An Artistic-Archaeological Study for the Tombstones of Maḥmmūd Ḥamdī Pāšā and his Wife in the Cemetery of Al-Imām Al-Šāfiʽī in Cairo

Abstract

This paper aims to shed light on the tombstones of Maḥmmūd Ḥamdī Pāsā and his wife through a descriptive-analytical study, and a field study as well. Meanwhile, the researcher aims to explore and publish the tombstones of Maḥmmūd Ḥamdī Pāsā and his wife for the first time. The tombstones include inscriptions and decorative elements that differ in their techniques of writing and their types of fonts. Moreover, the history of any monument is known by its tombstones or by its foundation slab. It worth mentioning that the Cemetery (Qarāfa) of Al-Imām Al-Sāfiʽī in Cairo is one of the largest cemeteries that belongs to the Southern Qarāfa, which is bordered by the Al-Tūnisī cemetery on the southern side, al-Imām al-Laiyṯī cemetery from the southwestern side, al-Saṭbī and ʽUmar Ibn al-Fāriḍ cemetery from the eastern side, ʽAīn Al-Ṣīrah hills from the western side, the Mamlūk cemetery from the northern side, and al-Saiyyda Nafīsah cemetery from the northwestern side. Al-Qarāfa of Al-Imām Al-Sāfiʽī contains large number of tombs that belongs to Muḥammad ʽAlī Pāsā, such as Ḥūws al-Pāsā tomb - Maḥmmūd Ḥamdī Pāsā tomb - Yūsuf Kamāl al-Dīn tomb - Umm Muḥammad ʽAlī al-Ṣaġīr tomb. The two tombstones (also gravestone) are distinguished by their unique architecture, arts, and decorations, whose texts are engraved in Arabic, especially Nasḫī script. Therefore, these tombstones are important as they provide us with a lot of information and facts about the history of those personalities, besides providing information about some aspects of their lives.