Zinciriye Madrasa

Zinciriye Madrasa

Zinciriye Madrasa, also known as Isa Bey Madrasa, was constructed in 1385 by Melik Necmeddin Isa bin Muzaffer Davud bin El Melik Salih, the last Artuqid Sultan who ruled in Mardin. The locals refer to it as Zinciriye Madrasa because of its cusped domes located on the east and west edges, and the impressive monumental portal on the east side.

Zinciriye Madrasa

The building is composed of a large courtyard, two floors of mosque and crypts, and other areas. The central porch serves as the entrance, with corridors leading to it, or visitors can enter through an opening in the star-shaped vault at its center.

At the center of the mosque is a squinched dome adorned with inlaid designs. A mihrab located in a corridor on the south side leads to an elevated place covered by a squinched dome, which seems to be a tomb.

Although most rooms on the upper floor are small, they once served as the classrooms for the students attending the madrasa. Melik Necmeddin Isa, a noble who resisted Timur during his first invasion of Mardin and was imprisoned for it, was also held here. Mardin Museum was housed inside Zinciriye Madrasa until it moved to its own building.