Mamluk
The Madrasa of Sultan Hasan
The great Bahri Mamluk madrasa-mosque rising opposite the Citadel, c. 762 AH / 1361 CE
c. 762 AH / 1361 CE
Educational historical reconstructionWhere
Cairo, opposite the Citadel, al-Madrasa al-Sultaniyya al-Hasaniyya
30.0322, 31.2570 · View on OpenStreetMap
Background
The Madrasa of Sultan Hasan, al-Madrasa al-Sultaniyya al-Hasaniyya, was commissioned by Sultan al-Nasir al-Malik al-Salih Hasan ibn al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun (rahimahu Allah), the seventeenth Bahri Mamluk sultan, in 757 AH (1356 CE) and constructed over the following years until shortly after his assassination in 762 AH (1361 CE), with completion of the entrance portal and final details continuing under his amir al-Bashir al-Jamdar through 764 AH (1363 CE). The Sunni Mamluk-era historians (al-Maqrizi's al-Khitat al-Maqriziyya, Ibn Taghribirdi's al-Nujum al-Zahira, Ibn Iyas's Bada'i' al-Zuhur) preserve the construction in extensive detail. The building is the architectural high-water mark of the Bahri Mamluk dynasty: a cruciform mosque-madrasa of unprecedented scale, with four great iwans set in cross around a central rectangular sahn; each of the four iwans was dedicated to teaching one of the four Sunni madhhabs (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali), with full teaching staff, student riwaqs, hadith chambers, and library, the Sunni Mamluk institutional programme of patronage of all four schools, established by Sultan Baybars al-Bunduqdari (rahimahu Allah) a century earlier, realised here in monumental stone. Behind the qibla iwan is the great mausoleum chamber of the patron, surmounted by a stone dome on a high drum; the dome was the largest in Cairo to its date. The entrance portal, added later, is the most ornate Bahri Mamluk portal in the city, with deep muqarnas hood and polychrome inlay. The total cost of the project bankrupted the Mamluk treasury; the building suffered partial collapse of the original dome and minarets over the centuries and underwent successive restorations under the Ottoman and modern periods. The building is in continuous use as a mosque and as a teaching institution from its founding to the present day, recognised by UNESCO as part of the Historic Cairo World Heritage site. The patron Sultan Hasan (rahimahu Allah) was the seventh son of al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun; he reigned twice (748-752 AH and 755-762 AH) and was assassinated by his own amir Yalbugha al-'Umari in 762 AH at the age of twenty-eight. This scene depicts the building at the late stage of the original construction in c. 762 AH (1361 CE): the cruciform iwans rising in dressed limestone, the mausoleum dome under construction, the masonry yards on the ground around the site, the workforce of Cairene Mamluk-era stonecutters and tile-cutters at work.
What you see
A dense walled medieval city of Egypt in the mid-8th century AH, with the great citadel rising to the south on its outcrop. The site of the new madrasa is on the open ground between the citadel and the main bazaar street of the city, a prime royal precinct.
An enormous cruciform mosque-madrasa rising in dressed limestone, the largest Mamluk religious foundation of the dynasty and one of the largest medieval Muslim foundations of any period. Four great iwans set in cross around a central sahn; each iwan is for one of the four Sunni madhhabs (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali), with full teaching staff and student riwaqs; the mausoleum chamber of the patron sultan is behind the qibla iwan, surmounted by a great stone dome.
On the ground around the rising building, masonry yards: limestone blocks being dressed; tile-cutters preparing the polychrome inlay; calligraphers laying out the great Qur'anic inscription bands that will run the length of the iwan walls. The masons are the Cairene Mamluk-era stonecutters whose tradition would continue through the Mamluk period; the workforce is enormous, the project tying up substantial Mamluk state revenue.
The patron is Sultan al-Nasir al-Malik al-Salih Hasan ibn al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun (rahimahu Allah), reigning twice, 748-752 AH and 755-762 AH, a young sultan of the late Bahri Mamluk house. The construction began in 757 AH (1356 CE) and continued through his second reign until his assassination in 762 AH (1361 CE). The building was incomplete at his death and was finished by his amir al-Bashir al-Jamdar over the subsequent years; the entrance portal in particular was completed only later.
The Madrasa of Sultan Hasan is the architectural high-water mark of the Bahri Mamluk period and one of the greatest Sunni religious foundations of the medieval Islamic world. The Sunni hadith chambers, the four madhhab teaching iwans, and the great mausoleum together express the Sunni Mamluk programme of patronage of all four Sunni schools that the dynasty had institutionalised since Sultan Baybars (rahimahu Allah).
The light is the high light of Cairo in mid-year. The dating is approximate but firm: the construction continued from 757 to 764 AH (1356-1363 CE), with the bulk of the work done in c. 760-762 AH; the scene is set in the late years of the construction.
The Sunni historical record: al-Maqrizi's Khitat, Ibn Taghribirdi's al-Nujum al-Zahira, Ibn Iyas's Bada'i' al-Zuhur. Architectural reference: Creswell's Muslim Architecture of Egypt; Doris Behrens-Abouseif's Islamic Architecture in Cairo.
Further reading & cross-references
al-Maqrizi, al-Mawa'iz wa-al-I'tibar fi Dhikr al-Khitat wa-al-Athar (early 15th c.): The standard Sunni Egyptian topographical encyclopaedia. The principal Sunni source on the construction and the patron.
Ibn Taghribirdi, al-Nujum al-Zahira fi Muluk Misr wa-al-Qahira (mid-15th c.): Standard Sunni Mamluk-era history; preserves the reign of Sultan Hasan (rahimahu Allah) and the construction of the madrasa.
Ibn Iyas, Bada'i' al-Zuhur fi Waqa'i' al-Duhur (early 16th c.): Sunni Mamluk-era history; cross-reference on the construction.
The Madrasa of Sultan Hasan (extant, in continuous use): The building is in continuous use as a mosque and as a teaching institution from 762 AH to the present day. The original cruciform plan and the bulk of the elevation are preserved; the dome and minarets have been partially restored. The most authoritative material witness.
K.A.C. Creswell, Muslim Architecture of Egypt (Oxford, 1952-1959): Standard architectural reference. Provides the precise dimensions, structural system, and dating of the components.
Doris Behrens-Abouseif, Islamic Architecture in Cairo (Brill, 1989): Modern academic study of the architectural history of Cairo. Used as a non-confessional cross-reference.
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