The Funerary Complex of Amir Taghribirdi or Mosque and Madrasa of Taghribirdi (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: مسجد و مدرسة تغري بردي) is a historical funerary complex of a
mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
and
madrasa
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
located in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and built in the year 1440, during the
Mamluk Sultanate
The Mamluk Sultanate ( ar, سلطنة المماليك, translit=Salṭanat al-Mamālīk), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz (western Arabia) from the mid-13th to early 16th ...
. This monument honors
Amir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
Taghribirdi, the mosque's commissioner and the secretary to Sultan al-Zahir Jaqmaq. The mosque and madrasa of Taghribirdi is located on a corner of
Saliba street
Saliba Street, (شارع صليبة), which literally means "Cross Street", is one of the old main streets in Islamic Cairo, Egypt. It runs from the Cairo Citadel in the north to the Mosque of Ibn Tulun in the south. The street is the site of many ...
.
This is not to be confused with a different Mosque of Taghribirdi, which is located in the Darb al-Maqasis neighborhood of Cairo.
Amir Taghribirdi
The monument was founded in 1440 during the reign of Sultan al-Zahir Jaqmaq by Amir Taghribirdi. Amir Taghribirdi is not to be confused with his son, the famed Islamic scholar
Ibn Taghribirdi
Jamal al-Din Yusuf bin al-Amir Sayf al-Din Taghribirdi ( ar, جمال الدين يوسف بن الأمير سيف الدين تغري بردي), or Abū al-Maḥāsin Yūsuf ibn Taghrī-Birdī, or Ibn Taghribirdi (2 February 1411— 5 June 1470; ...
. Purportedly a man of somber disposition, Amir Taghribirdi rose to prominence as a respected
amir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
under
Sultan Barsbay for his role in leading the
Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
army against the Crusader Kingdom of Cyprus.
For this achievement he was elevated to grand ''dawadar'', or executive secretary, under Sultan al-Zahir Jaqmaq.
However, Taghribirdi was murdered by his own mamluks shortly thereafter.
Overview
The Mosque of Taghribirdi itself is at once a mosque, a madrasa, and a
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
convent, representing the style of compact architecture popular in the late Mamluk period.
Carved into the foundation of the mosque are two inscriptions, dating the building to
Jumada I and
Jumada II
Jumada al-Thani ( ar, جُمَادَىٰ ٱلثَّانِي, Jumādā ath-Thānī, lit=The second Jumada) also known as Jumada al-Akhirah ( ar, جُمَادَىٰ ٱلْآخِرَة, link=no, Jumādā al-ʾĀkhirah, lit=The final Jumada), Jumad ...
844 of the
Islamic calendar
The Hijri calendar ( ar, ٱلتَّقْوِيم ٱلْهِجْرِيّ, translit=al-taqwīm al-hijrī), also known in English as the Muslim calendar and Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or ...
, or October and November 1440.
Architecture and design
Situated on a street corner, the mosque has two facades. The main entrance is found on
Sharia Saliba and features typical Mamluk architectural ornamentation, namely ''
ablaq
Ablaq ( ar, أبلق; particolored; literally 'piebald') is an architectural technique involving alternating or fluctuating rows of light and dark stone. Records trace the beginnings of this type of masonry technique to the southern parts of S ...
'' and marble accents.
To the left of the elevated portal is a
sabil, where a reconstructed kuttab was completed by
Comité in 1911.
The minaret, located behind the sabil, has a square base, a stylistic element characteristic of the early 15th century.
To the right, the monument encompasses a tomb facade and a small dome,
which is constructed from brick and decorated with a
lozenge
Lozenge or losange may refer to:
* Lozenge (shape), a type of rhombus
*Throat lozenge, a tablet intended to be dissolved slowly in the mouth to suppress throat ailments
*Lozenge (heraldry), a diamond-shaped object that can be placed on the field of ...
-like pattern made of
stucco
Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...
.
The side street facing the mosque's second
facade has a view of a large round window over the
mihrab
Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...
of the mosque.
The
sahn
A ''sahn'' ( ar, صَحْن, '), is a courtyard in Islamic architecture, especially the formal courtyard of a mosque. Most traditional mosques have a large central ''sahn'', which is surrounded by a ''Riwaq (arcade), riwaq'' or arcade (architect ...
remains open and covered by an awning and wire mesh, an inscription is carved around it.
Wooden ceilings decorate the
qibla
The qibla ( ar, قِبْلَة, links=no, lit=direction, translit=qiblah) is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the s ...
and lateral
iwan
An iwan ( fa, ایوان , ar, إيوان , also spelled ivan) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...
s, while the interior is circled with an inlaid marble
dado.
Orientation
A birds-eye view of the mosque reveals its unique architectural feats. Because of its location at the corner of two streets, the mosque had to be set at an angle of almost 45 degrees in order to maintain a
qibla
The qibla ( ar, قِبْلَة, links=no, lit=direction, translit=qiblah) is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the s ...
orientation towards
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
.
Despite the difficulties this presented, the mosque includes a near-perfect symmetrical arrangement with symmetrical windows and space on the qibla wall for the mausoleum.
The extra wall space caused by this orientation has not been filled in with masonry, but rather turned into small cubed spaces used for light and air shafts,
a unique feature of this particular building.
See also
*
Lists of mosques
Lists of mosques cover mosques, places of worship for Muslims. The lists include the most famous, largest and oldest mosques, and mosques mentioned in the Quran, as well as lists of mosques in each region and country of the world. The major region ...
*
List of mosques in Africa
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
List of mosques in Egypt
There are 114,000 mosques in Egypt as of 2016, of which 83,000 are affiliated with the Ministry of Endowments. This list includes notable mosques within Egypt.
See also
* Islam in Egypt
* Lists of mosques
** List of mosques in Cairo
Refe ...
*
List of Historic Monuments in Cairo
The historic monuments of Cairo have been listed in several iterations dating back to the late nineteenth century that were produced by the Comité de Conservation des Monuments de l'Art Arabe ( ar, لجنت حفظ الاثار العربية, ...
References
{{coord, 30.030595, 31.251524, display=title
15th-century mosques
Mamluk architecture in Egypt
Mosque buildings with domes
15th-century establishments in the Mamluk Sultanate
Mosques in Cairo
Mosques completed in the 1440s