page_title: Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Main courtyard of Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, looking east towards the mausoleum (mausoleum cupola visible in upper right)
context_page_description: The Mausoleum of Moulay Isma'il is a historic Islamic funerary complex in Meknes, Morocco. It contains the tomb of Sultan Moulay Isma'il, who ruled Morocco from 1672 until his death in 1727, and is located inside his former Kasbah. It is a major historic and religious site in the city.
context_section_description: The funerary complex consists of various courtyards and chambers. The main central courtyard, located on the west side of the tomb chamber, is sparsely decorated except for a central fountain and zellij pavement. The western and eastern sides of the courtyard are occupied by porticoes of three horseshoe arches. The eastern wall of the courtyard, in front of the mausoleum, also features a small mihrab (niche indicating the direction of prayer). Behind this are the mausoleum chamber and adjoining rooms. The northernmost of these rooms, which can be accessed directly from the northeastern corner of the courtyard, consists of an indoor patio or courtyard covered by a high cupola ceiling. The layout of this patio is similar to the Chamber of the Twelve Columns in the Saadian Tombs, consisting of a square delineated by twelve marble columns arranged in groups of three at each corner, around which runs a gallery space. Another mihrab is set into the eastern wall, while a small side-chamber is set into the western wall. The upper walls and the areas around the mihrab and doorways are decorated with carved and painted stucco featuring arabesque and epigraphic motifs typical of Moroccan architecture. At the center of the patio is an ornate fountain, and while the cupola ceiling above primarily features painted and carved wood. The marble columns feature Moroccan-Andalusian capitals carved with leaf, palm, and palmette motifs. These marble columns, as well as the ornately-carved marble panels in the archway leading to the mausoleum antechamber, are believed to be spolia taken by Moulay Isma'il from the former Saadian palaces of in the Kasbah of Marrakesh (such as the Badi Palace).
  
  On the south side of the patio chamber is a large archway with ornate wooden doors which leads to a rectangular antechamber which precedes the actual mausoleum chamber. The mausoleum is a square chamber which holds the tombstones (mqabriyas) of Moulay Isma'il (died 1727), his son and successor Ahmad ad-Dhahabi (died 1729), and the later sultan Moulay Abd ar-Rahman ibn Hisham (died 1859). On the south side of the mausoleum is another large reading room divided by a triple-arched arcade and containing book cabinets. Each of these chambers is covered with carved stucco decoration and also holds several bronze chandeliers. The royal tombstones are made of marble and are richly carved with Arabic calligraphic inscriptions and arabesque motifs in a style similar to the marble tombstones of the Saadian Tombs. The tomb chamber also holds two grandfather clocks which were gifts from King Louis XIV of France. Other enclosures and courtyards adjacent to the complex are occupied by cemeteries known as the Jama' Rkham.
caption: Main courtyard next to the mausoleum (looking east; cupola of the tomb chamber visible in the upper right)
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