At a glance
- Region
- Egypt & Nile
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Walk this pathway
5steps · 30min · newcomer · student
Baybars
Al-Zahir Baybars founded the al-Zahiriyya madrasa at Bab al-Dhahab of the Fatimid palace. {cite:khitat-maqrizi-1998 p.1032} He left Cairo with Qalawun for Syria after Aqtay was killed. {cite:khitat-maqrizi-1998 p.1081} He took the sultanate after Qutuz was killed, under the title al-Malik al-Zahir. {cite:tarikh-khulafa-minhaj-1434 p.720}
Qalawun
The Mansuri hospital was built on the site of the small western palace, and inside the complex stands the Mansuri dome. {cite:khitat-maqrizi-1998 p.1061} Qalawun began the hospital, the madrasa and the mausoleum, and Sanjar al-Shuja'i oversaw the works. {cite:khitat-maqrizi-1998 p.1249} The al-Nasiriyya madrasa stands beside the minaret of the Mansuri dome. {cite:khitat-maqrizi-1998 p.1062}
Al-Nasir
Al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun was sultan in Egypt in 702 AH, with Baybars al-Jashnakir managing the state. {cite:khitat-maqrizi-1998 p.240} He built a bridge over the Nile to break the force of the current from the bank. {cite:khitat-maqrizi-1998 p.241} He founded the al-Jami' al-Jadid al-Nasiri outside Misr. {cite:khitat-maqrizi-1998 p.831}
Sultan Hasan
Sultan Hasan began building his mosque and madrasa in 757 AH. {cite:khitat-maqrizi-1998 p.2111} The building went on for three years without a break, with twenty thousand dirhams set aside each day. {cite:khitat-maqrizi-1998 p.2111} Al-Maqrizi says that no mosque of the Muslims is known to resemble it. {cite:khitat-maqrizi-1998 p.2111}
The city
Jawhar settled on the site of Cairo in Sha'ban 358 AH. {cite:khitat-maqrizi-1998 p.1030} Cairo was a caliphal residence where the caliph lived with his household and his closest people. {cite:khitat-maqrizi-1998 p.1001} It then became a city of residence, after it had been a fortress in which one was held. {cite:khitat-maqrizi-1998 p.1001}
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Do first:: Islam in Thirty Minutes
Overview
A path through the Mamluk sultanate: Qalawun, Baybars and al-Nasir, the Mosque of Sultan Hasan, and the finest age of Islamic architecture.
Sources
- Al-Maqrizi, al-Mawaiz wa-l-i'tibar bi-dhikr al-khitat wa-l-athar (al-Khitat al-Maqriziyya), ed. Muhammad Zaynhum and Madiha al-Sharqawi (Cairo: Maktabat Madbuli, 1998)
- Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition)
- Wikidata
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Mamluk Cairo”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/exhibits/path-mamluk-cairo/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-24.