Sanjar al-Jawli

Sanjar ibn Abdullah Alam al-Din Abu Sa'id al-Jawli (also spelled Sangar al-Gawli, Sanjar al-Jawali or Sinjar al-Jawili, 1255–14 January 1345) was a powerful Mamluk emir and the Governor of Gaza and much of Palestine between 1311–20 during the sultanate of an-Nasir Muhammad and then again for a brief time in 1342 during the reign of the latter's son as-Salih Ismail. Prior to his first term as governor, al-Jawli briefly served as the Emir of Shawbak in Transjordan and before his second term as Gaza's governor, he was appointed Governor of Hama for three months.

During his rule he engaged in several construction projects throughout Palestine, particularly in Gaza. The latter was transformed from a small and politically insignificant town to a major and prosperous city under his leadership. Following his appointment as Superintendent of the Maristan in Cairo in 1344, al-Jawli successfully quashed a rebellion by Ismail's brother an-Nasir Ahmad in Karak. Afterward, he focused on studying Islamic law, publishing an interpretation of Muslim scholar Imam al-Shafi'i's work prior to his death in 1345.

Biography Early life and military career Al-Jawli was born in 1255 and is thought by 15th-century Mamluk historian Ibn Taghribirdi to be of Kurdish origin. His name "al-Jawli" indicates he was a mamluk (slave soldier) of Jawli, an emir of Baybars, a former Bahri Mamluk sultan. Ibn Taghribirdi asserts al-Jawli was a first generation Muslim and his father was a certain al-Mushid Abdullah.

Following Jawli's death, Sanjar al-Jawli switched allegiances to the house of Sultan Qalawun, and during the reign of the latter's son, Sultan al-Ashraf Khalil (r. 1290–1293), he moved to Karak in southern Transjordan along with the other Bahri Mamluks. When al-Adil Kitbugha usurped the sultanate from Sultan an-Nasir Muhammad (another son of Qalawun) in 1294, al-Jawli was nominated to head the khushkhanah, an elite Mamluk force loyal to the sultan, and left Karak for Cairo.

Governor of Gaza and Palestine Later, in 1311, an-Nasir Muhammad appointed al-Jawli na'ib Ghazzah w'l Sahel w'l Jibal, in effect making him the governor of Gaza and the coastal plain and mountainous areas of Palestine, including Jerusalem, Hebron, Jaffa and Jabal Nablus. Largely because of his close relationship with the sultan, al-Jawli was given large iqta (fiefs) and an unusually high income for an emir of his status. He also built a horse race course. Al-Jawli highly favored the city and under his rule, Gaza, which had been relatively insignificant during the Crusader and Ayyubid periods, became a flourishing and major city.

In 1320 al-Jawli entered into a dispute with Tankiz, concerning a house being sought by Tankiz in Damascus that al-Jawli owned but refused to sell. Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad intervened on the side of Tankiz. Following his release in 1329, al-Jawli was given the rank of amir arba'in (emir of forty [mamluks]) and soon afterward was promoted to amir mi'a muqaddam alf (emir of on hundred [mamluks], commander of 1,000 [soldiers]). He is buried in a mausoleum within the Madrasa wa Khanqah Salar wa Sanjar, which he built in Cairo in 1304. His tomb sits alongside the tomb of Salar.

Architectural legacy

During his governorship of Palestine, al-Jawli embarked on a series of architectural projects, particularly in his capital Gaza but in the interior towns as well. He also constructed several buildings in Cairo where he lived towards the end of his life.

Along Saliba Street in Medieval Cairo near the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, al-Jawli founded the Khanqah wa Madrasa Salar wa Sanjar al-Jawli in 1304. The extensive complex, which was designed in an Aleppine architectural style, served as a mosque, a madrasa for the Shafi'i madhab, a khanqah for the Sufi community and a joint mausoleum for al-Jawli and his longtime friend Sayf al-Din Salar.

In Gaza, al-Jawli ordered the construction of Masjid al-Hilweh (the Beautiful Mosque) which was later destroyed. Following its destruction, the inscription entailing the history of the mosque and its founder was transferred to the Sham'ah Mosque located in another part of the city. Prior to his governorship, the Mongols had destroyed the Great Mosque of Gaza during their brief invasion in 1260. In 1318 al-Jawli commissioned the Great Mosque's reconstruction and endowed in his name and al-Nasir Muhammad's. In 1320 he had the Hamam al-Malih built in Gaza's Zeitoun Quarter and today it serves as the only operating hammam (bathhouse) in the city. Other works include the construction of a madrasa (Islamic law school) for the Shafi'i madh'hab, a khan (caravansary) and a maristan (hospital.) Al-Jawli built a smaller caravansary at Qaryat al-Kathib, a stopping point between Jerusalem and Jericho, and at the forest of Arsuf an archway (qanatir) was constructed. At al-Hamra, near the town of Baysan, al-Jawli ordered the construction of Khan Salar ("Caravansary of Salar"), named in honor of his friend Salar, a former leader of the Mamluk army.