Muslim Fortresses in the Levant: Between Crusaders and Mongols (83 page)

In this particular case of
, the architect is not only acknowledged but is given an honorable place in the large inscription that adorned the fortress walls.

Figure 4.2
, the monumental inscription from the reign of Baybars

The fact that the term
ustādh
(master) precedes that of
muhandis
is significant: “this title (i.e
ustādh
) could not have meant more than ‘qualified builder’ or ‘foreman’. But inscriptions prove that its application was not haphazard. Certain architects are called masters from a given date onward, thus proving they were not entitled to it before.”
⁷³
As to the origins of
(
al-ustādh
,
al-muhandis
) and
no clue is given, nothing is known of them or their previous works. They may well have been brought from Egypt or Syria or from beyond the Sultanate’s borders: “architecture has always been an international craft and medieval architects moved to where there was most to be built and where patronage could be expected.”
⁷⁴

It is interesting to compare the respective ranks of the teams that dealt with the building of fortresses in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. The Mamluk supervisors were evidently of a higher rank than the team that oversaw the last Ayyubid building phase (1239–40). The Ayyubid construction work was supervised by a eunuch who was a great amir (
al-amīr al-kabīr
). His name appears before that of the governor of the fortress. Compared to the Mamluk
nā’ib
, his responsibilities were fewer and less demanding. The Mamluk
nā’ib
, Baktūt, not only commanded the fortress, but also administrated the lands that belonged to his master and commanded Bīlīk’s cavalry unit which was permanently stationed in Damascus.
⁷⁵
Baktūt too was given the title of great amir. Humphreys has a lengthy discussion on the title “
al-amīr al-kabīr
” in which he concludes that while the Ayyubids used the title very loosely, during the Mamluk period it was generally equivalent to the rank of amir of a hundred horsemen (
amīr mi’a
).
⁷⁶
The Mamluks appointed officers of higher rank simply because
belonged to the
and the fortress was accordingly staffed with amirs from his own body of Mamluks, who belonged to a higher class.

Table 4.1
The rank of the building teams according to the inscriptions at