The novel "The Girl of Kairouan" is part of the series of novels about the history of Islam. It is a historical romance novel in which Zaydan deals with historical events through a romantic love story. The novel includes the emergence of the Fatimid state in Africa, and enumerates the virtues of Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah and his leader Jawhar al-Siqilli. It also deals with the fall of the Ikhshidid state after its rulers indulged in luxury and pleasures, their tyranny over their subjects, and the division of their soldiers. The novel also provides a description of the barbarians of Africa, their customs, and their morals at that time, and narrates the story of the rise of the Fatimids, their cohesion, and their rise to power by establishing the Fatimid state after the fall of the Ikhshidid state.
