Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid
Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Ṭughj ibn Juff ibn Yiltakīn ibn Fūrān ibn Fūrī ibn Khāqān, better known by the title al-Ikhshīd after 939, was an Abbasid commander and governor who became the autonomous ruler of Egypt and parts of Syria (Levant) from 935 until his death in 946. He was the founder of the Ikhshidid dynasty, which ruled the region until the Fatimid conquest of 969.
The Mashhad (Mausoleum) of al-Tabataba, erected in 943 CE during the reign of Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid in Cairo, is the only remaining monument of the Ikhshidid period.
Dinar minted in Palestine under al-Ikhshid, 944 CE. From 942 on, Ibn Tughj included his name and title ("Muhammad al-Ikhshid"), alongside that of the caliph in his coinage.
Following the Islamic conquest in 639, Lower Egypt was ruled at first by governors acting in the name of the Rashidun Caliphs and then the Umayyad Caliphs in Damascus, but in 747 the Umayyads were overthrown. Throughout Islamic rule, Askar was named the capital and housed the ruling administration. The conquest led to two separate provinces all under one ruler: Upper and Lower Egypt. These two very distinct regions were governed by the military and followed the demands handed down by the governor of Egypt and imposed by the heads of their communities.
Spiral Minaret of the Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo
The near East in 1025 AD, showing the Fatimid Caliphate and neighbors
The Al-Azhar Mosque, of medieval Fatimid Cairo
Mamluk manuscript