was one of the last powerful and successful sultans of the Mamluk Empire which ruled from Cairo, Egypt. He was originally a mamluk purchased by Sultan al-Ashraf Barsbay and served under several Mamluk sultans. Qaytbay succeeded Timurbugha as sultan at the age of 54, and ruled for nearly 29 years from 1468 to 1496, the second-longest reign of any Mamluk sultan. Despite rebellions and other challenges, he is known as an effective ruler who brought long-term stability while he remained in power, and is especially notable as one of the greatest patrons of architecture in the Mamluk period, and particularly of the Burji Mamluk period which was otherwise marked by Egypt's relative decline. He is known for at least 85 structures which he built or restored in Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and Mecca, including 17 in Cairo, and this period is characterized by a refinement of the Mamluk architectural style. In 1478 CE , Qaitbay endowed a quarter of the revenues of Mulabbis to two newly established institutions: Madrasa Al-Ashrafiyya, and a mosque in Gaza. Qaytbay's new madrasa was built between 1480 and 1482 CE. As Qaytbay estimated that local craftsmanship did not live up to his standards, he commissioned a team of builders and artisans, including a Coptic architect from Cairo to work on this project. This marks a relatively rare occasion where a Mamluk sultan commissioned a construction project of such significance outside of Cairo.Just three months after the completion of the madrasa, Qaytbay then ordered the sabil to its northeast to be rebuilt, resulting in the Sabil of Qaytbay still standing there today. A strong earthquake destroyed much of the upper floor of the madrasa in 1496. Today, only parts of the lower stories have survived, but the original structure is known thanks to extensive contemporary documentation and modern-day investigation of its remains.
Architectural description
The madrasa was built on two stories on the western side of the Al-Haram Al-Sharif, facing towards the Dome of the Rock. The facade of the building is 25 meters wide and projects in front of the long arcade which runs along the western boundary of the Haram al-Sharif, which would have made the madrasa very prominent, a feature likely owed to its royal patronage. The madrasa is bounded on the north side by the 15th-century , while to the south rises the minaret of Bab al-Silsila. According to Mujīr al-Dīn al-'Ulaymī, who was a historian at that time, it is a third jewel of Masjid Bayt al-Maqdis after al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. The madrasa was centered around a large rectangular courtyard similar to those built by Qaytbay earlier at his own funerary mosque-madrasa in Cairo and in other late Mamluk madrasas of the period. However, the eastern side of the courtyard was taken up by a triple-arched loggia which, thanks to its elevated position, provided an unimpeded view of the Dome of the Rock. Living quarters for students were arranged around another upper courtyard or terrace built over the adjacent Baladiyya Madrasa.
