The Sultan Barquq Mosque-Madrasah or the Khanka Az-Zaher Barquq Mosque-Madrasah (Arabic: مسجد ومدرسة وخانقاه الظاهر برقوق) is a religious complex in Islamic Cairo, the historical medieval district of Cairo, the capital of Egypt. It was built by order of Sultan Barkuk as a school of religious education for all four Sunni madhhabs and consisted of a mosque, madrasah, mausoleum and khanaka. The complex was built in 1384-1386, with the dome being the last to be added. It was the first architectural structure that appeared during the Circassian dynasty (Burjita) of the Mamluk Sultanate.
The complex is located in the area of ​​Muizz Street. Together with the complex of Sultan Qalaun and the al-Nasir Muhammad madrasah, to which it adjoins, it forms one of the greatest architectural ensembles of Mamluk monumental architecture in Cairo, in the part of Al-Muizz Street known as Bein al-Kasrain.
Barquq is known as the first Burjit Mamluk sultan. He was a Circassian slave bought by Yalbuga al-Umari, the Mamluk emir who ruled Cairo on behalf of Sultan Shaban II. Like many other Mamluks of that time, he was trained in the Circassian military barracks located in the citadel. Under Yalbuga, Barquq acquired significant influence in the state, and subsequently he became a key player in the period of chaos and internal conflict after the violent death of first Yalbuga, and then Shaban II. Ultimately, Barquq received enough support to overthrow Sultan Hajj, son of Shaban II, who was then still a child, and take the throne himself in 1382: 158. After his accession to the throne, Barkuk predominantly recruited Mamluks of Circassian origin for his regime, and it was this group that dominated the sultanate until its final conquest by the Ottomans. Since they lived and studied mainly in the Cairo citadel, they were called "Burjis" Mamluks, which means Mamluks "towers".
Despite the change of power, the buildings during the reign of Barkuk demonstrate architectural and artistic continuity with the previous buildings of the Mamluks. Its complex is very similar in form and layout to the earlier and much larger religious complex of Sultan Hassan, although its components were displaced in accordance with a different environment . Barquq erected his complex in one of the most prestigious locations in Cairo, Bein el-Kasraine, named after the previous Fatimid palaces that occupied the site (and which were gradually replaced by religious buildings and mausoleums of Ayyubid and Mamluk sultans). The Sultan Barquq Mosque-Madrasah is in close proximity to the burial complex of Sultan Qalaun and the madrasah of al-Nasir Muhammad, forming a long unbroken line of imposing religious complexes along Muizz Street in the heart of Cairo.
In addition, being part of Bein El Kasrain Street, the mosque is embedded in the daily life of Egyptian citizens. One of its lesser-known functions was as a shelter for evicted families in the 1970s. The street on which the mosque is located has served as the inspiration for many works of art and literature, the most famous of which are the novel "Bein el-Kasrain" or "The Palace Walk" by Nagib Mahfuz. The film based on this novel also includes many types of mosques as backgrounds.
The construction of the madrasah and burial complex of Barquq began in December 1384 and was completed, according to the inscription on its facade, in April 1386. Since the site was located in the busy center of Cairo, some of the then existing structures, including the khan or the caravanserai, had to be destroyed before construction began. Although Mamluk monuments were often built using forced labor (either by prisoners of war or as a duty), only wage laborers were reported to be used in the construction of the Barquq complex.
Barquq appointed his Emir Jarkas al-Khalili as the head of the work, and the architect or chief builder (in Arabic muallim) was Ahmad al-Tuluni He came from a family of carpenters and stone cutters and is known as one of the few master builders of this period who achieved great success and recognition. So Barquq married two of his relatives. He had enough funds to eventually build himself a mausoleum in the South Cemetery of Cairo
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