362. Sifḥa(t) al-, Qal‘a |؟صفحة القلعة

‘Ajlūn Governorate

Jāmi‘

JADIS no. none

MEGA no. 58101

Coordinates: 32°19'41.5"N 35°43'39.5"E

32.328194, 35.727639

Plan: Only few traces of the foundations and retaining walls of the mosque can be made out on the basis of information and narratives of local inhabitants. The ruin is located about 200 m to the N of the present Visitor Center with the tourist bus parking lot (fig. 362.1), on an artificial terrace close to the asphalt road. Due to the scarcity of remains and the dense macchia ir was not possible to draw even a preliminary plan. Possibly future excavation or geo-surveys will reveal more information on the vanished architectural structure.

Measurements: unknown

Exterior: unknown

Interior: unknown

Building Materials: local limestone an d chert.

Construction details: unknown.

Preservation: already ruined at the late 19th century, in the time of G. Schumacher’s visit.

Inscription(s): (1) fragment of the upper part on an inscription, brownish limestone (‘Ajlūn, al-Qal‘ā, Museum, inv. AJ 296), three lines in flat relief, in medium-sized Mamluk naskhi, at the upper end traces of a circular emblem:

Transcription:

Translation: “[….. ] Allāh [….. ] all on it is mortal, the humble servant of God [….. ] al-Amīr.[….. ]tar the Sulṭān Governor of ‘Ajlun, may Allāh have mercy on his soul.” (NAt).

Inscription (2) on a stone slab (1,44 x 0,46 m,‘Ajlūn, al- Qal‘ā, Museum, inv. AJ 295), most likely the lintel of the mosque’s main entrance in three framed lines in medium- sized nakhsi, partly with interpunctation. In the time of van Berchem (1903) it was aleady displaced, serving as a coverstone for a cistern near a ruin at the road from ‘Ajlūn city to al-Qal‘at ar-Rabba. According to oral information, this stone had been brought from the site mentioned above to the small site museum established by the local branch of the DoA. Squeeze and Transcription (M. van Berchem):

Translation: “It has renewed the establishment of this blessed mosque the God-deserving servant, the noble Emīr Rukn ad-Dīn Mankuwīrish, the page of (Mālik) Manṣūr (Qalāwūn), the Governor of ‘Ajlūn, in the reign pf our lord the Sulṭān al-Mālik Manṣūr, Allāh may his reign perpetuate! In Jumādā 1 of the year 686.”

Inscription 2 originally belonged to a mosque at Sifḥa(t) al-Qal‘at in the immediate NW vicinity of the medieval castle.

Date: The dedicator of the mosque is “perhaps identical with Mankuwīrish al-Fāruqānī who died in 688/1289.” (Mayer 1933, 155). Jumāda 1^st, H 686 equals AD June / July 1287 (van Berchem). A site survey by the GJU-team did not observe significant surface pottery which could confirm the concruence of the date of that mosque with the building inscription.

Traveler Reports: none known.

Bibliography: Schumacher 1890 (reprint 2010) 107; Steuernagel 1927, A. 133.; van Berchem 1903, 59-61fig. 44 (= 1978, 338, fig. 44); Mayer 1933, 155-156 pl. XXIX; TEI no. 3582.