emirate · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan

Tulunid emirate

868 CE – 905 CE · capital al-Qata'i

The first autonomous dynasty of Islamic Egypt, founded by Ahmad ibn Tulun, builder of Cairo's great mosque.

Origins

Ahmad ibn Tulun, son of a Turkish slave soldier at the Abbasid court in Samarra, was sent to Egypt as deputy governor in 868. He took control of the province's finances, built his own army of Turkish and African slave soldiers and, while still recognising the Abbasid Caliphate, made Egypt effectively independent. In 878 he occupied Syria.

Rule and society

Ibn Tulun founded a new capital, al-Qata'i, north of Fustat, with a palace, hospital and the great Mosque of Ibn Tulun, completed in 879 and still standing. Egypt's revenue now stayed largely in the country, funding irrigation and building. His son Khumarawayh made a treaty with the caliph in 886 and married his daughter Qatr al-Nada to al-Mu'tadid with a famously lavish dowry.

Decline and legacy

Extravagance and the murder of Khumarawayh in 896 left the dynasty weak. In 905 an Abbasid army under Muhammad ibn Sulayman retook Egypt and razed al-Qata'i, except for the mosque.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Tulunid emirate. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tulunid-emirate
MLA
“Tulunid emirate.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tulunid-emirate. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Tulunid emirate.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tulunid-emirate.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Tulunid emirate’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tulunid-emirate (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻