Name of Object:

The Citadel of Cairo, the Residence of the Pasha

Location:

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (Sharjah)

Holding Institution:

Sharjah Art Museum / Sharjah Museums Department

 About Sharjah Museums Authority, Sharjah

Date of Object:

Published 1849

Author:

David Roberts; Louis Hague (David Roberts: 24/10/1796; Louis Hague: 17/3/1806, David Roberts: Edinburgh, Scotland; Louis Hague: Tournai, Belgium-David Roberts: 25/11/1864; Louis Hague: 9/3/1885, David Roberts: London; Louis Hague: London)

Inventory Number:

SM2006-671

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Litograph

Dimensions:

436 mm x 610 mm

Provenance:

London

Description:

The citadel of Cairo, here captured by the Scottish artist David Roberts in the 1830s, was undergoing major changes under Muhammad Ali Pasha (1769-1849). Having overcome the Mamluks of Egypt in 1805, Muhammad Ali erased all traces of their rule, including remaining palace and administrative structures. He rebuilt most of the walls, erected four new palaces - his own royal residence in the northern enclosure, a courthouse, an expansive terrace and state-of-the-art accomodation for his army. At the heart of the citadel complex, Mohammad Pasha ordered a memorial mosque for his son Tusun in the Ottoman style. Building work on the mosque lasted from 1828 to 1848. Roberts incorporates the new structures existing in his time, like the palace on the right, cresting the hill - the ongoing building works on the mosque are concealed by the Mamluk structure in the foreground on the right.

Type of Object

Litograph

Citation of this web page:

Ulrike al-Khamis "The Citadel of Cairo, the Residence of the Pasha" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;ua;60;en;en

Prepared by: Ulrike Al-Khamis

MWNF Working Number: UA 061