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The Mashhad al-Tabataba (Arabic: مشهد آل طباطبا) also known as the Mashhad al-Sharif al-Tabataba^[1] is a 10th-century mausoleum located in Cairo, Egypt.^[2] It was formerly located on the banks of the Ain el-Sira River, until it was relocated to the territory of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization as part of a restoration attempt.^[3]^[4] It is the last surviving monument from the Ikhshidid period.^[5]

History

The mausoleum was constructed in the 10th century during the rule of the Ikhshidids. It was built by Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid over the grave of Sharif Tabataba al-Asghar after his death in the year 945.^[3] Later on, other members of his family were buried there. However, the entombed personage is also attributed to Ibrahim Tabataba'i, a Qurayshi scholar who descended from Ali ibn Abi Talib and was a companion of Ja'far al-Sadiq.^[6] He was murdered in the year 806, however he is not actually buried there, but rather his descendants are.^[7]^[8]

In 2022, the Mashhad al-Tabataba building was relocated to the territory of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization after the waters of the Ain el-Sira lake threatened to cause further damage to the already partially submerged structure.^[3]^[4] The water levels had already reached 2.70 metres high, and this posed a danger towards the mausoleum, threatening it with collapse.^[4] Hence, the Mashhad al-Tabataba was carefully dismantled, and it was rebuilt at the desired location.^[3]^[4] The relocation and restoration project started in 2021, and it was finally completed in 2022.^[3]^[4] Several ancient tombstones were found during the process of disassembling the structure.^[4]^[3]

Architecture

The mausoleum has an area of 600 square metres. The mausoleum is entered on the northeastern side. To the left of it is a well for ablutions, located inside a domed building constructed in the late 19th century.^[1]^[7] Inside the mausoleum, there are six rooms, each containing a tomb of a member of the Tabataba family.^[7] On the western side of the interior is the door to a small prayer hall. The prayer hall is square in shape and each side is 18 metres long.^[9] It is divided into three sections by two rows of perpendicularly attached pillars.^[9] Nine domes used to top the structure, but only three remain.^[8]