The Al-Azhar University (/ˈɑːzhɑːr/AHZ-har; Egyptian Arabic: جامعة الأزهر (الشريف), IPA:[ˈɡæmʕetelˈʔɑzhɑɾeʃʃæˈɾiːf], lit.'University of (the honorable) Al-Azhar') is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic learning. In addition to higher education, Al-Azhar oversees a national network of schools with approximately two million students. As of 1996, over 4,000 teaching institutes in Egypt were affiliated with the university.
Founded in 970 or 972 by the Fatimid Caliphate as a centre of Islamic learning, its students studied the Qur'an and Islamic law in detail, along with logic, grammar, rhetoric, and how to calculate the phases of the moon. Today it is the chief centre of Arabic literature and Islamic learning in the world. In 1961 additional non-religious subjects were added to its curriculum. (Full article...)
Image 26Rectangular fishpond with ducks and lotus planted round with date palms and fruit trees, Tomb of Nebamun, Thebes, 18th Dynasty (from Ancient Egypt)
Image 31A tomb relief depicts workers plowing the fields, harvesting the crops, and threshing the grain under the direction of an overseer, painting in the tomb of Nakht (from Ancient Egypt)
Image 81Tanoura dancers performing in Wekalet El Ghoury, Cairo (from Egypt)
Image 82Lower-class occupations (from Ancient Egypt)
Image 83The pharaoh was usually depicted wearing symbols of royalty and power. (from Ancient Egypt)
Image 84A figure wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt, most probably Amenemhat II or Senwosret II. It functioned as a divine guardian for the imiut; the divine kilt, suggests that the statuette was not merely a representation of the living ruler. (from Ancient Egypt)
Image 85Glassmaking was a highly developed art. (from Ancient Egypt)
Image 86President el-Sisi with US President Joe Biden, 11 November 2022 (from Egypt)
Image 87Menna and Family Hunting in the Marshes, Tomb of Menna, c. 1400 BC (from Ancient Egypt)
... that ancient Egyptians carried boats in pieces across the Eastern Desert, reassembling them when they reached the Red Sea to embark on trading expeditions?
... that Al-Wishah fi Fawa'id al-Nikah, a 15th-century Islamic sex manual by Egyptian writer Al-Suyuti, was based on both traditional hadith literature and material influenced by Indian erotology?
... that Hussein Kamel Bahaeddin tried to pass a decree in 1994 that would have prohibited wearing hijab in Egyptian schools?
Al-Nasir Shihab ad-Din Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun (1316 – 16July 1344), better known as al-Nasir Ahmad, was the BahriMamluk sultan of Egypt, ruling from January to June 1342. A son of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad, he became embroiled in the volatile succession process following his father's death in 1341. Al-Nasir Ahmad lived much of his life in the desert fortress of al-Karak in Transjordan and was reluctant to assume the sultanate in Cairo, preferring al-Karak, where he was closely allied with the inhabitants of the city and the Bedouin tribes in its vicinity. His Syrian partisans, emirs Tashtamur and Qutlubugha al-Fakhri, successfully maneuvered to bring Syria under al-Nasir Ahmad's official control, while sympathetic emirs in Egypt were able to oust the Mamluk strongman Emir Qawsun and his puppet sultan, the five-year-old half-brother of al-Nasir Ahmad, al-Ashraf Kujuk. Al-Nasir Ahmad eventually assumed the sultanate after frequently delaying his departure to Egypt.
Al-Nasir Ahmad was known to be a seclusive sultan, surrounding himself with his coterie of supporters from al-Karak, rarely making direct contact with the Mamluk emirs of Egypt and avoiding the public view. Two months into his reign, he relocated to al-Karak with substantial sums from the treasury and several horses and senior administrative officials. He ruled from the desert fortress, leaving a deputy, Emir Aqsunqur al-Salari, to oversee affairs in Egypt on his behalf. His unorthodox rule, alleged frivolity, and his execution of loyal partisans, namely Tashtamur and Qutlubugha, led to al-Nasir Ahmad being deposed from the sultanate by his half-brother, al-Salih Isma'il. He remained in the fortress of al-Karak, which the Mamluks besieged at least seven times, until being captured in July 1344. He was killed later that month on the orders of al-Salih Isma'il. (Full article...)
... that the entrance of Djoser’s pyramid complex features columns fashioned to resemble bundled reeds and ceiling blocks carved into the shape of tree trunks?
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