Damascus: Architects

Date: 1107

An inscription dated to 500/1107 records that ʿUmar b. Husayn was responsible for the construction of a madrasa in the ʿAmara quarter of Damascus. See also: Stone-cutter; Mason; Carpenter.

Citation: Mayer, Leo Ary, Islamic Architects and their Works (Geneva: Albert Kundig, 1956), p. 129.

Date: before 1203

The biography of Muʿayyad al-Din Abu al-Fadl Muhammad b. ʿAbd al-Karim (d. 599/1202-1203) records that, among his many other pursuits, he practised stone-cutting and was involved in architectural commissions. He was responsible in part for architectural commissions in the city, including the Khatun mosque and the doors of the Maristan (hospital) of Nur al-Din, both in his home city of Damascus.

Citation: Ibn Abi Usaybiʿa (d. 1270),ʿUyūn al-anbāʾ fī ṭabaqāt  al-aṭibbāʾ, (ed.) N. Rida (Beirut, 1964), II, 190-91. Translated by Terry Allen: http://www.sonic.net/~tallen/palmtree/ayyarch/ch11.htm#muayyad (last consulted: 8 June 2016).

See also: Mayer, Leo Ary, Islamic Woodcarvers and their Works (Geneva: Albert Kundig, 1958), p. 53; Bloom, Jonathan, ‘Woodwork in Syria, Palestine and Egypt during the 12th and 13th Centuries’, in Robert Hillenbrand and Sylvia Auld (eds), Ayyubid Jerusalem: The Holy City in Context, 1187-1250 (London: Altajir Trust, 2009), p. 132; Milwright, Marcus, Islamic Arts and Crafts: An Anthology (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2017), p. 52.

Date: 1277-78

The muhandis (engineer) is credited as having constructed the mausoleum of Baybars (r. 1260-77) in Damascus in 676/1277-78. See also: Stone-cutter; Mason; Carpenter.

Citation: Mayer, Leo Ary, Islamic Architects and their Works (Geneva: Albert Kundig, 1956), pp. 71-72.

Date: 1368-69

The construction of a minaret known as Maʾdhanat al-Shaḥm is credited to Hajj ʿAli al-Kinani in 770/1368-69. See also: Stone-cutter; Mason; Carpenter.

Citation: Mayer, Leo Ary, Islamic Architects and their Works (Geneva: Albert Kundig, 1956), p. 52.