641 Founding of the city of Fostat, later Cairo, in Egypt.
969 Fatimids conquer Egypt and move their capital from Kairouan (in modern Tunisia) to Fustat, subsequently founding a new capital city and naming it Cairo.
970 Construction completed on Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, world's oldest Islamic university
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972 Fatimids enter Egypt, establish the city of Cairo and the Al-Azhar mosque.
990 Construction of the Al-Hakim Mosque begins in Cairo.
1013 Al-Hakim Mosque completed in Cairo
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1168 Afraid that Old Cairo would be captured by the Crusaders, its Caliph orders the city set afire. The city burns for 54 days.
1253 The Mongol Empire launches attacks on the Muslim cities of Baghdad and Cairo.
1261 Baibars establishes a puppet Caliphate in Cairo.
1265 Fire destroys parts of Old Cairo.
1315 Estimation: Cairo, capital of Mamluk Egypt becomes the largest city of the world, taking the lead from Hangzhou in Mongolian China.
1318 Qala'un Mosque, Cairo, Egypt founded by Al-Nasr Muhammad.
1324 Mansa Kankan Musa I, ruler of the Mali Empire arrives in Cairo on his hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca. With an entourage numbering in the thousands, and so generous with his gold that the price of gold in that city didn't recover for 20 years, his presence in Cairo is remembered for almost a century.
1348 Black Death in Cairo.
1348 Estimation: Hangzhou in Mongolian China becomes the largest city of the world, taking the lead from Cairo, capital of Mamluk Egypt.
1356 The majority of the Great Pyramid of Giza's limestone casing stones are removed by Bahri Sultan An-Nasir Nasir-ad-Din al-Hasan to build fortresses and mosques in the nearby city of Cairo, leaving the first of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World in the step-stone condition in which it remains today.
1363 Completion of the Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan in Cairo, Egypt.
1517 Capture of Cairo by the Ottoman Empire; fall of Mamluk Sultanate.
1798 Napoleon occupies Cairo
1801 Cairo falls to British troops.
1882 British troops occupy Cairo - Egypt becomes British protectorate in the Anglo-Egyptian War.
1900 The First through train runs from Cairo to Khartoum
1904 April 8, April 9, and April 10 - Aleister Crowley writes The Book of the Law in Cairo, Egypt.
1921 May 17 - Violent anti-European riots in Cairo and Alexandria
1938 Wedding of King Farouk I of Egypt and Queen Farida Zulficar in Cairo
1943 World War II: War in the Pacific - US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and ROC leader Chiang Kai-Shek meet in Cairo, Egypt, to discuss ways to defeat Japan.
1945 The Arab League was formed with the adoption of a charter in Cairo, Egypt.
1969 In Cairo, Yasser Arafat is appointed Palestinian Liberation Organization leader at the Palestinian National Congress, and takes command the next day.
1974 A soccer stampede occurs in Cairo, killing 49.
1984 A peace agreement between Kenya and Somalia was signed in the Egyptian capital Cairo in December 1984. With this agreement, in which Somalia officially renounced its historical territorial claims, relations between the two countries began to improve.
1999 EgyptAir Flight 990 traveling from New York City to Cairo crashes off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, killing all 217 on-board. When the pilot leaves the cockpit, the co-pilot causes the 767 to enter a steep dive, resulting in impact with the Atlantic Ocean.
2000 October 21 15 Arab leaders convene in Cairo, Egypt, for their first summit in four years; the Libyan delegation walks out, angry over signs the summit will stop short of calling for breaking ties with Israel.
2005 Attacks on tourists in the Egyptian capital Cairo leave 3 militants dead and at least 10 people injured.