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• 1 2022-06-16T12:38:56-07:00 Where was this produced? 15 plain 2023-01-14T14:03:18-08:00 By John Fashek '23
  
  
  Coins produced during the Ayyubid dynasty were minted in three primary locations: Fustat, Alexandria, and Al-Qahirah (Cairo). This particular coin was minted in Cairo, as validated by the Arabic text on the reverse outer inscription. Alexandria is nearby, on the coast. Fustat, which lies just south of Cairo, is synonymous with Old Cairo. In 969 CE, the Fatimid dynasty founded modern Cairo as a royal city after conquering Egypt. During the Fatimid dynasty, a mint was established in Cairo for the first time as the city was the seat of the caliphate and imamate.
  
  
  
  During the Ayyubid dynasty, in Egypt and Syria alike, both educational institutions and military fortresses were built to emphasize the return of Sunni Islam after the fall of the Shi'a Fatimids and to protect the cities from crusader invasions. Under the direction of Saladin, a citadel was built to unite Fustat and Cairo and to strengthen the Ayyubid defense of Cairo. Even after Saladin's death, his descendants continued to reinforce it.
  
  
  
  As the Ayyubid dynasty marked the return of Sunni Islam, in 1243, the madrasa of of al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub was built, the first institution to teach all four schools of jurisprudence. Since Saladin took over Fatimid Egypt and founded the Ayyubid dynasty, Egypt has maintained a predominant Sunni population.
  
  Under Saladin's rule, Cairo as well as the rest of Egypt underwent religious and social reforms. Saladin abolished taxes contradictory to Shariah (Islamic law) and replaced them with zakat, a tax designed to help the poor and needy and one of the five pillars of Islam. Saladin reallocated wealth to aid the poorest members of society and ordered the construction of hospitals and schools to improve the well-being of Egyptian citizens.