Qubba wa Khanqah wa Madrasa al-Sultan al-Ashraf Inal
Cairo, Egypt

The mausoleum, possibly a prayer hall attached to it, and the sabil-kuttab were built by Inal when he was still an amir in 1451. After ascending the throne in 1453, he decided to expand the complex. The khanqah was added in 1454 and the mosque, designated by its inscription as a madrasa, was added in 1456.


It is reported that the construction was financed by Amir al-Jamali Yusuf, who also added a zawiya, a practice initiated by Sultan Barsbay in his complex in the cemetery. This funerary complex presents a further development in the secularization of late Mamluk religious architecture, for in addition to housing the Sufis in duplex apartments forming a domestic rab' like that of Barsbay in the cemetery, the madrasa has the plan of a qa'a, or reception hall, a feature also borrowed from Cairene domestic architecture.


Sources:


Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. "Change in Function and Form of Mamluk Religious Institutions." Annales Islamologiques 21 (1985): 73-93.


Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. Islamic Architecture in Cairo. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1989.


Jarrar, Sabri, András Riedlmayer, and Jeffrey B. Spurr. Resources for the Study of Islamic Architecture. Cambridge, MA: Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, 1994.

Location
Cairo, Egypt
Images & Videos
Documents
Associated Names
Part of Site
Events
1451-1455/855-860 AH
Style Periods
1250-1517
Variant Names
Sultan al-Ashraf Inal Complex at the Northern Cemetery
Variant
Qubbat wa-Khanqah wa-Madrasa al-Sultan al-Ashraf Inal
Variant
Building Usages
funerary
religious
Keywords