (921–948), Al-Mansuriya (948–973) and Cairo (973–1171). 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. Large-scale constructions were undertaken during the reigns of al-Mui'zz (r. 953–975) Al-Aziz Billah (r. 975–996) and al-Hakim (r. 996–1021).

The gold dinar (Arabic: ﺩﻳﻨﺎﺭ ذهب) is an Islamic medieval gold coin first issued in AH 77 (696–697 CE) by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. The weight of the dinar is 1 mithqal (4.25 grams or 0.137 troy ounces).

The word dinar comes from the Latin word denarius, which was a silver coin. The name "dinar" is also used for Sasanid, Kushan, and Kidarite gold coins, though it is not known what the contemporary name was.

Abu Tahir Isma'il (Arabic: أبو طاهر إسماعيل, romanized: Abū Ṭāhir ʾIsmāʿīl; January 914 – 18 March 953), better known by his regnal name al-Mansur Billah (Arabic: المنصور بالله, romanized: al-Manṣūr biʾllāh, lit. 'The Victor through God'), was the thirteenth Isma'ili imam and third caliph of the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya, ruling from 946 until his death. He succeeded his father, al-Qa'im, after the latter's death, in what was likely a bloodless palace coup. At the time of al-Mansur's accession, most of the Fatimid mainland realm in Ifriqiya had been lost to a large-scale anti-Fatimid revolt led by the Kharijite preacher Abu Yazid, who was laying siege to al-Qa'im's fortified coastal palace city of al-Mahdiya. Unlike his father he was an active and publicly visible monarch, but plagued by illness, which led to his early death.

Al-Mansur immediately took up the fight against the revolt with considerable energy, but kept his father's death secret until after the final suppression of the rebellion, governing instead as the ostensible designated successor and "Sword of the Imam". Leaving the trusted eunuch chamberlain Jawdhar to run the government in his stead, al-Mansur took to the field in person, leading the Fatimid army to victory over the rebel army outside Kairouan, and pursuing its remnants into the Hodna Mountains. After a long pursuit, Abu Yazid was finally cornered and captured, before dying of his injuries on 19 August 947. After Abu Yazid's death, al-Mansur publicly proclaimed his caliphate. His victory over Abu Yazid was celebrated as a triumph over a 'False Messiah', and as heralding a new beginning for the dynasty and its divine mission. Al-Mansur spent the remainder of his reign in al-Mansuriya, a new capital city he founded in 948. During his reign, he also secured the allegiance of the Sanhaja Berbers under Ziri ibn Manad, recaptured Tahert from the rebellious Miknasa Berbers, suppressed a revolt in the overseas Fatimid province of Sicily, launched naval raids against Byzantine holdings in southern Italy, and engaged in a mounting antagonism with the rival Umayyad state of Córdoba.

The Fatimid Caliphate (/ˈfætɪmɪd/; Arabic: الخلافة الفاطمیّة, romanized: al-Khilāfa al-Fāṭimiyya), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa and West Asia, it ranged from the western Mediterranean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids traced their ancestry to the Islamic prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatima and her husband Ali, the first Shi'a imam. The Fatimids were acknowledged as the rightful imams by different Isma'ili communities as well as by denominations in many other Muslim lands and adjacent regions. Starting in Ifriqiya during the Abbasid Caliphate, the Fatimids overthrew the Aghlabids and extended their rule across the Mediterranean coast and ultimately made Egypt the center of the caliphate. At its height, the caliphate included—in addition to Egypt—varying areas of the Maghreb, Sicily, the Levant, and the Hejaz.

Between 902 and 909, the foundation of the Fatimid state was realized under the leadership of da'i (missionary) Abu Abdallah, who led Kutama forces in establishing an Isma'ili state and then conquering Aghlabid Ifriqiya, thus paving the way for the establishment of the Caliphate. After the conquest, Abdallah al-Mahdi Billah was retrieved from Sijilmasa and then accepted as the Imam of the movement, becoming the first Caliph and founder of the dynasty in 909. In 921, the city of al-Mahdiyya was established as the capital. In 948, they shifted their capital to al-Mansuriyya, near Kairouan. In 969, during the reign of al-Mu'izz, they conquered Egypt, and in 973, the caliphate was moved to the newly founded Fatimid capital of Cairo. Egypt became the political, cultural, and religious centre of the empire and it developed a new and "indigenous Arabic culture". After its initial conquests, the caliphate often allowed a degree of religious tolerance towards non-Shi'a sects of Islam, as well as to Jews and Christians. However, its leaders made little headway in persuading the Egyptian population to adopt its religious beliefs.