Who was Al-Zahir Barquq?
Al-Zahir Barquq's rise to the sultanate opened a new stage of the Mamluk state, known as the era of the Burji or Circassian Mamluks. Between 786 and 788 AH he built his complex on al-Muizz Street, on the same stretch where the buildings of Qalawun and al-Nasir Muhammad were concentrated.
The complex combined a mosque, a madrasa teaching the four schools of law, a khanqah for Sufis and a domed mausoleum for members of his family, continuing the idea of the multi-purpose institution that marked royal architecture in the heart of Cairo.
How did they shape Cairo?
With Barquq's complex beside those of Qalawun and al-Nasir Muhammad, it became an architectural statement of power passing from one family and system to another, while the same building language continued in Bayn al-Qasrayn. The family's legacy also reached the Mamluk cemetery, where his son Faraj built a huge complex for the burial of his father and family.
Barquq's mark thus stretches from al-Muizz Street to the eastern cemeteries, linking the heart of the city with its funerary landscape.
Monuments linked to Al-Zahir Barquq
Where to see their legacy today
See Barquq's complex on al-Muizz Street first, then compare it with the khanqah of Faraj ibn Barquq in the Mamluk cemetery to understand how the family's legacy was divided between the city centre and its eastern edge.