Ashrafiyya Madrasa [complex]
unknown (Islamic)
Download1A2-Y-T-A-A3_cp.jpg (358.2Kb)
Date
1397-1401Description
View looking over the secondary courtyard; The Rasulids were also patrons of fine architecture; the outstanding buildings are the Muzaffariyya Mosque (1249-1295) and the Ashrafiyya Madrasa (1397-1401) in Ta'izz, the Rasulid capital in the southern highlands, in which Syrian, Egyptian and Anatolian features were introduced. The Ashrafiyya's plan is similar to the Mu'tabiyya but larger and more complex. The prayer-hall, like the typical Rasulid mosque, consists of a large domed bay flanked by two pairs of smaller ones. It is preceded by a courtyard (10 x 11 m) flanked by rectangular vaulted halls, which served as libraries. Three cenotaphs of the royal family have been erected in the court itself. To the south lies a domed khanaqah with adjoining iwans. This square unit, measuring 27 m to a side, is in turn enclosed on the west and east by an open-roofed loggia from which project two portals. A third portal on the south leads to a passage. On the fourth (qibla) side, the exterior is enlivened with superimposed blind arcades and cresting which lend rich texture to the facade. The typical features of Rasulid madrasas, such as monumental portals and multi-storey minarets, were repeated in Tahirid ones. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 1/29/2008)
Type of Work
madrasaSubject
architectural exteriors, Rasulid
Rights
Rights Statement
Licensed for educational and research use by the MIT community only