The sun., 1901-05-05

he despatched an army against Egypt but
| the expedition was unsuccessful. lt was
| not until after 04e that the prolonged and
| formidable insurreotion In Barbary was ex-
tinguished by the Arm but polite manage
ment Of the third Caliph. el Manslr Thus
far the Fatimid rulers had exhibited a brutal
and barbarous character. They do not seem
to have fostersd literature or learning but
this Is partly explained by the fact that onI-
ture belonged chiery TO tho orthodox caliph-
ate and its learned men would have no
| dealings with the teretioal pretender. The
| city OF Kayrawan. which dates from the
Arab conquest in the eighth century, pre-
| serves the remains OF some noble buildings,
but Of tho other Fatimd capitals. or royal
| residences, no traces OF architecture exist
to bear witness to the taste OF their
| founders
Tho Fatimids, however entered upon
new phase with the fourth Caliph, el Mo LIZ.
whose vizier. Caviar. the Roman" slave
from the Byzantine Empire. conquered Egypt
In 0es. and forthwith laid the foundations
OF new city, or rather, fortified palace,
| on the sandy waste northeast OF Fustat.
about a mile from the Nile. To this city
was given tho name Of el-Kahra tCairoh
| signf, ing the martial" or triumphant.
! The name Of el-Kahira first appears IN
| ooin In IC09-O4, but does not reour until
| more than O century later. The rare ap-
pearance Of the name Ia explained by the
| fact that the mint OF the metropolis wa.
! worked under the Fatimids, IA 1t had been
| before, al Fustat. After the burning OF
| Fus,at in lies, and the accession OF SaIadln'
| the coinage regularly bears the nams OF
! el-Kahlra (Cairoi Tho name OF tho Abbasld
, Csliph was at once g plunged from the ff'-
( dav PRAYERS at the old mosque OF Amr a.
| F,lstat the black Abbasid robes were pro-
! scribed, and the preacher In pure white re-
! cited the khutba for the Imam Mo'nz, Com
! mander of the Faithful. and invoked bless
! lng on his ancestors, All and Fatimh, ana al
/ their holy family The call to prayer from the
/ minarets was adapted 10 Shilte taste ana
/ coins were struck With the speoiI lormulaS
of the Fatimli creed For two centuries
/ thereafter the mosques and the mint pro-
/ claimed the Shiite shibbOleth.
Without following in detail the political
history OF tho Fatimid Calpha'e, which. al
the height Of its power, included not only
E9ypt. but the whole Of North Africa, sicily.
SYRIA and the Hijaz including the TWO holy
cities Of Arabia, Mekka and Medina. we would
mark what Mr. Lane-pOole has 10 tel vs.
about the industrial and social condition o!
the Nile Land under the Shiite regime The
Calph el-A2iz, son and successor OF ell
Moizz, set the example Of luxury which
makes tho records Of Fatimid wealth al
most incrcdible to those who do not realize
the Oriental passion for gewgaws The COM
mander Of the Faithful Was himself con-
nosssur in precious stones and articles
Of vcrtu A number 81 fashionable novel
ties are sscribri by tho historian Genial
ed-pn Of Aleppo to this reign. such "a the
. heavy gold-embruIdercd many-coioTed tur-
hans sixty yards long made OF tn" costly
fabric, woven at tie royal factories OF pehlh,
robes aud coverings of the Auabi ltaby'
cloth Of Bagdad. or the c0lorcd stufs OF lhmla
and Tiberias, or Cairo sak.ntur, horse hous-
ing, set with jewel. and scented with am
bergris, 20 cover armor inlsid with gold
The luxury Of the person was matched hN
the luxury Of the table Fish 'r"re brought
fresh from the sea 10 Cairo, II thing unknown
before. truhiss were eagerly sought n lew
miles from Mukattam and sold in the mar
kets In such quantities that from choice
daintics they bccsm' cheap anu common.
The love Of raIi illrS brought strange birds
! and animals 10 Cairo Female elephants,
| which the ,ribu'e-payinE Nubo.s had cAr"-
fully reserved. Werc A. length introduced Tor
breeding, and a stuffed rhlnocerous delighted
the astonshed crowd These novelties were
secured at a cost which made heavy demands
on the treasury, ard could be met only by
rigorous financial control Aziz kept tight
hand over his cNchrGuer. md strictly iorhnd"
all lbrtbcs and presents. nothing could be paid
without a written order The money was rot
all spent upon luxaries, however. His
reign saw many architectural, and engi-
ncering trumphs at Cairo such as tho Golden
Palace. the Pearl pavilion, his mother =
mosque In the herafa Cemetery, the foun-
daton in GOT of the great mosque completed
hy the next Caliph, cl-iik'm some important
canals. bridges and naval docks To appre-
oiate the civilization q Egypt at this time, one
must bear ia mind the bar5arism which pre-
vailed throughout western Europe IN the tenth
century OF AzE It must be- said that he was
the wisrst and mos, bcuefCrnt OF all the Fatl-
mid rulers Of tho Nile land The unbroken
rest which tho country enjoyed Is his best wit
ness: and though north Africa WAS loosrnin ,
its ties - Egypt, and Syria was only held
down by forca Of arms. tho name ot A2l2 was
prayed f'r In tho Mosques from the Atlantic
10 the Red Sea- the Yemen, 10 the sancru-
ery ai NahEi. aud once evcL IN the pulpit of
Mo-il, close to rhe heart Of the Abbesd cali
phate