Site and urban network: the mosque and the mahkama

[Picture source: © 1978 Michael Meinecke]

It is interesting to study the Jamiʿ al-Mihmandar in its spatial context. As the only Friday mosque in the area between the Umayyad Mosque and the city’s northern walls at the time of its foundation, it was a prominent landmark in that part of the town. Opposite the mosque, on the other side of the street, was one of the old Mamluk palaces already mentioned that served as courthouse (mahkama) in Ottoman times. The alternative names of the mosque -- Jamiʿ al-Qadi (Mosque of the Judge) or Jamiʿ al-Mahkama (Law Court Mosque) -- indicate the relationship between the two institutions.

Ibn ash-Shihna reports that the building was constructed as a palace by ‘Ibn al-Mihmandar’, the founder of the mosque, and endowed, half for the benefit of the mosque and half for the Two Holy Cities Mecca and Medina (al-Haramayn). [1]

It was later modified and probably served for most of the Ottoman period as the main courthouse for the province of Aleppo, seat and residence of the chief judge sent from the capital Constantinople.

The layout of the building resembles the rich mansions in Aleppo. It consisted of three parts. An outer area was reserved for the court scribes – as Ghazzi tells us – or for a deputy judge who would decide minor cases, as mentioned by Russell.[2]

Another part, probably around a courtyard, served for the judge’s council. A third area, probably the northern courtyard with a bath (hammam), was set aside for his family residence. [3]