Mosque of Amir al-Maridani
Encyclopedia
The Mosque of Amir Altinbugha al-Maridani, dating from 1340 CE, is a mosque
from the era of the Mamluk Sultanate
of Cairo
, Egypt
. Located just outside of the Bab Zuweila
, it was built on the outskirts of medieval Cairo by Amir Altinbugha al-Maridani, with significant help from Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad
. The mosque has a hypostyle
plan similar to the Mosque of al-Nasir, and its exterior walls are decorated in typical Mamluk style. At the time of its building, it was one of the most extravagantly decorated mosques in Cairo, marked by the first fully octagonal minaret and large dome, as well as other architectural innovations. Its history and luxuriousness are directly correlated to the life and prominence of al-Maridani, as it was built with the patronage of his father-in-law, Sultan Muhammad and significant donations from al-Maridani's own pocket.
in 744/1343.
plans, similar to the sultan's mosque in the Citadel
, with a dome above the mihrab
and three axial entrances. The mosque is not rectangular, however, because of the constraints of urban construction. Specifically, the northeastern corner was built so that it would not encroach upon Tabanna Street nor a neighboring small lane. It is not, however, as irregular as some mosques in urban Cairo, such as Ulmas' Mosque. Notably, the only reference for the start of construction comes from the foundation: a band of inscription at the mosque's west entrance suggests that the mosque went under construction in 739/1338-9.
including double-arched windows". The mosque has three entrances, with the west entrance on the same axis as that of the prayer niche and the main entrance on the north side of the mosque; each has the shape of an iwan
with a pointed arch and is topped by a medallion of faience mosaics
. The main entrance is a deep recess, crowned by a muqarnas
cresting, panelled with marble and richly patterned. The joggled
door lintels
and the small window framed by colonettes are both common features in Mamluk architecture. In this case, the small outer window corresponds to an inner window with a with a blue and white tile grille. The date of completion appears on the main entrance's crown, and again on the west entrance and in the sanctuary. The west entrance is decorated differently, with a sunrise motif decorating muqarnas pendentives in the ablaq technique of alternating light and dark stone courses. Between the pendentives, a medallion with a smaller medallion in its center is decorated with tile mosaics. The south entrance is entirely undecorated.
The facade
of the main wall, which corresponds to the interior mihrab
wall, is panelled with recessed windows. The lower windows are rectagular while the upper are double arched with single arched qamariyyas, multicolored stained glass windows, mirroring them on the interior. The northern, eastern and part of the southern facades are the only ones with these windows, as they would have lined the busiest streets and as such been the most visible walls. The remaining wall sections, around the west and south entrances, are plain and windowless. The main wall is buttressed by the mihrab, as it protrudes slightly into an otherwise thin outer wall.
is the earliest known example of entirely octagonal shaft and pavilion,. It is also the earliest minaret crowned with a top that is not the mabkhara
type. Instead, the pear-shaped bulb sits on top of the eight-columned pavilion crowned with muqarnas; it is replicated on the interior wooden pulpit. On the wall beneath the minaret, the golden band that runs from the main entrance along the entire facade breaks, and the corner nearest the mosque is missing its colonettes. The buttress
of the minaret is also built with different stone that the rest of the mosque, indicating that this section of the wall was rebuilt.
, and were likely brought from Upper Egypt
.
, created by the surrounding arcades
, is characterized by features that are unusual for Mamluk architecture. The points of the arches are framed with a continuous molding that curls into a loop at the top of each arch, and stucco
carved niches and medallions alternate in the spandrels of each arcade. Crenellation crowns the arches, and is also carved in stucco. Relieving oculi
penetrate the spandrels of the second row of arches, and at each corner and the middle of each wall of the courtyard a small domicile
with a mabkhara contains a bright blue bulb of glass.
The fountain in the courtyard is not a part of the original mosque.
The courtyard area is separated from the sanctuary with a mashrabiyya
, upon which is a large inscription from the Qur'an
. This wooden screen mostly shades the sanctuary from the courtyard's light, making the double windows in the outer wall necessary.
wall is decorated with the remains of gilded stucco and epigraphic bands
, with trees at their center. These trees are one of the only extant naturalistic features in Mamluk architectural decoration. The mihrab
is made of polychrome marble and has friezes of small niches with blue-glass colonettes on the side framing its upper edge. The dado
has similar friezes. The walls are decorated with marble mosaics centered by a Kufic
inscription of Allah
, and on the northern wall there is a panel made totally of white marble inlaid with green gypsum. The function of the small room in the southeast corner is unknown.
The pulpit is original and decorated with a geometric star patter.
grills filled with colored glass.
. In his two volume work Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al-'athar (al-Khitat), Maqrizi describes the physical layout of medieval Cairo in exact detail, including buildings' construction histories and their connections to greater Cairene society. 650 years after it was writtien, al-Khitat remains the most useful source of information on buildings and their significance in medieval Cairo.
Unfortunately, he does not provide much background for the Mosque of Amir al-Maridani: he only shares how the site was acquired, some brief summarizing details about the mosque's construction, and Amir al-Maridani's later life history. One possible reason is that al-Maridani's mosque was relatively young when Maqrizi composed al-Khitat, completed less than one hundred years previously. However, whatever the reason, the lack of description from Maqrizi means that much of the history of the Mosque of al-Maridani is unrecored and thus unknowable.
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
from the era of the Mamluk Sultanate
Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)
The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt was the final independent Egyptian state prior to the establishment of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in 1805. It lasted from the overthrow of the Ayyubid Dynasty until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. The sultanate's ruling caste was composed of Mamluks, Arabised...
of Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. Located just outside of the Bab Zuweila
Bab Zuweila
Bab Zuweila is a medieval gate in Cairo, which is still standing in modern times. It was also known as Bawabbat al-Mitwali during the Ottoman period, and is sometimes spelled Bab Zuwayla. It is considered one of the major landmarks of the city, and is the last remaining southern gate from the...
, it was built on the outskirts of medieval Cairo by Amir Altinbugha al-Maridani, with significant help from Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad
Al-Nasir Muhammad
Al-Nasir Muhammad b. Cairo 1285, d...
. The mosque has a hypostyle
Hypostyle
In architecture, a hypostyle hall has a roof which is supported by columns, as in the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak. The word hypostyle comes from the Ancient Greek hypóstȳlos meaning "under columns"...
plan similar to the Mosque of al-Nasir, and its exterior walls are decorated in typical Mamluk style. At the time of its building, it was one of the most extravagantly decorated mosques in Cairo, marked by the first fully octagonal minaret and large dome, as well as other architectural innovations. Its history and luxuriousness are directly correlated to the life and prominence of al-Maridani, as it was built with the patronage of his father-in-law, Sultan Muhammad and significant donations from al-Maridani's own pocket.
Construction Process
The land for the Mosque was in Tabbana quarter of Cairo, and was originally a burial area; in the Islamic year 783 (1337-8 CE) al-Maridani purchased the area on which the sultan and he would commission the mosque. Sultan Muhammad appointed an overseer to purchase the surrounding houses, which he subsequently cleared. To build the mosque, the sultan appointed his master builder, al-mu'allim (the teacher) al-Suyufi, and provided about 15,000 dirhams worth of wood and marble. Construction began in 739/1338-9, and total expenditure for the mosque reached over three hundred thousand dirhams. Al-Maridani contributed a substantial amount to the mosque's construction, as he was seriously ill throughout it and hoped to make it as memorable as possible.Life of Amir Altinbugha al-Maridani
Al-Maridani first rose to prominence as the cupbearer of Sultan Muhammad, but the date of this appointment is unknown. The sultan must have favored al-Maridani, as the sultan eventually married his daughter to al-Maridani, making the sultan al-Maridani's father-in-law. In addition to this marriage, the Sultan appointed al-Maridani as the chief of Cairo's police force thereby making him the "amir of a thousand". When al-Nasir Muhammad died, al-Maridani "slandered the new sultan al-Mansur Abu Bakr's authority" to another amir, and thus tricked the amir to depose the new sultan. Al-Maridani continued to have success in "power politics, crossing and double crossing" local players under al-Ashraf Kujuk and al-Salih Isma'il. Ultimately, however, he died in exile as the governor of AleppoAleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
in 744/1343.
Floor Plan and Foundation
The Mosque of Amir al-Maridani is built with both hypostyle and riwaqRiwaq
A riwaq is an arcade or portico open on at least one side. Such structures are built in Iran and other Islamic countries, mostly in the bazaars or mosques....
plans, similar to the sultan's mosque in the Citadel
Cairo Citadel
The Saladin Citadel of Cairo is a medieval Islamic fortification in Cairo, Egypt. The location, on Mokattam hill near the center of Cairo, was once famous for its fresh breeze and grand views of the city...
, with a dome above the mihrab
Mihrab
A mihrab is semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla; that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying...
and three axial entrances. The mosque is not rectangular, however, because of the constraints of urban construction. Specifically, the northeastern corner was built so that it would not encroach upon Tabanna Street nor a neighboring small lane. It is not, however, as irregular as some mosques in urban Cairo, such as Ulmas' Mosque. Notably, the only reference for the start of construction comes from the foundation: a band of inscription at the mosque's west entrance suggests that the mosque went under construction in 739/1338-9.
Exterior
The exterior Amir al-Maridani's mosque is typical for an urban Mamluk mosque, characterized by "recesses crowned with stalactitesMocárabe
Mocárabe, Honeycomb work, or Stalactite work is an ornamental design used in certain types of Islamic architecture that spread throughout the Islamic world in the 12th century. The design consists of a complex array of vertical prisms resembling stalactites...
including double-arched windows". The mosque has three entrances, with the west entrance on the same axis as that of the prayer niche and the main entrance on the north side of the mosque; each has the shape of an iwan
Iwan
An iwan is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called pishtaq, a Persian term for a portal projecting from the facade of a building, usually decorated with calligraphy bands, glazed tilework, and...
with a pointed arch and is topped by a medallion of faience mosaics
Faience
Faience or faïence is the conventional name in English for fine tin-glazed pottery on a delicate pale buff earthenware body, originally associated with Faenza in northern Italy. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip...
. The main entrance is a deep recess, crowned by a muqarnas
Muqarnas
Muqarnas is a type of corbel used as a decorative device in traditional Islamic architecture. The term is similar to mocárabe, but mocárabe only refers to designs with formations resembling stalactites, by the use of elements known as alveole.Muqarnas takes the form of small pointed niches,...
cresting, panelled with marble and richly patterned. The joggled
Bending (metalworking)
Bending is a manufacturing process that produces a V-shape, U-shape, or channel shape along a straight axis in ductile materials, most commonly sheet metal. Commonly used equipment include box and pan brakes, brake presses, and other specialized machine presses...
door lintels
Lintel (architecture)
A lintel can be a load-bearing building component, a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. It is often found over portals, doors, and windows.-Structural uses:...
and the small window framed by colonettes are both common features in Mamluk architecture. In this case, the small outer window corresponds to an inner window with a with a blue and white tile grille. The date of completion appears on the main entrance's crown, and again on the west entrance and in the sanctuary. The west entrance is decorated differently, with a sunrise motif decorating muqarnas pendentives in the ablaq technique of alternating light and dark stone courses. Between the pendentives, a medallion with a smaller medallion in its center is decorated with tile mosaics. The south entrance is entirely undecorated.
The facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
of the main wall, which corresponds to the interior mihrab
Mihrab
A mihrab is semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla; that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying...
wall, is panelled with recessed windows. The lower windows are rectagular while the upper are double arched with single arched qamariyyas, multicolored stained glass windows, mirroring them on the interior. The northern, eastern and part of the southern facades are the only ones with these windows, as they would have lined the busiest streets and as such been the most visible walls. The remaining wall sections, around the west and south entrances, are plain and windowless. The main wall is buttressed by the mihrab, as it protrudes slightly into an otherwise thin outer wall.
The Minaret
Located just to the left of the main entrance, the minaretMinaret
A minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....
is the earliest known example of entirely octagonal shaft and pavilion,. It is also the earliest minaret crowned with a top that is not the mabkhara
Mabkhara
Mabkhara is a censer found across the Arab World and Turkey. The mabkhara was traditionally made from clay or soft stone . Most mabkhara have a square pedestal base with inward sloping sides which support a square cup with outward sloping sides. The wooden base is often carved out to form legs...
type. Instead, the pear-shaped bulb sits on top of the eight-columned pavilion crowned with muqarnas; it is replicated on the interior wooden pulpit. On the wall beneath the minaret, the golden band that runs from the main entrance along the entire facade breaks, and the corner nearest the mosque is missing its colonettes. The buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
of the minaret is also built with different stone that the rest of the mosque, indicating that this section of the wall was rebuilt.
Interior
As is the case with many Mamluk era hypostyle mosques, the Mosque of Amir al-Maridani is supported by columns from earlier buildings. In this case, the granite columns were taken from the Fatimid mosque of Rashida, though they were originally taken from ancient monuments. Many of the columns have varying heights which is compensated for with different sized pedestals. The eight columns that support the dome, however, are all of equal size, have ancient Egyptian capitalsCapital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
, and were likely brought from Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt is the strip of land, on both sides of the Nile valley, that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan north to the area between El-Ayait and Zawyet Dahshur . The northern section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Sohag is sometimes known as Middle Egypt...
.
Courtyard
The facade of the courtyardCourtyard
A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. These areas in inns and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of court....
, created by the surrounding arcades
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
, is characterized by features that are unusual for Mamluk architecture. The points of the arches are framed with a continuous molding that curls into a loop at the top of each arch, and stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
carved niches and medallions alternate in the spandrels of each arcade. Crenellation crowns the arches, and is also carved in stucco. Relieving oculi
Oculus
An Oculus, circular window, or rain-hole is a feature of Classical architecture since the 16th century. They are often denoted by their French name, oeil de boeuf, or "bull's-eye". Such circular or oval windows express the presence of a mezzanine on a building's façade without competing for...
penetrate the spandrels of the second row of arches, and at each corner and the middle of each wall of the courtyard a small domicile
Domicile
*In architecture, a general term for a place of residence or "permanent residence" in legal terms*Domicile , the zodiac sign over which a planet has rulership...
with a mabkhara contains a bright blue bulb of glass.
The fountain in the courtyard is not a part of the original mosque.
The courtyard area is separated from the sanctuary with a mashrabiyya
Mashrabiya
Mashrabiya or Shanasheel is the Arabic term given to a type of projecting oriel window enclosed with carved wood latticework located on the second storey of a building or higher, often lined with stained glass. The mashrabiy is an element of traditional Arabic architecture used since the middle...
, upon which is a large inscription from the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
. This wooden screen mostly shades the sanctuary from the courtyard's light, making the double windows in the outer wall necessary.
Sanctuary
The sanctuary, while richly decorated at one point is "currently in bad shape". The qiblaQibla
The Qiblah , also transliterated as Qibla, Kiblah or Kibla, is the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays during salah...
wall is decorated with the remains of gilded stucco and epigraphic bands
Epigraphy
Epigraphy Epigraphy Epigraphy (from the , literally "on-writing", is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing; that is, the science of identifying the graphemes and of classifying their use as to cultural context and date, elucidating their meaning and assessing what conclusions can be...
, with trees at their center. These trees are one of the only extant naturalistic features in Mamluk architectural decoration. The mihrab
Mihrab
A mihrab is semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla; that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying...
is made of polychrome marble and has friezes of small niches with blue-glass colonettes on the side framing its upper edge. The dado
Dado (architecture)
In architectural terminology, the dado, borrowed from Italian meaning die or plinth, is the lower part of a wall, below the dado rail and above the skirting board....
has similar friezes. The walls are decorated with marble mosaics centered by a Kufic
Kufic
Kufic is the oldest calligraphic form of the various Arabic scripts and consists of a modified form of the old Nabataean script. Its name is derived from the city of Kufa, Iraq, although it was known in Mesopotamia at least 100 years before the foundation of Kufa. At the time of the emergence of...
inscription of Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
, and on the northern wall there is a panel made totally of white marble inlaid with green gypsum. The function of the small room in the southeast corner is unknown.
The pulpit is original and decorated with a geometric star patter.
Dome
The dome, over the mihrab area, is slightly smaller than the dome of the Al-Nasir Muhammad Mosque, and has similar gilded and painted wooden pendentives. The windows in the transitional zone between ceiling and dome are of one oculus over two bays, and are decorated with stucco arabesqueArabesque
The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements...
grills filled with colored glass.
Sources of Information
Other than current observation of its architecture, one of the only sources of information about the Mosque of Amir al-Maridani is the Cairene historian al-MaqriziAl-Maqrizi
Taqi al-Din Ahmad ibn 'Ali ibn 'Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhammad al-Maqrizi ; Arabic: , was an Egyptian historian more commonly known as al-Maqrizi or Makrizi...
. In his two volume work Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al-'athar (al-Khitat), Maqrizi describes the physical layout of medieval Cairo in exact detail, including buildings' construction histories and their connections to greater Cairene society. 650 years after it was writtien, al-Khitat remains the most useful source of information on buildings and their significance in medieval Cairo.
Unfortunately, he does not provide much background for the Mosque of Amir al-Maridani: he only shares how the site was acquired, some brief summarizing details about the mosque's construction, and Amir al-Maridani's later life history. One possible reason is that al-Maridani's mosque was relatively young when Maqrizi composed al-Khitat, completed less than one hundred years previously. However, whatever the reason, the lack of description from Maqrizi means that much of the history of the Mosque of al-Maridani is unrecored and thus unknowable.
Architectural Commonalities
- A similar riwaq plan is found in the mosques of Amir Husayn, Bashtak, Ulmas, Sitt Miska/Hadaq, Aqsunqur, Qawsun, and Arghun Shah al-Isma'ili.
- The top of the minaret is similar to the top of the minaret at the Mosque of Bashtak.
- A wooden dome over a mihrab is also found at the mosques of al-Zahir BaybarsMosque of al-Zahir Baybars-History:Sultan al-Zahir Baybars al-Bunduqdari was an influential leader and established a strong foundation for the Mamluk rule in Egypt. He was a successful statesman and warrior, united Syria and the Hijaz with Egypt, conquered important lands from Crusdaders, raided Little Armenia, and...
and al-Nasir Muhammad. Smaller wooden domes are above the mihrab area at the mosques of Zayn al-Din Yahya in Bulaq and Habbaniyya. - The Mosque of Sitt Hadaq also has recessed panels with windows appearing on only three of the four facades.
- A pattern of three axial entrance is also found at the mosques of al-Zahir Baybars and al-Nasir Muhammad.
- Decorative tile usage is also found at the Mosque of al-Nasir Muhammad.
- Marble dados where also found in the sanctuaries of the mosques of al-Nasir Muhammas and al-Mu'ayyad.
- A similar mashrabiyya is found at Qalawun's mausoleum.