During the initial Islamic invasion in 639 AD, Egypt was ruled at first by governors acting in the name of the Righteous Caliphs, and then the Ummayad Caliphs in Damascus but, in 747, the Ummayads were overthrown and the power of the Arabs slowly began to weaken. Although Egypt remained under the nominal rule of the Abbasid Caliphate, its rulers were able to establish quasi-independent dynasties, such as those of the Tulunids and the Ikhshidids. In 969 the Ismaili Shi'a Fatimid dynasty from Tunisia conquered Egypt and established its capital at Cairo. This dynasty lasted until 1174, when Egypt came under the rule of Saladin, whose dynasty, the Ayyubids, lasted until 1252. The Ayyubites were overthrown by their Turkish bodyguards, known as the Mamluks, who ruled under the suzerainty of Abbasid Caliphs until 1517, when Egypt became part of the Ottoman Empire.
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