Monday, December 11, 2023

Mausoleum of Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn


 

Mausoleum of Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn (Madrasa al-ʿAzīziyya): under an ʾAyyūbīd style dome is a sculpted wood cenotaph of the 12th century.

The body of Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn (died in 1193 C.E) was disinterred from the Citadel of the city and transferred to this school. Under its dome is found a cenotaph of sculpted wood (12th century), plus tile panels and Ottoman windows of the 17th century. The building has been restored several times and was endowed with a marble tomb by Emperor Whihelm II in 1898 (1). The ancient vault contiguous to the school appears to have been part of the exterior wall of the Temple of Jupiter (2). 








(1) A common error. The marble tomb is in fact a gift of the Ottoman sultan ʿAbdel Ḥamīd II. 
(2) Assuming that de Favières meant by "vault" the visible arch, this is far more likely to represent the remains of al-Madrasa al-ʿAzīziyya, as pointed out by Elisséeff.






Jacques Ghislain de Maussion de Favières. Damascus, Baghdad: Capitals and lands of the caliphs. Translation to English by Edward J. Banks. Librairie orientale (Dar el-Mashreq), Beirut, Lebanon. 1972. 


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