Aleppo: Iron Foundries

Date: Thirteenth century

Yaqut (d. 1229) reports in his geographical encyclopaedia that a special clay was gathered from Jabal Bishr, located between Rusafa and Tadmur. This clay was sent to Aleppo for making crucibles in iron foundries. See also: Clay merchant; Potter; Blacksmith.

Citation: Yaqut al-Hamawi, Kitāb Muʿjam al-buldān, ed. Ferdinand Wüstenfeld (title: Jacut’s geographische Wörterbuch) (Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus, 1866-70), I, p. 631.

See also: Milwright, Marcus. “Pottery in written Sources of the Ayyubid-Mamluk Period (c.567-923/1171-1517)”, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 62.3 (1999): p. 508.