Sanjar al-Jawli

Following his appointment as Superintendent of the Maristan in Cairo in 1344, al-Jawli successfully quashed a rebellion by Ismail's brother an-Nasir Ahmad in Karak.

Afterward, he focused on studying Islamic law, publishing an interpretation of Muslim scholar Imam al-Shafi'i's work prior to his death in 1345.

[1] Despite his friendship with Salar and Baybars II, al-Jawli remained loyal to the Bahri Mamluks and joined al-Nasir Muhammad in the latter's exile in Karak following his overthrow from the sultanate.

He ordered the construction of a palace, a bathhouse, a madrasa (Islamic college), a khan (caravanserai), a mosque and a hospital, transforming Karak into a madina (city).

[2] Later, in 1311, an-Nasir Muhammad appointed al-Jawli na'ib Ghazzah w'l Sahel w'l Jibal, in effect making him the governor of Gaza and the coastal plain and mountainous areas of Palestine, including Jerusalem, Hebron, Jaffa and Jabal Nablus.

[1] According to al-Maqrizi, a Mamluk-era historian, al-Jawli engaged in massive building works in Gaza and is credited for turning the city into a metropolis.

[3] Although Tankiz al-Husami was overall governor of Syria, al-Jawli was put in charge of the rawk (cadastral survey) in 1313, recording the land boundaries for the Bilad al-Sham Province, excluding Aleppo and Tripoli.

[4] After his Gaza assignment, he was recalled to Cairo, the Mamluk capital, to serve in various high positions within the sultanate, most notably Superintendent of the Maristan.

Al-Jawli attained a high enough position in Muslim scholarship that he was entrusted the authority to issue fatawa (religious edicts) according to the Shafi'i madh'hab ("school of law").

The extensive complex, which was designed in an Aleppine architectural style, served as a mosque, a madrasa for the Shafi'i madhab, a khanqah for the Sufi community and a joint mausoleum for al-Jawli and his longtime friend Sayf al-Din Salar.

Other works include the construction of a madrasa (Islamic law school) for the Shafi'i madh'hab, a khan (caravansary) and a maristan (hospital.

In Hebron, he built the Amir Sanjar al-Jawli Mosque, named after him, with a ceiling of "beautifully dressed stone" according to al-Maqrizi.

[11] Al-Jawli built a smaller caravansary at Qaryat al-Kathib, a stopping point between Jerusalem and Jericho, and at the forest of Arsuf an archway (qanatir) was constructed.