Minbar of the Ibrahimi Mosque
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The minbar of the Ibrahimi Mosque is an 11th-century minbar (mosque pulpit) in the Ibrahimi Mosque (Cave of the Patriarchs) in Hebron, West Bank. The minbar was commissioned by the Fatimid vizier Badr al-Jamali in 1091 for the Shrine of Husayn's Head in Ascalon (present-day Ashkelon) but was moved to its current location by Salah ad-Din (Saladin) in 1191.
History
The first minbar in the Muslim world was
The minbar of the Ibrahimi Mosque was originally commissioned in 1091-92
Later, in 1153, the head of Husayn was moved by the Fatimids from Ascalon to a new shrine in Cairo (now the al-Hussein Mosque), but Ascalon continued to be visited by pilgrims after this and the minbar remained there.[6][5] In 1187 Salah ad-Din (Saladin) succeeded in recapturing Jerusalem from Crusaders and securing Muslim (Ayyubid) control over most of the region. However, he judged that Ascalon was too vulnerable to a Crusader counterattack and he worried about its potential use as an enemy bridgehead against the newly recaptured Jerusalem. He therefore decided to demolish the city in 1191 but transferred the Fatimid minbar of al-Husayn's now-empty mashhad to the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, which was also a holy site and was situated at a safer distance from the Crusader threat.[5] The minbar has remained there until the present day.
Design
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The minbar, made of many wood pieces assembled together, is considered a significant piece of Islamic art and one of the most significant historic minbars in the medieval Muslim world.[2][3] It is also the oldest surviving minbar in this style of woodwork with geometric decoration; a style also seen in the design of the later Minbar of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem (which was also a gift from Salah ad-Din).[2]
Like other minbars, it has the form of a staircase with a doorway
The flanks of the minbar are covered in a large motif consisting of interlacing strapwork forming a geometric pattern of hexagons and hexagrams, with each piece of the surface carved with intricate arabesques.[2][7] The inscriptions record the construction of the minbar and of the original Ascalon shrine by Badr al-Jamali on behalf of the Fatimid caliph.[4]
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 9781134613663.
- ^ ISBN 9780195309911.
- ^ a b al-Natsheh, Yusuf. "Haram al-Ibrahimi". Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
- ^ ISBN 9781474421522.
- ^ .
- ^ Williams, Caroline (2018). Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide (7th ed.). Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. p. 257.
- ^ a b Bloom, Jonathan; Toufiq, Ahmed; Carboni, Stefano; Soultanian, Jack; Wilmering, Antoine M.; Minor, Mark D.; Zawacki, Andrew; Hbibi, El Mostafa (1998). The Minbar from the Kutubiyya Mosque. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Ediciones El Viso, S.A., Madrid; Ministère des Affaires Culturelles, Royaume du Maroc. p. 28.
- ^ Pedersen, J.; Golmohammadi, J.; Burton-Page, J.; Freeman-Grenville, G.S.P. (2012). "Minbar". In Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (second ed.). Brill.