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 Damascus

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large format B & W negative

N806264_I70149

place

learning center

madrasa

Syria

madrasas

stone

brick

wood

Marilyn Jenkins-Madina, Ph.D.

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35 mm color slide

Damascus. Atabakiyya. Entrance Portal. Muqarnas.

Madrasa al-Atabikiyya

مدرسة الاتبكية

Original

Transliterated

Madrasa al-Atabakiyya

Alternate transliteration

Madrasa al-Atabekiya

Atabakkiya Madrasa

Translated

Mosque al-Tabitiyah

Alternate

Medieval dynasty which ruled Syria, Palestine, Iraq. Egypt and Yemen during the 12th-13th c./5th-6th c. AH<table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="3" width="100%"><tbody><tr> <th> </th></tr></tbody></table>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The founder of the dynasty was Shirukh, a Kurdish 
retainer of the Zengid prince Nur al-Din. First Shirukh secured the 
governorship of Aleppo and later was appointed vizier to the Fatimid 
ruler of Egypt. Shirukh was succeeded by his nephew Salah al-Din who 
rapidly extended his position and became ruler of Egypt, Syria and 
northern Iraq whilst he appointed his brother ruler of Yemen. Salah 
al-Din's greatest accomplishment was the defeat of the Crusaders and the
 reconquest of Jerusalem. Salah al-Din died in 1189/584 AH and his empire 
fragmented under his successors who ruled various parts of the empire 
until the mid-13thc./6th c. AH.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ayyubid architecture was dominated by the need to combat two enemies:
 the Crusaders in Palestine and the rising threat of Shi'ism and 
religious dissension. To combat the Crusaders a network of fortresses 
was built which rivalled those of the Crusaders both in size and 
technical sophistication. Amongst the best examples of Ayyubid military 
architecture are Qal'at Rabad at Ajlun in Jordan and Qal'at Nimrud at 
Banyas in Syria. In addition the fortification of citadels was improved 
and the famous gateway of the Aleppo Citadel dates from this period. 
Some of the techniques of fortification were learned from the Crusaders 
(curtain walls following the natural topography), although many were 
inherited from the Fatimids (machicolations and round towers) and some 
were developed simultaneously (concentric planning).
Shi'ism was an equally dangerous threat to the Ayyubids who built a 
large number of madrassas in both Syria and Egypt. In Egypt the Ayyubids
 had to reintroduce religious orthodoxy after two centuries of 
government-imposed Shi'ism. In Syria there was a so a growing threat of 
Shi'ism in the form of the Assassins who had benefited from the 
confusion of the Crusader conflict. The Ayyubids tried to promote Sufism
 as an orthodox alternative and began to build khanqas and Sufi shrines 
to provide a focus for these activities. Petersen, Andrew.&nbsp;Dictionary of Islamic Architecture.&nbsp;London and New York: Routledge, 1999.

Ayyubid

Madrasa al-AtabikiyyaDamascus, Syria

Madrasa al-Atabikiyya
Damascus, Syria