Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah

Abu Tamim Ma'ad al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah (Arabic: أبو تميم معد المعزّ لدين الله, romanized: Abū Tamīm Maʿad al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, lit. 'Glorifier of the Religion of God'; 26 September 932 – 19 December 975) was the fourth Fatimid caliph and the 14th Ismaili imam, reigning from 953 to 975. It was during his caliphate that the center of power of the Fatimid dynasty was moved from Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia) to Egypt. The Fatimids founded the city of Cairo (al-Qāhirah, "the Victorious") in 969 as the new capital of the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt during his reign. The Al-Mu'izz Street in Cairo is named after him, it is considered to be the most important historical street in Cairo and it includes monumental buildings from the Fatimid era as well as the later Ayyubid, Memluk and Ottoman eras.

Political career

After the Fatimids, under the third caliph, al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah (r. 946–953), had defeated the rebellion of Abu Yazid, they began, under his son al-Mu'izz, to turn their attentions back to their ambition of establishing their caliphate throughout the Islamic world and overthrowing the Abbasids. Although the Fatimids were primarily concerned with Egypt and the Near East, there were nevertheless campaigns fought in the Maghreb and against the Umayyads of Spain. At the same time, Fatimid raids on Italy enabled naval superiority in the Western Mediterranean to be affirmed, at the expense of Byzantium, even capturing Sicily for a period of time.

The way to Egypt was then clear for the Fatimids, the more so given the state of crisis that the incumbent Ikhshidid dynasty found itself in and the inability of the Abbasids to counterattack. The territory fell to the Fatimids in 969 without any great resistance. After he had secured his position, al-Mu'izz transferred the royal residence from Al-Mansuriya to the newly founded city of Qāhirat al-Muʿizz "al-Mu'izz's Victory", i.e., Cairo, thereby shifting the centre of gravity of the Fatimid realm eastwards.