The Fatimid general Jawhar al-Siqilli built the mosque for the caliph al-Mu'izz. Work began on April 4, 970, and was completed in 972, with the first Friday prayers on June 22, 972. The original structure measured 280 by 227 feet (85 by 69 m) and used limestone from the Mokattam Formation. The prayer hall was hypostyle, five aisles deep, reusing marble columns from earlier sites.
Later rulers added to it in every period. Al-Hakim added the marble courtyard in 1009 and 1010, and al-Hafiz's refurbishment of 1138 created the keel-shaped arches, stucco and central entrance dome. Mamluk sultans, including Qaytbay and Qansuh al-Ghuri, added minarets, and the Ottoman Katkhuda added gates and a prayer hall that doubled the prayer area.
The infobox lists five minarets, and the Qaytbay minaret is dated 1483 or 1495 by different sources. A restoration financed by King Abdullah and King Salman of Saudi Arabia was completed in 2018.
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