Madrasa al-Shadhbakhtiyya (Aleppo)

Aleppo, Syria

Al-Shadhbakhtiyya madrasa is one of the earliest preserved Ayyubid madrasas. It was built by Jamal al-Din Shadbakht, a freed slave of Nur al-Din Mahmud b. Zangi in 1193. The madrasa is situated about 200m west of the citadel. Its plan is organized around a central rectangular courtyard that is wrapped by a tripartite prayer hall on the south side, a large iwan on the north side and multiple cells on the east side. The west wing has disappeared due to a 19th century extension of a vaulted bazaar that wraps around the building itself from three sides. Other than this developed asymmetry, the madrasa's plan is a traditional one that is repeated in both Madrasa al-Kamiliyya and Madrasa al-Firdaws. The shrine of Shaykh Ma'ruf, after whom the building was renamed, is located in the second tripartite prayer hall on the northeastern corner of the madrasa.