The Citadel was fortified by the Ayyubid ruler Salah al-Din (Saladin) between 1176 and 1183 CE, to protect it from the Crusaders.[1] Only a few years after defeating the Fatimid Caliphate, Saladin set out to build a wall that would surround both Cairo and Fustat.
Saladin is recorded as saying, "With a wall I will make the two [cities
of Cairo and Fustat] into a unique whole, so that one army may defend
them both; and I believe it is good to encircle them with a single wall
from the bank of the Nile to the bank of the Nile." The Citadel would be
the centerpiece of the wall. Built on a promontory beneath the Muqattam
Hills, a setting that made it difficult to attack, the efficacy of the
Citadel's location is further demonstrated by the fact that it remained
the heart of Egyptian government until the 19th century.[2] The citadel stopped being the seat of government when Egypt's ruler, Khedive Ismail, moved to his newly built Abdin Palace in the Ismailiya neighborhood in the 1860s.
While the Citadel was completed in 1183-1184, the wall Saladin had
envisioned was still under construction in 1238, long after his death
.
To supply water to the Citadel, Saladin built the 280 feet (85 m) deep[3]
Well of Joseph, which can still be seen today. This well is also known
as the Well of the Spiral because its entrance consisted of 300 stairs
that wound around the inside of the well. Once water was raised from the
well to the surface, it traveled to the Citadel on a series of
aqueducts. During the reign of al-Nasir Muhammad,
the Well of Joseph failed to produce enough water for the numerous
animals and humans then living in the Citadel. To increase the volume of
water, Nasir built a well system that consisted of a number of water
wheels on the Nile, the water from which was then transported to the
wall and subsequently to the Citadel, via the aqueducts Saladin had
constructed.
The improvements to the Citadel's water supply were not Nasir's only
additions to the Citadel, which was subject to a number of different
additions during the Mamluk
period. Nasir's most notable contribution was the Mosque of Nasir. In
1318 Nasir rebuilt the Ayyubid structure, turning it into a mosque in
his name. The structure underwent further additions in 1335. Other
contributions to the Citadel during Nasir's reign include the
structure's southern enclosure (the northern enclosure was completed by
Saladin) and the residential area, which included space for the harem
and the courtyard. Prior to Nasir's work on the Citadel, the Baybars
constructed the Hall of Justice and the "House of Gold
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