Mudhafaria Minaret
{{Infobox religious building
| name = Mudhafaria Minaret
| native_name = {{lang|ar|المنارة المظفرية}}
| native_name_lang = ar
| image = Mudhafaria Minaret, Minaret Park, Erbil.jpg
| image_upright = 1.4
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| caption = The minaret in 2022
| religious_affiliation = Sunni Islam
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| organisational_status = Minaret
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| functional_status = Active
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| location = Erbil, Kurdistan Region
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| country = Iraq
| map_type = Iraq
| map_size = 250
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| map_relief = 1
| map_caption = Location of the minaret in Iraq
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| coordinates = {{coord|36.18753|43.9997|type:landmark_region:IQ|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
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| architecture_type = {{nowrap|Islamic architecture}}
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| creator = Muzaffar Al-Din Abu Sa’eed Al-Gawkaboori (Gökböri)
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| groundbreaking = {{AH|586|link=yes}}
| year_completed = {{AH|630}}
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| minaret_quantity = One
| minaret_height = {{cvt|36|m}}
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| inscriptions = Names of Muhammad and Mas'oudi Muhammadi (builders)
| materials = Baked bricks
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The Mudhafaria Minaret ({{langx|ar|المنارة المظفرية}}) is a minaret located in the new Minare Park on the west region of Erbil, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
History
The minaret was built between {{AH|586|link=yes}} and {{AH|630}} by the Turkoman prince of Erbil, during the reign of Salahadin, Muzaffar Al-Din Abu Sa’eed Al-Gawkaboori (Gökböri) who had entered in the obedience of Salahadin without war and married his sister.{{cite book |author1=Hann, Geoff |author2=Dabrowska, Karen |author3=Townsend-Greaves, Tina |year=2015 |title=Iraq: The ancient sites and Iraqi Kurdistan |publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |location=Chalfont St. Peter |page=389 |isbn= }}{{cite web |url=http://www.tourismkurdistan.com/pdf/tg00HawlerHistory.pdf |title=History page |work=Tourism Kurdistan.com |date= |access-date= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091221220924/http://www.tourismkurdistan.com/pdf/tg00HawlerHistory.pdf |archive-date=2009-12-21 }}
Architecture
The minaret is {{convert|36|m}} high and is composed of a high octagonal base and a tall cylindrical shaft, with a balcony located between the base and the shaft. This design was typical for mosques built during the reign of the Ayyubid Kurdish Empire.{{cite web |url=http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=8288 |title=Minaret of the Great Mosque of Arbil |work=ArchNet |date= |access-date= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006091219/http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=8288 |archive-date=2012-10-06 }} It is believed that the minaret is the only remnant of a mosque, since destroyed.{{cite journal |author1=Mustafa, Sima |author2=Qader, Aland |url=https://dl.gi.de/server/api/core/bitstreams/d30692be-d242-4666-af29-e019e8f5b634/content |title=Photogrammetric Analysis for Accurate Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of the Mudhafaria Minaret in Erbil (Kurdistan Region of Iraq) |journal=INFORMATIK: Lecture Notes in Informatics |date=2024 |access-date=21 June 2025 |location=Bonn German |publisher=Gesellschaft für Informatik |pages=903-908 |doi=10.18420/inf2024_78 }}
It is built of baked bricks, the base being decorated with two tiers of niches with pointed arches, two on each of the eight faces that are inscribed in rectangular frames. The balcony parapet is carved with twenty-four small niches, the access door to the minaret steps is on the eastern side of the octagonal base and leads top to the balcony. From there a small door gives access to steps inside the cylindrical shaft that led to the second balcony now collapsed.
The shaft tapers inward and is decorated with several bands of interlocking diagonal Hazar-Baf motifs that are separated with thin bands. Examples of Kufi calligraphy can be seen, showing the names of Muhammad and Mas'oudi Muhammadi, the builders of the minaret.
References
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External links
{{commons category-inline|Mudhafaria Minaret}}
{{Mosques in Iraq}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mudhafaria Minaret, The}}
Category:13th-century religious buildings and structures in Asia
Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1232
Category:Religious buildings and structures in Erbil
Category:Octagonal buildings in Iraq
Category:Religious buildings and structures completed in the 1230s
Category:Tourist attractions in Iraqi Kurdistan
Category:Towers completed in the 13th century
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