Research Description

Circassian and Mamluk Influences of the Religious Ottoman Architecture in the City of Cairo

The Bahri Mamluks were a people that ruled Egypt from 1250 to 1382. Following the Bahri Mamluks were the Circassian Mamluks, who ruled up until 1517 when they were conquered by the Ottomans. After the Ottomans took over Cairo, Mamluk influences were still present in the religious architecture of the city. Mamluks continued to inhabit Cairo up until the early 19th century when they were killed by the sultan Muhammad Ali.

In my research, I will discuss what aspects of Mamluk architecture were identifiable and significant of the Ottomans. I will then relate how these aspects later repeat in distinguished religious Ottoman structures. The sites that I intend to focus on are Masjid Sulayman Pasha, Masjid Malaka Safiyya, Masjid Mahmudiyya, and Masjid Muhammad Bey Abu al-Dhahab, all of which are Ottoman but contain very distinct Mamluk features.

Over the past two summers of 2007 and 2008, I have been to each one of these mosques in Cairo and studied them extensively. In addition to visiting each one of the sites, I have also been to a number of the most influential mosques from the Mamluk periods that have noticeable similarities to the mosques in my concentration. To supplement my research, I will include references from Oriental scholars such as K.A.C. Creswell, Doris Behrens-Abouseif and Gülru Necipoğlu.

My hopes for this project are to bring awareness to the West regarding Islamic art and its pertinence to the Arab world. I hope to give a better understanding about a very influential time period in Egyptian and Arab history and to demonstrate my understandings on predominant religious structures from the Ottoman and Mamluk eras. I look forward to sharing my findings with other scholars who are interested in this topic.