Damascus by Burns Ross;

Author:Burns, Ross;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis (CAM)
Published: 2019-01-02T16:00:00+00:00

‘The last victory’

The story of Saladin’s burial in 1193 is indicative of the leader’s lack of a monument complex. He had prepared no tomb to mark his demise, no statement of his faith in the world order of Sunni orthodoxy to match the sublime dome over Nur al-Din’s resting place. Nor was his wish respected that he be buried simply beside the pilgrimage route where soldiers and pious voyagers could offer their prayers. Islamic practice required no delay before interment so Saladin was buried in the Citadel after being carried through the city amid scenes of unprecedented public grief. Two years later, in 1195, his remains were transferred to a special burial chamber just north of the Great Mosque, an area long associated with holy institutions, as evident in the complex building history of the area. A year later, the Madrasa ʿAziziye was constructed around it on the initiative on his second son, al-ʿAziz ʿUthman. Saladin’s mortuary arrangements have been as cavalierly treated as those of his predecessor. Most of the madrasa has disappeared, probably as a casualty of the fires or sackings that have ravaged the Mosque. We have only literary sources for the commemorative inscription honouring Saladin: ‘Allah, take his soul and open for him the Gates of Paradise. This is the last victory we long for’.13 Only the tomb chamber and an incongruous arch of an iwan survive. The simplicity of Saladin’s burial is totally consistent with Islamic tradition and his own modest tastes. It later gave some offence to the more pompous and insecure Ottoman sultan, ʿAbdulhamid II. He had the simple wooden sarcophagus moved aside and the remains reinterred in an elaborate marble inlaid version that now dominates the room.14

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.