The Zumurrud Khatun Mosque and Mausoleum (), also known as the Tomb of Sitta Zubayda, is a historic

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

and

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

located in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. It dates back to the Abbasid era. It is located in Sheikh Ma'ruf Cemetery in the Karkh side of Baghdad, and the site was built at the patronage of

Zumurrud Khatun Zumurrud Khatun () (died ''after'' 1139), was the regent of Damascus between 1135 and 1138. She was the daughter of Safwat al-Mulk and the half-sister of Duqaq. She married Buri b. Tughtekin. In 1132, her son Shams al-Mulk Isma'il became king o ...

and her son. Zumurrud Khatun was the wife of the 33rd

Abbasid caliph The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came ...

al-Mustadi Abu Muhammad Hasan ibn Yusuf al-Mustanjid (; 1142 – 27 March 1180) usually known by his regnal title al-Mustadi () was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 1170 to 1180. He succeeded his father al-Mustanjid. Biography Al-Mustadi was the son of ...

() and mother of Caliph

al-Nasir Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn al-Hasan al-Mustaḍīʾ (), better known by his al-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh (; 6 August 1158 – 5 October 1225) or simply as al-Nasir, was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 1180 until his death. His literally can m ...

(). She collected the

waqf A (; , plural ), also called a (, plural or ), or ''mortmain'' property, is an Alienation (property law), inalienable charitable financial endowment, endowment under Sharia, Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot ...

money from

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 ...

s and built her mausoleum before her death, which is located in

Karkh Al-Karkh or just Karkh (Arabic: الكرخ) is historically the name of the western half of Baghdad, Iraq, or alternatively, the western shore of the Tigris River as it ran through Baghdad. The eastern shore is known as al-Rusafa. Historically, ...

.Jawad, Aymen
Zumurrud Khatun
''Iraq Heritage''. Retrieved January 4, 2018. The building is covered by the distinct nine layered

muqarnas Muqarnas (), also known in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe (from ), is a form of three-dimensional decoration in Islamic architecture in which rows or tiers of niche-like elements are projected over others below. It is an archetypal form of I ...

dome capped by a small cupola. The dome of this building is considered to be the earliest surviving example of its type in Baghdad. The building has robust construction made of bricks and plaster. There is also an attached library, and an adjoined

Shafi'i The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionis ...

madrasa. Due to the mosque being dominated by

Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...

maddhab A ''madhhab'' (, , pl. , ) refers to any school of thought within Islamic jurisprudence. The major Sunni ''madhhab'' are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali. They emerged in the ninth and tenth centuries CE and by the twelfth century almost all ...

, the extension to the north for Shafi'i maddhab was added, which is called Shafi'i Mosque. The tomb is one of two historic mausoleums in Karkh. The other is the

Sheikh Maruf Mosque Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning " elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim scholar. Though this title generally refers to men, there are also a small number of ...

History

By most accounts,

is identified as a formerly-enslaved Turkic woman who became a prominent noblewoman during the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes ...

. She rose to this position through multiple marriages, but most notable is her marriage to Caliph

, from which she gave birth to Caliph

. She is described as being a pious woman and an active patroness of architecture and public works. Her legacy as patroness was due to her restoration of public infrastructure and for building educational and funerary buildings. The Mosque and Mausoleum of Zumurrud Khatun were created at the commission of al-Nasir and his mother before her death in 1202. After her death, she was laid to rest in the mausoleum following a funeral procession. Zamurrud Khatun was also actively involved in the construction of a madrasa. Furthermore, she was also remembered by many as an active member in politics and Islamic religious policies, a generous person devoted to Islamic teachings and law, and various other aspects. For instance, she is in history for spending 300,000 dirhams to repair water supplies and cisterns during the pilgrimage.

Architecture

The Building's Plan and Space

The building features a nine-layered conically-shaped muqarnas roof topped off with a cupola. The inside room of the structure is about 3 meters long and about 7 meters wide. Beyond the entrance is a narrow staircase that leads to the grave room at the base of the minaret. The roofing system of the mausoleum originated in a period in Islamic art in the 11th and 12th centuries. Sources state that this type of mosque and mausoleum might have originated in Iraq although there are similar structures in locations around regions of Iran.

The Dome

The Mausoleum's dome is made out of

, (also known as stalactite or honeycomb vaulting) one of the most original inventions of Islamic architecture which can appear in a variety of materials such as; stucco, brick, stone, and wood. Muqarnas can be applied in multiple architectural forms including; cornices, corbelled transitions, capitals, vaults, and domes, as with the Zumurrud Khatun Mosque. Brick vaults and domes have been known in the Near East since Sassanian times, if not before, but the dome in muqarnas is a truly Islamic creation without precedent in any civilization. According to Yasser Tabba author of, "Muqarnas Vaulting and Ash'ari Occasionalism", describes Zumurrud Khatun's shrine to be the "most graceful profile and one of the most integrated interiors of all conical muqarnas domes." Not only does the dome consist of an octagonal base it also includes geometric decorations that support the conical brick vault. In which the Muqarnas display their exterior articulations of the muqarnas on the outside instead of its interior which makes the illusion of the dome to appear as pinecone. The Structure The mausoleum of Zamurrud Khatum is designed as a monumental and unique Islamic structure similar to Islamic architecture of the time. It is developed with integrated layers that make its structure artistic. Its base is octagonal, a transition that has informed the construction of modern structures such as the Pentagon in the United States. On top of its octagonal base, the mausoleum gradually and unobtrusively transitions into a dome of sixteen cells pegged on muqarnas squinches that keeps the base and the upper part in sync. Seven tiers occupy most of the sixteen cells, stucco-layered against the remaining tiers. Each of the cells embodies a tiny opening covered by thick glass, giving the viewer an obscured view.

Controversies

Identification Controversy

According to Vincenzo Strika, The Mosque and Mausoleum of Zumurrud Khatun have been repeatedly misidentified by scholars. Most commonly, the mosque and mausoleum are quoted as being created by Sitta Zubayda rather than

herself. The history of this misunderstanding has been explored by Vincenzo Strika, who believes it was created by earlier scholars but was first challenged by

Guy Le Strange Guy Le Strange (24 July 1854 – 24 December 1933) was a British Orientalist noted especially for his work in the field of the historical geography of the pre-modern Middle Eastern and Eastern Islamic lands, and his editing of Persian geographic ...

and later solved by Mustafa Jawād. As Strika highlights, "The first to hint that the Tomb was not that of Zubaydah was, Le Strange..'', referencing Le Strange's finding that Sitta Zubayda was buried elsewhere. Confusion as to the identities of Sitta Zubayda and Zumurrud Khatun has also been a catalyst for some of this misidentification. In the past, researchers have considered if the two women were, in reality, a single person who had been confused as being two separate people, but since it has been determined that Sitta Zubayda was, in fact, a different noblewoman. Architectural Controversy The mausoleum of Zumurrud Khatun has been tracked into controversies, especially regarding the originality of its architectural design. Many argue that the mausoleum's designs were borrowed from other shrines built in Baghdad, Tigris, and other parts of Iraq. For instance, it has been argued that the mausoleum of Zamurrud Khatun's architectural design was borrowed from the shrine of al-Najmi and the mausoleum of Nur al-Din constructed earlier than the mausoleum of Zamurrud Khatun. However, the exact dates upon which these monuments were constructed are unclear. Zumurd khaton tomb

Gallery

File:قبر زمرد خاتون من الداخل.jpg, The

-filled dome seen from the inside Baghdad-Zumurrud-Khaton.jpg, Zumurrud Khatun mausoleum in 1932, in front of a smaller domed mausoleum. File:Zumurrud Khatun Tomb, Baghdad LOC matpc.13250.jpg, Zumurrud's Tomb File:Zumurrud Khatun Mosque, Baghdad, 1950s.png, Zumurrud Khatun Mosque, Baghdad, 1950s File:مرقد زمرد خاتون في مقبرة الشيخ معروف.jpg, Outside view of Mausoleum

References

{{Mosques in Iraq Mosques completed in the 1200s Mosques in Baghdad Mausoleums in Iraq Abbasid architecture Seljuk mosques Buildings and structures in Baghdad Mosque buildings with domes in Iraq Baghdad under the Abbasid Caliphate Buildings and structures completed in 1202 Mosque buildings with minarets in Iraq