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The outstanding secular architecture from this period includes the fortified citadels of Cairo (1187) and Aleppo (early thirteenth century).
This gate stands today as a masterpiece of medieval Syrian military architecture. Cumulatively, Ayyubid architecture left a lasting impression in Aleppo. The citadel was rebuilt, the water network was expanded, and streets and quarters were provided fountains and baths.
The Crusades: A series of campaigns launched by Christian Europe against the Islamic east, ostensibly to liberate the Holy Land. After the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099, four Latin principalities were founded in the area, the last of which was eliminated in 1293 by the Mamluks.
Ayyubid architecture was dominated by the need to combat two enemies: the Crusaders in Palestine and the rising threat of Shi'ism and religious dissension. To combat the Crusaders a network of fortresses was built which rivaled those of the Crusaders both in size and technical sophistication.
The Mamluks were a military corps recruited from slaves that served under the Ayyubid dynasty and eventually took over from that dynasty in 1250, ruling over Egypt, the Levant, and the Hijaz until the Ottoman conquest of 1517.
Its recognisable architectural aesthetic – austere, yet robust and perfected ‒ survived until modern times. The Ayyubid Era: Art and Architecture in Medieval Syria describes eight thematic...
Summary. The Ayyūbid period was a turning–point in Egypt’s pre–modern history. During it Egypt regained the regional preeminence it had lost under the later Fātimids. The period also saw the first appearance of many of the institutions Egypt would maintain until the beginning of the modern era, and in some cases well into it.
