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102-825: The cult for holy sites in Islamic Syria heightened during the 12th and 13th centuries, particularly under Zangid and Ayyubid rule. Historians attribute this surge to the political climate, notably the Crusades and the Muslim reconquest of the region. Funded by rulers and the elite, these shrines functioned as points of piety, attracting individuals from different levels of society, generating employment opportunities, and contributing to economic growth. During this period, as demand increased, more sanctuaries emerged, some repurposed from Jewish and Christian holy sites, others built upon newly discovered tombs and relics, and some dedicated to honoring

204-645: A Crusader charge on occasion. Against regular armies, Turcoman harassment techniques were extensively used. The Zengids in particular played a major military role against Crusaders, led by such major military figures as Imad al-Din Zengi or Nur al-Din Zengi . Nur al-Din's army mainly consisted in Turcoman horse archers and Kurd spear-armed horsemen, in addition to professional ghulams , and Bedouin auxiliary cavalry, as well as large infantry elements. They were also skilled in siege warfare. Numbers were not very large,

306-617: A base. Faced by a superior Crusader–Egyptian force attempting to besiege the city, Shirkuh split his army. He and the bulk of his force withdrew from Alexandria, while Saladin was left with the task of guarding the city. In 1168, the Zengid army was called for a third time in Egypt, as the Crusaders were besieging Cairo . The Crusaders lifted the siege and left. In 1169, Shirkuh lured the vizier into an ambush and killed him after which he seized Egypt in

408-415: A brief siege by his brother Tughtakin ibn Ayyub . He installed himself in the castle and received the homage and salutations of the inhabitants. Leaving his brother Tughtakin ibn Ayyub as Governor of Damascus, Saladin proceeded to reduce other cities that had belonged to Nur ad-Din, but were now practically independent. His army conquered Hama with relative ease, but avoided attacking Homs because of

510-415: A cenotaph is covered by a quilt (usually a green one), praying rugs are spread on the floor in front of the mihrab. There are also bigger maqams, consisting of two, three or four chambers: prayer chamber, entrance hall, zawiya or a room for pilgrims to have a rest. Big maqams have two or three similar domes. In times of old, the dome was decorated by a metal spire with a crescent, but nowadays such decoration

612-400: A common pictorial tradition that existed since circa 1180 CE in the region, which was highly influenced by Byzantine art . The manuscript Kitâb al-Diryâq ( Arabic : كتاب الدرياق , romanized :  Kitāb al-diryāq , "The Book of Theriac "), or Book of anditodes of pseudo-Galen , is a medieval manuscript allegedly based on the writings of Galen ("pseudo-Galen"). It describes

714-446: A dome, in the middle of which there is a stone cenotaph, though the bodies of the revered figures themselves were buried below the ground level. In the south wall of the maqam, there is usually a small mihrab facing Mecca , decorated with inscriptions and floral ornament. The entrance to the chamber is mostly at the north wall. In the other arched walls there are usually small windows. Candelabras and lamps are hanging in an active maqam,

816-695: A holy tomb is mostly used in Lebanon , Syria and Palestine . The form mukam appears in the essays of European travelers of the 19th century; as well as words waly , wely ( Arabic : ويلي wālī "saint"), mazar , and mashhad . In Maghreb , similar tombs are known as Marabout , in Turkic-speaking Muslim countries as türbe , dürbe, or aziz, and in Persian-speaking countries dargah . Maqams were dedicated to Biblical and Quranic , real or mythical, male and female figures from ancient times to

918-475: A landmark gleams from the top of some hill, just as, doubtless, something of the same kind did in the old Canaanite ages. The period of Mandatory Palestine has become the last time of maqams' prosperity. Dilapidated Muslim shrines were restored, and also new ones were built. The British built over and donated to Bedouins the maqam of Sheikh Nuran, which was damaged during the Sinai and Palestine campaign . This maqam

1020-490: A multi-day journey; by the Mandate Palestine period, politicization led to segregation. Some maqams, like Nabi Rubin and Nabi Musa among others, were also the focus of seasonal festivals ( mawsims ) that thousands would attend annually. There is, however, in nearly every village, a small whitewashed building with a low dome – the "mukam," or "place," sacred to the eyes of the peasants. In almost every landscape such

1122-570: A propaganda war against him, claiming he had "forgotten his own condition [servant of Nur ad-Din]" and showed no gratitude for his old master by besieging his son, rising "in rebellion against his Lord". Soon, Saladin entered Homs and captured its citadel in March 1175, after stubborn resistance from its defenders. Saladin's successes alarmed Saif ad-Din , Zengid ruler of Mosul. As head of the Zengids , he regarded Syria and Mesopotamia as his family estate and

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1224-483: A truce, but a mutual alliance with Aleppo, in which Gumushtigin and as-Salih were allowed to continue their hold on the city, and in return, they recognized Saladin as the sovereign over all of the dominions he conquered. The Artuqid emirs of Mardin and Keyfa , the Muslim allies of Aleppo, also recognised Saladin as the King of Syria. When the treaty was concluded, the younger sister of as-Salih came to Saladin and requested

1326-448: Is of an unknown date, but D.S. Rice estimated that it was made around 1200. Production of inlaid brasswork in Mosul may have already begun before the turn of the century. The body of Mosul metalwork significantly expands in the 1220s - several signed and dated items are known from this decade, which according to Julian Raby "probably reflects the craft's growing status and production." In

1428-407: Is rare. The maqams are not always supposed to stand over the tombs of the saints to whom they are dedicated. A cenotaph is indeed almost always to be found there, but often they are regarded merely as "stations." The dome is often situated by an ancient carob or oak tree or a spring or rock cut water cistern. A sacred tree was planted near maqams, mostly – a palm tree, oak or sycomore . There

1530-516: Is the eye of Syria and the citadel is its pupil". For Saladin, the capture of the city marked the end of over eight years of waiting since he told Farrukh-Shah that "we have only to do the milking and Aleppo will be ours". Saladin conquered Aleppo in 1183, ending Zengid rule in Syria. Saladin launched his last offensive against Mosul in late 1185, hoping for an easy victory over the presumably demoralized Zengid Emir of Mosul Mas'ud , but failed due to

1632-564: The Atabegate of Mosul, Aleppo and Damascus ( Arabic : أتابكة الموصل وحلب ودمشق), or the Zengid State ( Old Anatolian : ظانغى دولتی , Modern Turkish : Zengî Devleti ; Arabic : الدولة الزنكية , romanized :  al-Dawla al-Zinkia ) was initially an Atabegate of the Seljuk Empire created in 1127. It formed a Turkoman dynasty of Sunni Muslim faith, which ruled parts of

1734-606: The Baghdad -based Abbasid Caliphate which adhered to Sunni Islam, rather than traditional Fatimid Shia practice. In the early summer of 1174, Nur ad-Din was mustering an army, sending summons to Mosul, Diyar Bakr , and the Jazira in an apparent preparation of an attack against Saladin's Egypt. The Ayyubids held a council upon the revelation of these preparations to discuss the possible threat and Saladin collected his own troops outside Cairo. On 15 May 1174, Nur ad-Din died after falling ill

1836-504: The British Mandate authorities , Saffa had a population of 495 Muslims, increasing in the 1931 census to 644 Muslims, in 143 houses. In the 1945 statistics the population was 790 Muslims, while the total land area was 9,602 dunams , according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 2,536 were used for plantations and irrigable land, 2,975 for cereals, while 99 dunams were classified as built-up areas. In

1938-604: The Byzantine period, possibly a monastery , marked by structures like a large building, cisterns , inscriptions, and a winepress . While the site declined in the Early Islamic period, it was reestablished during the Ayubbid and Mamluk periods as a worship site, cemetery, and a sanctuary in memory of Sheikh Shihab ed-Din. The maqam's construction phases are identifiable, with the grave chamber and its extension likely dating back to

2040-719: The Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt. From 1163 to 1169, Shirkuh , a military commander in the service of the Zengid dynasty, took part in a series of campaigns in Fatimid Egypt, on the pretext to help the Fatimid vizier Shawar regain his throne from his rival Dirgham , and in opposition to the Crusader invasions of Egypt . In 1164, Latin Patriarch of Antioch Aimery of Limoges sent a letter to King Louis VII of France , in which he described

2142-737: The Gamaliel II in Yavne ; the Maqam with seven domes of Ali in Yazur was converted into a synagogue ; the mazar of Sakina bint Husayn in Tiberias was reconsecrated as the tomb of Rachel, the spouse of Rabbi Akiva ; the maqam of sheikh al-Gharbawi into the tomb of Mattathias ; the muqam of Nabi Sheman near the Junction Eyal , was identified with the tomb of Simeon (son of Jacob) . In ancient times, all maqams with

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2244-511: The Levant and Upper Mesopotamia , and eventually seized control of Egypt in 1169. In 1174 the Zengid state extended from Tripoli to Hamadan and from Yemen to Sivas . Imad ad-Din Zengi was the first ruler of the dynasty. The Zengid Atabegate became famous in the Islamic world for its successes against the Crusaders , and for being the Atabegate from which Saladin originated. Following

2346-517: The Nile , just west of Giza . The Crusader force enjoyed early success against Shirkuh's troops, but the terrain was too steep and sandy for their horses, and commander Hugh of Caesarea was captured while attacking Saladin's unit. The battle ended in a Zengid victory, one of the "most remarkable victories in recorded history", according to Ibn al-Athir . Saladin and Shirkuh moved towards Alexandria where they were welcomed, given money and arms, and provided

2448-613: The 12th to 13th centuries, particularly in the areas of decorative art and illustrated manuscripts. This occurred despite religious condemnations against the depiction of living creatures, on the grounds that "it implies a likeness to the creative activity of God". The origins of this new pictorial tradition are uncertain, but Arabic illustrated manuscripts such as the Maqamat al-Hariri shared many characteristics with Christian Syriac illustrated manuscripts, such as Syriac Gospels (British Library, Add. 7170) . This synthesis seems to point to

2550-560: The 19th century, Claude Reignier Conder described maqams as an essential part of folk religion in Palestine, with locals attaching "more importance to the favour and protection of the village Mukam than to Allah himself, or to Mohammed his prophet". Researchers have observed that alongside celebrated Muslim figures, some maqams can also be associated with ancient Semitic pagan , Judaic , Samaritan , and Christian traditions. The maqams of Palestine were considered highly significant to

2652-872: The Army Badr al-Din Lu'lu' as protector of his sons and promoted him to atabeg upon his death in 1211. The son and two grandsons of Arslan Shah continued to rule as children in Northern Iraq as Emirs of Mosul and Sinjar until 1234, when Badr al-Din Lu'lu' formally took over, possibly after assassinating the last Zengid Emir of Mosul Nasir ad-Din Mahmud . He ruled in his own name from 1234 until his death in 1259, accepting Mongol suzerainty after 1243. Northern Iraq ( al-Jazira region), continued to be under Zengid rule until 1250, with its last Emir Mahmud al-Malik al-Zahir (1241–1250, son of Mu'izz al-Din Mahmud ). In 1250, al-Jazira fell under

2754-511: The Ayyubid offensive. They reached a truce, according to which al-Adid could retain the lands he conquered in Sinjar (thereafter ruled by the "Ayyubids of Mayyafariqin & Jabal Sinjar ", the sons of al-Adid al-Ashraf and Al-Awhad Ayyub ), and Arslan Shah would recognize Ayyubid suzerainty on his coinage. As Arslan Shah's health was declining, and his sons were still young, he chose his Commander of

2856-739: The Ayyubids had established a peace with Nur ad-Din. In 1207, the Ayyubids under Al-Awhad Ayyub , starting from their base in Mayyafariqin , captured Akhlat in Anatolia , putting an end to the Ahlatshahs . Al-Adil I again attempted to annex the Zengid states in 1209, and besieged Sinjar . The Zengid ruler of Mosul Nur al-Din Arslan Shah I allied with Muzzafar al-Din Kukburi , ruler of Erbil , and resisted

2958-595: The Ayyubids. The Zengid prisoners of war , however, were given gifts and freed. All of the booty from the Ayyubid victory was accorded to the army, Saladin not keeping anything himself. Saladin continued towards Aleppo, which still closed its gates to him, halting before the city. On the way, his army took Buza'a and then captured Manbij . From there, they headed west to besiege the fortress of A'zaz on 15 May. A'zaz capitulated on 21 June 1176, and Saladin then hurried his forces to Aleppo to punish Gumushtigin. His assaults were again resisted, but he managed to secure not only

3060-523: The Ayyubid–early Mamluk period. The prayer hall and courtyard belong to the early Ottoman era. Notably, the tomb chamber and its southern extension underwent separate building phases, indicating the initial burial of the Sheikh followed by the later interment of his sons in an annexed part of the chamber. The decision to establish Sheikh Shihab ed-Din's maqam here stems from three key motives: honoring

3162-700: The Crusaders at the Siege of Edessa . In 1149, he defeated Raymond of Poitiers , Prince of Antioch , at the battle of Inab , and the next year conquered the remnants of the County of Edessa west of the Euphrates . In 1154, he capped off these successes by his capture of Damascus from the Turkic Burid dynasty that ruled it. Now ruling from Damascus, Nur ad-Din's success continued. Another Prince of Antioch, Raynald of Châtillon

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3264-681: The Crusaders, end the heresy of the Assassins , and stop the wrong-doing of the Muslims. He also promised that if Mosul was given to him, it would lead to the capture of Jerusalem, Constantinople , Georgia , and the lands of the Almohads in the Maghreb , "until the word of God is supreme and the Abbasid caliphate has wiped the world clean, turning the churches into mosques". Saladin stressed that all this would happen by

3366-812: The Levant ; they were later succeeded by other Arabic-speaking Muslim dynasties, including the Umayyads , Abbasids and the Fatimids . Early Islam disapproved worshipping of holy men and their burial places, considering it a sort of idolatry . However, the Shiites built sumptuous tombs for their deceased leaders – imams and sheikhs , and turned those tombs into religious objects. Very soon Sunnis followed their example. Arab travellers and geographers ‘Ali al-Harawi , Yaqut al-Hamawi and others described in their essays many Christian and Muslim shrines in Syria, Palestine and Egypt. During

3468-668: The Mongol siege and capture of Mosul in July 1262, probably caused a decline in Mosul's metalworking industry. There is a relative lack of known metalwork from the Jazira in the late 1200s; meanwhile, an abundance of metalwork from Mamluk Syria and Egypt is attested from this same period. This doesn't necessarily mean that production in Mosul ended, though, and some extant objects from this period may have been made in Mosul. The area including Syria, Jazira and Iraq saw an "explosion of figural art" from

3570-751: The Orontes, leaving Hama, the sun was eclipsed. He viewed this as an omen, but he continued his march north. He reached the Sultan's Mound , roughly 25 km (16 mi) from Aleppo, where his forces encountered Saif ad-Din's army. A hand-to-hand fight ensued and the Zengids managed to plough Saladin's left-wing, driving it before him when Saladin himself charged at the head of the Zengid guard. The Zengid forces panicked and most of Saif ad-Din's officers ended up being killed or captured—Saif ad-Din narrowly escaped. The Zengid army's camp, horses, baggage, tents, and stores were seized by

3672-537: The Sheikh Shihab ed-Din maqam , one of four dedicated to this seikh, found in Jaffa , Ramla , and Nazareth . Surrounded by newly developed residential areas, this maqam sits atop a natural hill, approximately 1 km north of the ancient Roman road connecting the coastal plain to Jerusalem via Beit 'Ur (ancient Bethoron ) and el-Jib (ancient Gibeon ). Archaeological evidence reveals a Roman settlement that thrived in

3774-530: The Sheikh, meeting local Sufi requirements for a tranquil worship space, and creating a defensive lookout against Crusaders . Hilltop maqams were strategically networked to alert against potential threats. A study conducted by archaeologist Salah Hussein Al-Houdaileh of Al-Quds University on 119 Roman and Byzantine period rock-cut burial caves near Saffa revealed extensive looting , with all caves showing marks of robbery. This has caused considerable damage to

3876-436: The Zengids. Nur ad-Din also took control of Anatolian lands up to Sivas. His state extended from Tripoli to Hamadan and from Yemen to Sivas . Shirkuh's nephew Saladin was appointed vizier by the last Fatimid caliph al-Adid and Governor of Egypt, in 1169. Al-Adid died in 1171, and Saladin took advantage of this power vacuum, effectively taking control of the country. Upon seizing power, he switched Egypt's allegiance to

3978-473: The arrival of Saladin himself on 17 May before a siege could take place. According to Imad ad-Din, after Tell Khalid, Saladin took a detour northwards to Aintab , but he gained possession of it when his army turned towards it, allowing him to quickly move backward another c. 100 km towards Aleppo. On 21 May, he camped outside the city, positioning himself east of the Citadel of Aleppo , while his forces encircled

4080-611: The caliph claiming that while he conquered Egypt and Yemen under the flag of the Abbasids, the Zengids of Mosul openly supported the Seljuks (rivals of the caliphate) and only came to the Caliph when in need. He also accused Izz ad-Din's forces of disrupting the Muslim "Holy War" against the Crusaders , stating "they are not content not to fight, but they prevent those who can". Saladin defended his own conduct claiming that he had come to Syria to fight

4182-420: The city's unexpectedly stiff resistance and a serious illness which caused Saladin to withdraw to Harran . Upon Abbasid encouragement, Saladin and Mas'ud negotiated a treaty in March 1186 that left the Zengids in control of Mosul, but under the obligation to supply the Ayyubids with military support when requested. In 1204, Saladin's brother and successor, the Ayyubid ruler Al-Adil I , dispatched an army under

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4284-601: The city; Saladin managed to protect the governor and his officers only by sending them to Mosul. After establishing a garrison at Sinjar, he awaited a coalition assembled by Izz ad-Din consisting of his forces, those from Aleppo, Mardin, and Armenia . Saladin and his army met the coalition at Harran in February 1183, but on hearing of his approach, the latter sent messengers to Saladin asking for peace. Each force returned to their cities and al-Fadil wrote: "They [Izz ad-Din's coalition] advanced like men, like women they vanished." From

4386-506: The coalition, marching eastward to Ras al-Ein unhindered. By late April, after three days of "actual fighting", according to Saladin, the Ayyubids had captured Amid . He handed the city to Nur ad-Din Muhammad together with its stores, which consisted of 80,000 candles, a tower full of arrowheads, and 1,040,000 books. In return for a diploma—granting him the city, Nur ad-Din swore allegiance to Saladin, promising to follow him in every expedition in

4488-688: The combined forces captured the cities of Jazira, one after the other. First, Edessa fell, followed by Saruj , then Raqqa , Qirqesiya and Nusaybin . Raqqa was an important crossing point and held by Qutb ad-Din Inal, who had lost Manbij to Saladin in 1176. Upon seeing the large size of Saladin's army, he made little effort to resist and surrendered on the condition that he would retain his property. From Raqqa, Saladin moved to conquer al-Fudain, al-Husain, Maksim, Durain, 'Araban, and Khabur—all of which swore allegiance to him. Saladin proceeded to take Nusaybin which offered no resistance. A medium-sized town, Nusaybin

4590-636: The demise of the Seljuk dynasty in 1194, the Zengids persisted for several decades as one of the "Seljuk successor-states" until 1250. In 1127, following the murder of Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi , atabeg of Mosul , the Seljuk Empire decided to name Zengi , son of Aq Sunqur al-Hajib , Seljuk Governor of Aleppo , as the new Seljuk atabeg of Mosul . Before this nomination, Zengi had been a successful Seljuk general in Iraq , where he had become shihna , or Governor for

4692-526: The desert with 700 picked horsemen, passing through al-Kerak then reaching Bosra . According to his own account, he was joined by "emirs, soldiers, and Bedouins—the emotions of their hearts to be seen on their faces." On 23 November, he arrived in Damascus amid general acclamation and rested at his father's old home there, until the gates of the Citadel of Damascus , whose commander Raihan initially refused to surrender, were opened to Saladin four days later, after

4794-496: The domes were coloured in white. More recently, Palestinians and Arab citizens of Israel coloured the domes of shrines green, a color associated with Muhammad. The battle for one or another shrine resulted in the "war of colours", as it was called in the press. Religious Jews paint domes in blue or white and install Jewish symbols, and Muslims, when returning, remove the symbols and repaint the dome green. No more than 300 maqams have survived out of 800 existing in Palestine in 1948,

4896-550: The domination of An-Nasir Yusuf , the Ayyubid emir of Aleppo, marking the end of Zengid rule. The next period would be marked by the arrival of the Mongols: in 1262 Mosul was sacked by the Mongols of Hulagu , following a siege of almost a year, which put an end to the short rule of the sons of Badr al-Din Lu'lu'. The military of the Zengids, like that of the other Atabegates , continued

4998-476: The early 1200s that Mosul had the demand for large-scale production of them. Mosul was then a wealthy, prosperous capital city, first for the Zengids and then for Badr al-Din Lu'lu'. The origins of Mosul's inlaid brasswork industry are uncertain. The city had an iron industry in the late 10th century, when al-Muqaddasi recorded that it exported iron and iron goods like buckets, knives and chains. However, no surviving metal objects from Mosul are known before

5100-482: The early 13th century. Inlaid metalworking in the Islamic world was first developed in Khurasan in the 12th century by silversmiths facing a shortage of silver. By the mid-12th century, Herat in particular had gained a reputation for its high-quality inlaid metalwork. The practice of inlaying "required relatively few tools" and the technique spread westward, perhaps by Khurasani artisans moving to other cities. By

5202-479: The emir of the city and a captain of Nur ad-Din's veterans assumed guardianship over him. The emir Gumushtigin prepared to unseat all his rivals in Syria and the Jazira, beginning with Damascus. In this emergency, the emir of Damascus appealed to Saif ad-Din of Mosul (a cousin of Gumushtigin) for assistance against Aleppo, but he refused, forcing the Syrians to request the aid of Saladin, who complied. Saladin rode across

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5304-657: The events in the Crusader States: "[Shirkuh] having gotten possession of Damascus, the latter entered Egypt with a great force of Turks, in order to conquer the country." In 1163, the vizier to the Fatimid caliph al-Adid , Shawar , had been driven out of Egypt by his rival Dirgham , a member of the powerful Banu Ruzzaik tribe. He asked for military backing from Nur ad-Din, who complied and, in 1164, sent Shirkuh to aid Shawar in his expedition against Dirgham. Shirkuh's nephew Saladin , at age 26, went along with them. After Shawar

5406-443: The field of biblical archaeology , as their names were used in the 18th and 19th centuries to identify much of biblical geography . From Arabic literally "a place" or "station." It is used to denote a "sanctuary", such as a commemorative burial shrine or an actual tomb. Its meaning can be restricted only to built structures that can be entered at such sites. The literal meaning of maqam is "the place where one stands." Such name for

5508-477: The graves of recent ulama and revered holy men. Features Types Types Features Clothing Genres Art music Folk Prose Islamic Poetry Genres Forms Arabic prosody National literatures of Arab States Concepts Texts Fictional Arab people South Arabian deities Maqams continued to be revered sites in modern times as well. In

5610-625: The hands of a rival, but he feared that attacking a land that formerly belonged to his master —forbidden in the Islamic principles in which he believed— could portray him as hypocritical, thus making him unsuitable for leading the war against the Crusaders. As-Salih took refuge in Aleppo in August 1174, which he ruled until 1181, when he died of illness and was replaced by his cousin Imad al-Din Zengi II . Gumushtigin ,

5712-432: The heavily fortified city. After several minor skirmishes and a stalemate in the siege that was initiated by the caliph, Saladin intended to find a way to withdraw without damage to his reputation while still keeping up some military pressure. He decided to attack Sinjar , which was held by Izz ad-Din's brother Sharaf ad-Din. It fell after a 15-day siege on 30 December. Saladin's soldiers broke their discipline, plundering

5814-444: The issue of taking over a large city and justifying the action. The Zengids of Mosul appealed to an-Nasir , the Abbasid caliph at Baghdad whose vizier favored them. An-Nasir sent Badr al-Badr (a high-ranking religious figure) to mediate between the two sides. Saladin arrived at the city on 10 November 1182. Izz ad-Din would not accept his terms because he considered them disingenuous and extensive, and Saladin immediately laid siege to

5916-449: The late 19th century, but practically every village had at least one maqam which served as sites of worship in the Palestinian folk Islam popular in the countryside over the centuries. Christians and Jews also held some of the maqams to be holy, such as that of Nabi Samwil . In the period of Ottoman rule over Palestine, most of these sites were visited collectively by members of all three faiths who often travelled together with provisions for

6018-516: The leadership of Mosul. On 4 December, the crown prince of the Zengids, as-Salih , died in Aleppo. Prior to his death, he had his chief officers swear an oath of loyalty to Izz ad-Din, as he was the only Zengid ruler strong enough to oppose Saladin. Izz ad-Din was welcomed in Aleppo, but possessing it and Mosul put too great of a strain on his abilities. He thus, handed Aleppo to his brother Imad ad-Din Zangi , in exchange for Sinjar . Saladin offered no opposition to these transactions in order to respect

6120-435: The leadership of his own son al-Ashraf of Harran , accompanied by his brother Al-Awhad Ayyub , to relieve the Zengid emir of Sinjar , Qutb al-Din , from an assault by his cousin Nur ad-Din Arslan Shah I of Mosul , the chief Zengid emir . In April 1204 the Ayyubid coalition swiftly defeated Nur ad-Din's forces at Nusaybin , chasing them back to Mosul where they attacked several of the surrounding villages. By September

6222-405: The maqam of sheikh Abu ‘Atabi in Al-Manshiyya, Acre . In the Ottoman Empire times, maqams were constructed everywhere, and old sanctuaries were taken under restoration. New buildings were not as monumental and pompous as before, and looked quite unpretentious. In Turkish period, maqams had simple construction and almost no architectural décor. Mosques were uncommon in Palestinian villages until

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6324-426: The most epigraphic inscriptions. However, the only reference to this industry in contemporary sources is the account of Ibn Sa'id , an Andalusian geographer who traveled through the region around 1250. He wrote that "there are many crafts in the city, especially inlaid brass vessels which are exported (and presented) to rulers". These were expensive items that only the wealthiest could afford, and it wasn't until

6426-426: The name of his master Nur ad-Din, becoming the new Fatimid vizier and amir al-juyush with the approval of Caliph al-Adid , and therefore bringing Egypt under formal Zengid dominion. Shirkuh died the same year and was replaced by his nephew Saladin as vizier . During the reign of Nur al-Din (1146–1174), Tripoli , Yemen and the Hejaz were added to the state of the Zengids. The Artuqids became vassals of

6528-467: The peasantry consists. Moslem by profession, they often spend their lives without entering a mosque, and attach more importance to the favour and protection of the village Мukam than to Allah himself, or to Mohammed his prophet. Salah al-Houdalieh's study on Sheikh Shihab-Al-Din's maqam, which attracted rural Muslims from the village of Saffa, Ramallah , showed that visitations usually consisted of ritual prayers, burials, Quran recitation , commemorating

6630-500: The point of view of Saladin, in terms of territory, the war against Mosul was going well, but he still failed to achieve his objectives and his army was shrinking; Taqi ad-Din took his men back to Hama, while Nasir ad-Din Muhammad and his forces had left. This encouraged Izz ad-Din and his allies to take the offensive. The previous coalition regrouped at Harzam some 140 km from Harran. In early April, without waiting for Nasir ad-Din, Saladin and Taqi ad-Din commenced their advance against

6732-401: The previous week and his power was handed to his eleven-year-old son as-Salih Ismail al-Malik . His death left Saladin with political independence and in a letter to as-Salih, he promised to "act as a sword" against his enemies and referred to the death of his father as an "earthquake shock". In the wake of Nur ad-Din's death, Saladin was tempted to annex Syria before it could possibly fall into

6834-527: The provinces of Damascus, Homs, and Hama, as well as a number of towns outside Aleppo such as Ma'arat al-Numan . After his victory against the Zengids, Saladin proclaimed himself king and suppressed the name of as-Salih in Friday prayers and Islamic coinage. From then on, he ordered prayers in all the mosques of Syria and Egypt as the sovereign king and he issued at the Cairo mint gold coins bearing his official title — al-Malik an-Nasir Yusuf Ayyub, ala ghaya "the King Strong to Aid, Joseph son of Job; exalted be

6936-399: The religious leadership of the city. Although he was short of money, Saladin also allowed the departing Zangi to take all the stores of the citadel that he could travel with and to sell the remainder—which Saladin purchased himself. In spite of his earlier hesitation to go through with the exchange, he had no doubts about his success, stating that Aleppo was "the key to the lands" and "this city

7038-421: The remainder having been demolished. Half of them are in Israel-proper, the remainder in the West Bank and Gaza Strip ; most of the West Bank has been under Israeli control since 1967 , and Gaza between 1967 and 2005 . According to another source, the number of Palestinian maqams left is 184, with only 70 remaining in Israel-proper. Zengid dynasty The Zengid or Zangid dynasty , also referred to as

7140-430: The rest of cases it depends on nisbah s. However, al-Mawsili is by far the most common nisbah ; only two others are attested: al-Is'irdi (referring to someone from Siirt ) and al-Baghdadi. There are, however, some scientific instruments inlaid with silver that were made in Syria during this period, with the earliest being 1222/3 (619 AH). Instability after the death of Badr al-Din Lu'lu' in 1259, and especially

7242-402: The return of the Fortress of A'zaz; he complied and escorted her back to the gates of Aleppo with numerous presents. The Zengis ruler As-Salih Ismail al-Malik continued to rule Aleppo as a vassal of Saladin until 1181, when he died of illness and was replaced by his cousin Imad al-Din Zengi II . The Zengid ruler Sayf al-Din Ghazi II died in June 1181 and his brother Izz ad-Din inherited

7344-417: The ruler's askar troops numbering from 1,000 to 3,000, to which were added auxiliary troops numbering from 10,000 to 15,000. The Zengid model was also used by Saladin and his successors. In the 13th century, Mosul had a flourishing industry making luxury brass items that were ornately inlaid with silver. Many of these items survive today; in fact, of all medieval Islamic artifacts, Mosul brasswork has

7446-470: The same year showed that Saffa had 200 inhabitants with 67 houses, though the population count included only the men. In 1883 the PEF 's Survey of Western Palestine described Suffa : "A small village standing high on a ridge, with a well to the east and a sacred place to the south." In 1896 the population of Safa was estimated to be about 564 persons. In the 1922 census of Palestine , conducted by

7548-457: The sheikh, or making vows. Every village in the Palestine region has a wali or patron saint, whom people, predominantly rural peasants, would call upon for help at his or her associated sanctuary. While wali can refer to both the saint and sanctuary, a sanctuary for a common saint is more precisely known as a maqam. The most popular type of maqams is a single chamber square building topped with

7650-513: The standard." The Abbasid caliph in Baghdad graciously welcomed Saladin's assumption of power and declared him "Sultan of Egypt and Syria". The Battle of Hama did not end the contest for power between the Ayyubids and the Zengids, with the final confrontation occurring in the spring of 1176. Saladin had gathered massive reinforcements from Egypt while Saif ad-Din was levying troops among the minor states of Diyarbakir and al-Jazira. When Saladin crossed

7752-423: The strength of its citadel. Saladin moved north towards Aleppo, besieging it on 30 December after Gumushtigin refused to abdicate his throne. As-Salih, fearing capture by Saladin, came out of his palace and appealed to the inhabitants not to surrender him and the city to the invading force. One of Saladin's chroniclers claimed "the people came under his spell". Meanwhile, Saladin's rivals in Syria and Jazira waged

7854-558: The suburb of Banaqusa to the northeast and Bab Janan to the west. He stationed his men dangerously close to the city, hoping for an early success. Zangi did not offer long resistance. He was unpopular with his subjects and wished to return to his Sinjar , the city he governed previously. An exchange was negotiated where Zangi would hand over Aleppo to Saladin in return for the restoration of his control of Sinjar , Nusaybin , and Raqqa . Zangi would hold these territories as Saladin's vassals in terms of military service. On 12 June, Aleppo

7956-497: The time of the Arab conquest or even late Ottoman rule . Ali Qleibo, a Palestinian anthropologist , states that this built evidence constitutes "an architectural testimony to Christian/Moslem Palestinian religious sensibility and its roots in ancient Semitic religions ." In 1877, the British explorer Claude Reignier Conder wrote that: It is in worship at these shrines that the religion of

8058-494: The times of Mamluk dynasty , monumental tombs were built for Muslim holy men, scientists and theologists, some of these tombs have come down to present times. The major part of them is located in Egypt, and some parts are also in Syria and Palestine. These are namely the famous Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem (though the burial place of matriarch Rachel was worshipped even before), the splendid mausoleum of Abu Hurairah in Yavne and

8160-413: The town had a population of 4,374 inhabitants in 2017. Saffa is located 13.3 kilometers (8.3 mi) (in straight distance) west of Ramallah . It is bordered by Beit 'Ur at Tahta , Kafr Ni'ma and Deir Ibzi to the east, Bil'in , Ni'lin and Al Midya to the north, Israel to the west, and Beit 'Ur at Tahta and Beit Sira to the south. F.M. Abel and Avi-Yonah both identified Saffa with

8262-526: The traditions of the Seljuk Empire . Professional Askar and Ghulam troops were combined with mercenaries and auxiliary Turcoman & Kurdish tribal elements. The best description of these troops appears in the mid-13th century Warqa wa Gulshah , where numerous weapons are depicted, such as javelins, spears, swords, bows, maces and lassos. The protective equipment can be quite heavy, including helmets and hauberk . Bows and arrows were used extensively, and dense volleys could pierce armour or even stop

8364-509: The treaty he previously made with the Zengids. Following the Zengid defeat at Hama, and the continuing lack any unifying figure in the mould of Nur ad-Din, Kukbary ( Muzaffar ad-Din Gökböri ), the Zengid ruler of Harran , realised that Zengid power was on the wane in Syria and the Jazira and he made the momentous decision to defect to Saladin in 1182. He invited Saladin to occupy the Jazira region, making up northern Mesopotamia. Saladin complied and

8466-501: The truce between him and the Zengids officially ended in September 1182. Prior to his march to Jazira, tensions had grown between the Zengid rulers of the region, primarily concerning their unwillingness to pay deference to Mosul. Before he crossed the Euphrates , Saladin besieged Aleppo for three days, signaling that the truce was over. Once Saladin reached Bira, near the river, he was joined by Kukbary and Nur ad-Din of Hisn Kayfa and

8568-436: The turn of the 13th century, the silver-inlaid-brass technique had reached Mosul. A pair of engraved brass flabella found in Egypt and possibly made in Mosul are dated by a Syriac inscription to the year 1202, which would make them the earliest known Mosul brasses with a definite date (although they are not inlaid with anything). One extant item may be even older: an inlaid ewer by the master craftsman Ibrahim ibn Mawaliya

8670-430: The two decades from roughly 1220 to 1240, the Mosul brass industry saw "rapid innovations in technique, decoration, and composition". Artisans were inspired by miniature paintings produced in the Mosul area. Mosul seems to have become predominant among Muslim centers of metalwork in the early 13th century. Evidence is partial and indirect - relatively few objects which directly state where they were made exist, and in

8772-534: The use of Theriac , an ancient medicinal compound initially used as a cure for the bites of poisonous snakes. Two editions are extant, adorned with beautiful miniatures revealing of the social context at the time of their publication. The earliest manuscript was published in 1198–1199 CE in Mosul or the Jazira region , and is now in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (MS. Arabe 2964). The Kitab al-Aghani

8874-466: The village of Sapphō ( Greek : Σαπφώ ), which, according to the first century AD Jewish historian Josephus , was destroyed by Arab troops serving in the army of Varus in 4 BC. It has been proposed identifying Saffa with Casale Saphet of the Crusader era. In the early Ottoman census of 1525-1526, it was not mentioned, but in 1538-1539, Saffa was located in the nahiya of Quds , and named as Mazra , or cultivated land. In 1838 it

8976-560: The wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements , Saffa came under Jordanian rule. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950. In 1961, the population of Saffa was 1,364. After the Six-Day War in 1967, Saffa has been under Israeli occupation . After the 1995 accords , 12.9% of village land was classified as Area B , and the remaining 87.1% as Area C . Israel has confiscated land from Saffa in order to construct six Israeli settlements : Saffa houses

9078-446: The war against the Crusaders, and repairing the damage done to the city. The fall of Amid, in addition to territory, convinced Il-Ghazi of Mardin to enter the service of Saladin, weakening Izz ad-Din's coalition. Saladin attempted to gain the Caliph an-Nasir's support against Izz ad-Din by sending him a letter requesting a document that would give him legal justification for taking over Mosul and its territories. Saladin aimed to persuade

9180-798: The whole region. Zengi quickly became the chief Turkic potentate in Northern Syria and Iraq, taking Aleppo from the squabbling Artuqids in 1128 and capturing the County of Edessa from the Crusaders after the siege of Edessa in 1144. This latter feat made Zengi a hero in the Muslim world, but he was assassinated by a slave two years later, in 1146. On Zengi's death, his territories were divided, with Mosul and his lands in Iraq going to his eldest son Saif ad-Din Ghazi I , and Aleppo and Edessa falling to his second son, Nur ad-Din, atabeg of Aleppo . Nur ad-Din proved to be as competent as his father. In 1146 he defeated

9282-421: The will of God, and instead of asking for financial or military support from the Caliph, he would capture and give the Caliph the territories of Tikrit , Daquq , Khuzestan , Kish Island , and Oman . Saladin turned his attention from Mosul to Aleppo, sending his brother Taj al-Muluk Buri to capture Tell Khalid , 130 km northeast of Aleppo. A siege was set, but the governor of Tell Khalid surrendered upon

9384-513: The years, new burial places appeared near maqams; it was considered as honour to be buried next to a saint. Big cemeteries formed around many Muslim sanctuaries. According to Claude Reignier Conder , many maqams are originated in Jewish and Christian traditions from before the advent of Islam in the region. He identified seven types of maqams: In the seventh century, the Arab Rashiduns conquered

9486-434: Was also a well or spring. The positioning of maqams on or near these natural features is seen as indicative of ancient worship practices adapted by the local population and associated with religious figures. As a rule, maqams were built on the top of the hills or at the crossroads, and besides their main function – shrine and prayer place, they also served as a guard point and a guiding landmark for travelers and caravans. Over

9588-560: Was angered when Saladin attempted to usurp his dynasty's holdings. Saif ad-Din mustered a large army and dispatched it to Aleppo, whose defenders anxiously had awaited them. The combined forces of Mosul and Aleppo marched against Saladin in Hama. Heavily outnumbered, Saladin initially attempted to make terms with the Zengids by abandoning all conquests north of the Damascus province , but they refused, insisting he return to Egypt. Seeing that confrontation

9690-599: Was captured, and the territories of the Principality of Antioch were greatly reduced. After the defeats of the Seljuk Empire in Khorasan and the death of the Seljuk ruler Ahmad Sanjar in 1157, the Zengids remained nominally under Seljuk suzerainty, but in practice became essentially independent. In the 1160s, Nur ad-Din's attention was mostly held by a competition with the King of Jerusalem , Amalric of Jerusalem , for control of

9792-560: Was created in 1218–1219 in Mosul at the time of the Zengid atabegate of Badr al-Din Lu'lu' (40 years old at the time), and has several frontispieces richly illustrated with court scenes. Saffa, Ramallah Saffa ( Arabic : صفّاء ) is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate , located west of Ramallah in the northern West Bank . According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS),

9894-502: Was formally placed in Ayyubid hands. The people of Aleppo had not known about these negotiations and were taken by surprise when Saladin's standard was hoisted over the citadel. Two emir s, including an old friend of Saladin, Izz ad-Din Jurduk, welcomed and pledged their service to him. Saladin replaced the Hanafi courts with Shafi'i administration, despite a promise that he would not interfere in

9996-572: Was in the battle epicentre during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War . After having captured it, Israeli soldiers turned it into a watch and firing point. Since that time, the maqam of Sheikh Nuran has been a memorial for the Israel Defense Forces . After the State of Israel was formed, numerous shrines were turned into Jewish shrines. For example, the Mausoleum of Abu Hurayra was transformed into the tomb of

10098-493: Was not of great importance, but it was located in a strategic position between Mardin and Mosul and within easy reach of Diyarbakir . Meanwhile, in Aleppo, the emir of the city Zangi raided Saladin's cities to the north and east, such as Balis, Manbij, Saruj, Buza'a, al-Karzain. He also destroyed his own citadel at A'zaz to prevent it from being used by the Ayyubids if they were to conquer it. As Saladin approached Mosul, he faced

10200-561: Was noted as a Muslim village, located in the Beni Harith district, west of Jerusalem. In 1870, Victor Guérin noted that: "This village occupies a high plateau; it contains four hundred inhabitants. Some stones, scattered or embedded in Arab buildings, and numerous excavations in the rock, such as cisterns , tombs, quarries and subterranean vaults, proves that the present Saffa succeeded an ancient locality." An Ottoman village list of about

10302-510: Was successfully reinstated as vizier, he demanded that Shirkuh withdraw his army from Egypt for a sum of 30,000 gold dinars , but Shirkuh refused, insisting it was Nur ad-Din's will that he remain. In 1167, the Zengids engaged in a new campaign in Egypt. They sacked Bilbais , and the Crusader-Egyptian force and Shirkuh's army were to engage in the Battle of al-Babein on the desert border of

10404-567: Was unavoidable, Saladin prepared for battle, taking up a superior position at the Horns of Hama , hills by the gorge of the Orontes River . On 13 April 1175, the Zengid troops marched to attack his forces, but soon found themselves surrounded by Saladin's Ayyubid veterans, who crushed them. The battle ended in a decisive victory for Saladin, who pursued the Zengid fugitives to the gates of Aleppo, forcing as-Salih's advisers to recognize Saladin's control of

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