The classical historian Herodotus described Egypt as “the gift of The Nile”, for without the irrigation provided by the waters of Africa’s greatest river, Egypt would have no agriculture. On reaching Cairo, the river forms the Nile Delta, the most populous and representative of her regions. As such, the Delta has always been closely associated with the countries of the Mediterranean, and , in turn, has maintained unbroken contact with her neighbours.

Following her conquest by ‘Amr Ibn al-’As in 20 AH/640 AD, Egypt ceased to be part of the Eastern Empire and would find her identity within the greater Islamic State. With the exception of the times in which she achieved independence, such as under the Tulunids and the Ikhshidids, Egypt was to remain a dependent province of the Caliphates of Medina, Damascus and Baghdad. In the Ayyubid era the Sultan al-Malik al-Salih began the acquisition of young Turkish slaves destined to form the elite personal guard of the sultans. These were the soldier-slaves (mamluk), who would bring down the Ayyubid dynasty. During the reign of Mamluk sultans (648/1250-922/1517), Egypt was to become a great power.

Islamic art in Egypt reached its peak during the era of the Mamluk Sultans. They took advantage of ’s enormous cultural legacy in order to develop their arts. Consequently, highly skilled Mamluk artisans and artists adopted all that was unique to Egypt’s own heritage and worked masterfully with the abundant materials available to them.

They were to find inspiration for their craftsmanship in artistic themes from different cultures, above all from their own Mamluk homelands. During this period their perfectly constructed buildings brought together harmony of theme in delicately finished works of art of unprecedented quality.