The architecture of the Fatimids
The architecture of the Fatimids can be divided into two periods, the North African period from 909 to 969 and the Egyptian period from 969 to 1171. The North African period was a time of expansion and religious extremism which can be seen in the architecture of the mosques. Examples of early Fatimid mosques are at Ajdabiya in Libiya and Mahdiya in Tunisia. The first of these was the mosque of Mahdiya, which was built like a fortress with two square corner towers flanking a single projecting monumental entrance. The mosque at Ajdabiya had a similar plan but lacks the monumental entrance facade. For ideological reasons neither of these mosques had a minaret, a feature which remained absent until the last years of Fatimid rule in Egypt.
source: ArchNet
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Mahdiya (al-Mahdiyah, Mahdia, Mehdia) Fatimid capital of North Africa located on the east coast of Tunisia.
The city of Mahdiya occupies a defensive position on the peninsula of Ras Mahdi. The city was established in 913 by the Fatimid Mahdi (leader) 'Ubaid Allah on the site of the destroyed Carthiginian port of Zella. The city functioned as a port from which the Fatimids were able to launch their campaign to conquer Egypt.
Architecturally the most significant building in the town is the Great Mosque built in 916. This is the earliest surviving example of a Fatimid mosque. The design of the mosque differs considerably from earlier North African mosques as it had no minarets and only one monumental entrance giving it the appearance of a fortress rather than a mosque.
source: ArchNet
Great Mosque of Mahdiya
The Great Mosque of Mahdiya has gone through multiple incarnations. Originally built in 916 by Obayd Allah El-Medhi, who led a military campaign for Egypt, its qibla wall collapsed into the sea in the eleventh century and was reconstructed at a later date. The mosque was almost entirely destroyed in 1554, along with the ramparts on which it was built. Early in the eighteenth century Youssef Sahib ordered the mosque to be rebuilt with a new prayer hall, a free-standing minaret in the Moorish-Andalusian style (which never existed in the original mosque), and two courtyards flanking the main structure. A narrow courtyard was also added in front of the entrance elevation facing the city. In 1961-65, a major restoration project led by A. Lezine removed the eighteenth century additions and rebuilt the mosque according to excavations of the original Fatimid mosque. Only the parts of the elevation facing the city with the entrance portal belong to the original mosque.
source: ArchNet
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