History
Bismallah..., and blessings on their lord Muhammad, his family and his companions. The building of this blessed bridge was ordered by their master, the great Sultan al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars, ibn Abd Allah, in time of his son their Lord Sultan al-Malik al-Said Nasir al-Din Baraka Khan, may Allah glorify their victories and grant them His grace. And that, under the direction of the humble servant aspiring to the mercy of Allah. Ala al-Din Ali al-Suwwaq, may Allah grant grace to him and his parents, in the month ofRamadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ..., the year 671 H. arch–April 1273 C.E./blockquote> Ala al-Din Ali al-Suwwaq was the same official charged with overseeing the construction of the Great Mosque ofLydda Lod ( he, לוד, or fully vocalized ; ar, اللد, al-Lidd or ), also known as Lydda ( grc, Λύδδα), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Shephe ...three years earlier.Petersen, 2001, p
184
/ref> During the 18th and 19th centuries, the bridged served a major road in the Nahiyeh (sub-district) of Lod that encompassed the area of the present-day city ofModi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut ( he, מוֹדִיעִין-מַכַּבִּים-רֵעוּת) is an Israeli city located in central Israel, about southeast of Tel Aviv and west of Jerusalem, and is connected to those two cities via Highway 443. In t ...in the south to the present-day city ofEl'ad El'ad, also spelled Elad ( he, אלעד), is a city in the Central District of Israel. In the 1990s, it was built for a Haredi Jewish population and to a lesser extent, it was also built for a Religious Zionist Jewish population. Located about ...in the north, and from the foothills in the east, through the Lod Valley to the outskirts ofJaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...in the west. This area was home to thousands of inhabitants in about 20 villages, who had at their disposal tens of thousands of hectares of prime agricultural land. In 1882 thePalestine Exploration Fund The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society based in London. It was founded in 1865, shortly after the completion of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem, and is the oldest known organization in the world created specifically for the study ...'s ''Survey of Western Palestine'' noted that Jisr Jindas had a representation of two lions and an Arabic text. It further noted that it appeared to be " Saracenic work".
Description
The bridge is over long and wide, and runs north-south. It consists of threearch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...es and two centralpiers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ..., with the central arch wider than the two other arches.
Baybars panthers or lions
In his nativeTurkic language The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic languag ..., Baibars' name means "great panther". Possibly based on that, Baibars used the panther as his heraldicblazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ..., and placed it on both coins and buildings. On the Bridge of Jindas, the lions/panthers used play with a rat, which may be interpreted to represent Baibars' Crusader enemies. According toMoshe Sharon Moshe Sharon ( he, משה שָׁרוֹן; born December 18, 1937) is an Israeli historian of Islam. He is currently Professor Emeritus of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he serves as Chair in Bahá ..., the lions on Jisr Jindas are similar to the ones on theLions' Gate Lions' Gate ( he, שער האריות, Sha'ar ha-Arayot, Lions' Gate, ar, باب الأسباط, Bab al-Asbat, Gate of the Tribes), also St Stephen's Gate, is one of the seven open Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem. It leads into the Muslim Qu ...in Jerusalem, andQasr al-Basha Qasr al-Basha ( ar, قصر الباشا), also known as Pasha's Palace Museum, Radwan Castle and Napoleon's Fort, is a historical palace situated in the Old City of Gaza, now housing a museum and a girls' school. It served as a seat of power in t ...in Gaza. All represent the same sultan:Baybars Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari ( ar, الملك الظاهر ركن الدين بيبرس البندقداري, ''al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Rukn al-Dīn Baybars al-Bunduqdārī'') (1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), of Turkic Kipchak .... The Gaza lions were created with interlocking lines suggesting leopard spots, however, the felines' outline is similar. Sharon estimates that they all date to approximately 1273 C.E.Sharon Sharon ( he, שָׁרוֹן ''Šārôn'' "plain") is a given name as well as an Israeli surname. In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name. However, historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In I ..., 2009, p
58
and pl.6.
See also
*List of Roman bridges This is a list of Roman bridges. The Romans were the world's first major bridge builders. The following list constitutes an attempt to list all known surviving remains of Roman bridges. A Roman bridge in the sense of this article includes an ...*Barid The ''barīd'' ( ar, بريد, often translated as "the postal service") was the state-run courier service of the Umayyad and later Abbasid Caliphates. A major institution in the early Islamic states, the ''barid'' was not only responsible for the o ..., Muslim postal network renewed during Mamluk period (roads, bridges, khans) **Jisr al-Ghajar Ghajar ( ar, غجر, he, ע'ג'ר or ) is an Alawite-Arab village on the Hasbani River, on the border between Lebanon and the Israeli-occupied portion of Syria's Golan Heights. In , it had a population of . History Early history Control ove ..., stone bridge south of Ghajar **Daughters of Jacob Bridge Daughters of Jacob Bridge ( he, גשר בנות יעקב, ''Gesher Bnot Ya'akov''; ar, جسر بنات يعقوب, ''Jisr Benat Ya'kub''). is a bridge that spans the last natural ford of the Jordan at the southern end of the Hula Basin between ...(Jisr Banat Yaqub) **Al-Sinnabra Al-Sinnabra or Sinn en-Nabra, is the Arabic place name for a historic site on the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee in modern-day Israel. The ancient site lay on a spur from the hills that close the southern end of the Sea of Galilee, next to ...Crusader bridge, with nearby Jisr Umm el-Qanatir/Jisr Semakh and Jisr es-Sidd further downstream **Jisr al-Majami Jisr el-Majami or Jisr al-Mujamieh ( ar, جسر المجامع, Jisr al-Majami, Meeting Bridge or "The bridge of the place of assembling", and he, גֶּשֶׁר, ''Gesher'', lit. "Bridge") is an ancient stone bridge, possibly of Roman origin, o ...bridge over the Jordan, with Mamluk khan **Yibna Bridge The Yibna Bridge or Nahr Rubin Bridge is a Mamluk arch bridge near Yibna, which crosses the river Nahal Sorek (formerly known as Nahr Rubin, or Wadi al-Tahuna). It was previously used by Route 410 to Rehovot, and was known as the Jumping Bridge du ...or "Nahr Rubin Bridge" **Isdud Bridge Jisr Isdud or Isdud Bridge, also known as the Ad Halom Bridge,Petersen, A. (2008): ''Bridges in Medieval Palestine'', in U. Vermeulen & K. Dhulster (eds.)History of Egypt & Syria in the Fatimid, Ayyubid & Mamluk Eras V V. Peeters, Leuven was a ...(Mamluk, 13th century) outside Ashdod/Isdud ** Jisr ed-Damiye, bridges over the Jordan (Roman, Mamluk, modern)
References
Bibliography
* Clermont-Ganneau, C.S.,
Le pont de Beibars à Lydda
" In Recueil d'archéologie orientale. Clermont-Ganneau, Charles. 262–279. Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1888. (''editio princeps In classical scholarship, the ''editio princeps'' (plural: ''editiones principes'') of a work is the first printed edition of the work, that previously had existed only in manuscripts, which could be circulated only after being copied by hand. For ...'') * *
Marom, R
(2021)
Jindās at Lydda’s Entrance: A Cornerstone of the Study of the City’s Rural Hinterland
(1459 – 1948). ''Diospolis 7'', 9-43.
Marom, R.
(2022)
Jindās: A History of Lydda's Rural Hinterland in the 15th to the 20th Centuries CE
''Lod, Lydda, Diospolis'' 1, 1-31. * * * *Petersen, A. (2008):
Bridges in Medieval Palestine
', in U. Vermeulen & K. Dhulster (eds.)
History of Egypt & Syria in the Fatimid, Ayyubid & Mamluk Eras V
V. Peeters, Leuven
p.229
"From Ramlah the route continued to Ludd (Lydda) and over a bridge (near Jindas) to the north of the city built in 1273, up to the khan of Jaljulyah, built around 1325." *
External links
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 13
IAA
Wikimedia commons
{{coord, 31, 58, 07.51, N, 34, 54, 00.78, E, region:SY_type:city, display=title Bridges in Israel Bridges completed in the 13th century Mamluk architecture in Israel