CChronica Maps

Cairo: History, Former Names & Timeline

Islamic metropolis at the head of the Nile delta, capital of the Fatimids, Ayyubids and Mamluks and today one of Africa's largest cities.

Map showing Cairo in 1100Cairo
Border map for 1100. See Europe in 1100.

Explore Cairo in the interactive map

Former names of Cairo

FromNameNote
AD 641Fustat
AD 969al-Qahira / Caironew Fatimid capital

Timeline of Cairo

YearEvent
AD 641Amr ibn al-As founds Fustat
AD 969The Fatimids found Cairo
AD 970Al-Azhar mosque is completed
1176Saladin begins the Citadel of Cairo
1517The Ottomans conquer Egypt
1798Napoleon enters Cairo
1952The July Revolution overthrows King Farouk

Who ruled Cairo

Derived from the border maps; each row runs until the next recorded border change.

PeriodState
500 BC–324 BCAchaemenid Empire
323 BC–301 BCEmpire of Alexander
300 BC–2 BCPtolemaic Kingdom
1 BC–299Roman Empire
300–399Rome (Diocletianus)
400–699Eastern Roman Empire
700–799Umayyad Caliphate
800–999Abbasid Caliphate
1000–1299Fatimid Caliphate
1300–1599Mamluk Sultanate
1600–1814Ottoman Empire
1815–todayEgypt

Battles and sites near Cairo

Nearby cities