The Nilometer is located on the Manial Island in Cairo. It is the second Islamic monument built in Egypt after the Amr Ibn Al As Mosque. It was founded by the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutawakkil in 861 AD. Ibn Tulun restored the Nilometer between AD 872 and 873.
The Nilometer was built to measure flood levels in the Nile River to calculate the taxes that Egypt would pay to the Abbasid Caliph. This Nilometer became useless after the construction of the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s.
The history of usage of the Nilometers is back to the ancient Egyptian civilization, where the ancient Egyptians used them to measure the level of the Nile water, such as that found on Elephantine Island in Aswan.
What referring to the importance of the water of the Nile River for the ancient Egyptians, celebrations were held.
- If the Nilometer was at the mark 16, that meant that the flood was perfect and the Egyptians could cultivate their land.
- But if the Nilometer exceeded the mark of 19, that meant the flood was catastrophic.
- But if the measurement was less than the mark 16, the celebrations were canceled and prayers, fasting, and supplications were held to avoid drought Expected.
The design of Nilometer
The Nilometer is divided into two parts:
The first part is the conical dome, which is a wooden roof. This dome is a new one due to restoration because the original dome was destroyed by the French forces during their occupation of Egypt.
The second part is the interior part designed by Abu Al-Abbas Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Kathir and is known as the astronomer Al-Fraganos. It is a spiral staircase that leads to the bottom with depth marks along the walls. In the middle, there is an octagonal marble column 19 cubits in length to measure water. This part is decorated with kufic decoration.