Shajar al-Durr, who ruled Egypt in the summer of 1250 (CE), was extraordinary in every way. Rising to power from obscure origins, Shajar al-Durr (whose name means “Tree of Pearls”) moved from the status of slave, to consort, mother, wife, regent, and ultimately sultan. Her architectural patronage of two building ensembles combined the civic function of education with the commemorative function of a memorial, changing the face of Cairo forever. In their urban location, relationship to the street and public space, structure and unusual dome profiles, and highly inventive ornament, her buildings reveal a great deal about her and the transitional age in which she lived. Her path-breaking patronage contradicts the prevailing assumption among historians that there was no distinctive female voice in Islamic art and architecture.