Historical overview

[Picture source: © 2008 Stefan Knost]

The first madrasas were established in Aleppo in the middle of the 6^th / 12^th century within the context of the ‘Sunni-Revival’ to promote Sunni legal studies and theology. Some of these first madrasas of Aleppo, like the Madrasa al-ʿAsruniyya in the Farafra neighborhood, continued to exist well into the 19^th century, proving that these institutions, like some mosques from that period, were sustainably supported and financed by the waqf institution and could survive for centuries. Nevertheless, in some cases, the madrasa-function (the teaching), had ceased and only the function as a neighborhood mosque remained, like the example of the Madrasa al-Turuntaʾiyya outside Bab an-Nayrab.[1]

The relative high number of institutions of higher learning founded in Zengid and Ayyubid times (12^th – 13^th centuries) was never again reached in later periods, Mameluke and Ottoman patrons continued to endow madrasas, but certainly favored the construction of mosques.  

Most of the madrasas still founded and endowed in Aleppo in Ottoman times were smaller than the Mamluke and particularly the Ayyubid foundation (cf. Madrasat al-Firdaws). Two of these, the Madrasa al-Mansuriyya and the one founded by Muhammad Agha Daftaramini in his house in the Qasila neighborhood only existed for a few decades.[2]

The founder and the madrasa’s endowments

The founder of the Madrasa al-Ahmadiyya (fig. 1), Ahmad Efendi b. Taha Efendi b. Mustafa Efendi, known as ‘Taha Zadeh’, (fig. 2) was born in Aleppo around 1110/1698-99. The Taha Zadeh family was at least since the end of the 17^th century, when it first appears in the sources, among the most important families of Aleppo involved in the religious and the ‘political’ sphere. Mustafa b. Taha Jalabi, Ahmad Efendi’s grandfather, was then naqib al-ashraf (deputy of the prophet’s descendants) of the city and one of its leaders, ‘ruʾasaʾ’, as historian Muhibbi calls it. Since the ashraf were a numerous and powerful group in Aleppo, this position might, in the hands of a strong and capable man, come along with significant political power.[3] 

Ahmad Efendi himself was appointed naqib al-ashraf of the city in 1147. His family was as well among the few local families whose importance and influence went beyond the province of Aleppo. Ahmad Efendi did hold the judgeship of Jerusalem, probably around 1159/1746-47 and that of Bagdad in 1163/1750. After his return to Aleppo in 1165/1751-52 he started construction of his madrasa.[4] That madrasa was supposed to house his impressive collection of books that he was able to obtain and to copy during his stays in Jerusalem and Bagdad.[5]  

The endowment of Ahmad Taha Zadeh is considered one of the three largest established in the 18^th century in Aleppo, the other two being the waqf of the rich merchant Hajj Musa al-Amiri for the mosque he founded and his family,[6] and the Madrasa al-ʿUthmaniyya,[7] all three located intra muros. Among the three, the Madrasa al-Ahmadiyya was the only one situated directly on the central suq axis, like three of the four major endowments of the 16^th century (the ʿAdiliyya mosque, the Khan al-Jumruk, and the Bahramiyya mosque). About two centuries later, it was certainly even more difficult to acquire the necessary plots in the center of town large enough to build a new prestigious madrasa. The family had certainly planned this for some time; most probably, Ahmad’s father and grandfather already acquired real estate in that area.

In this regards, it is the most remarkable that a large part of the endowment’s property is located around the madrasa, not far away from the place, where the Taha Zadeh family probably lived. Five houses (sing. dar) were neighboring the madrasa, four shops (sing. dukkan) were adjacent to the north of the madrasa on the main suq axis. On the opposite side of the suq alley was a coffeehouse (called al-qahwa al-jadida, the ‘new café’), equally part of the waqf. More assets of the waqf are located in other parts of the city, like shops in the bedesten (bazzasistan) close to the Umayyad Mosque, a bakery and a house (dar) in Jubb Asad Allah. Another important part of the assets is in the northern suburb, like in many 18^th century endowments, because the real estate market seemed to be rather active and profitable in that part of town: a coffeehouse in Judayda Square, qasariyyas and a number of shops. A qasariyya and a coffeehouse in the suq of the Mushatiyya neighbourhood in the northeastern suburb did belong to the madrasa’s endowment as well. Other properties are four gardens (sing. bustan), or parts of it, outside Aleppo and a soap factory (masbana) in Idlib.[8]

A second and third endowment by Ahmad Efendi added substantial property to the waqf, mostly in different neighborhoods of the northern suburb: a number of shops and qasariyyas (or parts thereof), another coffeehouse and a silk dyeing facility (masbaghat harir). A hammam in the village Bab Allah, gardens outside Aleppo and property in the city of Antakya complete the picture.[9]

In addition to the initial endowments established by Ahmad Efendi, others continued to endow the madrasa and enlarge its waqf. In 1206/1792, a cousin of Ahmad Efendi, Sayyid Hajj Taha Efendi, established a rather large family waqf (16 objects) stipulating payments for recitations in the madrasa. Another cousin and sister of the latter, Sharifa ʿAfifa Qadin, established a waqf in the same year of a house (dar) in the neighborhood Kücük Kallasa (in the northern suburb) for the benefit of recitations in the madrasa and for the water supply of the pilgrims on the hajj. Umar Efendi al-Haffaf, not a member of the Taha Zadeh family, who lived in al-Jallum and was mainly known as a poet, established another endowment. He endowed in 1216/1802 a house (dar) for the benefit of his descendants and after their extinction for the benefit of the madrasa.[10] This last example indicates that the madrasa has become an attractive object for the charity of people a few decades after its foundation.

Ahmad Efendi’s endowment deed contains some interesting stipulations. He allocates a rather high stipend of 40 uthmani[11] per day for the mudarris (professor) who should be a native Kurd of the region northeast of Mosul. This unusually high stipend points to the prestige of the position and probably also the founder’s wish to attract a qualified scholar. The mudarris shall be at the same time the supervisor of all activities in the madrasa. Ahmad Efendi appoints a second teacher for prophetic traditions (sing. hadith), preferably a family member, and a third teacher for Hanafi law. Ten stipends for students, equally of Kurdish origin, are part of the endowment as well, as are a number of employees for the administration and maintenance of the institution. The library constitutes another important aspect of the endowment; it was probably the most important one at that time in Aleppo. The librarian shall open the library Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday for the students and any other interested person.[12]

The Kurdish areas in Northern Mesopotamia did belong to the traditional hinterland of Aleppo during Ottoman times; the city was the region’s major marketplace. The particular specifications in the waqfiyya concerning the support of Kurdish scholars and students might be linked to interests of the Taha Zadeh family in that area. It seems that after the end of the First World War and the establishment of the French Mandate in Syria, access from the Kurdish areas became difficult. Therefore, the waqf council (majlis al-awqaf) in Aleppo decided that the unoccupied rooms in the madrasa and the stipends should be attributed to any ‘poor’ student, so that the main purpose of the madrasa, the teaching, shall not be interrupted.[13] 

Next to the teaching and the library, another important aspect of the endowment was the Memoria for the founder’s father. The mudarris should read the dala’il al-khayrat[14] on Friday at the father’s tomb, each of the ten students shall recite one part (juzʾ) of the Coran each day in that place as well, in addition to 20 parts of the Coran read by 20 readers each day in any place of the madrasa or the mausoleum.[15]  

Particularly Ahmad Efendis third endowment links the Madrasa al-Ahmadiyya to other institutions inside and outside of Aleppo. There are payments for recitations and stipends in Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. A number of activities in the Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo is sponsored, particularly during Ramadan and other Muslim holidays. An important network links the madrasa to the institutions of Sufi Islam in Aleppo, nine takaya and zawaya receive payments to celebrate the khalwa and the dhikr, like the Takiyya al-Mawlawiyya and the Zawiya al-Hilaliyya.[16]

Figure 1: al-Madrasa al-Ahmadiyya, general view from the Minaret of the Bahramiyya Mosque [Picture source: © 2007 Stefan Weber]

Figure 2: al-Madrasa al-Ahmadiyya, founding inscription by Ahmad ibn Taha on the entrance to the qibliyya [Picture source: © 2008 Stefan Knost]