Mosque of Ibn Tulun
Encyclopedia
The Mosque of Ahmad Ibn Ţūlūn is located in Cairo
, Egypt
. It is arguably the oldest mosque
in the city surviving in its original form, and is the largest mosque in Cairo in terms of land area.
The mosque was commissioned by Ahmad ibn Ţūlūn
, the Abbassid governor of Egypt from 868–884 whose rule was characterized by de facto
independence. The historian al-Maqrizi
lists the mosque's construction start date as 876 AD, and the mosque's original inscription slab identifies the date of completion as 265 AH
, or 879 AD.
The mosque was constructed on a small hill called Gebel Yashkur, "The Hill of Thanksgiving." One local legend says that it is here that Noah's Ark
came to rest after the Deluge, instead of at Mount Ararat
.
The grand ceremonial mosque was intended as the focal point of Ibn Ţūlūn's capital, al-Qatta'i
, which served as the center of administration for the Tulunid dynasty. The mosque originally was backed by ibn Ţūlūn's palace, and a door adjacent to the minbar
allowed him direct entry to the mosque. Al-Qatta'i
was razed in the early 10th century, AD, and the mosque is the only surviving structure.
The mosque was constructed in the Samarra
n style common with Abbassid constructions. The mosque is constructed around a courtyard, with one covered hall on each of the four sides, the largest being on the side of the qibla
, or direction to Mecca
. The original mosque had its ablution fountain (sabil) in the area between the inner and outer walls. A distinctive sabil with a high drum dome was added in the central courtyard at the end of the thirteenth century by the Sultan Lajīn
.
There is significant controversy over the date of construction of the minaret
, which features a helical outer staircase similar to that of the famous minaret in Samarra
. It is also told that using these stairs one can climbs up on the horse. Legend has it that ibn Ţūlūn himself was accidentally responsible for the design of the structure: supposedly while sitting with his officials, he absentmindedly wound a piece of parchment around his finger. When someone asked him what he was doing, he responded, embarrassed, that he was designing his minaret. Many of the architectural features, however, point to a later construction, in particular the way in which the minaret does not connect well with the main mosque structure, something that would have been averted had the minaret and mosque been built at the same time. Architectural historian Doris Behrens-Abouseif asserts that Sultan Lajīn, who restored the mosque in 1296, was responsible for the construction of the current minaret.
The mosque has been restored several times. The first known restoration was in 1177 under orders of the Fatimid wazir Badr al-Jamālī, who left a second inscription slab on the mosque, which is noted for containing the Shī'ī
version of the shahada
, adding the phrase "And Ali
is the wali of God" after acknowledging the oneness of God
and the prophethood of Muhammad
. Sultan Lajīn's restoration of 1296 added several improvements. The mosque was most recently restored by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities
in 2004.
During the medieval period, several houses were built up against the outside walls of the mosque. Most were demolished in 1928 by the Committee for the Conservation of Arab Monuments, however, two of the oldest and best-preserved homes were left intact. The "house of the Cretan woman" (Beit al-Kritliyya) and the Beit Amna bint Salim, were originally two separate structures, but a bridge at the third floor level was added at some point, combining them into a single structure. The house, accessible through the outer walls of the mosque, is open to the public as the Gayer-Anderson Museum
, named after the British general R.G. 'John' Gayer-Anderson, who lived there until 1942.
Parts of the James Bond
film The Spy Who Loved Me
were filmed at the Mosque of Ibn Tulun and in the Gayer-Anderson Museum
.
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. It is arguably the oldest mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
in the city surviving in its original form, and is the largest mosque in Cairo in terms of land area.
The mosque was commissioned by Ahmad ibn Ţūlūn
Ahmad ibn Tulun
Ahmad ibn Ṭūlūn was the founder of the Tulunid dynasty that ruled Egypt briefly between 868 and 905 AD. Originally sent by the Abbasid caliph as governor to Egypt, ibn Ṭūlūn established himself as an independent ruler.-Biography:...
, the Abbassid governor of Egypt from 868–884 whose rule was characterized by de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
independence. The historian al-Maqrizi
Al-Maqrizi
Taqi al-Din Ahmad ibn 'Ali ibn 'Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhammad al-Maqrizi ; Arabic: , was an Egyptian historian more commonly known as al-Maqrizi or Makrizi...
lists the mosque's construction start date as 876 AD, and the mosque's original inscription slab identifies the date of completion as 265 AH
Islamic calendar
The Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...
, or 879 AD.
The mosque was constructed on a small hill called Gebel Yashkur, "The Hill of Thanksgiving." One local legend says that it is here that Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the...
came to rest after the Deluge, instead of at Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat is a snow-capped, dormant volcanic cone in Turkey. It has two peaks: Greater Ararat and Lesser Ararat .The Ararat massif is about in diameter...
.
The grand ceremonial mosque was intended as the focal point of Ibn Ţūlūn's capital, al-Qatta'i
Al-Qatta'i
Al-Qatta'i was the short-lived Tulunid capital of Egypt, founded by Ahmad ibn Tulun in the year 868 CE. Al-Qatta'i was located immediately to the northeast of the previous capital, Al-'Askar, which in turn was adjacent to the settlement of Fustat. All three settlements were later incorporated...
, which served as the center of administration for the Tulunid dynasty. The mosque originally was backed by ibn Ţūlūn's palace, and a door adjacent to the minbar
Minbar
A minbar is a pulpit in the mosque where the imam stands to deliver sermons or in the Hussainia where the speaker sits and lectures the congregation...
allowed him direct entry to the mosque. Al-Qatta'i
Al-Qatta'i
Al-Qatta'i was the short-lived Tulunid capital of Egypt, founded by Ahmad ibn Tulun in the year 868 CE. Al-Qatta'i was located immediately to the northeast of the previous capital, Al-'Askar, which in turn was adjacent to the settlement of Fustat. All three settlements were later incorporated...
was razed in the early 10th century, AD, and the mosque is the only surviving structure.
The mosque was constructed in the Samarra
Samarra
Sāmarrā is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Salah ad-Din Governorate, north of Baghdad and, in 2003, had an estimated population of 348,700....
n style common with Abbassid constructions. The mosque is constructed around a courtyard, with one covered hall on each of the four sides, the largest being on the side of the qibla
Qibla
The Qiblah , also transliterated as Qibla, Kiblah or Kibla, is the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays during salah...
, or direction to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
. The original mosque had its ablution fountain (sabil) in the area between the inner and outer walls. A distinctive sabil with a high drum dome was added in the central courtyard at the end of the thirteenth century by the Sultan Lajīn
Lajin
Lachin royal name: al-Malik al-Mansour Hossam ad-Din Lachin al-Mansuri Lachin (Arabic: لاجين) royal name: al-Malik al-Mansour Hossam ad-Din Lachin al-Mansuri Lachin (Arabic: لاجين) royal name: al-Malik al-Mansour Hossam ad-Din Lachin al-Mansuri (Arabic: الملك المنصور حسام الدين لاجين المنصورى (d....
.
There is significant controversy over the date of construction of the minaret
Minaret
A minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....
, which features a helical outer staircase similar to that of the famous minaret in Samarra
Great Mosque of Samarra
The Great Mosque of Samarra is a 9th century mosque located in Samarra, Iraq. The mosque was commissioned in 848 and completed in 851 by the Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil who reigned from 847 until 861....
. It is also told that using these stairs one can climbs up on the horse. Legend has it that ibn Ţūlūn himself was accidentally responsible for the design of the structure: supposedly while sitting with his officials, he absentmindedly wound a piece of parchment around his finger. When someone asked him what he was doing, he responded, embarrassed, that he was designing his minaret. Many of the architectural features, however, point to a later construction, in particular the way in which the minaret does not connect well with the main mosque structure, something that would have been averted had the minaret and mosque been built at the same time. Architectural historian Doris Behrens-Abouseif asserts that Sultan Lajīn, who restored the mosque in 1296, was responsible for the construction of the current minaret.
The mosque has been restored several times. The first known restoration was in 1177 under orders of the Fatimid wazir Badr al-Jamālī, who left a second inscription slab on the mosque, which is noted for containing the Shī'ī
Shi'a Islam
Shia Islam is the second largest denomination of Islam. The followers of Shia Islam are called Shi'ites or Shias. "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī , meaning "followers of Ali", "faction of Ali", or "party of Ali".Like other schools of thought in Islam, Shia Islam is...
version of the shahada
Shahada
The Shahada , means "to know and believe without suspicion, as if witnessed"/testification; it is the name of the Islamic creed. The shahada is the Muslim declaration of belief in the oneness of God and acceptance of Muhammad as God's prophet...
, adding the phrase "And Ali
Ali
' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...
is the wali of God" after acknowledging the oneness of God
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
and the prophethood of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
. Sultan Lajīn's restoration of 1296 added several improvements. The mosque was most recently restored by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities
Supreme Council of Antiquities
The Supreme Council of Antiquities is the branch of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture responsible for the conservation, protection and regulation of all antiquities and archaeological excavations in Egypt...
in 2004.
During the medieval period, several houses were built up against the outside walls of the mosque. Most were demolished in 1928 by the Committee for the Conservation of Arab Monuments, however, two of the oldest and best-preserved homes were left intact. The "house of the Cretan woman" (Beit al-Kritliyya) and the Beit Amna bint Salim, were originally two separate structures, but a bridge at the third floor level was added at some point, combining them into a single structure. The house, accessible through the outer walls of the mosque, is open to the public as the Gayer-Anderson Museum
Gayer-Anderson Museum
The Gayer-Anderson Museum is located in Cairo, Egypt, adjacent to the Mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun in the Sayyida Zeinab neighborhood. The museum takes its name from Major R.G. Gayer-Anderson Pasha, who resided in the house between 1935 and 1942 with special permission from the Egyptian Government...
, named after the British general R.G. 'John' Gayer-Anderson, who lived there until 1942.
Parts of the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film The Spy Who Loved Me
The Spy Who Loved Me (film)
The Spy Who Loved Me is a spy film, the tenth film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Roger Moore as the fictional secret agent James Bond. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and the screenplay was written by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum...
were filmed at the Mosque of Ibn Tulun and in the Gayer-Anderson Museum
Gayer-Anderson Museum
The Gayer-Anderson Museum is located in Cairo, Egypt, adjacent to the Mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun in the Sayyida Zeinab neighborhood. The museum takes its name from Major R.G. Gayer-Anderson Pasha, who resided in the house between 1935 and 1942 with special permission from the Egyptian Government...
.
External links
- Ibn Tulun Mosque Entry on Archnet, with full bibliography.
- Early Islamic Architecture in Cairo, chapter from Doris Behrens-Abouseif's Islamic Architecture in Cairo: an introduction, via Archnet.
- The Ibn Tulun Mosque Architectural review
- Tulunids Dynasty Arabized Turkish Dynasty
- Mamluks Dynasty Military slave dynasty
- Meni.utexas.edu