The Tulunid State The rule of Ahmad ibn Tulun Ahmad ibn Tulun was aware of the intrigues of Ibn al-Mudabbir and Shiqir al-Hajim. The vizier had sent him all the correspondence from them. After a short while, Shiqir died of fear that Ibn Tulun would dismiss Ibn al-Mudabbir. However, he later learned that his brother was in charge of the Caliph's treasury, so he forgave him.

As for Ibn al-Mudabbir, he was tired of confronting Ibn Tulun and was unable to outwit him. He asked his brother to transfer him to the governorship of Syria's revenue. He did so. Before leaving Egypt, he renewed his ties of friendship with Ibn Tulun. He married his daughter to Khārawayh ibn Ahmad Tulun and gifted him his properties in Egypt.

Then, al-Mu'tamid sent a message urging Ibn Tulun to pay the revenue. He replied, "I cannot bear this, as the revenue is in the hands of others." So, the revenue was entrusted to him, and all administrative, military, and financial affairs of Egypt came into his hands.

His constructions: The first mosque built by Ibn Tulun was the mosque of al-Tanur. He built it on a hill of Jabal al-Muqattam in a place called Tanur Fir'awn. It is said that it was named so because it was on a high place where they used to light fires at night. Some sheikhs thought there was treasure in that place and began to dig, hoping to find something. Ibn Tulun dug and found much more wealth than before. At that point, he decided to build the mosque there and called it the Mosque of al-Tanur. Ibn Tulun also dug a well near Birkat al-Yashkur, known as Bi'r 'Afsa, and built a waterwheel and arches outside al-Maghafir, known as the Arches of Ibn Tulun. A skilled Christian engineer supervised their construction, and their remnants still exist.

The number of Ibn Tulun's followers, his entourage, and his soldiers increased so much that the Mosque of al-'Askar became too small to accommodate them for Friday prayers. They informed him of this. He said, "If the mosque is too small, then I will build a larger one." He decided to build it on Jabal al-Yashkur, which had religious significance for them. They said that Moses, the interlocutor of God, had conversed with his Lord there many times and that he had received some holy laws in that place. Ahmad resolved to make that mosque the grandest mosque built up to that time.