Author
Ahmed Al-Ketbi was responsible for the architectural decorations during the first construction phase. An inscription between two windows under the dome of the shrine states:
Author Original
كان أحمد الكتبي مسؤولاً عن الزخارف المعمارية خلال مرحلة البناء الأولى وتذكر كتابة بين نافذتين تحت قبة الضريح
Publication Date
12-801/ 1410-1399
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;sy;Mon01;34;ar
Library Location
Aleppo, Syria
Date
12-801/ 1410-1399
Notes
The mosque was built about 200 meters south of the Aleppo Citadel, and construction work began in 801 / 1399 under the patronage of the Mamluk governor Aqbugha al-Utrash. However, upon his death in 806 / 1404, only the western facade, the minaret, and the adjacent shrine had been completed. Atrash was buried in the shrine in the same year, then the governor Demirdash al-Muhammadi completed the building in 11-812/9-1410, and endowed it. The building is rectangular in shape, its dimensions are 42 x 36 m, its main facade is to the west and the secondary facade is to the north. The western facade was provided with windows on both sides of the portal, and decorated with three large, densely decorated frames, distributed at different distances from each other in proportion to the interior design of the building. The windows are low and close to the ground, while the frames extend almost to the flat surface, ending in a row of muqarnas. The gate is set back within an entry iwan, and is surmounted by a pointed arch. The octagonal minaret rises to the left of the entrance on the western facade. The dimensions of the heavenly space are 20 x 12.5 metres, and it is surrounded by corridors covered with cross vaults on its three sides. The prayer sanctuary, whose dimensions reach 35 x 10 m, is divided into two wings by a row of six marble columns topped by muqarnas capitals, which support a roof divided into five cross vaults. The shrine of the shepherd Aqbugha al-Atrash is located in the northwestern corner of the mosque. It is a small square structure, its dimensions are 4 x 4 metres, and it has a dome and two windows on both facades. The architectural traditions of Cairo, Damascus and Aleppo with their distinctive characteristics form the basis of Mamluk architecture. In Damascus, the façade was emphasized by a variety of different elements, such as stones of alternating colors, ablaq, elaborately carved stones, stone cladding, and interior facade decorations such as the Jaqmaqi school. In Aleppo, the cross vault that first appeared in the Great Mosque of Aleppo in 684 / 1285 became a feature of local architecture as well as the high-quality building materials used in the high, flat niches. The presence of many names of architectural teachers indicates that these features were not specific to one specific workshop, but rather were general features that were used since the late 8th / 14th century. This trend was inspired by the impressive monuments in Cairo during this period, the most beautiful example of which is the Al-Aqmar Mosque (519/5-1126). Cairo, the Mamluk capital, attracted construction specialists from all over the empire, and during periods of political stagnation, when building activity declined in the capital, these specialists would return home, taking with them the features they had used there, and leaving traces in every city in which they worked.
Sample Text
Verena Daiber “Atrash Mosque” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;sy;Mon01;34;ar
