The Ibn Fadl Allah family moves to the Cairo chancery, 729/1329

انتقال بني فضل الله إلى كتابة السر بالقاهرة، ٧٢٩هـ/١٣٢٩م

c. 1329 CE · 729 AH

Cairo

When Muhyi al-Din Yahya ibn Fadl Allah was made head of the chancery and katib al-sirr at Cairo in 729/1329 after Damascus, his son Shihab al-Din Ahmad began his public career as an assistant to his ageing father 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks
Region
Egypt & Nile

In time

132013301340 c.
The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks · The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era

In space

Cairo

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Summary

When Muhyi al-Din Yahya ibn Fadl Allah was made head of the chancery and katib al-sirr at Cairo in 729/1329 after Damascus, his son Shihab al-Din Ahmad began his public career as an assistant to his ageing father 1.

Details

His father Muhyi al-Din Yahya had first headed the chancery at Damascus before being transferred to Egypt, and Shihab al-Din attended him in office and inherited his gift for ornate official prose 2.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
Ibn Fadl Allah al-Umari· Muhyi al-Din Yahya ibn Fadl Allah al-Umari
Occurred at
Cairo

People and things also explored

Death of Muhyi al-Din Yahya ibn Fadl Allah, 738/1338· Al-Umari's arrest and confiscation, Sha'ban 739/1339· Al-Umari's release from prison, Rabi' II 740/1339· al-Nasir's anger and al-Umari's dismissal, c. 737/1337· Al-Azhar Mosque· Bab al-Futuh, Cairo· Bab al-Nasr, Cairo· Bab Zuwayla, Cairo

Sources

  1. Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edition (Leiden: Brill, 1954–2008), 13 volumes , vol. 3 pp. 790-791
  2. Al-Durar al-Kamina fi A'yan al-Mi'a al-Thamina — Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (Dar al-Jil, Beirut) , 1/425-426
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The Ibn Fadl Allah family moves to the Cairo chancery, 729/1329”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/umari-cairo-chancery-729/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-01.

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Related

Death of Muhyi al-Din Yahya ibn Fadl Allah, 738/1338

Muhyi al-Din Yahya ibn Fadl Allah, head of the chancery at Damascus then in Egypt and katib al-sirr al-sharif, died on 9 Ramadan 738 at ninety-three, having resigned his post with leave to return to Syria to die there; his younger son, the qadi Ala al-Din, was installed as katib al-sirr after him.