The Qalawun complex (Arabic: مجمع قلاوون), also known as the Funerary complex of Sultan al-Mansur Qalawun, is a historic religious complex located at Bayn al-Qasrayn on al-Mu'izz street, in Islamic Cairo, Egypt. Built by Sultan al-Mansur Qalawun between 1284 and 1285, the complex is like many other pious complexes and includes a hospital (bimaristan), a madrasa, mausoleum, and mosque. Despite controversy surrounding its construction, the complex is widely regarded as one of the major monuments of Islamic Cairo and of Mamluk architecture, notable for the size and scope of its contributions to legal scholarship, its charitable operations, and for the richness of its architecture.
History
Historical context and background The Qalawun complex was built over the ruins of the Fatimid Western Palace, with several halls in the palace. Unlike most later Mamluk sultans, Qalawun did not begin construction on his funerary complex right after coming to power but did so many years later, after he consolidated his rule and fought off the Mongols in Syria. The structure is situated in the heart of Cairo, on the prestigious Bayn al-Qasrayn street, and has been a center for important Islamic religious and court ceremonies and rituals for centuries, stretching from the Mamluk dynasty through the Ottoman Empire. This complex is one of many Mamluk buildings that made Cairo a flourishing metropolis in the 13th through 16th centuries. It is one of many pious complexes (fully-integrated multifunctional complexes often centered around the tomb of religious figures or patrons that included turbas or funerary complexes, khanqahs, and other buildings) that served many purposes including exalting the patron through displays of their wealth, piety, and legitimacy.
Construction and controversy The funerary complex of Sultan al-Mansur Sayf al-Din Qalawun, including both madrasa and mausoleum reportedly took 13 months to build, and was under construction from 1284 to August 1285. This fact is remarkable considering the size and scope of the complex. The hospital took less than six months to complete, the mausoleum and madrasa each taking about four months. The building project was supervised by emir ‘Alam al-Din Sanjar al-Shuja‘i al-Mansuri (عَلَمُ الدِّينِ سَنْجَرُ الشُّجَاعِيُّ المَنْصُورِيُّ, romanised: ʿAlam ad-Dīn Sanǧar aš-Šuǧāʿī al-Manṣūrī), whose speedy completion of this massive project through illicit methods resulted in controversy and enduring negative associations with the monument. In al-Maqrīzī's history of Cairo's monuments, he reports that construction of the complex was completed by the forced labor of builders, passers-by in the area, and Mongol prisoners of war, all of which reportedly were subject to "brutal abuse." In addition to employing brutal labor practices, Sanjar also illegally acquired properties and forcibly evicted their inhabitants to complete the complex. The means by which this complex was built even caused some religious scholars to call for the boycotting of such complexes. Despite the controversy surrounding its construction, after its completion, the complex was considered one of the most beautiful buildings at that time, where it included a school (madrasa), a hospital (bimaristan) and a mausoleum, with an intricate dome. Historians claim that the columns holding the mausoleum structure were made of granite, marble, and other materials that were taken from al-Salih's (Qalawun's master) palace and citadel in Roda Island. The complex was built in three stages, where the hospital was finished first, the Mausoleum and then finally the school.
Restorations Following an earthquake in 1302 that destroyed many structures in Cairo, al-Nasir Muhammad, the son and successor of Qalawun, rebuilt the complex and its minaret in a campaign to restore the damaged mosques. Another restoration came when Abdul-Rahman Katkhuda, created an Ottoman Sabil on the other side of the street in 1776.
19th century Architect Pascal Coste used the complex as one of his sources for his book Architecture arabe: ou Monuments du Kaire, mesurés et dessinés, de 1818 à 1825. Coste worked at the complex from July 1817 as an infrastructure expert hired by Muhammad Ali. As identified by Eva-Maria Troelenberg, Coste's drawings sought to adjust and define the angles of the structure to reimagine the building as a modernized urban space.
Description
Overview The complex consists of a tomb, madrasa, mosque, and a hospital, arranged on either side of a long, central corridor. Upon entering through a slight, horseshoe-arched portal, the cruciform madrasa is to the left with four iwans arranged around an open court with a pool in the center. The long passage that follows supports the minaret above and is covered in a wooden ceiling, making the monument's lighting rather dark. The mausoleum, which houses the bodies of Sultan Qalawun and his son, al-Nasir, stands on the street side of the complex between the entrance passage and the subsequent adjacent madrasa of Sultan Barquq. The qibla wall of both the mausoleum and the prayer iwan are both next to the street. The hospital is not visible from the alley since it is located at the rear of the long passage.
Exterior
The exterior structure of the Qalawun complex has many unique firsts in Mamluk architecture. The prayer hall of the madrasa projects into the street, asserting the prominence of the complex. The madrasa's three-story minaret, uniquely placed near the entrance of the building, has a papyrus cornice that harkens back to rule of the Pharaohs, serving to legitimize Mamluk rule. The 67-meter long façade of the complex displays similarities to Gothic or Crusader styles. The façade was constructed using ashlar blocks and consists of varying sizes of pointed-arched panels that come together to enclose single windows. The building's entrance portal consists of a rounded arch that encloses a pointed arch with ablaq-striped voussoirs, spandrels with geometric motifs, and a grilled double window with an oculus. The oculus and coupled window are elements echoed in the mausoleum's entrance portal, which is decorated with masterful stucco. The windows of this complex are open and grilled which allows prayers and Quranic recitations to be heard from the building throughout the day. The façades of the madrasa and mausoleum are further connected by a gilded inscription of the complex's founder and important dates in the building's inauguration and completion.
Interior
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
