Tashfiniya Madrasa
The Tashfiniya Madrasa (), is a former madrasa in the city of Tlemcen, Algeria. Built in the early 14th century by the Zayyanid ruler Abu Tashfin I (r. 1318–1337), it was a major monument in the city and was celebrated for its rich architectural decoration. It was demolished by the French colonial authorities in 1876. History The Zayyanid (or Abd al-Wadid) dynasty were the first rulers to sponsor the construction of madrasas in the territory controlled by their state in the central Maghreb (roughly present-day Algeria), just as their contemporary neighbouring dynasties, the Hafsids and the Marinids, introduced the first madrasas to the eastern and western Maghreb, respectively. The first madrasa in Tlemcen, the Oulad el-Imam Madrasa (also called al-Madrasa al-Qadima or "Old Madrasa"), was founded by the Zayyanid sultan Abu Hammu I in 1310, though it has not been preserved to the present day. The Tashfiniya Madrasa, the second madrasa in Tlemcen, was founded by Abu Hammu's son and successor, Abu Tashfin I, during his reign between 1318 and 1337. It was also known as al-Madrasa al-Jadida or "New Madrasa". Abu Tashfin had arranged for the overthrow and assassination of his father, and the creation of a religious foundation may have been intended as a pious act to demonstrate his atonement. The foundation of another madrasa may have also been necessitated by Abu Tashfin's expansion of the Zayyanid state's administration and bureaucracy. He also had a reputation for supporting Islamic scholarship and he appointed an expert of Maliki law, Abu Imran al-Meshdali, to a teaching position at the new madrasa, which would have thus helped ensure the state's ability to train and recruit able bureaucrats. A third Zayyanid madrasa in Tlemcen was founded by Abu Hammu Musa II in 1363–1364, which later fell into ruin during the Ottoman period. The madrasa was located directly south of the Great Mosque of Tlemcen, an 11th-century foundation. Along the western and southern walls of the mosque was a necropolis where the Zayyanid sultans were buried. The madrasa's proximity to these tombs may have also conferred to it a certain funerary aspect. During the Zayyanid period the madrasa was largely used to house the students, while the courses themselves were generally taught in the neighbouring mosque. The madrasa was restored in the mid-15th century by a later Zayyanid sultan, Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Musa (r. 1430–1462), by which point it had become an annex of the nearby Zawiya of Sayyidi Lah'san al-Mazili (or Sidi Lahsen), a popular Muslim religious figure or saint who died in 1453 and was buried in the zawiya. Reports from the 19th century indicate that a funduq (urban caravanserai) stood adjacent to the south-west side of the madrasa. After the French conquest of Tlemcen in 1842, the madrasa was used as a military warehouse and then later declared a historic monument. As early as 1845 the new French colonial authorities, specifically the Service du génie ("Engineering Service"), discussed demolishing parts of the madrasa in order to connect or merge