Aqsunqur Mosque

The Aqsunqur Mosque (also known as the Blue Mosque or the Mosque of Ibrahim Agha) is located in Cairo, Egypt and is one of several "blue mosques" in the world. It is situated in the Tabbana Quarter in Islamic Cairo, between Bab Zuweila and the Citadel of Saladin (Cairo Citadel.) The Aqsunqur Mosque also serves as a funerary complex, containing the mausoleums of its founder Shams ad-Din Aqsunqur, his sons, a number of children of the Bahri Mamluk sultan an-Nasir Muhammad and that of its principal restorer, Ibrahim Agha al-Mustahfizan.

History

Construction under Mamluks

The mosque was built in 1347 on the orders of the emir ("prince") Shams ad-Din Aqsunqur during the reign of the Mamluk sultan, al-Muzaffar Hajji. Aqsunqur was the son-in-law of former sultan an-Nasir Muhammad and one of the more prominent emirs of the latter's court. Aqsunqur's influence in the affairs of the sultanate grew during the reign of an-Nasir's successors following his death in 1340.

Medieval Muslim historian al-Maqrizi noted Aqsunqur supervised the entire project and also participated in its actual construction. Being the former governor of Tripoli, he had the mosque built in a Syrian architectural style. It was built around the late sultan al-Ashraf Kujuk's mausoleum which had been constructed previously in 1341. The mausoleum's incorporation within the mosque accounts for the irregularity of the building's structure. Aqsunqur's grave is also located in the mosque complex along with those of his sons. A mausoleum for Umm as-Sultan al-Sha'ban, one of an-Nasir's wives and mother of sultan Kamal Sha'ban, was built in 1359 while another tomb was built for an-Nasir's son Tankizbugha in 1362.