Name of Monument:

Ribat of al-Mansur Qalawun

Also known as:

Ribat al-Mansuri

Location:

Located to the south of the east side of Bab al-Nadhir Street, which leads to Bab al-Nadhir and the Haram al-Sharif, Jerusalem

Date of Monument:

Hegira 681 / AD 1282–3

Period / Dynasty:

Mamluk

Patron(s):

Sultan al-Mansur al-Qalawun (r. AH 678–89 / AD 1280–90).

Description:

The ribat consists of three basic architectural units, the first of which is a deep, wide, rectangular entrance that has on its east and west sides a stone bench known as a mastaba. The entrance ceiling has a cross vault and on the southern wall there is an inscription indicating the date of construction. The second element is a large rectangular hall located to the east of the entrance which is 23 m long and 9 m wide. The hall is accessible by means of a passage directly adjacent to the entrance. The third unit is a large open courtyard (28 m long and 25 m wide) located to the west of the entrance. The courtyard is paved with rare and beautiful stones that are still in situ today, and which is surrounded by rooms and cells of different sizes. It used to contain two dug-out wells which would have provided those residing in the ribat with fresh water. The wells were destroyed, however, when the courtyard was widened in the 20th century.
The ribat has a beautiful façade, which overlooks Bab al-Nadhir Street. The façade is approximately 68 m long and about 11 m high. The building is composed of two sections. The history of the highest section dates to the early Ottoman period (AH 10th / AD 16th century), while the origins of the lower section date to the Mamluk period. The two sections are divided from each other by a decorative frame or moulding, which is formed from a series of polygonal-stone shell forms. Despite the additions and distortions that the façade has been exposed to throughout its history, some of the original features are still extant.
The ribat was a haven for the poor, providing food to the needy. It was also used to accommodate visitors to Jerusalem. The ribat benefited from a waqf, which meant that the proceeds from land and property in different parts of Palestine were allocated to cover its running costs.

View Short Description

This is one of the biggest Mamluk ribats (inns) of Jerusalem. It is located a few metres from the western wall of al-Haram al-Sharif. It was built by Sultan al-Mansur Qalawun to house visitors and students of al-Aqsa mosque. It was richly endowed and distributed food to the needy. The building is composed of two storeys, both of which have large halls and many chambers that flank an open courtyard. Despite the many changes that the principle façade has undergone, its Mamluk design elements are still evident.

How Monument was dated:

The building is dated by a foundation inscription located on the southern wall of the entrance; this is supported further by mention of the ribat in the writing of the historian Mujir al-Din al-Hanbali (d. 928 / 1521).

Selected bibliography:

Abu al-Hawwa, A., Al-Tatawar al-Mi'mari fi Harat Bab al-Nadhir fi al-Quds fi al-'Asrain al-Mamluki wa al-'Uthmani [The Architectural Development in the Neighbourhood of Bab al-Nadhir in Jerusalem during the Mamluk and Ottoman Periods], MA Thesis, University of Jerusalem, 2002.
Berchem, M. van, Materiaux pour un Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum (Part II), Cairo, 1922.
Burgoyne, M., Mamluk Jerusalem: An Architectural Study, London, 1987.
Al-Hanbali, Mujir al-Din, (d. 927 / 1520), Al-Uns al-Jalil fi Tarikh al-Quds wa al-Khalil [Important Personalities in the History of Jerusalem and Hebron], Amman, 1973.
Al-Natsheh, Y., Ribat al-Mansur Qalawun, Jerusalem, 2004.
Pilgrimage, Sciences and Sufism: Islamic Art in the West Bank and Gaza, pp.104–5.

Citation of this web page:

Yusuf al-Natsheh "Ribat of al-Mansur Qalawun" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;pa;Mon01;21;en

Prepared by: Yusuf Al-NatshehYusuf al-Natsheh

Yusuf Said Natsheh is a Palestinian and since 1997 he has been Director of the Department of Islamic Archaeology in al-Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem. He is a lecturer at al-Quds University. He was educated in Jerusalem and Cairo and in 1997 obtained his Ph.D. from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Dr Natsheh is a council member of many Palestinian societies for architectural heritage and a consultant for various projects on Jerusalem. He has written books and more than 40 articles about Jerusalem's architectural heritage including the architectural survey of Ottoman architecture in R. Hillenbrand and S. Auld (eds) Ottoman Jerusalem: The Living City 1517–1917 (London: Altajir World of Islam Trust, 2000). He has contributed to many international and national conferences. He supervised the restoration project, sponsored by the Arab League, on Mamluk monuments in and around al-Haram al-Sharif, and was Palestinian expert for the UNESCO mission to Jerusalem in 2004.

Copyedited by: Majd Musa
Translation by: Amal Sachedina (from the Arabic).
Translation copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: PA 21

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