Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah

عبيد الله المهدي بالله (Known as "Al-Mahdi Billah")

Founder of the Fatimid Caliphate, Builder of the City and Port of Mahdia

Born 873 AD

Salamiyah, Syria

Passed Away Mar 04, 0934 Mahdia, Tunisia

Lifespan 61 years old

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Notice / Correction

"I have built this city upon the rocks of the sea that it may endure against the world."

Archival Overview

First Fatimid Caliph (909–934 AD) who overthrew the Aghlabids, proclaimed the Ismaili Caliphate at Raqqada, and founded the fortified naval capital of Mahdia on the central Tunisian coast in 916 AD.

Biographical Record

Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi arrived in North Africa from Syria under the escort of the Kutama Berber missionary Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i. In 909 AD, he was proclaimed the first Fatimid Caliph at the palace city of Raqqada near Kairouan, shattering the regional hegemony of the Abbasids.

Seeking an impregnable maritime capital to defend against Abbasid navies and domestic insurrections, al-Mahdi built the fortified peninsula city of Mahdia in 916 AD, cutting a massive rock-hewn naval harbor and erecting the monumental Great Mosque of Mahdia with its historic protruding ceremonial porch.

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Rest in Peace Forever remembered and cherished Your legacy lives on in all of us With deep gratitude for your life and light

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial

Fatimid Royal Crypt of Mahdia
Mahdia, Tunisia

                         GPS: 35.5047, 11.0722                    

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