Buildings of Commemoration in Medieval Anatolia: The Funerary Complexes of Sahib 'Ata Fakhr al-Din 'Ali and Mahperi Khatun

This article presents two seventh/thirteenth-century Islamic funerary complexes located in Anatolia (roughly today's Turkey) in the context of multi-functional ensembles with a mausoleum enclosed within the larger structure. Such monuments, although quite numerous, are poorly understood in terms of their relationship to Islamic funerary practice. The case studies at the centre of this article, the Sahib 'Ata Complex in Konya, built between 656/1258 and 684/1285, and the Mahperi Khatun Complex in Kayseri, begun in 635/1237-38, are two funerary complexes that allow for an analysis of patronage, gender, the placement of the body (or bodies) of the deceased and spatial conception in these monuments. The article discusses the structural features of the two case studies, their patrons and inscription programmes in order to analyse how these architectural ensembles were used to frame, encase and protect the burials.