page_title: Madrassa of Al-Nasir Muhammad
section_title: General overview
hierarchical_section_title: Madrassa of Al-Nasir Muhammad / Architecture / General overview
caption_attribution_description: English: Mihrab
context_page_description: The Madrassa of Al-Nasir Muhammad is a madrassa and mausoleum located in the Bayn al-Qasrayn area of al-Muizz street in Cairo, Egypt. It was built in the name of the Mamluk sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun, but its construction began in 1296 under the reign of Sultan Al-Adil Kitbugha, who was sultan in between Al-Nasir Muhammad's first and seconds reigns. When Al-Nasir Muhammad returned to the throne in 1299 he oversaw its construction until its completion in 1303. It is adjacent to the earlier hospital and funerary complex of Sultan Qalawun and the later Madrassa of Sultan Barquq.
context_section_description: The Madrassa of Al-Nasir Muhammad is located next to the mausoleum complex of his father, Sultan Qalawun, and that of the later Sultan Barquq, in the Bayn al-Qasrayn area. It is made of brick and has stucco designs and inscriptions on the exterior and interior. The inscription along the façade is in the name of Al-Nasir Muhammad, but ends with the original foundation date of 1296. This implies that after regaining the throne in 1299 Al-Nasir Muhammad replaced Al-Adil Kitbugha’s name with his own without altering the second part of the inscription.
  The Madrassa of Al-Nasir Muhammad is one of only three madrassas in Cairo that housed all four of the Sunni schools of jurisprudence. The madrassa is home to the last stucco mihrab (niche indicating the direction of prayer) in Egypt, unique for its raised, egg-shaped stucco bosses in high relief with punched ornament decorating the hood of the mihrab. The style is highly reminiscent of stucco carving produced in Tabriz, Iran under Mongol Ilkhanid rule and historians have suggested that it was crafted by artists from Mongol Iran or Tabriz. Aside from the mihrab, relatively little decoration has survived overall in the interior of al-Nasir Muhammad's building.
  The domed mausoleum is separated from the madrassa by the main entrance corridor, from which it is accessed. Looking across the main entrance corridor are windows in the madrassa and the mausoleum that visually link the two. This is essentially the same layout as the mausoleum-madrassa of Sultan Qalawun (his father) next door. The dome of the mausoleum collapsed in 1870 and was never replaced, leaving only the drum of the dome visible today. A simple wooden roof now covers the space once covered by the dome.
caption: The mihrab in the Madrasa of Al-Nasir Muhammad
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