Jamal Al-Din Al-Ustadar
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Jamal al-Din al-Ustadar was an
Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...
of Nasir al-Din Faraj, the
Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...
sultan of
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
.Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. Cairo of the Mamluks. I.B. Tauris: New York, NY. 2007. He was very influential in his time, including his work on some important building structures in
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
. He is also a controversial figure, who was removed from his post and executed in 1411.


The Madrasa of Jamal al-Din

One of Jamal al-Din's biggest contributions to the Cairo landscape was his role in designing the
Madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...
of Jamal al-Din in 1407, an elaborate
cruciform madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary education or higher learning. ...
dedicated to all four schools of law. It is located in the al-jamaliyah district of Cairo Egypt, a district whose name comes from him and the architectural influence he had. The design and decoration of this madrasa was quite ornate, as Jamal al-Din took some of the materials from the deteriorating madrasa of al-Ashraf. This was a practice often utilized by Mamluk's throughout history, perhaps as a cost saving mechanism. The madrasa is in the four-iwan layout, meaning it contains four different hallways, and each hallway faced an open courtyard in the center. It contains all of the features generally found in a religious building, including a bent entryway, a tomb, and an ablution area. However, the building of this madrasa was not without controversy, as it is alleged that Jamal al-Din over-invested materials and capital in order to enhance it and model it after a palace with the intention of retiring in it. He eventually faced public disgrace, and al-Din Faraj executed Jamal al-Din and annulled his transactions that went into making the madrasa in 1411. However, he refrained from tearing it down, and it still stands to this day. The madrasa received earthquake damage in 1992 to go along with centuries of weather and general wear, but it was restored with the help of the Ministry of Culture. He also founded the Maḥmūdīyah Library in
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
in 1394-1395 CE, making it the largest madrasa library in Mamluk Egypt and Syria.


Notes and references


Bibliography

* (Mayer, 1933, pp
31257
f; his madrasa
258
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jamal Al-Din Al-Ustadar Burji dynasty Mamluk emirs