Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hassan - Egypt

The Mosque and Madrasa of Sultan Hasan is one of the largest and architecturally exquisite mosques in all of Egypt. It was commissioned by the Mamluk sultan Hasan ibn al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun sometime between 757 AH/1356 AD and 764 AH/1362 AD, and is located at the end of Muhammad Ali Street, opposite its nineteenth century neighbor al-Rifa’i mosque in Salah al-Din Square.

The mosque consists of an open courtyard with fountain in its centre. The courtyard is surrounded by four iwans (a rectangular space that is open on one side). Doorways at the four corners of the courtyard allow access into four madrasas, educational institutions, where the four Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence were taught. Each consists of a court and iwan, in addition to the rooms of the students and annexed service units. The mosque has two minarets built in the Mamluk style.

Its proximity to the citadel ultimately resulted in its use as a fort by enemies several times throughout its history, as it was used as a platform to launch attacks on the citadel.

Like most Islamic monuments in Cairo, this one has also undergone several phases of reconstruction, up until the twentieth century. The mosque and madrasa are distinguished with the ornate domes, stone and plaster carved decorations, as well as the marble works of the mihrab.​

Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hassan construction 

View of Sultan Hasan's mosque and of Rumayla Square in 1880. The mosque's construction is considered all the more remarkable as it coincided with the devastation wrought by the Black Plague, which struck Cairo repeatedly from the mid-14th century onwards.

Its construction began in 1356 CE (757 AH) and work proceeded for three years "without even a single day of idleness".

In fact, work appears to have continued even up to 1363, even after Sultan Hasan's death, before eventually ceasing.

An inscription on the mosque notes the name of amir Muhammad ibn Biylik al-Muhsini as the supervisor of the construction of the mosque. Unusually, his name was placed near Sultan Hasan's in the inscription, which demonstrates how important the undertaking of the project must have been.

The amir's high standing otherwise was another indication of this prestige, as he was appointed governor of Cairo in 1330 and oversaw other construction projects including the renovation of the hippodrome established by al-Zahir Baybars near the Citadel.

The most substantial available source concerning the mosque's construction is al-Maqrizi, writing six decades afterwards, as he had access to administrative documents that are unavailable to historians today. The manual labour needed for construction must have been partly depleted by the ongoing ravages of the plague, yet this does not appear to have been the main challenge. Maqrizi mentions that the construction of the mosque cost 30,000 dirham every day.

The total construction costs amounted to over one million dinars, making it the most expensive mosque in medieval Cairo.

Even the Sultan is said to have become discouraged at times by the cost of the project. Financing for the mosque was made possible by a few factors: first, the austerity measures implemented by Manjaq, one of the amirs in charge of state affairs before Sultan Hasan reached maturity; secondly, the influx of wealth to the state caused by the plague-related deaths of many Mamluk amirs whose properties were subsequently transferred to the state treasury, including the enormous wealth of amir Shaykhu; and thirdly, through extortion of the sultan's subjects during his reign.

The importance and scale of the building project also attracted craftsmen from all over the Mamluk empire, including the far-away provinces of Anatolia, which may explain the diversity and innovativeness of the mosque's design and decoration.[1] It is also believed that limestone from the Pyramids of Giza was quarried for use in the mosque's construction.

Who built the Sultan Hassan mosque?

Muhammad ibn Bailick al-Muhseini, the chief architectural designer of his day, supervised construction of the building. He placed his name after that of the sultan on the inscription band inside the Hanafi Madrasa.

Where is Sultan Hassan buried?

After his assassination in 1361, Sultan Hasan's body was never found; the mausoleum never served its purpose.

How much did the Hassan mosque cost?

Maqrizi mentions that the construction of the mosque cost 30,000 dirham every day. The total construction costs amounted to over one million dinars, making it the most expensive mosque in medieval Cairo.