This deluxe, oversized book is an important and definitive illustrated history of Cairo, Egypt's capital and the largest city in the Middle East and Africa. This book chronicles the region's history from before it was founded in 969 A.D. to the present. Cairo has been conquered many times and each of the reigns are presented here-from its founding father through the reigns of the dynasties of Saladin, the Ayyubites, and the Mamluks, the conquest by the Ottoman Empire, the ousting of the French in 1801 and return to Ottoman control under Muhammad Ali. Over 600 full-color photographs, reproductions, and maps illuminate the variant architecture, artifacts, ancient ruins, mosaics, maps, weapons, and much, much more. With an additional full bibliography, glossary, time line, and index, this book is destined to become the ultimate book on Cairo.