Bab an-Nasr
The Bab an-Nasr ( Arabic باب النصر, DMG Bāb an-Naṣr ) 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 . Just like the Bab al-Futuh , the Bab an-Nasr leads north out of the city, while the Bab Zuweila forms a path south.
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.
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. A few meters east of the Bab al-Futuh and thus the main axis of the palace city was the Bab an-Nasr.
New city wall of Badr al-Jamali
In the 11th century the Fatimid Empire ran into serious domestic and foreign policy difficulties. 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 defeated the invaded Seljuks , reorganized the state administration and finance and promoted economy and trade. 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 city limits with a few extensions. It now encompassed the al-Hakim mosque in the north , which had previously stood outside the wall. Immediately to the west of the mosque was the Bab al-Futuh, which is still visible today. Further east, also in the north wall, the Bab an-Nasr. In the south, the new wall ran a significant distance further south, expanding the city by a wide strip. The new Bab Zuweila was built here around 1091/1092 and is still standing today.
The Bab an-Nasr as well as the two other preserved gates are today important sights in modern Cairo.
Building description
Decoration on the facade of Bab an-Nasr
Inscription above the passage of the gate
According to architectural historians, the three preserved medieval city gates show features of the Byzantine style . The Cairene historian al-Maqrīzī reports that Badr al-Jamali commissioned three Christian monks from Edessa in eastern Anatolia who had fled the Seljuks to al-Qahira to build the three gates .
The Bab an-Nasr has a gate tower with a rectangular floor plan on the right and left next to the gate passage. The towers are solid up to two thirds of the height, above are rooms that are provided with windows on the city side, on the outside with loopholes. On the outside of the towers, stone reliefs of shields and swords are attached to emphasize the defensive character of the wall. Above the passage of the Bab an-Nasr is a stone inscription with the Shahada , the Islamic creed, in the Shiite version. The Fatimid caliph dynasty saw itself as the Shiite antithesis to the Sunni caliphate in Baghdad.
Inscription above the passage:
«بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم لا اله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له محمد رسول الله علي ولي الله»
"Bismi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīmi lā ilāha illā llāhu waḥdahu lā šarīka la-hu Muḥammadun rasūlu llāhi ʿAlīyun walīyu llāhi"
“In the name of the merciful and gracious God. There is no god but God alone, he has no partner (in rulership), Mohammed is God's messenger, Ali is God's friend "
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. 68–72.
- Heinz Halm : The Caliphs of Cairo. The Fatimids in Egypt (973-1074) . Beck, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-406-48654-1 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ 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. 68–72
- ^ Doris Behrens-Abouseif: Islamic Architecture in Cairo. An Introduction . 1st edition Cairo 1989, 5th edition Cairo 2005, ISBN 977 424 203 3 , p. 68
Coordinates: 30 ° 3 ′ 15 ″ N , 31 ° 15 ′ 53 ″ E