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About

Nur al-Din Mahmud b. Zangi, Zangid Sultan 

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digital graphic

AN104490.jpg

patron

caravanserai

khan

Syria

<div style="text-align: justify;">Located in the north-eastern part of Qutayfa, Syria, Khan Nur al-Din or Khan al-Shahid (Caravanserai of the Martyr) was built during the Ayyubid period. It is likely attributed to Nur al Din Mahmud ibn Zangi during the second half of the 12th century/6th century AH.&nbsp;</div><div> </div><div>Sources:</div><div> </div><div><div class="bibliography-item-copy-text content" data-clipboard-target="copy-target-1018339984" data-redirect-target="/items/1018339984/copy" data-style-code="chicagob" href="http://www.citationmachine.net/bibliographies/413049292?new=true#" id="copy-target-1018339984">Sauvaget, Jean. "Caravansérails Syriens Du Moyen-âge." Ars Islamica 6, no. 1 (1939): 48-55. Accessed February 2, 2019. JSTOR.&nbsp;</div></div>

Foundation

Yasser Tabbaa

Damascus Area (Tabbaa Archive)

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35 mm color slide

Qutayfa. Khan Nur al-Din. View of ruins in the countryside.

Khan Nur al-Din (Qutayfa)

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Qutayfa. Khan Nur al-Din.View of ruins in the countryside.

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Qutayfa. Khan Nur al-Din. Exterior view.

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Qutayfa. Khan Nur al-Din.Exterior view.

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Qutayfa. Khan Nur al-Din. View of exterior wall detail.

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Qutayfa. Khan Nur al-Din.Interior courtyard view.

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Qutayfa. Khan Nur al-Din. Interior courtyard view.

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خان نور الدين

Original

Khan Nur al-Din

Transliterated

Nur al-Din Khan

Translated

Nur al-Din Caravanserai

Khan al-Shahid 

Alternate

Khan Qutayfa

Caravanserail d'el Ktaife

See<a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2355" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Timeline: Ayyubid</a> ﻿Medieval dynasty which ruled Syria, Palestine, Iraq. Egypt and Yemen during the 12th-13th c./5th-6th c. AH &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The founder of the dynasty was Shirukh, a Kurdish retainer of the Zengid prince Nur al-Din. First Shirukh secured the governorship of Aleppo and later was appointed vizier to the Fatimid ruler of Egypt. Shirukh was succeeded by his nephew Salah al-Din who rapidly extended his position and became ruler of Egypt, Syria and northern Iraq whilst he appointed his brother ruler of Yemen. Salah al-Din's greatest accomplishment was the defeat of the Crusaders and the reconquest of Jerusalem. Salah al-Din died in 1189/584 AH and his empire fragmented under his successors who ruled various parts of the empire until the mid-13thc./6th c. AH.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ayyubid architecture was dominated by the need to combat two enemies: the Crusaders in Palestine and the rising threat of Shi'ism and religious dissension. To combat the Crusaders a network of fortresses was built which rivalled those of the Crusaders both in size and technical sophistication. Amongst the best examples of Ayyubid military architecture are Qal'at Rabad at Ajlun in Jordan and Qal'at Nimrud at Banyas in Syria. In addition the fortification of citadels was improved and the famous gateway of the Aleppo Citadel dates from this period. Some of the techniques of fortification were learned from the Crusaders (curtain walls following the natural topography), although many were inherited from the Fatimids (machicolations and round towers) and some were developed simultaneously (concentric planning). Shi'ism was an equally dangerous threat to the Ayyubids who built a large number of madrassas in both Syria and Egypt. In Egypt the Ayyubids had to reintroduce religious orthodoxy after two centuries of government-imposed Shi'ism. In Syria there was a so a growing threat of Shi'ism in the form of the Assassins who had benefited from the confusion of the Crusader conflict. The Ayyubids tried to promote Sufism as an orthodox alternative and began to build khanqas and Sufi shrines to provide a focus for these activities. Petersen, Andrew.&nbsp;Dictionary of Islamic Architecture.&nbsp;London and New York: Routledge, 1999.

Khan Nur al-Din (Qutayfa)Qutayfa, Syria

Khan Nur al-Din (Qutayfa)
Qutayfa, Syria