Publication Date
641 AH / 1243 AD
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;7;ar
Library Location
The school is located in a distinctive location on Al-Mu'izz Lidin Allah Al-Fatimi Street, and this street was known as the Shiite Fatimid procession route (Bein Al-Qasserine), Cairo, Egypt.
Date
641 AH / 1243 AD
Notes
The school was built on part of the Fatimid Eastern Palace, and was designed to teach the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence. It is considered the first school established in Egypt for that purpose. Shajarat al-Durr, the wife of Sultan al-Salih Najm al-Din, added a shrine in which he was buried in the year 648 AH / 1250 AD. Thus, an Ayyubid architectural complex was formed in the heart of Fatimid Cairo. It is a new approach and integrated architectural style that the Mamluk Sultans later followed in establishing their complexes overlooking Al-Muizz Street, which formed the main kasbah of the city of Cairo, such as the Qalawun complex. However, the Salihiyya Madrasa included only a madrasa and a shrine before the development of the complex system in the Mamluk era. Since the beginning of the 5th century AH / 11 AD, the Islamic State has effectively contributed to the establishment of madrasas as high-level educational institutions whose goal is to teach jurisprudence in religion according to Sunni sects, delve into science, and spread Islam. Historical references, such as Al-Maqrizi’s plans, stated that the number of schools in Cairo in the Ayyubid era was 24 schools. However, all of these schools have disappeared, and only the remains of two schools remain: the Kamiliyya School (built in 622 AH / 1225 AD), and the Salihiya School, most of whose buildings have disappeared, and only a part of its western iwan, adjacent to the tomb of the creator, remains, and its facade, entrance, and minaret. The main facade of the school was built of polished stones laid with great care, and it is divided into three main parts: the middle part. It includes the entrance and its sides, and its length is 18 metres. The right part is 31 m long. The left part is 26 m long. The height of the middle part is 12 m, while the right and left parts are about 11.50 m. The middle part (the entrance) includes a horizontal inscription band engraved in Naskh script bearing the name of the creator and a prayer for him. In the middle of this part is the door opening, which is surmounted by a lintel consisting of interlocking cymbals. The entrance is crowned by an arched apse decorated with five rows of muqarnas. The school has a minaret that rises above the entrance block, which today represents the entrance leading to Al-Salhiyya neighborhood, which was originally the main corridor separating the two identical wings of the school. This minaret is the only minaret of the Ayyubid era that remained intact, and it was restored in 1995 AD. The minaret is built of bricks covered with whitewash, and consists of three parts. The lower part consists of a main body of square cross-section, a side length of 5 m, and a height of 10.40 m. It is decorated with three arched niches. It is topped by an octagon, reaching a height of 5 m, and includes eight doors decorated with lobed arches that open onto an octagonal wooden balcony from which the call to prayer is given. The minaret is crowned above the octagon by two rows of muqarnas topped with a lobed dome. This type of minaret is known as the incense burner, due to the shape of the distinctive octagonal part and the dome above it, which resembles Ayyubid metal incense burners. This style of minarets continued at the beginning of the Mamluk era, as appears in the minaret of Khanqah Baybars al-Jashangir, which dates back to the year 709 AH / 1310 AD. This style of minarets developed in the later periods of the Mamluk era, and the octagonal floor increased in height and became a major element of the minaret. The layout of the school consisted of two identical schools with one entrance and a common facade. The entrance led to a corridor opened on either side of it by two opposite doors. The eastern one led to the residences of the Maliki and Shafi’i schools of thought, and the western one led to the residences of the Hanbali and Hanafi schools of thought. Thus, each side included an independent school consisting of two facing rooms with an open courtyard between them. This design can be considered a transitional stage to the design of the school with the four axial iwans that appeared later in the Mamluk era.
Sample Text
Tarek Torky “The School of Saleh Najm al-Din Ayoub” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;7;ar
