A contribution to the study of the remains of buildings from the Imaret mosque complex in Dorćol

Abstract

Protective archaeological investigations of the site at Skenderbegova 12 revealed the remains of buildings that are assumed to belong to the Imaret mosque complex. Next to the mosque, which was built in 1548/9 by Mehmed Pasha Jahjapašić, stood a madrasa, caravanserai and imaret han. The site was devastated in 1688, and, after the Austrian conquest of Belgrade in 1717, it was converted into a military equipment warehouse, and subsequently handed over to the Franciscans, who used it as a church. The old Imaret mosque was reconstructed in 1741 by Hatibzade Yahya Pasha. It was mentioned in historical sources as Imaret, Jahja Paša and Sindžirli mosque until 1895, when its last traces were erased by its dissection by Dušanova street. The remains of buildings and portable archaeological finds discovered are dated to the period from the 16th to the 19th century. An unexpected discovery was that of a grave without grave goods. Although it was discovered next to the wall of a building that we assume belongs to the period of the 16th and 17th centuries, its dating is not possible. In contrast to that grave, the discovery of two nišans and a tombstone inscribed with the year 1211 (1796/97) in a well act as confirmation that the Imaret mosque complex and the Muslim cemetery were located in this area.

Keywords

• skenderbegova 12
• imaret mosque
• mehmed pasha jahjapašić
• madrasa
• šeher
• franciscans
• nišan tombstones