The Dabbagha Madrasa in Bosra

In the south-east corner of Bosra, an Ayyubid madrasa — a school of Islamic learning — rises directly above the north wall of Birket al-Hajj. Its inscription dates the building to 622 of the Hijri calendar, or 1225-1226, and names the architect too. Together with the repair of the reservoir and a nearby bridge, it belongs to the Ayyubid pilgrim-road programme in Bosra, and it is the part whose date, builder and patron are all known.

Where it is and how to get there

On the north side of Birket al-Hajj. Walk east from the theatre to the reservoir and you can see the building above its north wall. The entrances are on the east and west sides; the main facade is the south face, looking over the water. The exact position of the building rests on a single mapping source, so this page has no map.

Its names

The building goes by several names. “Dabbagha”, meaning tannery, has been recorded since the early 20th century; it may come from nearby tanneries, which need plenty of water, but no link between the building and a tannery is documented. “Abu al-Fida” comes from the patron’s honorific name. Map apps list it as a mosque, and damage lists as the Dabbagha Mosque. The Dabbagha Mosque in Aleppo is a different building.

Who built it

The inscription sits in the middle of the facade, crowned by an ancient cornice. It names the architect as Mukanna ibn Abbad. The builder was the Ayyubid prince al-Salih Ismail, who was then governing Bosra on behalf of his brother al-Mu’azzam Isa. The emir Shams al-Din Sunqur al-Salihi is named as well, as the endowment’s founder; a year later the same officer had the Wadi Zaydi bridge repaired. It is unusual for the man who ordered the building and the man who endowed it to be different people, and it may reflect a shared cost. A second date, 630 of the Hijri calendar, or 1232-1233, also appears on the building.

What not to miss

Look at the openings at the foot of the south wall. They show that the building was tied into the channels that filled the reservoir and distributed its water. They were probably linked to carrying water to the citadel, where a bath house was built in the same period. Walk east to the north-east corner of the pool and you reach the small Yaqut Mosque, dated 1257.

Current state

The building was restored between 1967 and 1981, together with the Al-Omari Mosque and the Mabrak. Syria’s Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums reported damage to the top of the minaret in September 2014, and to the upper wall of the prayer hall near the dome in March 2015; the damage list classes it as conspicuous. Whether it has since been repaired, and whether you can go inside, could not be confirmed.