The Khan of Prince Yunis ( Barquq Castle - Caravanserai) (Khan Yunis City)

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  أحمد (guest)

  The Khan (caravanserai) is a type of building that played an important role after the expansion of the Islamic state. Khans had spread in most of the main cities and along the military and trade routes which belong to that age Their purpose was to protect the merchants, travellers and pilgrims from robbery and provide them as well as their animals, with lodging places. Palestine had many of this type of building, because it formed an essential bridge with its traditional route (Via Maris) for trade, post and military between Egypt on the one hand and Syria/Mesopotmia on the other hand. In spite of all the aspects of the style which were found in this country, its Khans have not yet been studied although those of Syria and Anatolia have already been examined. Khan Yunis Khan yunis lies 32 km. South of Gaza in the south west of Palestine. It is 4 km. From the sea and 45 m. above the sea level. During the sixteenth century Khan Yunis was taken to refer to the Khan itself, which was part of the system of Khans, extending along the route from Damascus to Cairo, the “Via Maris” which was one of the most important trade routes in the orient. At that time there were no dwellings close to the Khan. According to G. Schmacher who visited it in 1866, the population 700 were living in 150 cottages, bulit of bricks. In 1944 its population was 11200 by 1967 it had increased to 53,000 with 23,475 living in refuge camps. The climate of Khan Yunis is that of semi-arid region with an annual rainfall of 260mm. In spite of its climate, Khan Yunis economy depends upon its agriculture. Our historical information about the town is derived from manuscripts and the writing of the travellers who visited the area in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. We have no information from excavations to tell us the actual history of the town. Some scholars claim that Khan Yunis is the same spot which was named as Ienisos of Jenysos by Herodotus in the fifth century B.C. It was also named as-Silqa by al-Umari or as-Silfa by Ibn al-Furat and Khan Yunis by Maqrizi.However Khan Yunis is believed to have been established during the fourteenth century. Khan Yunis was named after its builder Yunis Ibn Abdallah an-Nawruzi ad-Dawadar. He was the executive Secretary and one of the high ranking officials of Sultan Barquq, the first Cercasian Mamluk Sultan . He was called Sharaf ad-Din Dawadar, and was the brother of the prince Saif ad-Din Jarkas an-Nawruzi. He is described by historian as one of the Mamluks, the emancipated slaves, of prince Saif ad-Din Juri al-Idrisi an-Nasiri, the governor of Aleppo. He also served the great prince Yulbugha al-Umari al-khaski al-atbak. Later he became a Dawadar with great prince Saif ad-Din Isnadmir an-Nasiri al-Atbak al-Sharafi and a famous prince after him. Yunis al-Dawadar occupied different posts in Saif ad-Din Jurji’s service until he became Tablakhana and a ruler of Baalbek, before finally reaching the court of sultsn Barquq, where he became Dawadar. He was an honest prince, respected for his beneficence, famous for his generosity, open handed to poor and scholarly alike. He was also a good conversationalist. In addition to this bug caravanserai on the outskirts of Gaza, which was, according to the historians, the best caravanserai along the highway between Egypt and Aleppo. Maqrizi mentions his building in Egypt such as a Khanqa near the Qubat an-Nasr, a Kaisariyya in the quarter of the Bunduqaniyyin, and a mausoleum outside Bab al-Wazir, also, a school outside Damascus in Syria and reservoirs and public fountains in Egypt and Syria. Yunis ad-Dawadar was murdered in 791 H.A.D 1389 on the order of prince Yalbugha an-Nasiri, by the prince Anqa Ibn Shatti; with his death every one realized that as-Sultan al-Malik Az-Zahir himself was doomed. The Khan was built in 789 H.A.D. 1387 according to the inscription located on the main entrance. Its purpose was to protect the caravans, pilgrims and travelers. Later it became an important center for trade, the weekly market in the town was on Thursday, and used to attract traders from neighboring region.

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