Author
Ibrahim bin Ghanayem, the engineer who a decade ago built Al-Ablaq Palace in Damascus for Sultan Al-Zahir Baybars.
Author Original
إبراهيم بن غنايم المهندس الذي بنى قبل عقد من الزمان قصر الأبلق في دمشق لصالح السلطان الظاهر بيبرس
Publication Date
676/ 1277
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;sy;Mon01;18;ar
Library Location
Damascus, Syria
Date
676/ 1277
Notes
Sultan Al-Sa'id Baraka Khan, son of the Mamluk Sultan Al-Zahir Baybars, built a dome for his father north of the Umayyad Mosque, almost facing the Al-Adiliyya Madrasa, the distinctive Ayyubid edifice. Although Baybars had expressed his desire to be buried in the village of Daraya near Damascus, his son chose next to the Umayyad Mosque, where many previous rulers were buried, such as Al-Kamil Muhammad, who ruled in 635 / 1238, and his brother Al-Ashraf Musa, who ruled in 626 / 1229. The dome is connected to a madrasa that was added at a later time. The dome has a square projection with a side length of 13.52 metres, surmounted by two octagonal arches, the upper of which has two pairs of windows with pointed arches on each side, and the lower one has the same style of windows on four of its alternating sides. The influence of the corresponding Adiliyya madrasa completed by the Ayyubid Sultan Al-Adil Sayf al-Din (reigned in Damascus 592-615/1196-1218) is clearly visible on the domed building. The upper part of the upper dome wall is decorated with a round window flanked by a lightly carved interlaced pattern and two quatrefoil decorative frames, a new element in the decoration of Damascene architecture inspired by Aleppo marble decoration. From the previous Ayyubid period (see the Sultaniyya Madrasah 620/1223), it is also linked to the decorations on the main entrance to the Al-Zahir Baybars Mosque in Cairo, which was built in 5-667/7-1269. The walls covering the building were built of reeded limestone, and the entrance was opened within an iwan 4 m deep. Within the iwan appear three lines of inscription surmounted by an arch of rich muqarnas. And a grooved semi-dome. The entrance leads to the heavenly courtyard and the entrance to the dome, located on the right. The lower parts of the dome's walls were decorated with panels of textured marble up to a height of 3 metres, topped with a border of relief floral decorations and a frieze of vine leaves. The wall decoration is completed with a glass mosaic representing natural scenes and floral and architectural elements reminiscent of the mosaics of the Umayyad Mosque. Baybars revived older architecture from two aspects, the first politically including the construction of edifices and temples, and the second through his method of choosing decorative elements. Despite The inscription on the entrance indicates that the mosaic and marble panels date back to the year 680 / 1281, but it is possible that the son of Sultan Baibars recreated the damaged decorations, and some researchers believe that the same architects who carried out the work were used in the beginning. The glass mosaics and the vine-shaped frieze can be found in the madrasa and dome of Sultan Qalawun in Cairo, which may indicate that Al-Mansur Qalawun used the same workshops that carried out the work. Working in the Al-Dhaheriya School for his architectural project in Cairo.
Sample Text
Verena Daiber “The Dhahiriyya School” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;sy;Mon01;18;ar
