Damascus: Pottery Making

Date: Thirteenth century

The “road of the potteries” (darb al-fawākhir) is mentioned by the historan, Abu Shama (d. 1268), as the place of his birth in 1203. This road was, according to Ibn Shaddad (d. 1285), formerly known as darb al-kīsān. This road leads toward Bab Kisan and the extra-mural area where ceramic kilns have been recovered during excavations. See: Glazed pottery manufacture in Damascus

Citation: Abu Shama, ʿAbd al-Rahman b. Ismaʿil, Autobiographie d’Abou Chama in Recueil des historiens des Croisades (Historiens Orientaux) (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1872-1906, reprinted Farnborough: Gregg, 1967-69), V: p. 211.

Ibn Shaddad, ʿIzz al-Din Muhammad b. ʿAli, La description de Damas d’Ibn Šaddad, historien et géographe mort à Alep en 684/1285, ed., Sami al-Dahan (Damascus: Institut Français de Damas, 1957), p. 107.

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. 506.