Hafsid architecture developed under the patronage of the
Hafsid dynasty
The Hafsids ( ar, الحفصيون ) were a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Berber descentC. Magbaily Fyle, ''Introduction to the History of African Civilization: Precolonial Africa'', (University Press of America, 1999), 84. who ruled Ifriqiya (weste ...
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
) during the 13th to 16th centuries. Evolving from earlier
Almohad
The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire fou ...
and Ifriqiyan traditions, it was later influenced further by
Mamluk architecture
Mamluk architecture was the architectural style under the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517), which ruled over Egypt, the Levant, and the Hijaz from their capital, Cairo. Despite their often tumultuous internal politics, the Mamluk sultans were proli ...
of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
and Syria and it increasingly deviated from the style of
Moorish architecture
Moorish architecture is a style within Islamic architecture which developed in the western Islamic world, including al-Andalus (on the Iberian peninsula) and what is now Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia (part of the Maghreb). The term "Moorish" ...
in
al-Andalus
Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the Mus ...
and the western
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
. After Hafsid rule ended, the trends of this architectural style continued to develop and characterize Tunisian architecture during the following
Ottoman period
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
.
Historical background
Prior to the Hafsid period, the architecture of the
Almohads
The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire fo ...
– along with that of the
Almoravids
The Almoravid dynasty ( ar, المرابطون, translit=Al-Murābiṭūn, lit=those from the ribats) was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century that ...
who preceded them in the western
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
– is considered one of the most formative stages of "Moorish" or western Islamic architecture, establishing many of the forms and motifs that defined architectural styles in the region during the subsequent centuries. Ifriqiya was far from the main Almohad capital at
Marrakesh
Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...
(in present-day
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...
) and the Almohads themselves did not leave significant monuments here. However, they made
the regional capital of their territories in Ifriqiya and established the city's
kasbah
A kasbah (, also ; ar, قَـصَـبَـة, qaṣaba, lit=fortress, , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term ''alca ...
(citadel) as their center of government. Ifriqiya also had its own longstanding tradition of western Islamic architecture that developed under the earlier
Aghlabids
The Aghlabids ( ar, الأغالبة) were an Arab dynasty of emirs from the Najdi tribe of Banu Tamim, who ruled Ifriqiya and parts of Southern Italy, Sicily, and possibly Sardinia, nominally on behalf of the Abbasid Caliph, for about ...
(9th century),
Fatimids
The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dyna ...
(10th century), and
Zirids
The Zirid dynasty ( ar, الزيريون, translit=az-zīriyyūn), Banu Ziri ( ar, بنو زيري, translit=banū zīrī), or the Zirid state ( ar, الدولة الزيرية, translit=ad-dawla az-zīriyya) was a Sanhaja Berber dynasty from ...
(10th to 12th centuries), which influenced Hafsid architecture in turn.
The Hafsids were a branch of the Almohad ruling class that declared its independence from the Almohads in 1229 as Almohad fortunes were declining in the west. They developed their own state which came to control much of Ifriqiya and some of the surrounding region. They were also significant builders, particularly under the reigns of successful leaders, though not many of their monuments have survived intact to the present-day. While
Kairouan
Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( ar, ٱلْقَيْرَوَان, al-Qayrawān , aeb, script=Latn, Qeirwān ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by t ...
remained an important religious center, Tunis was retained as the capital and progressively grew into the main city of the region and the main center of culture and architectural patronage. The reign of
Abu Zakariya
Abu Zakariya Yahya (, Abu Zakariya Yahya I ben Abd al-Wahid (12031249) was the founder and first sultan of the Hafsid dynasty in Ifriqiya. He was the grandson of Sheikh Abu al-Hafs, the leader of the Hintata and second in command of the Almohad ...
(r. 1229–1249), the first Hafsid ruler, was a period of growth and significant building activity. During the 13th century the economy expanded, thanks in part to growing trade with present-day France and Italy. Andalusi immigrants and refugees, fleeing the advance of the ''
Reconquista
The ' ( Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Na ...
'' in
al-Andalus
Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the Mus ...
(on the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
), also immigrated to Ifriqiya in large numbers during the Hafsid period, bringing their own influences to the region's art and culture. Abu Zakariya's death was followed by a nearly a century of political weakness and conflicts, though his son al-Mustansir (r. 1249–1277) is known for building many rich palaces. In the mid 14th century, the Marinids of
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...
even managed to briefly capture Ifriqiya for several years.
The wealth and power of the Hafsid state was only revived in the later 14th century under the reigns of Abu'l Abbas (r. 1370–1394) and Abu Faris (r. 1394–1434). Abu Faris, in particular, sponsored or encouraged the construction of new religious monuments, palaces, and fortresses, in addition to repairing old monuments and infrastructure. His grandson, Abu 'Amr 'Uthman (r. 1435–1488) improved and expanded water supply systems and sponsored the construction of zawiyas ( Sufi religious complexes). After 'Uthman's death the challenges to Hafsid rule increased on multiple fronts, from Arab tribesmen,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...
attempts at expansion in North Africa, and a growing Ottoman presence to the east and west. Hafsid was brought to a final end in 1574, when Ifriqiya became a province of the Ottoman Empire.
General characteristics
Unlike Moorish architecture further west in the Maghreb and al-Andalus, Hafsid architecture was built primarily in stone (rather than brick or
mudbrick
A mudbrick or mud-brick is an air-dried brick, made of a mixture of loam, mud, sand and water mixed with a binding material such as rice husks or straw. Mudbricks are known from 9000 BCE, though since 4000 BCE, bricks have also been ...
) and it made use of stone vaulting, not common in the more western traditions, and it employed semi-circular arches rather than the typical horseshoe arches of the west. The greater use of stone and lesser use of wood likely reflected the long and continuous tradition of stoneworking in the region since Antiquity, the survival of many
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
remains, and possibly the shorter supply of timber. The surviving Hafsid monuments also appear to feature less decoration than those in the west, although art historian
Jonathan Bloom
Jonathan Max Bloom (born April 7, 1950) is an American art historian and educator. Bloom has served as the dual Norma Jean Calderwood University Professor of Islamic and Asian Art at Boston College, along with his wife, Sheila Blair.
Career
Bl ...
notes that this observation may be a result of Hafsid decoration simply not surviving up to modern times. The use of two-coloured (dark and white) marble or masonry is a distinguishing feature of Hafsid architecture that was likely influenced by cultural contacts with contemporary Egypt, which was under
Ayyubid
The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni Muslim of Kurdish origin, Saladin ...
and then
Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') i ...
rule. Another distinctive element is the use of stone capitals of a type that originates from acanthus-decorated capitals in Antiquity.
As a result of these and other differences, Hafsid architecture developed in directions that increasingly deviated from architectural trends further west. Art historian Abdelaziz Daoulatli identifies two main periods of important architectural activity under the Hafsids, corresponding with the two periods of Hafsid political and economic power. The first, in the 13th century, is characterized by the relatively greater influence of Almohad (Maghrebi) and Andalusi artistic styles from the west. The second, in the 15th century, is characterized by the greater influence of
Mamluk architecture
Mamluk architecture was the architectural style under the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517), which ruled over Egypt, the Levant, and the Hijaz from their capital, Cairo. Despite their often tumultuous internal politics, the Mamluk sultans were proli ...
to the east.
Major monuments and developments
Mosques
The Kasbah Mosque of Tunis was one of the first works of this period, commissioned by Abu Zakariya (the first independent Hafsid ruler) near the beginning of his reign, in 1231. Its floor plan had noticeable differences from previous Almohad-period mosques: the prayer hall is longer than it is wide, it's covered by cross-vaults instead of a flat wooden ceiling, and there is no courtyard. Much of the mosque was significantly renovated after the Hafsid period. The well-decorated ''
mihrab
Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the '' qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla ...
'' (niche symbolizing the ''
qibla
The qibla ( ar, قِبْلَة, links=no, lit=direction, translit=qiblah) is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the s ...
'') is the focus of the interior's decoration, and the upper part of the mihrab today still dates from the Hafsid period. It includes an Arabic inscription, with Qur'anic verses and details of the mosque's foundation, which is embellished with rich
arabesque
The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...
decoration of Almohad and Andalusi style. The space in front of the mihrab is covered by an intricate ''
muqarnas
Muqarnas ( ar, مقرنص; fa, مقرنس), also known in Iranian architecture as Ahoopāy ( fa, آهوپای) and in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe, is a form of ornamented vaulting in Islamic architecture. It is the archetypal form of ...
'' dome, unlike any other in Ifriqiya, whose style is again reminiscent of architecture further west. The
minaret
A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گلدسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally ...
, also completed in 1233, is distinctly Almohad in style, bearing strong resemblance to the minaret of the earlier Kasbah Mosque in Marrakesh. Like the latter, its façades are decorated with a ''
sebka
''Sebka'' () refers to a type of decorative motif used in western Islamic ("Moorish") architecture and Mudéjar architecture.
History and description
Various types of interlacing rhombus-like motifs are heavily featured on the surfaces of ...
'' motif, but it differs here by being worked in stone rather than brick. This design is a significant shift in style from earlier Ifriqiyan minarets. This minaret also influenced the design of later Tunisian minarets.
Other foundations from the Hafsid period in Tunis include the Haliq Mosque (13th century) and the al-Hawa Mosque (1375), and the Bab al-Aqwas Mosque (15th century). The Hafsids also renovated the old Zaytuna Mosque of Tunis. Among other works, the mosque's first attested minaret was built under Hafsid patronage in 1438–1439. Its appearance is known from old photographs: it had a cuboid shape like other contemporary minarets in the region and was crowned with an arcaded gallery and a polygonal turret or
lantern
A lantern is an often portable source of lighting, typically featuring a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle or a wick in oil, and often a battery-powered light in modern timesto make it easier to carry and h ...
at its summit. Between October 1448 and August 1450 an ablutions hall, the ''Mīḍāt al-Sulṭān'', was built across the street in front of the mosque, attributed to the patronage of Abu 'Amr 'Uthman. The hall is notable for its black and white marble decoration. The two-coloured marble revetment is arranged in a striped pattern around the hall's blind arches and in star-shaped geometric and curvilinear motifs elsewhere.
The Hafsids also made significant renovations to the older
Great Mosque of Kairouan
The Great Mosque of Kairouan ( ar, جامع القيروان الأكبر), also known as the Mosque of Uqba (), is a mosque situated in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Kairouan, Tunisia and is one of the most impressive and largest Islamic mo ...
, renovating its ceiling, reinforcing its walls, and building or rebuilding two of its entrance gates in 1293. The two gates are Bab al-Ma' ("Gate of Water") on the west side and Bab Lalla Rihana ("Gate of Lady Rihana", named after a pious woman buried nearby) on the east side. Bab Lalla Rihana, the most interesting gate, is a projecting portal that may have been inspired by the projecting entrance of the 10th-century Great Mosque of Mahdiya. Its ribbed dome is similar to other older domes in the mosque, while the horseshoe arches, merlons,
blind arcade
A blind arcade or blank arcade is an arcade (a series of arches) that has no actual openings and that is applied to the surface of a wall as a decorative element: i.e., the arches are not windows or openings but are part of the masonry face. It is ...
and
plaster
Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "r ...
-carved arabesque decoration are similar to western Maghrebi or Andalusi styles.
Madrasas
The Hafsids also introduced the first
madrasas
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
to the region, beginning with the Madrasa al-Shamma῾iyya built in Tunis in 1238 (or in 1249 according to some sources). This building was heavily renovated in the 17th century and its original decoration has not been preserved. It was built on an irregular rectangular plot near the Zaytuna Mosque. From the street, a staircase climbs to the entrance where a bent passage leads to a central square courtyard. Across the courtyard, opposite the entrance, is a small vaulted prayer hall. In the middle of the other two sides of the courtyard are vaulted rooms, entered through large arches, which were probably classrooms. A second floor exists, with a gallery around the courtyard leading to 19 small rooms that housed students. A second, larger prayer hall is also found on the upper floor, directly above the ground floor prayer hall. The layout, in which the entrance and major rooms of the ground floor are aligned symmetrically with the two central axes of the building, may have been inspired by the layout of madrasas in Egypt or further east. It also resembles the layout of traditional houses in the medina of Tunis, and the building may have been a former house that was remodeled and repurposed into a madrasa.
This foundation of the Madrasa al-Shamma῾iyya was followed by many others (almost all of them in Tunis), including the Madrasa al-Hawa (founded in the 1250s), the Madrasa al-Ma'ridiya (1282), and the Madrasa al-Unqiya (1341). Many of these early madrasas, however, have been poorly preserved or have been considerably modified in the centuries since their foundation. The Madrasa al-Muntasiriya, completed in 1437, is among the best preserved madrasas of the Hafsid period. Similar in layout in the al-Shamma῾iyya, it has a central rectangular courtyard with a recessed space opening in the middle of each side of the courtyard. One recess leads to the entrance, the one opposite it leads to a nine-bay (nine-domed) prayer hall, and another to a classroom, with the last one now destroyed. No upper floor, if there was one, has been preserved. This layout seems to be inspired by the classic four-iwan layout found in madrasas of the Middle East, possibly due to Mamluk influence.
Palaces
Almost nothing of the Hafsid royal palaces have survived to the present day, although some written descriptions are provided by historical writers like
Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldun (; ar, أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي, ; 27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732-808 AH) was an Arab
The Historical Muhammad', Irving M. Zeitlin, (Polity Press, 2007), p. 21; "It is, o ...
. These sources describe a variety of palaces and gardens, many of them built on the outskirts or suburbs of Tunis. One such structure was the ''Qubbat Asarak'', a large pavilion structure with a wide staircase at its entrance, built by al-Mustansir in 1253. Another palace built by the same ruler, the Abu Fihr Palace, was described as an enclosed garden containing a large water basin flanked by two pavilions with marble columns and wooden roofs. Water features were characteristic of earlier Ifriqiyan palaces, while the two pavilions appear to be a feature shared with Andalusi and western Maghrebi architecture of the same era, possibly of Almohad origin. Yet another palace built by al-Mustansir, the Ras al-Tabiya Palace, was described by a later Flemish writer as having four buildings arranged in a cross formation around a courtyard paved with colourful tiles. A fountain in the center of the courtyard fed four pools around it. A vaulted underground passage allowed the women of the harem to travel privately to a park. The Bardo Palace (today a national museum) was also begun by the Hafsids in the 15th century, and is mentioned in historical records for the first time during the reign of Abu Faris. All of these examples were built on the outskirts of Tunis.
The last surviving Hafsid structure to have been built is the 'Abdeliya Palace in present-day
La Marsa
La Marsa ( aeb, المرسى ') is a coastal town in far north eastern Tunisia near the capital Tunis. The population is estimated as 92,987, as of 2014. The old summer capital of pre-colonial Tunisia, it is today a popular vacation spot for many ...
(on the coast near Tunis), which is the only Hafsid palace to survive in any form. It was originally built in 1500, but may even contain some older Almohad foundations. It was significantly restored in later periods and thus preserves none of its original decoration, except for the capitals of its columns. It may have served as a kind of seaside retreat for the Hafsid rulers, probably standing amidst gardens. It was one of three buildings that stood here, but the other two buildings have not been preserved. The building is entered through a triple-arched
portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many c ...
and contains a large rectangular courtyard with two porticos facing each other on either side. The courtyard is surrounded by domed or vaulted chambers. One of the courtyard porticos leads to a large T-shaped reception room (''maq'ad''), including a domed area at the back which projects outward from the rest of the building. The presence of many windows, which was unusual in the normally introverted domestic architecture of this era, most likely allowed for better enjoyment of the garden setting.
Mausoleums and zawiyas
Zawiyas, Sufi religious complexes usually associated with a tomb, began to appear in Ifriqiya during the 14th century, possibly adopting a tradition that already existed in the west. They provided teaching and accommodation for pilgrims to the founder's tomb, as well as other community services. One example is the Zawiya of Sidi 'Abid al-Gharyani in Kairouan, founded and begun in 1324 by Muhammad al-Jadidi, a prominent local Muslim jurist who later died in
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow val ...
. His disciple, Abu Samir 'Abid al-Gharyani, continued teaching at the zawiya after him and was buried here in 1402. The addition of his tomb completed the original construction of the complex, but it has undergone multiple renovations since then. One of the later Hafsid sultans, Mulay Hasan, was buried next to al-Gharyani in the mausoleum chamber. Another example of this kind of complex is the Zawiya of Sidi Ben 'Arus in Tunis, founded in 1490.
The Mausoleum of Sidi Qasim al-Jalizi, in the suburbs west of Tunis, was built towards the end of the 15th century (circa 1496), founded by Sidi Qasim al-Jalizi (d. 1496), a ''
zellij
''Zellij'' ( ar, الزليج, translit=zillīj; also spelled zillij or zellige) is a style of mosaic tilework made from individually hand-chiseled tile pieces. The pieces were typically of different colours and fitted together to form various pa ...
'' craftsman of
Andalusi The Arabic ''nisbah'' (attributive title) Al-Andalusi denotes an origin from Al-Andalus. Al-Andalusi may refer to:
* Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati
* Ibn Hazm
* Ibn Juzayy
Abu al-Qasim, Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Muhammad b. 'Abd Allah, Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi al ...
origin who was buried here at his death. While expanded in later centuries, the main mausoleum chamber still dates to the Hafsid period and displays a fusion of styles that is characteristic of the period. Rather than covered by a traditional vault or spherical dome, the chamber is covered by a pyramidal wooden roof with green tiles on the outside, typical of contemporary buildings further west in Morocco and
al-Andalus
Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the Mus ...
. The hall's interior is decorated with several elements also characteristic of architecture further west, including carved stucco on the upper walls, flowery capitals, and ''
cuerda seca
The term "cuerda" (Spanish for ''rope'') refers to a unit of measurement in some Spanish-speaking regions, including Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Cuba, Spain, and Paraguay. In Puerto Rico, the term cuerda (and "Spanish acre"Hispano-Moresque style. On the other hand, the hall also features marble decoration on walls, columns, and around the framing of arches, which appear to be influenced by Ayyubid and Mamluk architecture further east.
Fortifications
The cities of Tunisia were frequently fortified against outside attacks. The Hafsids fortified Tunis and Kairouan and repaired the walls of
Sousse
Sousse or Soussa ( ar, سوسة, ; Berber:''Susa'') is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gu ...
and
Sfax
Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Berber Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterran ...
. Many of the city walls that survived up to modern times were later built or rebuilt during the Ottoman period. Many have since been largely dismantled, including those of Tunis. Only one of the seven former city gates in Tunis,
Bab Jedid
Bab or BAB can refer to:
* Bab (toponymy), a component of Arabic toponyms literally meaning "gate"
* Set (mythology) (also known as Bab, Baba, or Seth) ancient Egyptian God
* Bab (Shia Islam), a term designating deputies of the Imams in Shia Isl ...
("New Gate"), has been preserved today. It was originally opened in 1276 to link the old city with a southern suburb that had been growing as a result of the development of the nearby Kasbah of Tunis. The gate's arched opening remains today but it would have originally been flanked by a defensive tower on either side. Inside, the gate has a bent passage which turns multiple times in order to slow any attackers. A part of the passage is open to the sky, allowing defenders to throw projectiles onto any attackers from above, while the rest of the passage is covered by groin vaults.
Markets and other civic works
The Hafsids renovated and expanded the covered market (bazaar) in the old city of Tunis during the 13th and 14th centuries. One of these covered market streets is the ''Suq al-'Attarin'' ("Market of the Perfumers"), which adjoins the Zaytuna Mosque in the heart of the city and consists of three streets covered by brick
barrel vaults
A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...
. The Hafsids also improved waterworks and built hammams (
public baths
Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...
) and
hospitals
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergenc ...