SOAS Research Online

Abstract

A branch of the Mangu jakids, a minor Turkish tribe, chose to settle in Divrigi and its area in central Anatolia, after the battle of Manzikert, 1071 A.D. where the Seljuq Alp Arslan defeated the Byzantine emperor Romanus Diogenes. Built on a hillside of local sandstone at a time of great prosperity, the Ulu Cami or Great Mosque and hospital now overlook the modern town. Besides the date of the building, 626/1228-9, the three foundation inscriptions record in turn the names of Ahmad Shah and his wife, both Mangujakids; in addition a separate carving on the north portal includes the name of Kay-Qubadh I to whom Ahmad Shah owed allegiance. Both buildings have been signed by the same builder Khurshah and combine into one rectangular structure under the same roof. The mosque with its two monumental portals on the north and west sides, shares its southern qibla wall with the north wall of the hospital, the entrance of which is a double archway. All three entrances present original problems of composition and decoration as well as the mihirab. A large vocabulary of geometric and vegetal motifs has been assembled in patterns recalling textiles, wood carvings and manuscript ornament. Some motifs may be traced as far east as Trans-oxania and Khurasan and must have travelled west along two roads, one by way of the Caucasus and the other through southern Azarbaijan, northern Mesopotamia and the Upper Euphrates. The vaulting systems and the columns belong more to the Caucasus tradition of building whereas the plan of the mosque is purely Anatolian and that of the hospital follows the Syrian tradition. It is the first and last time that such a complex of architectural and decorative features appears in Anatolia before the Mongol conquest of 641/1243. Although it does not translate into one harmonious building yet it still provides the key to the major part of Anatolian architecture and decoration for the next two centuries.