Door knocker
Bronze
AD 1200


The inscription that stands out in relief on the multifoiled, hinged ring of this knocker informs us that it was made “in the days of al-Malik al-Zâhir desirous of God’s mercy Shad Bakht privileged by al-Malik al-’Adil Nûr al-Dîn may the mercy of God be upon them.” Jamâl al-Dîn Shad Bakht al-Hindî al-Atabibî was the governor of Aleppo during the reign of Nûr al-Dîn Mahmûd, and in 1193 he had a Koranic school, associated with the mosque, built in the city. The school, formerly known as Al-Shadhabakhtiyya, still exists today under the name of Jâmi’ al-Shaykh Ma’rûf.

Aleppo: Al-Madrasa Al-Shadhabakhtiyya 15.5 cm
National Museum, Damascus 2798 A
SMC 322; Musée national p. 261


_{© Musée de la civilisation, 1999}