The fifteenth and sixteenth lessons in a 22 lesson course on Monuments of Islamic Architecture developed by Professors Gulru Necipoglu and David Roxburgh at the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University. Th lessons explores the ways in which the Mamluks inscribed their political power and presence on the urban landscape of Cairo. 

• How did they transform the monumental topography of Cairo? 

• On which parts of the city was Mamluk patronage activity focused?

• We will learn about architectural innovations in Cairo through one main case study, the construction of the Sultan Hasan complex. 

• How did the waqf system become a tool for the Mamluk elite to display their piety to the public and also to protect their wealth.