Madrasa of Uljay al-Yusufi

The amir Uljay al-Yusufi was one of the junior mamluks of Al-Nasir Muhammad who came to power during the late fourteenth century.

He had been appointed to the highest rank (muqqadam alf) during the second reign of An-Nasir Hasan, but it was his marriage to a member of the royal family that gave him influence and power.

His rise was linked to his marriage to Al-Ashraf Sha'ban's mother, Khawand Baraka, whom he married sometime after her husband's death in 1363.

[1] He finally was appointed to the highest military office of commander of the army (atabak al-'asakir) in 1373, but only after the death of Manklibugha al-Shamsi.

[3] However the foundation inscription on his college reads: "Has ordered the construction of this mosque and the blessed madrasa, his Excellency, the noble, the lofty, the lordly, the amir Saif al-Din Uljay, commander in chief of the victorious army of al-Malik al-Ashraf (Sha'ban), may God glorify his victory.

View of the madrasa from the south, with the mausoleum dome and the minaret visible
Illuminated opening of the Qur'an from the Madrasa of Uljay al-Yusufi. Most probably commissioned by sultan An-Nasir Hasan and later acquired by Uljay al-Yusufi through his familial relations this manuscript is part of the National Library of Egypt's Collection of Mamluk Qur'an Manuscripts inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register