Gallery
Description
Property Name: Madrasa al-Mustansiriya
Inventory No: 964-1-1
Date of infill of the inventory form: 2007-11-13
Country (State party): Iraq
Province: Baghdad
Town:
Geographic coordinates: 33° 20′ 18.76″ N
44° 23′ 22.85″ E
Historic Period: Abbasid
Year of Construction: 1227-1234
Style:
Original Use: Madrasa
Current Use:
Architect: Unknown
Significance
It is one of the oldest education centers in history. The madrasa had housed four schools of the Sunnis; Hanbali, Shafii, Maliki and Hanifi. Apart from that feature, it was also important that it attracted students from all over the world to study theology, literature, medicine, mathematics, jurisprudence, and the Quran.
Selection Criteria
vi. to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance
State of Preservation
By 1945, the Iraqi Directorate of Antiquities had initiated a campaign to restore this historic monument. Today, the immediate commercial district around the madrasa has been demolished to return the site to its original borders.
During the late 18th to early 20th century, the Mustansiriya Madrasa was used largely for military purposes. The complex has been in a consistent state of reconstruction. The Madrasa is now part of the Al-Mustansiriya University.
References
Al-Janab, Tariq Jawad. 1982. Studies In Mediaeval Iraqi Architecture. Baghdad: Republic of Iraq, Ministry of Culture and Information State Organization of Antiquities and Heritage
JPC Inc. 1984. Rusafa: Study on Conservation and Redevelopment of Historical Centre of Baghdad City/Republic of Iraq, Amanat al Assima. Japan: JCP Inc.
Khalil, Jabir and Strika, Vincenzo. 1987. The Islamic Architecture of Baghdad; the Results of a Joint Italian -Iraqi Survey. Napoli: Istituto Universitario Orientale
Michell, George. ed. 1978. Architecture of the Islamic World; Its History and Social Meaning. London: Thanes & Hudson
Uluçam, Abdüsselam. Irak’taki Türk mimari eserleri. Ankara: Kültür Bakanlığı, 1989.
Ettinghausen, Richard and Grabar, Oleg. 1987. The Art and Architecture of Islam 650-1250. New Haven and London: Yale University Press
ed. Cevat Ekici. Osmanlı döneminde Irak: plan, fotoğraf ve belgelerle = Iraq during the Ottoman period: plans, photographs and documents. İstanbul: Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri Genel Müdürlüğü, Osmanlı Arşivi Daire Başkanlığı, 2006.
Stierlin, Henri. Islam. Köln; Lisboan; London: Taschen, 1996.
Archnet website: archnet.org