The arrival of the Fatimid conquerors to Egypt was a turning point which brought forth a radical impact on both
political and religious sides of life. Coming from quite a different doctrinal background, the Fatimids had a
predominating aim to spread their beliefs between the Egyptian populace. Perhaps one of their workable tactics to
diffuse the shīʿī doctrine was the introduction of mausoleums (mašhads), devoted to the burial of their Fatimid imāms-
who claimed the ultimate descent from “al- Ḥusayn Ibn ʿAlī Ibn Abī ālib". Although Islam has strict traditions against
funerary architecture, the Fatimid mašhads did the trick; they were, and still are, highly venerated by the Sunnī
populace of Egypt. This research is an attempt to reach a better understanding of the influence of the Shiite doctrine on
the function of funerary architecture in Fatimid Egypt, while shedding light on women's vital role in achieving this
objective.