Name of Monument:

Bab al-Futuh

Location:

Bab al-Futuh is located in the northern wall of the old Fatimid city of Cairo which was built by Amir al-Juyush (Commander of the Armies) Badr al-Jamali during the rule of the Fatimid Caliph al- Mustansir bi Allah. The wall caused the City of Cairo to occupy a square surface area, the sides of which measured about 1200 m. A number of gates were opened up in the walls of Cairo, of which the only three that remain are Bab al-Nasr and Bab al-Futuh in the northern wall, and Bab Zuwayla in the southern wall. Bab al-Futuh is located at the beginning of al-Muizz Street (the kasbah of the old Fatimid City) which is the principle axis in Cairo and extends from the north at Bab al-Futuh, to the south at Bab Zuwayla. The Mosque of al-Hakim bi Amrillah (built AH 403 / AD 1012) is located in the proximity of Bab al-Futuh, Cairo, Egypt

Date of Monument:

Hegira 480 / AD 1087

Architect(s) / master-builder(s):

Amir al-Juyush Badr al-Jamali supervised the construction.

Period / Dynasty:

Fatimid

Patron(s):

The Fatimid caliph, al-Mustansir bi Allah (r. AH 427–87 / AD 1036–94).

Description:

Bab al-Futuh is composed of a large block-like structure built of stone. Its facade consists of two towers, projecting from the walled enclosure. The width of the gate's façade is 23 m; it is 25 m thick and 22 m high. The towers of this gate are semi-circular, similar to the two towers of Bab Zuwayla in the southern wall (built AH 485 / AD 1092), but they are not square like the two towers of Bab al-Nasr which is on the same, northern, wall (built AH 480 / AD 1087). The towers of Bab al-Futuh are massive and reach up to the same height as the northern walls of the city. The upper section of each tower comprises a defensive room with arrow slits.
The gate entrance is covered with a shallow dome consisting of transition zones of four spherical-triangular pendentives. This is the first appearance of this type of dome in Islamic Egypt. The Gate retains beautiful decorative elements on its external arch that includes a variety of vegetal and geometric motifs, representing a stage of development with regard to stone decoration in Islamic architecture. The entrance is also decorated with brackets, some of which assume the form of rams' heads. The two sides of the towers are adorned on their interiors with a large arch that is carved in stone and whose curvature is adorned with a series of regular lobes, the like of which can be seen on the entrance of the Small Dome in Palermo (Piccola Cuba) in Sicily, which dates to the AH 6th / AD 12th century.
Bab al-Futuh and Bab al-Nasr are connected by the northern wall of the city, the upper third of which is composed of vaulted passages, with arrow slits, as well as towers to defend the city. The names of some of the commanders of the French expedition against Egypt, under Napoleon Bonaparte (AH 1213–16 / AD 1798–1801), are written on the towers of Bab al-Futuh and Bab al-Nasr as a witness to their residence in Egypt and their use of those forts during their campaign.

Bab al-Futuh is one of three extant gates of the Fatimid walls of Cairo, built by two Armenian brothers who came from the city of Raha, and is considered to be one of the oldest-known examples of military architecture in the Islamic world. The gate entrance is covered by a shallow dome consisting of transition areas composed of four spherical triangles, a model appearing in Egypt for the first time.

How Monument was dated:

The dating of this edifice is supported by historical sources, for example Al-Maqrizi (d. 845 / 1442) mentions the date of construction in his book, Al-mawā'iz wa'l-i'tibār bi-dhikr al-khiţaţ wa'l-āthā (Cairo, 1853).

Selected bibliography:

Creswell, K. A. C., Muslim Architecture of Egypt, Vol. I, Oxford, 1952.
Al-Maqrizi, Al-mawā'iz wa'l-i'tibār bi-dhikr al-khiţaţ wa'l-āthār [Exhortations and Contemplation of the Recollection of Plans and Monuments], 2 Vols, Cairo, 1853.
Taghri Bardi, Jamal al-Din Abi al-Mahasin (d. 874 / 1469), Al-Nujum al-Zahira fi Muluk Masr wa al-Qahira [Shining Stars in the Rulers of Egypt and Cairo], Cairo, 1942.
Sameh, Kamal al-Din, Al-'Emara al-Islamiya fi Masr [Islamic Architecture in Egypt], Cairo, 1991.
Zaki, Abd al-Rahman, al-Azhar wa ma hawlahu min al-Athar [Al-Azhar and its Monumental Environs], Cairo, 1970.

Citation of this web page:

Tarek Torky "Bab al-Futuh" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;34;en

Prepared by: Tarek TorkyTarek Torky

Tarek Abdel Aziz Torky holds a BA in Islamic and Coptic Antiquities from Cairo University (1982). He is currently Head of the Statistics Department at the Information Centre of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and reporter of the committee set up to prepare for the celebrations of the centennial of the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo. As Expo Curator for the Discover Islamic Art project in Egypt he prepared the database information for the Egyptian monuments included in the project and participated in formulating the dynastic and cross-dynastic exhibitions. He has participated in the first phase of the Islamic Art in the Mediterranean project as product manager and prepared the texts and photos for the catalogue Mamluk Art: the Splendour and Magic of the Sultans (MWNF, 2001). In 2002 he obtained a scholarship for Med. Master on new technologies for valorisation and management of Mediterranean Cultural Heritage in Ravello, Salerno.
Copyedited by: Majd Musa
Translation by: Amal Sachedina (from the Arabic).
Translation copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: ET 34