249. Mazār Janūbī | المزار الجنوبي

al-Kerak Governorate

Dharīḥ / Tūrbat Baḥādīr ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Badrī.

JADIS no. 2105036

MEGA no. 44365

Coordinates: 31°04'00.0"N 35°41'43.8"E

31.066667, 35.695500

Plan: rectangular, longitudinally oriented from East to West. The central W sector consists of a square room covered by a dome and rectangular liwān on the E side of the entrance side covered by a barrel vault.

Measurements: 78.24 m²

Exterior: 18.33 x 6.80 m

Interior: ca. 16.30 x 4.80 m

Building Materials: ocher solid lime stone blocks with smooth surfaces which called “al-msmsm’ in two standard sizes of 65 x 27 cm and 35 x 27 cm joined with lime mortar.

Construction details: The walls of 2 m thickness built in two faces of carved stone blocks in 16 to 18 horizontal rows, between them fill of rubble. The semi-globular dome rests upon an octagonal tambour which is organized in a frieze of framed niches with pointed arches (fig. 249.13).The dome consists of limestone voussoirs set in concentric rings with a circular key stone (fig. 249. 14). This technique is attested in Bilād ash-Shām from the late Hellenistic period onward (baths in the Herodium, Palestine, Hulda gate on Ḥarām ash-Sherīf at Jerusalem/ Quds, entrance to lower terrace of the Zeus sanctuary and W baths at Jerash, so-called Qaṣr Nuwejīs at ‘Ammān, and elsewhere).

Preservation: In 1972 the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf conducted a number of interventions: The dome above the square burial room was painted green with a metal crescent fixed upon an Islamic crescent standard with three metal balls on top of the dome. The liwān was plastered with cement and sand and painted with white color, but again removed in 1992 on both sides of the liwān. The floor was paved again by replacing the broken tiles. Intact after recent restorations and frequently visited by Muslim pigrims. The mausoleum is presently used as the Islamic Museum of Mazār.

Inscription(s): 1. “Sur la porte du mausolée dit de Dja‘- far Etthayyâr, inscription de 5 lignes" (Mauss 1866, no. 23); Above the entrance in the exterior N wall is a broad rectangular marble plaque (60 x 52 cm) with an Kufic Arabic inscription in five lines, executed in flat relief:

Translation: “In the name of Allāh, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Established this blessed tomb the servant in need of the mercy of the Almighty, hoping for the mercy of Allāh and His favor, interceding with Him for those under His protection, Baḥādur al-Badrī, al-Malikī al-Nāṣirī, the deputy of the glorious sultanate in al-Karak and al-Shōbak, both well-protected, and the completion of it was on the second of Dhū al-Hijjah, yearseven and twenty and seven hundred” (= 19^th October 1327),translation by RS; cf. Mauss 1866, no. 23; Ṭarāwnah 1992, 346 (repr. Provincia Arabia II, 105):“On voit que ce mausolée est improprement regardé par les Arabes comme étaint celui de Djâfar. C‘est évidemment Behâder qui l‘a fait construire pour lui-même.” 2. Clermont-Ganneau, ROA III 278 283 (repr. Provincia Arabia II, 106) mentions another inscription in the mosque in two fragments, Kufic script:

The completed reading of lines 2-3 according Nomikos (1926, 109 note 2):

Translation: “In the name of Allāh, the Merciful, the Compassionate. This is the grave of Ja‘far ibn Abī Ṭālib, the pure one (?), the immaculate one, the one flying into paradise. May Allāh bless him and grant him peace.” (translation by RS). Mauss 1866, no. 23 (repr. Provincia Arabia II, 105-106): “C‘est cet édifice (scil.: the mosque) qui renferme évidemment le tombeau de Dja‘far; il est du reste en bien grande vénération que le précédent."

Date: 19. October 1327 (completion of the building).

Traveler Reports: “In about an hour from Mote we reached the tomb of Sheikh Jaffa; here the Mohammedans of our party alighted, and entered the tomb to pray. Mahommed, the soldier, reported that within there are two granite columns, well-polished.” (Irby 1818 (1823) 113 (repr. Provincia Arabia II, 105); “The tomb is an ordinary Weli... it has withstood the ravages of time, although it was built apparently without mortar, the stones having been shaped as to form a dome” (Hornstein 1898 = repr. Provincia Arabia II, 105)

Bibliography: Provincia Arabia II, 105-106, Hornstein 1898, 102; Nomikos 1926, 92-112; Miller 1991, 122 site no. 311; Ghawanimah 1995, 43-52; Hübner 2006, 19 with note 14; Hiyyari 2008, 69; Momani 2010, 139-170. Redlinger 2014, 13 fig. 5; Hattab 2015, 48-52; Schick 2020, no. 72. [entry co-edited with HWS 2020].