place · L0205
Fustat פוסטאט
First Islamic capital of Egypt and home of the Rambam from c. 1168 until his death in 1204 — where the Mishneh Torah was written. Its Ben Ezra synagogue preserved the Cairo Genizah, the greatest documentary hoard of medieval Jewry, including autograph pages of the Rambam himself.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- פוסטאט
- Also known as
- Old Cairo, Fostat
III. Where
- Modern location
- Old Cairo, Egypt
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Rambam settled in Fustat, served as physician to the court of Saladin's vizier, and led Egyptian Jewry from there until his death in 1204. | external | ★★★★☆ | |
| The Cairo Genizah, discovered in the Ben Ezra synagogue of Fustat, yielded hundreds of thousands of medieval Jewish manuscript fragments — including material in the Rambam's own hand — hard documentary evidence for this era of the chain. | external archaeology | ★★★★☆ |
Referenced by: Shemariah ben Elchanan, Rabbi Maimon (the Dayan), Rambam