, native_name_lang = ara , image = Zubaida_tomb.JPG , image_upright = 1.4 , alt = , caption = , map_type = Iraq Baghdad , map_size = 240 , map_alt = , map_relief = 1 , map_caption = Location in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, Iraq , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , religious_affiliation =

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, locale = , location = , deity = , rite = , sect = , tradition = , festival = , cercle = , sector = , municipality = , district = , territory = , prefecture = , state = , province = , region = , country = , administration = , consecration_year = , organisational_status =

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

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

, functional_status = Active , heritage_designation = , ownership = , governing_body = , leadership = , bhattaraka = , patron = , religious_features_label = , religious_features = , architect = , architecture_type = Mosque , architecture_style = , founded_by = Zumurrud Khatun , creator = , funded_by = , general_contractor = , established = 1202 CE , groundbreaking = , year_completed = , construction_cost = , date_demolished = , facade_direction = , capacity = , length = , width = , width_nave = , interior_area = , height_max = , dome_quantity = 1 , dome_height_outer = , dome_height_inner = , dome_dia_outer = , dome_dia_inner = , minaret_quantity = 1 , minaret_height = , spire_quantity = , spire_height = , site_area = , temple_quantity = , monument_quantity = , shrine_quantity = , inscriptions = , materials = , elevation_m = , elevation_footnotes = , nrhp = , designated = , added = , refnum = , footnotes = , website = The Zumurrud Khatun Mosque and Mausoleum ( ar, جامع زمرد خاتون, Masjid al-Haza'ir), also known as the Tomb of Sitta Zubayda, is a historic

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

located in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. It dates back to the Abbasid era. It is located in Sheikh Maarouf Cemetery in the Karkh side of Baghdad, and the site was built at the patronage of Zumurrud Khatun and her son. Zumurrud Khatun was mother of the 34th

Abbasid Caliph The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came t ...

Al-Nasir Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad ibn al-Hassan al-Mustadi' ( ar, أبو العباس أحمد بن الحسن المستضيء) better known by his laqab Al-Nasir li-Din Allah ( ar, الناصر لدين الله; 6 August 1158 – 5 October 1225) or simply as A ...

, and wife of the 33rd Abbasid Caliph

Al-Mustadi Abu Muhammad Hassan ibn Yusuf al-Mustanjid ( ar, أبو محمد حسن بن يوسف المستنجد; 1142 – 27 March 1180) usually known by his regnal title Al-Mustadi ( ar, المستضيء بأمر الله) was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghd ...

. She collected the

waqf A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitabl ...

money from

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 '' ...

s and built her mausoleum before her death, which is located in

Karkh Karkh or Al-Karkh (Arabic: الكرخ) is historically the name of the western half of Baghdad, Iraq, or alternatively, the western shore of the Tigris River as it ran through Baghdad. The eastern shore is known as Al-Rasafa.Jawad, Aymen
ZUMURRUD KHATUN
''Iraq Heritage''. Retrieved January 4, 2018. The building is covered by the distinct nine layered

muqarnas Muqarnas ( ar, مقرنص; fa, مقرنس), also known in Iranian architecture as Ahoopāy ( fa, آهوپای) and in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe, is a form of ornamented vaulting in Islamic architecture. It is the archetypal form of I ...

dome capped by a small cupola. The

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

of the mosque is considered built during the time of

Seljuq dynasty The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

in 12th century, and it is considered the oldest surviving minaret in Baghdad. The building has robust construction made of bricks and plaster. There is also an attached library, and an adjoined

Shafi'i The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...

madrasa. Due to the mosque being dominated by

Hanafi The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named aft ...

maddhab A ( ar, مذهب ', , "way to act". pl. مَذَاهِب , ) is a school of thought within ''fiqh'' (Islamic jurisprudence). The major Sunni Mathhab are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali. They emerged in the ninth and tenth centuries CE an ...

, the extension to the north for Shafi'i maddhab was added, which is called Shafi'i Mosque. The mosque is one of two historic mausoleums in Karkh. The other is the Sheikh Maruf Mosque.

History

By most accounts, Zumurrud Khatun is identified as a formerly-enslaved Turkish woman who became a prominent noblewoman during the Abbasid Caliphate. She rose to this position through multiple marriages, but most notable is her marriage to the Caliph

. Zumurrud Khatun is also remembered as the mother of

. She is described as being a religious woman and an active patroness of architecture and public works. Her legacy as patroness was due to her restoration of public infrastructure and for building educational and funerary buildings. The Mosque and Mausoleum of Zumurrud Khatun were created at the commission of

and his mother before her death in 1202. After her death, she was laid to rest in the mausoleum following a funeral procession. Zamurrud Khatun was also actively involved in the construction of a madrasa. Furthermore, she was also remembered by many as an active member in politics and Islamic religious policies, a generous person devoted to Islamic teachings and law, and various other aspects. For instance, she is in history for spending 300,000 dirhams to repair water supplies and cisterns during the pilgrimage.

Architecture

The Building’s Plan and Space

The building features a nine-layered conically-shaped muqarnas roof topped off with a cupola. The inside room of the structure is about 3 meters long and about 7 meters wide. Beyond the entrance is a narrow staircase that leads to the grave room at the base of the minaret. The roofing system of the mausoleum originated in a period in Islamic art in the 11th and 12th centuries. Sources state that this type of mosque and mausoleum might have originated in Iraq although there are similar structures in locations around regions of Iran.

The Dome

The Mausoleum’s dome is made out of

, (also known as stalactite or honeycomb vaulting) one of the most original inventions of Islamic architecture which can appear in a variety of materials such as; stucco, brick, stone, and wood. Muqarnas can be applied in multiple architectural forms including; cornices, corbelled transitions, capitals, vaults, and domes, as with the Zumurrud Khatun Mosque. Brick vaults and domes have been known in the Near East since Sassanian times, if not before, but the dome in muqarnas is a truly Islamic creation without precedent in any civilization. According to Yasser Tabba author of, "Muqarnas Vaulting and Ash’ari Occasionalism”, describes Zumurrud Khatun’s shrine to be the “most graceful profile and one of the most integrated interiors of all conical muqarnas domes." Not only does the dome consist of an octagonal base it also includes geometric decorations that support the conical brick vault. In which the Muqarnas display their exterior articulations of the muqarnas on the outside instead of its interior which makes the illusion of the dome to appear as pinecone. The Structure The mausoleum of Zamurrud Khatum is designed as a monumental and unique Islamic structure similar to Islamic architecture of the time. It is developed with integrated layers that make its structure artistic. Its base is octagonal, a transition that has informed the construction of modern structures such as the Pentagon in the United States. On top of its octagonal base, the mausoleum gradually and unobtrusively transitions into a dome of sixteen cells pegged on muqarnas squinches that keeps the base and the upper part in sync. Seven tiers occupy most of the sixteen cells, stucco-layered against the remaining tiers. Each of the cells embodies a tiny opening covered by thick glass, giving the viewer an obscured view.

Controversies

Identification Controversy

According to Vincenzo Strika, The Mosque and Mausoleum of Zumurrud Khatun have been repeatedly misidentified by scholars. Most commonly, the mosque and mausoleum are quoted as being created by Sitta Zubayda rather than

Zumurrud Khatun Zumurrud Khatun ( ar, زمرد خاتون) (died ''after'' 1139), was the regent of Damascus between 1135 and 1138. She was the daughter of Safwat al-Mulk and the half sister of Duqaq. She married Buri b. Tughtekin. In 1132, her son Shams al-M ...

herself. The history of this misunderstanding has been explored by Vincenzo Strika, who believes it was created by earlier scholars but was first challenged by

Guy Le Strange Guy Le Strange (24 July 1854 – 24 December 1933) was a British Orientalist noted especially for his work in the field of the historical geography of the pre-modern Middle Eastern and Eastern Islamic lands, and his editing of Persian geographic ...

and later solved by Mustafa Jawād. As Strika highlights, “The first to hint that the Tomb was not that of Zubaydah was, Le Strange..'', referencing Le Strange’s finding that Sitta Zubayda was buried elsewhere. Confusion as to the identities of Sitta Zubayda and Zumurrud Khatun has also been a catalyst for some of this misidentification. In the past, researchers have considered if the two women were, in reality, a single person who had been confused as being two separate people, but since it has been determined that Sitta Zubayda was, in fact, a different noblewoman. Architectural Controversy The mausoleum of Zumurrud Khatun has been tracked into controversies, especially regarding the originality of its architectural design. Many argue that the mausoleum's designs were borrowed from other shrines built in Baghdad, Tigris, and other parts of Iraq. For instance, it has been argued that the mausoleum of Zamurrud Khatun's architectural design was borrowed from the shrine of al-Najmi and the mausoleum of Nur al-Din constructed earlier than the mausoleum of Zamurrud Khatun. However, the exact dates upon which these monuments were constructed are unclear. Zumurd khaton tomb

Gallery

File:قبر زمرد خاتون من الداخل.jpg, The

-filled dome seen from the inside Baghdad-Zumurrud-Khaton.jpg, Zumurrud Khatun mausoleum in 1932, in front of a smaller domed mausoleum.

References

{{Mosques in Iraq 13th-century mosques Mosques in Baghdad Mausoleums in Iraq Seljuk architecture