al-Mansuriya
Called Al- Mansuriya (Arabic المنصورية, DMG al - Mansuriya ), also Sabra ( صبرة, Sabra, " hard stone " ), was one of its founder, the Fatimid caliph al - Mansur Ismail, named palace city in Ifriqiya ( the present-day Tunisia ). It is located about 1 miles south-east of Kairouan, triggered al - Mahdiya as the seat of government from even the Zirids and served until 1053 as the capital.
Al- Mansur founded his new residence in the year 946, before his final victory over Abu Yazid. It was along the lines of Baghdad, created as a round town, in whose center was the palace and would later turn serve as a model for Cairo. The building material was collected mainly from the old Aghlabidenresidenz Raqqada. Construction activities could only be completed under Abu Tamin al - Muizz which ensured the water supply to the construction of an aqueduct. In al - Mansuriya next to the courtiers and slaves troops were also 14000 Kutama - Berber, the basis of Fatimidenmacht settled. On coins, the new city is also known as مدينة عز الإسلام ( Madīnat ʿ izz al -Islam, "City of the strength of Islam ").
Following the move of the Fatimids in Egypt ( 973) al - Mansuriya remained under their viceroys, the Zirids, the capital. Already in 1016 but was badly damaged by a Sunni insurgency. During the invasion of the Banu Hilal, the residence was finally laid in 1053 by the Zirids after al - Mahdiya; al - Mansuriya was looted and was used in the subsequent period the inhabitants of Kairouan as a quarry.
In 1921 there was the first French excavations, which are continued in a French - Tunisian project since 1972. The complemented with methods of aerial archeology prospecting yielded an ellipsoidal base of the city, the largest and smallest axis were determined by measuring 1350 m and 1050 m. The contour of the finished brick walls could be largely occupied by remote sensing.