Author
The construction was supervised by Prince Alam al-Din al-Shuja'i. He was an expert in architecture and engineering, and he mobilized all the craftsmen and prevented them from working anywhere else in order to speed up the completion of the building.
Author Original
أشرف على البناء الأمير علم الدين الشجاعي وكان خبيراً في العمارة والهندسة، وحشد جميع الصناع ومنعهم من العمل في أي مكان آخر من أجل سرعة الانتهاء من المبنى
Publication Date
684 AH / 1285 AD
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;15;ar
Library Location
The complex is located on Al-Mu'izz Lidin Allah Street (Bain Al-Qasrain), on an area of land that was part of the Western Fatimid Palace, Cairo, Egypt.
Date
684 AH / 1285 AD
Notes
The Sultan Mansur Qalawun Complex is considered the beginning of the emergence of a new architectural style, which is known as architectural complexes that include more than one architectural unit for different purposes. This complex consists of a shrine, a madrasa, and a bimaristan. The main facade of this complex overlooks the street, extends 67 meters in length and 20 meters in height, and is built of stone. The façade includes vertical units consisting of recessed, arched walls supported by marble columns, inside which are windows decorated with hollow geometric shapes. The façade contains an inscription band engraved in stone in a third line, containing the name of the building’s creator, his titles, and the date of construction. The horizontal layout of the shrine is a square with a side length of approximately 35 metres. In the middle of it were erected four huge granite columns with gilded capitals and four shoulders of bricks covered with delicate marble inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The columns and shoulders bear arches whose interiors are decorated with plaster decorations. The columns, shoulders, and arches define an octagonal plane, in the middle of which is the tomb of Al-Mansur Qalawun and his son Al-Nasser Muhammad (who ruled three times in the years 693-694 AH / 1294-1295 AD, 698-708 AH / 1299-1309 AD, and 709-741 AH / 1309-1340 AD). The octagonal area is covered by a huge dome with an octagonal neck. This area and its dome are somewhat similar to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem (built in 72 AH / 692 AD). The walls of the shrine contain marble buttons inlaid with mother-of-pearl, which is considered one of the finest marble works in Islamic monuments in Egypt. The shrine has a niche decorated with marble and mother-of-pearl, which is the largest and most luxurious niche in Egyptian antiquities. The madrasa included an open middle court surrounded by four iwans: two large iwans, namely the qibla iwan (south-eastern iwan) and the iwan opposite it, and two small iwans on the sides. All that remains of the madrasa is the Iwan of the Qibla, which is distinguished by its unique facade, unparalleled in Egypt, overlooking the courtyard with three arches, the largest of which is the middle. In the school, lessons were given in jurisprudence according to the four schools of thought, and lessons in medicine, the practical aspect of which was conducted inside Bimaristan. Bimaristan was one of the reasons for building this complex, as it is mentioned that while Qalawun was in the Levant, when he was a prince, he fell seriously ill, so the doctors treated him with medicines brought from Bimaristan Nour al-Din Mahmoud in Damascus, and he recovered. Qalawun visited Al-Bimaristan, was impressed by it, and vowed that if God gave him the kingdom, he would build one like it. Qalawun chose to build the Bimaristan Hall of Sitt al-Mulk, the daughter of al-Aziz Billah the Fatimid, which later passed to Munisa Khatun, the daughter of King al-Adil al-Ayyubid. The hall was located at the end of the complex and included four iwans. Bimaristan has provided doctors in all specialties, nurses, furniture, tools and necessary medicines. Only a few parts remain of the Bimaristan today, including part of the eastern iwan containing the remains of a marble fountain and a shadrawan that was decorated with fine marble and is very similar to that found in the Al-Aziza Palace in Palermo in Sicily (its construction was completed between the years 561 and 570 AH / 1166 and 1175 AD). The complex contains a minaret that was rebuilt in 703 AH / 1303 AD by Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad bin Qalawun, after it fell as a result of an earthquake in 702 AH / 1302 AD. The minaret bears a dated inscription indicating renovation work. The minaret consists of three floors: the first and second floors are square in shape, while the third is round and contains decorations consisting of interlocking arches. Some historical sources mention that there is a great similarity between these decorations and the decorations of Andalusian architecture, as we see in the Giralda Minaret (built in 578 AH / 1184 AD) in Spain.
Sample Text
Tarek Torky “Sultan Mansur Qalawun Complex (mausoleum, madrasa and bimaristan)” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;15;ar
