Pharos University
Faculty of Engineering
Architectural Department
HISTORY OF
ARCHITECTURE 3
P ROF . G HADA R AGHEB
Mamluk
Architecture
Mamluk dynasty :
A FTER THE ASSASSINATION T ORAN S HAH , THE LAST
OF
SULTAN OF THE A YYUBIDS , BY THE M AMLUKS , THE RULE OF
E GYPT TURNED TO THE B AHARI M AMLUKS WHO WERE SLAVES
OF TURKIC ORIGIN.
T HEY WERE BROUGHT TO E GYPT AS YOUNG BOYS .
M AMLUK HISTORY IS DIVIDED INTO TWO PERIODS :
1 S OME RESIDED IN THE BARRACKS IN A N ILE ISLAND .
T HOSE WERE CALLED 'BAHARI M AMLUKS ' BECAUSE OF THEIR
RESIDENCE BY THE N ILE R IVER (B AHAR EL-NILE).
2 O THER M AMLUKS OF C IRCASSIAN ORIGIN RESIDED IN
QUARTERS IN THE CITADEL TOWERS (BURG), THUS CALLED
'BURGI M AMLUKS .' T HE LATTER WILL ALSO RULE E GYPT
Main features of
Mamluk era :
❑ D IFFERENT TYPES OF BUILDINGS : MOSQUES,
M ADRASA , M AUSOLEUM , S ABIL , KUTTAB,
BATHS,.......
❑ G REAT INTEREST IN FAÇADES , ESPECIALLY
M ADRASA AND M AUSOLEUM .
❑ USE OF DECORATIVE I SLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY
ICLUDING N ASKH ( HISTORICAL WRITINGS) AND
THE KUFIC (KORAN) AS THEY WERE IN THE
A YYUBID PERIOD .
❑ HORIZONTAL STRIPES RED AND YELLOW STONES .
❑THE BEGINNING OF THE USE THE LARGE DOMES INSTEAD OF SMALL
FATIMID, A YYUBID ...
❑ USING OF COLORED MARBLE AND MOSAICS IN THE FLOORS AND
SOME NICHES ....
Bahari Mamluk
Architecture
Bahari Mamluk dynasty:(1250–1382AD)
The most important architectural works are:
❑ The mosque of Sultan Al-Zahir Baybars
❑ The madrassa-mausoleum complex of Sultan Qalawun
❑ The madrassa-mausoleum complex of Al-Nasir Muhammed
❑ The madrassa-mausoleum complex of Sultan Hassan
Complex of Sultan Qalawun, Madrasa, Mausoleum
and Bimaristan of Sultan Qalawun (1284:1285):
The Qalawun complex is a massive complex that includes a madrasa, a
hospital and a mausoleum.
El-Nahhasin- El Muiz Le Din Allah St, El Gamaleya
Was build on the part of the land of the Western Palace (Palace of the
Crown Prince Aziz Billah)
The Mausoleum:
❑ Separated from the madrasa by long corridor.
❑ Accessible via a small courtyard surrounded by
an arcade with shallow domes.
❑ The tomb room is a square in plan with The
octagonal structure (4 square pillars + 4 circular
columns) which ended by pointed arcades and
roofed by a big dome.
❑ The interior decoration includes marble, painted,
and gilded wood, carved marble, and stucco
The Mausoleum:
❑ Attached to the burial chamber is an iwan
consisting of 3 aisles separated by a row of
columns. The ceiling of the central one is flat,
while the two side naves carry domes on each
side
❑ The marble mihrab of the mausoleum is often
considered as the most lavish of its kind.
❑ Consists of 3 marble columns in each side with
golden capital
WITH A HORSE - SHOE PROFILE THE
MIHRAB IS FL A N KE D BY THREE
COLUMNS MA D E OF MARBLE
Al-Madrasa:
❑ The madrasa opens into a courtyard with an
iwan at either end.
❑ Main iwan is on the east end and has three
aisles with classical columns.
❑ Other iwan had no columns.
❑The mihrab with its
glass mosaics
❑On the east side is
a fine stucco Mihrab.
INTERIOR VIEW, PRAYER M ADRASA , FAÇADE OF F AÇADE OF MADRASA WITH SABIL
IWAN OF MADRASA SOUTHEAST IWAN OF AN-N ASIR M UHAMMAD
The Bimaristan:
❑ could be reached from a corridor leading from
the madrasa and mausoleum.
❑The site of the old hospital is now by a clinic of
eye diseases .
❑The original hospital was consisting of four
arched aisles and a number of rooms surrounding
a central aisle .
B I M ARISTAN , ENTRANCE
ARCH
Minaret:
❑ T HE MINARET ATTACHED TO THE
MAUSOLEUM
❑ THE TWO LOWER PARTS HAVE A SQUARE
SHAPE .
❑ THE TOP STORY IS BEAUTIFULLY
ORNAMENTED CIRCULAR WITH STUCCO
CARVINGS .
❑ THE MIDDLE PART IS
DESIGNED ON THE SYRIAN
STYLE
The Façade:
❑ VERTICAL RECESSES
❑ EACH ONE INCLUDING SEVERAL
OPENING .
❑ THE EXTERIOR WINDOWS HAVE
COLUMNES AND G OTHIC STYLE .
The exterior structure of the Qalawun complex has many
unique firsts in Mamluk architecture:
THE EARLIEST EXAMPLE “URBAN
OF AN
AESTHETIC ” IN M AMLUK ARCHITECTURE :
❑ THE LAYOUT OF THE MADRASA AND
MAUSOLEUM IN RELATION TO EACH
OTHER .
❑ THE CRUCIFORM COMPOSITION
❑ T HE MINARET IS NOT ATTACHED TO THE
MADRASA BUT TO THE MAUSOLEUM .
❑ THE MINARET DOES NOT RESIDE NEAR
THE ENTRANCE OF THE BUILDING , AS
WAS A PRACTICE OF THE TIME.
DOME A N D MINARET
B URGI M AMLUK
A RCHITECTURE
B URGI M AMLUK DYNASTY:(AD)
T H E MOST IMPORTANT ARCHITECTURAL WORKS ARE :
❑ S ULTAN B ARQUQ AND F ARAJ IBN B ARQUQ C OMPLEX
❑ S ULTAN AL-M U ' AYYAD S HAYKH C OMPLEX
❑ S ULTAN AL-A SHRAF C OMPLEX
❑ T HE C OMPLEX OF S ULTAN Q A ’ IT B AY
❑ T HE C OMPLEX OF S ULTAN A L-G HURI
M ADRASA , M AUSOLEUM AN D S ABIL - KUTTAB OF
S U L T A N Q AYT BAY (1472-1474):
the cruciform structure
AL-M ADRASA :
❑ T HE ARCHITECTURE OF THIS TIME
WAS FOCUSED ON THE WORKS OF
STON E CARVING
❑ C ONSISTS OF A SMALL SQUARE AS A
CENTRAL COURTYARD SURROUNDED BY
FOUR I WANS ON ITS SIDES .
❑ Q IBLAH IS THE LARGEST IWAN, THEN
THE IWAN IN FRONT OF IT. T HE TWO
SIDE IWANS ARE VERY SMALL .
❑ POINTED ARC HES ( HORSE - SHOE )
❑ RICH IN I NTERIOR DETAIL OF GILDED
AND PAINTED DECORATIONS ON THE
CEILING ABOVE THE QIBLA IWAN
T HE M AUSOLEUM :
❑ PLAC ED AFTER THE M AIN IWAN.
❑ S QUARE ROOM COVERED BY A
C ARVED STON E DOME ON MUQARNAS .
❑R ICH IN EXTERIOR DECORATION OF
DOME
Sabil-kuttab:
❑ INTO THE CORNER OF A MOSQUE OR A
MADRASA .
❑ BUILT IN 1479
❑ THE FIRST EXAMPLE OF THIS KIND OF
INSTITUTION.
❑ EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF RICH SURFACE
DECORATION FROM THE Q AYTBAY TIME
❑ R ECTANGULAR ROOM OVERLOOKING THE
MAIN ENTRANCE HALL .
❑ ABOVE THE SABIL THERE IS A KUTTAB FOR
TEACHING THE K ORAN WITH EXTERNAL
STAIRS.
T HE FAÇADE :
❑ RICH AND COLOURFUL DECORATED
❑ WOODEN UPPER BALCONIES
❑ MUSHRABIYA WINDOWS.
M AIN ENTRANCE :
❑ ENTRANCE IS RECESSED .
❑ T RIPLE ARCH .
❑ S TRIPED RED AND WHITE
ENTRANCE .
❑ M UQARNAS UNITS ARE FOUND IN
THE ENTRANCE TO FORM A CAVE-
S H A P E D ENTRANCE .
❑ THE VESTIBULE THAT LINKS
BETWEEN THE ENTRANCE AND THE
INTERIOR P L A N .
❑ A NOTHER SECONDARY ENTRANCE IS
LOCATED NEXT TO THIS THE SMALL
IWAN
M INARET :
❑ ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL
MINARETS IN I SLAMIC E GYPT AS A
RESULT OF THE BEAUTY OF THEIR
PROPORTIONS AND DECORATION .
❑ L OCATED TO THE RIGHT OF THE MAIN
ENTRANCE
❑ CONSISTS OF FOUR MAIN PARTS :
1 S QUARE
2 OCTAGON
3 CIRCLE
4 E IGHT COLUMNS ON THE CIRCLE
THE MINARET ABOVE THE DOME OF A
SMALL BULBOUS
E XTERIOR DETAIL OF THE
MINARET
T HANK YOU
