The cruciform Madrasah of the Amir Sarghatmish, built in 1356, lies to the northeast of the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, in Islamic Cairo.

The building's school, mosque, and mausoleum can be seen from Ibn Tulun's spiral minaret, while its entrance is on Saliba Street.

In 1356, Amir Sayf al-Din Sarghatmish al-Nasiri, chief of the corps of Mamluks, ordered the construction of this madrasa.

[1] According to the renowned Egyptian historian, al-Maqrizi, Sarghatmish was handsome and zealous man who would recite the Qur'an daily and go to legal discussions among Hanafi scholars.

[4] When he came back from a Damascus, where he had been with the Mamluk troops, Sarghatmish was made vizier to ‘Alam al-Din ‘Abdallah ibn Zunbur, and he took all his wealth without the sultan's knowledge.

His power continued to increase during the early 14th century to the point where he essentially ruled Egypt on the behalf of Hasan.

This madrasa shows the tendency of Mamluk architecture to prefer that the front of the building faces the existing street, while at the same time orienting the interior of the mosque toward the qibla.

This choice to make the secular aspects of the building visible to the public, reflects the Mamluks' tendency to value prestige over piety.

In addition, muqarnas, or three-dimensional decorative device used in Islamic and Persian architecture, are inset in this area above the inscription band.

Some carvings on the marble include arabesques, a mosque lamp, birds, and a pair of hands holding a stem.

Al-Maqrizi quotes one poem,"O Sarghitmish, may what you built hold no importance to you,for your lasting reward is now on account of the beauty of this building.