Faraj was unable to prevent devastating incursions by Timur (Tamerlane) into Syria (starting in 1400), and he was deposed briefly in 1405 before regaining the throne.

Today the area is dotted with other Mamluk tombs from the Burji period and is filled with other cemeteries as well as modern residential buildings.

[4] At the time of the building's construction, however, this area was largely empty and uninhabited (or sparsely inhabited) desert land outside the city.

Faraj originally intended to establish some marketplaces here and build other facilities, but this process never fully took place, perhaps in part because of his early death.

[2][3] Sultan Qaytbay made a similar attempt nearby with his own funerary complex later that century, which was described as a "royal suburb", but urbanization of the surrounding area never fully occurred until much later.

The complex also features two minarets, two sabils (water dispensaries), and two kuttabs (primary schools) in an almost symmetrical arrangement on its western facade.

[1] Its broad symmetrical layout is rare in the Mamluk era, as sultans and amirs most frequently built their complexes in the city, where space restrictions required inventive and asymmetrical floor plans in order to accommodate their surroundings.

The placement of the domed mausoleums at these corners made them fully visible to travelers passing along the road, while at the same time making them easily accessible to those praying in the mosque inside.

This made it easier for both visitors inside and passers-by outside to offer prayers to the deceased sultan and his family buried here; a consideration which was often important in the placement of Mamluk tombs.

The patterns are similar to the wooden screens used on the outer windows of Barquq's madrasa complex on al-Mu'izz street.

[1] Both mausoleum chambers are decorated with marble paneling, their own mihrab (niche indicating the direction of prayer), and a large inscription band along the wall.