Author
Ahmed bin Muhammad Al-Hasib (construction supervisor).
Author Original
أحمد بن محمد الحاسب مشرف على البناء
Publication Date
247 AH / 861 AD
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;1;ar
Library Location
Cairo, Egypt
Date
247 AH / 861 AD
Notes
The Nilometer is considered one of the architectural structures closely related to Egyptian civilization, as it is the only one of its kind in the Islamic world. The importance of measuring the height of the Nile water is due to the fact that it was linked to collecting taxes on agricultural lands, as it was not permissible to impose taxes except in the event that the Nile water rose during the flood to a certain level at which the lands could be irrigated. The building is a well whose walls are built of carefully carved stone, and the thickness of these walls increases as the depth increases. This well includes three levels: the lower level, which is circular in projection, the middle level, which has a square projection with a side length greater than the diameter of the lower level, and the upper level, which also has a square projection, and its side length is greater than the side length of the middle level. This design helped the walls of the well to withstand the horizontal pressure of the ground, which increased as the depth increased. The Nile water flowed into the well through three tunnels, and its water poured into the well through three openings in its eastern wall. These openings take the form of niches crowned by pointed arches resting on integrated columns with capitals and bases. These arches are considered the oldest examples of pointed arches known in Islamic Egypt, and they are three centuries older than Gothic pointed arches in Europe. There are such arches in the Mosque of Ahmed Ibn Tulun (265 AH / 879 AD) in Cairo. The inner walls of the well are surrounded by a staircase that reaches the bottom, and wrapping around the northern and eastern inner walls from the top is inscription in Kufic script, representing the oldest recorded Arabic writing ever dated in Egypt. In the center of the well stands the main element of the building, which is a marble column with an octagonal section and a height of 10.50 m, on which are engraved marks measuring water levels in cubits and carats. Ahmed Ibn Tulun (ruled in the period 254-270 AH / 868-884 AD) carried out reforms in the Nilometer in 259 AH / 873 AD, and replaced the two old inscription bars on the southern and western sides. With the current two strips, he put his name on the building but kept the original construction date. The building witnessed many repairs and renovations in the Fatimid, Mamluk, and Ottoman eras. It was also renovated in the modern era in 1925 AD, and the Mamluk dome that had been surmounting it from the outside was replaced with a conical shape covered with sheets of lead.
Sample Text
Tarek Torky "Nilometer" in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;1;ar
