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Name of Object:
Waqf inscription panel from Diyar Bakr
Holding Museum:
Islamic Museum, al-Aqsa Mosque / al-Haram al-Sharif
Original Owner:
Jerusalem Abu al-Nasr Nasir al-Dawla Ahmad bin Marwan al-Diyar Bakri (r. AH 401–53 / AD 1011–61)
Museum Inventory Number:
ز/ م/99
Dimensions:
Length 58 cm, width 32 cm, depth 7 cm
Material(s) / Technique(s):
Marble, with engraved inscription.
Date of the object:
Hegira 445 / AD 1054
Period / Dynasty:
Marwanids of Diyar Bakr
Provenance:
Jerusalem.
Description:
A marble panel that contains an engraved inscription written in simple kufic script. The panel was affixed to a wall in one of the two houses located at Bab al-Hitta, a gate located in the northern wall of the Haram al-Sharif. The inscription mentions the waqf that related to the houses that were donated for the benefit of pilgrims travelling from the Hajj in Mecca, who might pass through Jerusalem on their journey back to Diyar Bakr. The pilgrims would reside in one of the houses during their stop-off in Jerusalem. The houses were endowed by the ruler of Diyar Bakr, Abu al-Nasr Nasir al-Daula Ahmad bin Marwan al-Diyar Bakri. The inscription, starting with the Basmala, reads as follows:
How object was obtained:
“In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. This is what has been endowed and made into a religious bequest by Amir al-Sayyad al-Ajal […] al Daula and its support Dhu Saramir [?], the father of Nasr Ahmad Ibn Marwan. May God reward his good deeds and bless these two adjoining houses, their delimitations, and their rights for all who come from Diyar Bakr as is (mentioned) in the book and the endowment, and those who change it or replace it, may the curse of God be upon them. This is on the [date] Ramadan, in the year 445.” The panel was transferred at an unknown date from its site at the Bab al-Hitta to the Islamic Museum.
How date and origin were established:
The piece is dated by the inscription.
How provenance was established:
Jerusalem was narrowed down as the place of production in view of the fact that the panel was found there, and that the two designated houses are located there. It is likely that the panel was made on site.
Selected bibliography:
Burgoyne, M., and Abu al-Hajj, A., “Twenty-four Medieval Arabic Inscriptions from Jerusalem”, Levant, No. 11, 1979, p.119.
Citation:
Mansur, Abd al-Razzaq, Dirasat al-Nuqush al-'Arabiya fi al-Muthaf al-Islami Bil Quds [Study of Arabic Inscriptions in the Islamic Museum in Jerusalem], Amman, 1995.
Khader Salameh "Waqf inscription panel from Diyar Bakr" in Discover Islamic Art. Place: Museum With No Frontiers, 2013. http://www.discoverislamicart.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;pa;Mus01;50;en
Prepared by: Khader Salameh
Copyedited by: Majd Musa Translation by: Amal Sachedina (from the Arabic). Translation copyedited by: Mandi Gomez MWNF Working Number: PA 50
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