Publication Date
697 AH / 1299 AD
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;dz;Mon01;6;ar
Library Location
Tlemcen, Algeria
Date
697 AH / 1299 AD
Notes
In 698 AH / 1299 AD, Sultan Abu Yaqub Yusuf established this camp for the siege of Tlemcen; He quickly built a palace and a mosque, as well as housing for the military and the military personnel. Because of its impregnability and strong fortifications, the site was called “Al-Mahalla Al-Mansoura”, and the siege of Tlemcen at that time resulted in all trade being transferred to Al-Mansoura, which witnessed important development. After the assassination of Sultan Abu Yacoub by one of his slaves, the Marinids abandoned Mansoura, and it was partially demolished by the besiegers. In the year 735 AH / 1335 AD, Sultan Abu al-Hasan carried out a second siege of Tlemcen, after which the besieged city surrendered, and Mansoura became, for a period of time, the official seat of Marinid authority in central Morocco. To this day, a group of important ruins of the walls, the mosque, and the prayer hall are still clearly visible. The ruins of the walls of Mansoura still surround a trapezoid-shaped land with an area of 101 hectares. These walls were marked with tabiyya. They were 12 meters high, 1.50 meters wide at their base, and were supported by eighty towers. The mosque was built by Sultan Abu Yaqub in the year 701 AH / 1302 AD, and underwent some changes, especially the decorations of the main gate, by Sultan Abu Al-Hasan. All that remains of the mosque today are some remains of the walls and traces of the mihrab and a side wall. From the magnificent minaret; However, it was possible to reimagine and draw the plan of the mosque thanks to archaeological excavations. Some of the columns and capitals that were made of onyx are preserved in the Tlemcen Museum and the National Museum of Islamic Antiquities and Arts in Algiers. The main gate located at the base of the minaret, surrounded on both sides by three naves and a portico parallel to the gate wall, leads to a square courtyard with a side measuring 30 meters. The prayer hall was rectangular in shape (60 meters by 55 metres), and included thirteen perpendicular naves with eight rows of columns parallel to the qibla wall (the mihrab wall), while the mihrab was preceded by a dome, and on either side of it were two doors that led to a back hall. Only three facades remained standing of the minaret, built on a square base (10 meters by 9.5 metres), while the fourth facade was demolished. This minaret was hollow in its hollow, and the upper balcony was reached through a railing. The opening of the arch of the main door of the mosque is 2.50 metres, and the frame of the arch consists of successive breaches, surrounded by a rectangle bearing an inscription and two corners covered with Arabic inscriptions (arabesques). This arch rests on two columns of onyx. At the top there is a hanging bracket supported by stalactites, a lattice panel, and a solid portico composed of broken decorative arches and small delicate columns.
Sample Text
Ali Lafer “Mansoura” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;dz;Mon01;6;ar
