The Mustansiriyya Plight

A City That Fell, A People Who Rose, A History That Refused to Be Forgotten

In the heart of Egypt, a city once ruled by gold and kings was brought to its knees—not by war, not by fire, but by hunger. During the reign of Al-Mustansir Billah, the great famine known as "Al-Shiddah al-Mustansiriyyah" turned Cairo into a graveyard, its streets littered with the dead, its people abandoned by rulers who had long since lost their power.

With the Nile dried, the granaries empty, and civilization crumbling into dust, those who survived did not do so through wealth or nobility—but through endurance, through defiance, through sheer will to live.

In this gripping historical novel, we follow merchants turned beggars, soldiers turned warlords, mothers forced to make impossible choices, and children who knew only hunger and ruin. We witness the city’s descent into madness, where food was worth more than gold and betrayal was the currency of survival.

But even in the darkest nights, hope flickers.

This is the story of those who refused to be erased. Of the rebels who rose against the warlords, of the survivors who rebuilt without kings, of a people who proved that Cairo did not belong to rulers—but to itself.

And when the river finally returned, when the famine ended, when history tried to forget—

Cairo remembered.

Inspired by true events, "The City That Remembered" is a sweeping tale of survival, resilience, and the unbreakable spirit of a city that refused to die.

Perfect for readers who love:

✔ Epic historical fiction based on real events
✔ Survival stories filled with hardship, rebellion, and hope
✔ Poetic, immersive prose in the style of Charles Dickens & Naguib Mahfouz
✔ Deeply human characters caught in the tides of history
✔ A novel that makes you feel the weight of the past—and the strength of those who survived it