Foundation deeds (waqfiyyas) are official and legal documents that constitute a primary source for the institutional history of the Islamic world. These texts provide information about the functioning of institutions, their financial resources, founders, foundation dates, purposes, and the political and social conditions of the period in which they were established. However, only a few of these texts, inscribed on stone or brick, have survived to this day in their authentic and complete form. Notable examples include the inscriptions of the Marjāniyya Madrasa in Baghdād and the Marjān Khān (Ortmah Khān), which was among its endowments. The inscriptions, fixed to the interior walls of the madrasa on the southwest façade, have survived almost perfectly. The six brick foundation inscriptions, of which four are rectangular and two are arranged in an arched form, are of particular significance not only for the text of the foundation but also for the high aesthetic value of the Jalī thuluth script used in the inscriptions. 

This study presents an in-depth analysis of the waqf inscriptions from the Marjāniyya Madrasa and Ortmah Khān in Baghdād, focusing on their textual and physical characteristics. It makes significant contributions to the broader fields of Islamic studies and historical epigraphy. The research aims to address key gaps in the literature by employing a multifaceted approach to analysing the inscriptions, guided by the following research questions: How do the inscriptions vary in content and style based on their placement within the madrasa complex? What are the linguistic, calligraphic, and structural characteristics of the inscriptions? How have external factors such as erosion and damage affected their readability and interpretation?

The present study is constrained to the analysis of the inscriptions containing information about the foundations (waqfs) of the Marjāniyya Madrasa, in addition to the epigraphic material that is identifiable in the madrasa and its affiliated institutions. The scope of the study does not extend to the decoration elements, parts of the madrasa, or its architectural features.

The Marjāniyya Madrasa was founded in 758 (1357) by Amīn al-Dīn Marjān b. Abd Allah b. ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sultānī al-Oljeitī, who was the governor of Baghdād during the reigns of Sheikh Hasan (Hasan Buzurg), the founder of the Jalāyirid dynasty, and his son Sheikh Uwais. The construction of the Marjāniyya Madrasa, a complex that also incorporated the Dār al-Shifā’ and the inn (Ortma Khan), is estimated to have been completed within a period of six years, from 752 to 758 (1351 to 1357). The madrasa was situated at the Badr Gate, one of the northern gates of the Dār al-Khilāfa city wall. Centrally located on the eastern side of Baghdād, the madrasa is situated in the Marjāniyya Quarter, which was known by this name in the 16th and 17th centuries. In the 19th century, the area where the madrasa was located was known as the Bāb al-Agha (Agha Gate) Quarter.

The madrasa remained under Ottoman rule for nearly four centuries (1534–1917). However, no comprehensive chronological record exists of the restorations undertaken during this extensive period. The first known restoration under Ottoman rule was carried out in 1785 by Sulaiman Pasha, the governor of Baghdād. Archival documents from the Ottoman period indicate that educational activities in the madrasa continued until the end of Ottoman rule in Iraq, albeit with intermittent interruptions.

Despite its long history under Ottoman rule, scholarly interest in the madrasa’s inscriptions emerged primarily through the accounts of 18th- and 19th-century Western travelers. The earliest recorded mention of the endowment inscriptions of the Marjāniyya Madrasa is that of Carsten Niebuhr in the 18th century. Although the German traveler praised the content of the endowment, he stated that he was unable to provide the full text of the inscription for certain reasons. In the first volume of his Archäologische Reise im Euphrat- und Tigris-Gebiet, Max van Berchem assessed the endowment inscriptions at Marjāniyya. Another pioneering researcher interested in waqf inscriptions was Louis Massignon. His analysis of the endowment inscriptions, along with other inscriptions in the madrasa for the Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum, was conducted with the assistance of Hajī ‘Alā al-Dīn b. Nu‘mān al-Ālūsī, who was the madrasa’s professor at the time. However, significant discrepancies were later identified between Massignon’s readings and subsequent analyses. The text of the endowment was later meticulously examined by F. Sarre and E. Herzfeld, who not only pointed out the differences between Berchem’s and Massignon’s readings but also provided explanations for the place names and concepts found in the text. In addition to Western travelers and historians, the extraordinary endowment of the Marjāniyya Madrasa has also been studied by scholars such as Mahmūd Shukrī al-Ālūsī, Mustafa Jawād, Kurkīs ‘Awwād, ‘Abbās al-‘Azzāwī, Nāṣir al-Naqshibandī, Tāriq Jawād al-Janābī, and Roberto Parapetti. The foundation inscriptions were first read by Bülent Yılmaz in his doctoral thesis, “Celayirliler Kabile-Devlet”, which was translated into Turkish but left incomplete. However, both the Arabic text and the Turkish translation of this study contain certain deficiencies and errors, including the omission of the “hamdala” and “salwala” sections at the beginning of the text. Furthermore, the concepts and place names within the inscription were not analyzed. In contrast, Abdüsselam Uluçam’s analysis focused exclusively on the Arabic text, providing both a transcription and a Turkish translation of the inscription on the portal of the Marjāniyya Madrasa.

The text of the waqfiyya consists of 975 words, distributed across six inscriptions, two arranged in seven lines and four in five lines. It is written in an elegant style of Jalī Thuluth, typically in double-stacked lines. The rectangular inscriptions contain five lines, each averaging 20 words, whereas the arched inscriptions comprise seven lines, with the first line averaging five words and the final lines containing up to 45 words. The first inscription is located above the mihrab, the second to its left, and the third opposite the second. The inscriptions continue in a counterclockwise direction along the inner walls of the mosque. The arrangement of the lines and the sophistication of the lettering closely resemble the distinctive style of the Yāqūt al-Mustaʿṣimī school.