The Cairo Citadel, also known as the Citadel of Saladin, is a medieval Islamic-era fortress in Cairo, Egypt, located on the Mokattam plateau and overlooking Cairo and the former capital of Fustat. The citadel was built by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin from 1176 to 1183, offering the ruler a commanding position overlooking the city and dominating its skyline. The citadel served as the capital of Egypt from 1176 to 1874, when KHedive Isma'il Pasha moved to the newly-built Abdeen Palace in Downtown Cairo. Saladin's successors al-Adil and al-Kamil finished the original fortress, but as-Salih Ayyub moved to a new fortified residence on Roda Island. Under the Mamluks, the Citadel became the permanent residence of the sultans. Baybars, Qalawun, al-Ashraf Khalil, and al-Nasir Muhammad each built or rebuilt the throne hall, the main mosque, the palaces, and other structures, with their buildings meant to be visible from afar. Baybars built the Bab al-Qulla to split the Citadel into two areas; to this day, the Northern Enclosure is reserved for military garrisons, while the Southern Enclosure served as the residence of the Sultans and became the home of the Muhammad Ali Mosque. Several palaces were built inside the citadel, but none of them survive. After the Ottoman conquest, the Citadel was divided into separate sections housing the Janissaries, the Ottoman governor and his own troops, and the Azeb corps of irregular soldiers. Under Muhammad Ali Pasha, the citadel was the site of the 1811 massacre of the remaining Mamluk elite, and Muhammad Ali built a towering mosque on the summit from 1828 to 1848. The court moved to Abdeen Palace in 1874, and the Citadel went on to be used as a military garrison and base by the British Army until 1946 and then by the Egyptian Army. In 1983, the Egyptian government opened a large part of the Citadel to the public and transformed some of its old buildings into museums, although the military retains a presence.
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