Nizamiyya of Mosul
| Nizamiyya Madrasa | |
|---|---|
 A 1932 photograph of the madrasa, with the "al-Hadba" minaret in the background. | |
Interactive map of Nizamiyya Madrasa | |
| 36°20′37″N 43°07′34″E / 36.3436460°N 43.1261595°E | |
| Type | Madrasa (Nizamiyya-type) |
| Location | Mosul, Iraq |
| History | |
| Built | 11th century |
| Site notes | |
Architectural style | Seljuk architecture |
The Nizamiyya Madrasa (Arabic: مدرسة نظامية, lit. Madrasa Niẓāmīya), later known as the Shrine of Imam Ali al-Asghar, is a madrasa located northwest of the Great Mosque in Mosul, Iraq. It was built in the 11th century on the orders of Nizam al-Mulk, the vizier of the Seljuk rulers Alp Arslan and Malik Shah. During the Atabeg period in the 13th century, the madrasa was converted into a shrine by the emir of Mosul, Badr ad-Din Lu'lu.
History
Nizam al-Mulk, vizier of the Seljuk rulers Alp Arslan and Malik Shah, established several Islamic schools throughout Iraq, Persia and Khorasan; these schools became known as the Nizamiyya series.[1] The school in Mosul was built towards the end of the 11th century and was situated northwest of the Great Mosque, which was the largest Islamic establishment in the city.[2][3] During the Atabeg period, Badr ad-Din Lu'lu (r. 1234–1259) reconstructed the madrasa and converted one of its rooms into a shrine and tomb for a patron saint, Imam Ali al-Asghar.[4] This was merely done as part of a 13th-century campaign to promote Shi'ism by Badr ad-Din Lu'lu, and no actual human remains lie in the supposed tomb.[4][5][6] During the Jalayirid period, the madrasa was extensively renovated in 1330.[4] After the Timurids entered Mosul, the identity of the shrine changed from Ali al-Asghar to an unspecified Shaykh al-Nuri, who was implied to have been a relative or descendant of Nur ad-Din Zangi, although this change was later reverted.[7] In 1942, the madrasa was dismantled along with the Great Mosque next to it and rebuilt from the ground up in a restoration programme.[8]
The Nizamiyya Madrasa was destroyed by the terrorist group Dawlah after their takeover of Mosul in 2014 and was used as a carpark.[9][10] The madrasa was rebuilt in 2024 as part of the reconstruction of the adjacent Great Mosque, although the shrine for Imam Ali al-Asghar is not visible anymore, probably due to the fact that it is an empty tomb.[11][12]
Architecture
The madrasa is of a rectangular layout and plan, with a prayer hall and a courtyard in front. In the madrasa, the central chamber is the school building which contains the classrooms and administrative offices.[4] Two rooms at the end of this chamber contain tombs; one of them is a domed chamber containing the wooden shrine of Imam Ali al-Asghar, while the second room contains a tomb to an unknown personage, in the form of a sanduga made out of dark marble.[4] The identity of the entombed is unknown, but is commonly attributed to Badr ad-Din Lu'lu himself.[13] Various decorative tiles line the interior of the building, as well as muqarnas at the main inner entrance.[4]
See also
References
- ↑ Azzam, Abdel Rahman (2016). "Sources of the Sunni Revival: Nizam u-Mulk & the Nizamiyya: An 11 th Century response to Sectarianism". The Muslim World. 106 (1): 97–108. doi:10.1111/muwo.12126. ISSN 0027-4909.
- ↑ Abaji, M.D. (13 August 2018). "أثر المدرسة النظامية ببغداد على بعض علماء الموصل في عهد الدولة الاتابكية (521-660هـ 1127-1262م)" [The influence of the Nizamiyya school in Baghdad on some scholars of Mosul during the Atabeg state (521-660 AH / 1127-1262 AD)]. Dirasat Mosiliya (in Arabic). 1 (49): 65–86 – via eMarefa.
- ↑ Brentjes, Sonia (2018). Teaching and Learning the Sciences in Islamicate Societies (800-1700). Belgium: Brepols Publishers. ISBN 9782503574455.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 al-Diwahji, Saeed (1958). Al-Mawṣil fī al-ʿAhd al-Atābakī [Mosul during the era of the Atabegs] (in Arabic) (1st ed.). Baghdad, Iraq: Matba'at Shafiq. p. 143.
- ↑ Al-Dhafeeri, Farouq (11 January 2022). "«طريق السبايا».. بين الواقع التاريخي والتوظيف السياسي والطائفي (الحلقة الأخيرة)" ["The Path of the Captives": Between Historical Reality and Political and Sectarian Exploitation (Final Episode)]. Al Khalej (in Arabic). Retrieved 3 May 2026.
- ↑ Marai, Farast (12 May 2021). "ما المغزى من طريق سبايا الحسين؟" [What is the significance of the route of the captive al-Husayn?]. Al Bayan (in Arabic). Retrieved 3 May 2026.
- ↑ Aboelhassan, Mohamed Gamal; Tarabia, Ahmed Mokhtar; Hassan, Sherif Farag (2023). "Reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Grand Al-Nouri Mosque dated to the twelfth century: a case of study". Journal of Engineering and Applied Science. 70 (1) 108. Bibcode:2023JEAS...70..108A. doi:10.1186/s44147-023-00281-x. ISSN 1110-1903.
- ↑ "Al-Hadba Minaret". World Monuments Fund. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
- ↑ Chalabi, Zuhair (25 July 2014). "مسلحو "داعش" يفجرون مقام علي الأصغر ابن الحسن (ع) في الموصل" [ISIS militants blow up the shrine of Ali al-Asghar ibn al-Hasan in Mosul]. Al Sumaria TV (in Arabic). Retrieved 3 May 2026.
- ↑ Matthews, Roger; Rasheed, Qais Hussain; Palmero Fernández, Mónica; Fobbe, Seán; Nováček, Karel; Mohammed-Amin, Rozhen; Mühl, Simone; Richardson, Amy (1 February 2020). "Heritage and cultural healing: Iraq in a post-Daesh era". International Journal of Heritage Studies. 26 (2): 120–141. doi:10.1080/13527258.2019.1608585. ISSN 1352-7258.
- ↑ Kanaan, A.B. (18 October 2019). "الوقف السني في نينوى يؤكد استمرار التجاوز على املاكه من قبل نظيره الشيعي" [The Sunni Endowment in Nineveh confirms the continued encroachment on its properties by its Shi'ite counterpart]. KirkukNow (in Arabic). Retrieved 3 May 2026.
- ↑ Usher, Sebastian (6 February 2025). "Mosul's landmarks rise again after IS destruction". BBC. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
- ↑ al-Manna, Muhammad (2010). al-Basat, Hisham (ed.). Tārīkh al-Nuqūd fī Nihāyat al-ʿAṣr al-ʿAbbāsī khilāl Fatrat Badr al-Dīn Lūlū [The History of Currency at the End of the Abbasid Era during the Period of Badr al-Din Lulu] (in Arabic). Markaz Dirāsāt al-Waḥdah al-ʿArabiyyah. ISBN 9789953823027.