Bab Zuweila
The Bab Zuweila (also Bab Zuwayla or Bab Zawila ; Arabic باب زويلة, DMG Bāb Zuwaila ) is one of the three still-preserved city gates of the medieval city of al-Qahira, which, as the palace city of the Fatimid dynasty founded in 969 AD, gave its name to today's Cairo , the capital of Egypt . Several centuries after its construction, the minarets , which belong to the neighboring mosque of the Mamluk sultan al-Mu'aiyad Sheikh , were placed on top of its two gate towers. The gate is of impressive size and typical shape, making it an important sight and landmark from Cairo. In contrast to the other two preserved gates, the Bab al-Futuh and the Bab an-Nasr , which lead north out of the city, the Bab Zuweila forms a path to the south. The gate got its name from a tribe from Western Sudan, from whom came the soldiers who were originally charged with guarding it and whose residential area was in the southwest of al-Qahira. The gate also gained gruesome fame due to the fact that in the Middle Ages the prison of al-Qahira was in the immediate vicinity of the gate. That is why the busy space immediately in front of the gate was used for executions, but also for displaying the bodies or heads of those executed.
City foundation: first wall and first gates
After the conquest of Egypt by the Fatimid general Dschauhar as-Siqillī in 969, his master, the Fatimid caliph al-Muizz li-Din Allah , who had previously resided in Kairuan (Tunisia) , decided to move his residence to Egypt. The victorious general was commissioned to build a new palace city for his master near the previous Egyptian capital al-Fustat . To the north-east of al-Fustat, Dschauhar had the city of al-Qahira built with palaces, gardens and residential quarters for the dignitaries and soldiers of the occupying forces from 970, which he enclosed with a wall of adobe bricks. Several gates led through this wall in all directions. A double gate was built to the south, then called "Abouab Zuweila" (the Zuweila gates, in the plural).
When the victorious Caliph al-Muizz solemnly took possession of his new palace city in 973, he moved from the south through the right Zuweila gate, while the crowd poured into the city through the left gate. The left gate later fell into disrepute due to popular superstition and was finally walled up.
In the center of the new palace and garrison city al-Qahira was a large square that had been laid out “between two palaces” (Arabic: “Baina al-Qasrain”). The main street of al-Qahira ran through the square, from Bab al-Futuh in the north to Bab Zuweila in the south. This street was used by the caliphs for splendid parades and processions. And when the caliph and his entourage left the city to the south on official occasions, he crossed the Bab Zuweila.
This main traffic axis at that time is now known as al-Muizz Street and is a major tourist attraction in Cairo due to the many Islamic monuments located here.
New city wall of Badr al-Jamali
In the 11th century, the Fatimid Empire ran into serious trouble. National bankruptcy and various uprisings brought the empire to the brink of dissolution. The Seljuks had military success and were even able to occupy al-Qahira for two years. In this situation, the governor of Damascus Badr al-Jamali received extensive special powers from the caliph al-Mustansir and thus a de facto regency. He was very successful and was able to drive the Seljuks out of Egypt. In addition, he reorganized the state administration as well as the financial system and promoted the domestic economy and foreign trade. He was a big builder and created impressive architecture. One of his achievements was a completely new stone wall around al-Qahira in 1087, which replaced the old adobe wall and was supposed to repel further attacks by the Seljuks. The new wall essentially ran just outside the previous wall with a few extensions. It now encompassed the al-Hakim mosque in the north , which had previously stood outside the wall. In the south, the new wall ran a significant distance further south, expanding the city by a wide strip. The new Bab Zuweila was also built here around 1091/1092 in the Byzantine style , which replaced the old double gate and can still be seen today. The gate is flanked by two semicircular gate towers. Between the towers above the passage there is a loggia for ceremonial orchestras on the south side, which announced the ruler's ceremonial parades through music. On the city side of the gate there is a gable construction that is completely unusual for Islamic architecture . According to architectural historians, these features indicate the Byzantine style. The Cairene historian al-Maqrīzī reports that Badr al-Jamali commissioned three Christian monks from Edessa in eastern Anatolia with the construction of the three new gates (Bab Zuweila, Bab al-Futuh, Bab an-Nasr) , who before the Seljuks after al -Qahira had fled.
In the 12th century, the Ayyubid Sultan Saladin built another great wall to ward off the Crusaders , which was supposed to enclose al-Qahira as well as the former palace cities of al-Fustat, al-Qatai and al-Askar as a whole. However, this wall ring was never completed and had no structural effects on the Bab Zuweila. However, due to its summarizing effect, it is considered the foundation of today's Cairo.
The prison at Bab Zuweila and the executions outside the gate are mentioned for the first time among the later Mamluken sultans. The historically most momentous executions at this point were probably the beheadings of the six ambassadors who had been sent by the Mongol general Hulegü to ask the Mamluk Sultan Qutuz to surrender Egypt without a fight. The result was the battle of ʿAin Jālūt in Palestine on September 3, 1260 , in which the Mamluks were able to defeat a Mongol army for the first time in the history of the Mongolian conquests. Mamluk Egypt was then the only country in the Middle East that could prevent a Mongol invasion. Later attempts at conquest by Mongol dynasties (see Ilchane ) also failed.
The minarets of al-Mu'aiyad Sheikh
In the 15th century, the Mamluk Sultan al-Mu'aiyad Sheikh built his tomb mosque together with other non-profit public institutions on the site of the prison at Bab Zuweila (see tomb complex of al-Mu'aiyad Sheikh ). The historian and contemporary al-Maqrīzī reports that during his career in the Mamluk hierarchy, al-Mu'aiyad was incarcerated in this prison as part of the usual internal conflicts. At the time, he took a vow that he would build a mosque here if he escaped from prison alive. He was actually released and his further career was very successful.
The architectural peculiarity of this new mosque consisted of the idea of placing two of the three minarets on top of the two gate towers of Bab Zuweila. This is how the gate got its current appearance.
Both minarets have an inscription above their entrance, which leads from the roof of the gate into the minaret, which refers to the builder. The inscription on the eastern minaret says that the builder Muhammad Ibn al-Qazzaz completed the construction of this minaret in August 1419. The inscription on the western minaret indicates that both minarets were completed in August 1420. It is assumed that a construction time of around one year is to be expected per minaret. This is rather slow for Mamluk conditions, but can be explained by the fact that the construction of the minarets on the existing Fatimid gate represented a special architectural challenge.
Inscription on the eastern minaret
Inscription on the western minaret
The Mamluks were able to rule Egypt until 1517, then the Turkish Ottomans conquered the country and hanged the last Mamluk sultan Tuman Bay at Bab Zuweila.
The attraction: The Bab Zuweila in modern Cairo
The Bab Zuweila is now open to tourists and can be visited for a fee. In addition, the visitor can climb the platform of the old city gate and the two minarets.
literature
- Oleg V. Volkoff: 1000 years of Cairo. History of an enchanting city. Mainz 1984, ISBN 3-8053-0535-4 .
- Doris Behrens-Abouseif: Islamic Architecture in Cairo. An Introduction. 1st edition Cairo 1989, 5th edition Cairo 2005, ISBN 977-424-203-3 , pp. 69-72.
- Doris Behrens-Abouseif: Cairo of the Mamluks. A History of the Architecture and Its Culture. Cairo 2007, ISBN 978-977-416-077-6 , p. 241.
- Heinz Halm : The Caliphs of Cairo. The Fatimids in Egypt (973-1074) . Beck, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-406-48654-1 .
Web links
- Irene Beeson: Cairo, a Millennial . en: Saudi Aramco World . Pp. 24, 26-30. September – October 1969. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
- Archnet: Bab Zuwayla
Individual evidence
- ↑ Heinz Halm : The caliphs of Cairo. The Fatimids in Egypt (973-1074) . Beck, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-406-48654-1 . , P. 19
- ^ Oleg V. Volkoff: 1000 Years of Cairo. History of an enchanting city . Mainz 1984, ISBN 3-8053-0535-4 , pp. 68f.
- ↑ alrahalah.com: AL-MU'IZZ STREET - CAIRO'S GRAND STREET
- ^ Oleg V. Volkoff: 1000 Years of Cairo. History of an enchanting city . Mainz 1984, ISBN 3-8053-0535-4 , p. 95.
- ^ Doris Behrens-Abouseif: Islamic Architecture in Cairo. An Introduction . 1st edition Cairo 1989, 5th edition Cairo 2005, ISBN 977-424-203-3 , pp. 69-72
- ^ Oleg V. Volkoff: 1000 Years of Cairo. History of an enchanting city . Mainz 1984, ISBN 3-8053-0535-4 , p. 114f.
- ^ Oleg V. Volkoff: 1000 Years of Cairo. History of an enchanting city. Mainz 1984, ISBN 3-8053-0535-4 , p. 160.
- ^ Doris Behrens-Abouseif: Cairo of the Mamluks. A History of the Architecture and Its Culture . Cairo 2007, ISBN 978-977-416-077-6 , p. 241.
Coordinates: 30 ° 2 ′ 34.2 " N , 31 ° 15 ′ 28.1" E