Shadbakhtiyya Madrasa

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Variant Names	Shadhbakhtiyya Madrasa, Shadbakhtiya Madrasa Masjid Shaykh Ma'ruf, Madrasa Chadbakhtiyya
Location	Aleppo, Syria
Date	1193
Style/Period	Ayyubid
Century	12th
Building Types	educational, religious
Building Usage	madrasa, mosque

Notes

Al-Shadhbakhtiyya madrasa is one of the earliest preserved Ayyubid madrasas. It was build by Jamal al-Din Shadbakht, a freed slave of Nur al-Din 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 al-Kamiliya madrasa and al- Firdows madrasa. The shrine of Sheikh Maruf, after whom the building was renamed, is located in the second tripartite prayer hall on the northeastern corner of the madrasa. Source: Tabbaa, Yasser. 1997. Constructions of Power and Piety in Medieval Aleppo. The Pennsylvania State University: The Pennsylvania State University Press. 134.