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{{Short description|Type of roadside inn}}
{{About|the roadside inns|the album by Santana|Caravanserai (album)|the tour by Santana|Caravanserai Tour}}
{{Redirect|Funduq|the Palestinian village|al-Funduq}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
[[File:Izadkhvast Caravanserai 01.jpg|thumb|The [[Izadkhast Caravanserai|Izadkhast caravanserai]] (early 17th century), [[Fars province]], Iran]]

A '''caravanserai''' (or '''caravansary'''; {{IPAc-en|k|ær|ə|ˈ|v|æ|n|s|ə|ˌ|r|aɪ}})<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/caravanserai?s=t|access-date=31 January 2016|title=Dictionary.com – caravansary|archive-date=12 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212010159/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/caravanserai?s=t|url-status=live}})</ref> was an [[inn]] that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and [[Caravan (travellers)|caravans]].<ref name="Grove" /> They were present throughout much of the [[Islamic world]]. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a variety of names including ''khan'', ''funduq'' and ''wikala.<ref name="Grove" /><ref name=":0">{{EI2|volume=4|article=K̲h̲ān|last=Elisséeff|first=N.|page=1010–1017}}</ref>''<ref>{{Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition|article=Funduḳ|volume=2|last=Le Tourneau|first=Roger|page=945}}</ref> Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information, and people across the network of [[trade route]]s covering Asia, [[North Africa]] and [[Southeast Europe]], most notably the [[Silk Road]].<ref name=Silk>{{Cite web|title=Caravanserais: cross-roads of commerce and culture along the Silk Roads {{!}} Silk Roads Programme|url=https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/content/caravanserais-cross-roads-commerce-and-culture-along-silk-roads|access-date=17 June 2020|website=en.unesco.org|archive-date=29 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529041141/https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/content/caravanserais-cross-roads-commerce-and-culture-along-silk-roads|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=NatGeo>{{Cite web|publisher=National Geographic Society|date=23 July 2019|title=Caravanserai|url=http://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/caravanserai/|access-date=17 June 2020|archive-date=29 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729201134/https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/caravanserai/|url-status=live}}</ref> In the countryside, they were typically built at intervals equivalent to a day's journey along important roads, where they served as a kind of [[Stage station|staging post]]. Urban versions of caravanserais were historically common in cities where they could serve as inns, depots, and venues for conducting business.<ref name="Grove">{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=un4WcfEASZwC&pg=PA353 |title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-19-530991-1 |editor-last=Bloom |editor-first=Jonathan M. |volume=1 |pages=353–355 |language=en |chapter=Caravanserai |editor-last2=Blair |editor-first2=Sheila S.}}</ref> 

The buildings were most commonly rectangular structures with one protected entrance. Inside, a central courtyard was surrounded by an array of rooms on one or more levels.''<ref name="Grove" />'' In addition to lodgings for people, they often included space to accommodate horses, camels, and other [[Pack animal|pack animals]], as well as storage rooms for merchandise.<ref>Sims, Eleanor. 1978. Trade and Travel: Markets and Caravansary.' In: Michell, George. (ed.). 1978. ''Architecture of the Islamic World – Its History and Social Meaning.'' London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 101.</ref>

==Terms and etymology==
[[File:کاروانسرا گنجعلی خان.jpg|thumb|The [[Ganjali Khan Complex|Ganjali Khan Caravanserai]] (1598), in [[Kerman]], Iran]]

===Caravanserai===
Caravanserai ({{langx|fa|کاروانسرای|''kārvānsarāy''}}), is the Persian compound word variant combining ''kārvān'' "[[Caravan (travellers)|caravan]]" with ''-sarāy'' "palace", "building with enclosed courts".<ref>{{Cite web|title=caravanserai {{!}} Origin and meaning of caravanserai by Online Etymology Dictionary|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/caravanserai|access-date=17 June 2020|website=www.etymonline.com|language=en|archive-date=18 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618083013/https://www.etymonline.com/word/caravanserai|url-status=live}}</ref> Here "caravan" means a group of traders, pilgrims, and travelers, engaged in long-distance travel. The word is also rendered as ''caravansary'', ''caravansaray'', ''caravanseray'', ''caravansara'', and ''caravansarai''.<ref name=NatGeo/> In scholarly sources, it is often used as an umbrella term for multiple related types of commercial buildings similar to inns or hostels, whereas the actual instances of such buildings had a variety of names depending on the region and the local language.<ref name=Grove/> However, the term was typically preferred for rural inns built along roads outside of city walls.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Caravansary {{!}} building|url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/caravansary|access-date=17 June 2020|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|archive-date=27 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727071123/https://www.britannica.com/technology/caravansary|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Khan===
[[File:Khan As'ad Pasha Panorama.jpg|thumb|[[Khan As'ad Pasha]], a caravanserai built in 1752 in [[Damascus]], Syria]]
The word ''khan'' ({{lang|fa|خان}}) derives from a clipping of {{langx|pal|𐭡𐭩𐭲𐭠|xānag|house}}.<ref>[[David Neil MacKenzie|MacKenzie, D. N.]] (1971), "xān", in ''A concise Pahlavi dictionary'', London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, p. 93.</ref><ref name="Grove" /> It could refer to an urban caravanserai built within a town or a city<ref name="Grove" /><ref name="brit">{{Cite web|title=Khan {{!}} architecture|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/khan-architecture|access-date=17 June 2020|archive-date=27 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727071415/https://www.britannica.com/technology/khan-architecture|url-status=live}}</ref> or to any caravanserai in general, including those built in the countryside and along desert routes.<ref name="Rout">{{Cite book|last=Petersen|first=Andrew|title=Dictionary of Islamic architecture|publisher=Routledge|year=1996|isbn=9781134613663|location=|pages=146–147|chapter=khan}}</ref> It came into more common usage under the [[Mamluk Sultanate]] and the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref name="Grove" />

From Persian, the word passed into common usage in Arabic ({{Langx|ar|خان|links=no}}) and Turkish ({{Langx|tr|han|links=no}}).<ref name="Grove" /> Examples of such buildings are found throughout the Middle East from as early as the [[Umayyad Caliphate]].<ref name="Grove" /><ref name="brit" />  The same word was used in [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]], [[Albanian language|Albanian]], [[Romanian language|Romanian]] and [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], having arrived through the Ottoman conquest.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

===Funduq===
[[File:Fes - Fondouk el-Nejjarine.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[Funduq al-Najjarin]] in [[Fez, Morocco|Fes]], [[Morocco]]]]
The term ''funduq'' ({{langx|ar|فندق|lit=}}; sometimes spelled ''foundouk'' or ''fondouk'' from the [[French language|French]] transliteration) is frequently used for historic inns around the [[Maghreb]], particularly those in the cities.<ref name="Grove" /><ref name="Touri">{{Cite book|last1=Touri|first1=Abdelaziz|title=Le Maroc andalou : à la découverte d'un art de vivre|last2=Benaboud|first2=Mhammad|last3=Boujibar El-Khatib|first3=Naïma|last4=Lakhdar|first4=Kamal|last5=Mezzine|first5=Mohamed|publisher=Ministère des Affaires Culturelles du Royaume du Maroc & Museum With No Frontiers|year=2010|isbn=978-3902782311|edition=2|language=fr}}</ref><ref name="Wilbaux">{{Cite book|last=Wilbaux|first=Quentin|title=La médina de Marrakech: Formation des espaces urbains d'une ancienne capitale du Maroc|publisher=L'Harmattan|year=2001|isbn=2747523888|location=Paris|language=fr}}</ref>{{Rp|116}}

The word comes from {{langx|grc-x-koine|πανδοκεῖον|welcoming all; an inn}};<ref>{{cite web|url=http://biblehub.com/greek/3829.htm|title=Strong's Greek: 3829. πανδοχεῖον (pandocheion) -- an inn|website=biblehub.com|access-date=19 February 2015|archive-date=29 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229012507/http://biblehub.com/greek/3829.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Grove" /> it appears as, ''fundaco'' in [[Venice]], ''fondaco'' in [[Genoa]] and ''[[alhóndiga (building)|alhóndiga]]''<ref name="DRAE">{{cite web|url=http://lema.rae.es/drae/?val=alh%C3%B3ndiga|title=alhóndiga in the Diccionario de la Real Academia Española|access-date=25 April 2015|archive-date=6 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806143422/http://lema.rae.es/drae/?val=alh%C3%B3ndiga|url-status=live}}</ref> or ''fonda'' in Spanish. In the cities of this region such buildings were also frequently used as housing for artisan workshops.<ref name="Parker">{{Cite book|last=Parker|first=Richard|title=A practical guide to Islamic Monuments in Morocco|publisher=The Baraka Press|year=1981|location=Charlottesville, VA}}</ref><ref name="Touri" /><ref name="Tour">{{Cite book|last=Le Tourneau|first=Roger|title=Fès avant le protectorat: étude économique et sociale d'une ville de l'occident musulman|publisher=Société Marocaine de Librairie et d'Édition|year=1949|location=Casablanca|language=fr}}</ref>{{Rp|318}} The word became the common Arabic word for Hotel.

===Wikala===
[[File:Cairo,_wikala_di_al-ghouri_02.jpg|thumb|The [[Wikala of Al-Ghuri|Wikala of Sultan al-Ghuri]] (1504–05), one of the best-preserved examples in [[Cairo]]]]
The Arabic word ''wikala'' ({{lang|ar|وكالة}}), sometimes spelled ''wakala'' or ''wekala'', is a term used in Egypt for an urban caravanserai which housed merchants and their goods and served as a center for trade, storage, transactions and other commercial activity.<ref name="Hathaway">{{Cite book|last=Hathaway|first=Jane|title=The Arab Lands under Ottoman Rule: 1516-1800|publisher=Routledge|year=2008|isbn=9780582418998|pages=141}}</ref><ref name="Grove" /> The word ''wikala'' means roughly "agency" in [[Arabic]], in this case a commercial agency,<ref name="Hathaway" /> which may also have been a reference to the [[customs]] offices that could be located here to deal with imported goods.<ref>{{Cite book|last=AlSayyad|first=Nezar|url=https://archive.org/details/cairohistoriesof0000alsa/page/143|title=Cairo: Histories of a City|publisher=The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press|year=2011|isbn=978-0-674-04786-0|location=Cambridge, MA|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cairohistoriesof0000alsa/page/143 143]}}</ref> The term ''khan'' was also frequently used for this type of building in Egypt.<ref name="Grove" />

==== Okelle ====
The term ''okelle'' or ''okalle'', the [[Italian language|Italianized]] rendering of the Arabic word ''wikala'', is used for a type of large urban buildings in 19th century Egypt, specifically in [[Alexandria]]. Here, the older Egyptian ''wikala'' was reinterpreted in an [[Italianate architecture|Italianate]] style by the Italian architect [[Francesco Mancini (architect)|Francesco Mancini]]. Directed by [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|Muhammad Ali]], he designed and built a number of ''okelle''s delineating the [[Tahrir Square, Alexandria|''Place des Consuls'']] (the main square of Alexandria's European quarter), which served as consular mansions, a European-style hotel, and a stock exchange, among other functions.<ref name="Pallini">{{cite book|last=Pallini|first=Cristina|date=2006|editor-last=|editor-first=|title=Studies in Architecture, History & Culture: Articles by the 2003-2004 AKPIA@MIT Visiting Post-Doctoral Fellows|publisher=Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT|pages=39–50|chapter=Italian Architects and Modern Egypt|url=https://web.mit.edu/akpia/www/articlepallini.pdf|isbn=}}</ref>

===Katra===
[[Katra (Dhaka)|Kāṭrā]] ({{langx|bn|কাটরা}}) is the name given to the caravanserais built by the [[Mughal Empire]] in [[Bengal]]. The [[Bara Katra]] ({{langx|bn|বড় কাটরা|Baṛa Kāṭrā|Great Caravanserai|links=no}}) and [[Chhota Katra]] ({{langx|bn|ছোট কাটরা|Chōṭa kāṭrā|Small Caravanserai|links=no}}) refers to two magnificent [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] katras in [[Dhaka]], [[Bangladesh]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mamun|first=Muntasir|title=Dhaka: Smriti Bismritir Nagari|isbn=984-412-104-3|edition=3rd|pages=201–206|language=bn|script-title=bn:ঢাকা: স্মৃতি বিস্মৃতির নগরী|trans-title=Dhaka: City of Memories and Oblivion}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Rahman|first=Mahbubur|title=City of an Architect|publisher=Dhaka: Delvistaa Foundation|isbn=978-984-33-2451-1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Ahmed|first=Nazimuddin|title=Islamic Heritage of Bangladesh|publisher=Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh|year=1980|location=Dacca|pages=50–51|oclc=8476199}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Asher|first=Catherine B|title=Inventory of Key Monuments. Art and Archaeology Research Papers: The Islamic Heritage of Bengal|publisher=[[UNESCO]]|year=1984|location=Paris}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Hasan|first=S. Mahmudul|title=Muslim Monuments of Bangladesh|publisher=[[Islamic Foundation Bangladesh|Islamic Foundation]]|year=1980|location=Dhaka}}</ref>

==History==
The origin of rural caravanserais are ancient. One early antecedent has been found in the remains of an [[Urartu|Urartian]] site from the 8th or 9th century BCE uncovered in western Iran, near the mountain pass between [[Urmia]] and [[Oshnavieh]].<ref name=":0522">{{Cite book |last=Kleiss |first=Wolfram |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three |publisher=Brill |year=2012 |isbn=9789004161658 |editor-last=Fleet |editor-first=Kate |location= |pages= |language=en |chapter=Caravanserai, Iranian |editor-last2=Krämer |editor-first2=Gudrun |editor-last3=Matringe |editor-first3=Denis |editor-last4=Nawas |editor-first4=John |editor-last5=Rowson |editor-first5=Everett}}</ref> The [[Achaemenid Empire]] (6th to 4th centuries BCE) built [[Stage station|staging posts]] or relay stations for communications along its major roads.<ref name="Grove" /><ref name=":0" /> Herodotus reports that they existed along the Achaemenid Empire's [[Royal Road]], a {{convert|2500|km|mi|adj=mid|-long}} ancient highway that stretched from [[Sardis]] to [[Susa]].<ref name=":0" /> He writes: "Now the true account of the road in question is the following: Royal stations exist along its whole length, and excellent caravanserais; and throughout, it traverses an inhabited tract, and is free from danger."<ref>"The History – Herodotus" – http://classics.mit.edu/Herodotus/history.mb.txt {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629060743/http://classics.mit.edu/Herodotus/history.mb.txt |date=29 June 2011 }}</ref> The later [[Byzantine Empire]] also maintained staging posts along its major roads.<ref name="Grove" /><ref name=":0" /> None of these ancient caravanserais have been preserved and therefore not much is known of their appearance.<ref name=":0" />
[[File:نمای مقابل، از بالای رباط شرف.jpg|thumb|[[Ribat of Sharaf|Ribat-i Sharaf]] in Iran, built by the [[Great Seljuks]] in the 12th century<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ettinghausen |first1=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l1uWZAzN_VcC&pg=PA154 |title=Islamic Art and Architecture: 650–1250 |last2=Grabar |first2=Oleg |last3=Jenkins-Madina |first3=Marilyn |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2001 |isbn=9780300088670 |edition=2nd |pages=154 |language=en}}</ref>]]
In the [[History of Islam|Islamic period]] (seventh century and after), the use of caravanserais intensified.<ref name=":0" /> Their development at this time is linked to the shift from wheeled vehicles to camels and caravans for long-distance travel.<ref name="Grove" /> Caravanserais were a common type of structure both in the rural countryside and in dense urban centers across the [[Middle East]], [[North Africa]], and [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] Europe.<ref name="Grove" /> The oldest identified example of an Islamic caravanserai is a courtyard structure at [[Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi]], an [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] complex from the early 8th century located in the middle of the desert in present-day Syria.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Grove" />
[[File:Sultan Hanı Kervansaray; Nordseite.jpg|thumb|[[Sultan Han]], built by the [[Anatolian Seljuks]] in the 13th century near [[Aksaray]], Turkey|left]]
A number of 12th to 13th-century rural caravanserais were built throughout the [[Seljuk Empire]] and its offshoots, many examples of which have survived across Iran (e.g. the [[Ribat of Sharaf|Ribat-i Sharaf]] in [[Khorasan province]]), Central Asia (e.g. [[Ribat-i Malik]] in Uzbekistan) and Turkey (e.g. the large [[Sultan Han]] in [[Aksaray Province]]).<ref name="Grove" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Seljuk Caravanserais|url=https://archnet.org/sites/4147|access-date=17 June 2020|website=Archnet|archive-date=18 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618052540/https://archnet.org/sites/4147|url-status=live}}</ref> They continued to be built under successor dynasties, although few notable examples have survived from the [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid]] and [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluk]] periods in the Middle East.<ref name="Grove" /> Under the later [[Safavids]] in Iran, as the economy of the region improved, their construction increased to encourage international trade, particularly on the trade routes to India. [[Abbas the Great|Shah Abbas I]] ({{Reign|1587|1629}}), in particular, built them as part of his improvements to communications and commercial infrastructure.<ref name="Grove" /><ref name=":0" />
[[File:خان مرجان.jpg|thumb|[[Khan al-Mirjan]] in Baghdad, dated to 1359, the oldest surviving urban caravanserai<ref name="Grove" />]]
Urban versions of caravanserais also became important centers of economic activity in cities across the Muslim world, often concentrated near the main [[bazaar]] areas, with many examples still standing in the historic areas of [[Damascus]], [[Aleppo]], [[Cairo]], [[Istanbul]], [[Fez, Morocco|Fes]], etc.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Khans of Damascus|url=https://archnet.org/sites/3521|access-date=17 June 2020|website=Archnet|archive-date=18 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618203225/https://archnet.org/sites/3521|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Club>{{Cite book|last=Williams|first=Caroline|title=Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide|publisher=The American University in Cairo Press|year=2018|edition=7th|location=Cairo}}</ref><ref name=Kuban>{{Cite book|last=Kuban|first=Doğan|title=Ottoman Architecture|publisher=Antique Collectors' Club|year=2010}}</ref><ref name=Sumner>{{Cite book|last1=Sumner-Boyd|first1=Hilary|last2=Freely|first2=John|title=Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City|publisher=Tauris Parke Paperbacks|year=2010}}</ref><ref name=Tour/> The oldest urban caravanserai to have survived to the present day is the [[Khan al-Mirjan]] in Baghdad, which dates from 1359.<ref name="Grove" /> The commercial prosperity of the [[Levant]] during the late Middle Ages led to the proliferation of numerous caravanserais in the heart of major Syrian cities and of Cairo in Egypt. Other caravanserais were also built in the center of major cities in Safavid Iran and in the Ottoman Empire.<ref name="Grove" />

In the [[Indian subcontinent]], caravanserais are found along the historic trade route known as the [[Grand Trunk Road]]. The oldest clear mention of a caravanserai in historical documents is the one commissioned by [[Muhammad bin Tughluq|Muhammad ibn Tughluq]], the [[Delhi Sultanate|Sultan of Delhi]] ({{Reign|1324|1351}}), which was built between [[Delhi]] and [[Daulatabad Fort|Daulatabad]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Joshi |first=Harsha |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gKZMEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT63 |title=Art and Architectural Traditions of India and Iran: Commonality and Diversity |publisher=Routledge |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-000-47757-3 |editor-last=Khan |editor-first=Nasir Raza |language=en |chapter=Caravanserais: A synthesis of Indo-Iranian architecture}}</ref> They grew in number during the rule of [[Sher Shah Suri]] ({{Reign|1486|1545}}). Under the [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]], the sultans commissioned the construction of further caravanserais and encouraged their entourage to do the same, mainly from the 16th to late 18th centuries. Their concept and designs were adapted from Iranian examples.<ref name=":1" />

== Function ==
[[File:Fallujah 1914.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Fallujah]]'s Caravanserai in use, ca. 1914, [[Iraq]]]]
Caravanserais served a variety of functions supporting trade and commerce. Rural caravanserais were built at intervals along major roads. They served as way stations where merchants and travelers could safely stop and rest along the way. The distance between them was intended to be equivalent to a day's journey.<ref name="Grove" /> In Iran, this typically amounted to a distance of {{Convert|30 to 40|km|mi}} in open landscapes (like deserts and plains) or about {{Convert|10|km|mi|sigfig=1}} or less in more difficult mountainous terrain.<ref name=":0522" /> 

Urban versions of caravanserais were commonly built in the hearts of major cities. They provided lodging for merchants, in particular for foreign merchants who needed a place to stay when doing business in the city. They also served as depots for their merchandise and as venues for conducting transactions.<ref name="Grove" /> In addition to accommodation and storage, caravanserais could include other amenities such as a [[hammam]] (bathhouse) and a prayer room or mosque.<ref name="Grove" />

[[Ibn Battuta]], a 14th-century Muslim traveler, described the function of a caravanserai in the region of China:

{{blockquote|China is the safest and best country for the traveller. A man travels for nine months alone with great wealth and has nothing to fear. What is responsible for this is that in every post station in their country is ''funduq'' which has a director living there with a company of horse and foot. After sunset or nightfall the director comes to the ''funduq'' with his secretary and writes down the names of all the travellers who will pass the night there, seals it and locks the door of the ''funduq''. In the morning he and his secretary come and call everybody by name and write down a record. He sends someone with the travellers to conduct them to the next post station and he brings back a certificate from the director of the ''funduq'' confirming that they have all arrived. If he does not do this he is answerable for them. This is the procedure in every post station in their country from Sin al-Sin to Khan Baliq. In them is everything the traveller needs by way of provisions, especially hens and geese. Sheep are rare among them.{{sfn|Gibb|2010|p=894}}|[[Ibn Battuta]]}}

In many parts of the Muslim world, caravanserais also provided revenues that were used to fund charitable or religious functions or buildings. This was characteristic of urban caravanserais.<ref name="Grove" /> These revenues and functions were managed through a ''[[waqf]]'', a protected agreement which gave certain buildings and revenues the status of [[mortmain]] endowments guaranteed under [[Sharia|Islamic law]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition|publisher=Brill|year=2012|chapter=Waḳf}}</ref><ref name=Seif>Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. 2007. ''Cairo of the Mamluks: A History of Architecture and its Culture''. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press.</ref> Many major religious complexes in the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] and [[Mamluk]] empires, for example, either included a caravanserai building (like in the ''[[külliye]]'' of the [[Süleymaniye Mosque]] in Istanbul) or drew revenues from one in the area (such as the [[Wikala of Al-Ghuri|Wikala al-Ghuri]] in Cairo, which was built to contribute revenues for the nearby [[Sultan Al-Ghuri Complex|complex of Sultan al-Ghuri]]).<ref name=Sumner/><ref name=Kuban /><ref name=Qansuh>{{Cite web|title=Wakala Qansuh al-Ghawri|url=https://archnet.org/sites/4258|access-date=2 January 2018|website=ArchNet|archive-date=3 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103073020/https://archnet.org/sites/4258|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Architecture==

=== General ===
[[File:Carvansara plan.png|thumb|A sample [[floor plan]] of a [[Safavid Empire]]-era caravanserai in Karaj, Iran]]

Typically, a caravanserai was a building with a square or rectangular floor plan, with a single entrance wide enough to permit large or heavily laden beasts such as [[camel]]s to enter. It had a central courtyard, almost always open to the sky, which was surrounded by a number of identical [[animal stall]]s, bays, and chambers to accommodate merchants and their servants, animals, and merchandise.<ref>Sims, Eleanor. 1978. Trade and Travel: Markets and Caravansary.' In: Michell, George. (ed.). 1978. ''Architecture of the Islamic World – Its History and Social Meaning.'' London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 101.</ref>

Caravanserais provided water for human and animal consumption as well as for washing and [[ritual purification]] (''[[wudu]]'' and ''[[ghusl]]''), provided by a fountain or well in the courtyard and sometimes by attached public baths ([[hammam]]s).<ref name="Grove" /> They kept [[fodder]] for animals and had shops for travellers where they could acquire new supplies. Some shops bought goods from the travelling merchants.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025|reason=This information should be easy to source but was previously attributed to a citation that did not state any of this. Please add a relevant and reliable reference.}} Many caravanserais were equipped with small mosques, such as the elevated prayer rooms in the center of [[Anatolian Seljuk architecture|Seljuk]] and [[Ottoman architecture|Ottoman]] caravanserais in Turkey.<ref name=Sumner/><ref>{{Cite book|last=Freely|first=John|title=Storm on Horseback: The Seljuk Warriors of Turkey|publisher=I. B. Tauris|year=2008}}</ref><ref name=Kuban/>

{{Panorama
| image = Caravansaray Shah-Abbasi Karaj Panorama.jpg
| height = 150
| caption = View of a typical courtyard layout in the Shah-Abbasi caravansarai in [[Karaj]], Iran
}}

=== Variations ===
Building techniques and decoration varied depending on the region and period. Rural caravanserais of the [[Seljuk Empire|Seljuk period]] in Iran and Central Asia, such as the [[Ribat-i Sharaf]] and [[Ribat-i Malik]], were built in brick and are known for their monumental exterior façades with decorative brickwork.<ref name="Grove" /> The rural caravanserais of [[Sultanate of Rum|Seljuk Anatolia]] could include, in addition to (or sometimes instead of) a courtyard, a roofed section consisting of a vaulted hall with side chambers. Built of stone rather than brick, Anatolian caravanserais are also notable for their tall and elaborately carved entrance portals.<ref name="Grove" /> 

The urban caravanserais of the Levant, from the late Middle Ages onward, were of typical layout but built with local decoration such as ''[[ablaq]]'' masonry and carved stone details. Their street façades often had alcoves for hosting shops. Some were quite large and formed part of a larger complex of amenities, as in the [[Khan al-Jumruk]] in Aleppo.<ref name="Grove" /> In Cairo, starting in the [[Burji dynasty|Burji Mamluk]] period, ''wikala''s were frequently several stories tall and often included a ''rab''', a low-income rental apartment complex, that was situated on the upper floors while the merchant accommodations occupied the lower floors.<ref name="Yeo">{{Cite book|last=Yeomans|first=Richard|url=https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo0000yeom/page/230|title=The Art and Architecture of Islamic Cairo|publisher=Garnet|year=2006|isbn=978-1-85964-154-5|location=Reading|pages=[https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo0000yeom/page/230 230-231]}}</ref><ref name="Club" /> This made the best use of limited space in a crowded city and provided the building with two sources of revenue that were managed through the ''[[waqf]]'' system.<ref name="Seif" /><ref name="Caire">{{Cite book|title=Le Khan al-Khalili et ses environs: Un centre commercial et artisanal au Caire du XIIIe au XXe siècle|publisher=Institut français d'archéologie orientale|year=1999|editor-last=Denoix|editor-first=Sylvie|location=Cairo|editor-last2=Depaule|editor-first2=Jean-Charles|editor-last3=Tuchscherer|editor-first3=Michel|language=fr}}</ref>

The later Ottomans continued to build caravanserais but their patronage was focused on urban centres, where they were built alongside other commercial structures such as ''arasta''s (market streets) and [[Bedesten|''bedesten''s]] (central market halls) in the middle of the city. The caravanserais themselves consist of courtyards surrounded by two or more levels of domed rooms fronted by [[arcaded]] galleries.<ref name="Grove2">{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=un4WcfEASZwC&pg=PA353 |title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-19-530991-1 |editor-last=Bloom |editor-first=Jonathan M. |volume=1 |pages=146 |language=en |chapter=Architecture |editor-last2=Blair |editor-first2=Sheila S.}}</ref>

In [[Safavid Iran]], caravanserais had a standard layout for the most part: a rectangular courtyard surrounded by a gallery of vaulted openings ([[Iwan|iwans]]) and rooms on one or two levels. At the middle of each of side was a larger central iwan, repeating the [[four-iwan plan]] common in [[Iranian architecture]]. Rural caravanserais often had rounded towers at their corners and an imposing entrance portal. In the later Safavid period (17th century), more complex layouts appeared, such as those with an octagonal floor plan instead of rectangular.<ref name="Grove" /> In the Indian subcontinent, caravanserais were drawn from Iranian designs but adapted to local needs. They usually had a symmetrical floor plan with two major gateways. A mosque, often consisting of a three-domed hall, was commonly built into the west side of the building.<ref name=":1" />

In the far west of the Islamic world, comprising present-day Morocco and Spain, urban caravanserais were multi-story buildings with a central courtyard. Though they could have elaborate entrance portals and ornate wooden ceilings in their vestibules, the interior could be relatively austere.<ref name="Grove" />

<!-- Please keep the gallery below to a reasonable size and only add images if they illustrate an element or aspect of the topic not shown by another image already -->
<gallery class="center" caption="Examples of caravanserai architecture">
File:Rabat-i Malik caravanserai 2 (cropped and retouched).jpg|Gateway of [[Ribat-i Malik]] in Uzbekistan (c. 1068–1080, Great Seljuk period) <ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ettinghausen |first1=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l1uWZAzN_VcC&pg=PA154 |title=Islamic Art and Architecture: 650–1250 |last2=Grabar |first2=Oleg |last3=Jenkins-Madina |first3=Marilyn |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2001 |isbn=9780300088670 |edition=2nd |pages=154 |language=en}}</ref>
File:20180110 Sultanhani 4496 (40093350601).jpg|Roofed hall attached to the [[Sultan Han]] near Aksaray, Turkey (13th century), a feature of some Anatolian Seljuk caravanserais<ref name="Grove" />
File:Selim Caravanserai 1.jpg|Entrance of [[Orbelian's Caravanserai]] in Armenia (1332)<ref>{{cite book |author-last=Blessing |author-first=Patricia |title=Seljuqs and Their Successors: Art, Culture and History |publisher=[[Edinburgh University Press]] |year=2020 |isbn=9781474450379 |editor-last=Canby |editor-first=Sheila |location=United Kingdom |pages=139–142 |chapter=Armenian inscriptions in the Ikhanid empire: Mren, Selim Caravanserai |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=46MxEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA141}}</ref>
File:Granada Corral del Carbón 16-03-2011 17-29-46 16-03-2011 17-29-46.JPG|Entrance of the [[Corral del Carbón]], a former urban caravanserai in [[Granada]], Spain (14th century, [[Emirate of Granada|Nasrid]] period)
File:Wikala-sabil-kuttab of Qaitbay 03.jpg|Entrance of the [[Sabil-Kuttab-Wakala of Sultan Qa'it Bay|Wikala of Sultan Qaytbay]] in [[Cairo]], Egypt (1477, [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluk]] period)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Caroline |title=Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide |publisher=The American University in Cairo Press |year=2018 |edition=7th |location=Cairo |pages=206–207}}</ref>
File:Bursa, Turkey (4505709750).jpg|Courtyard of the [[Koza Han]] in [[Bursa]], Turkey (1491, [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] period) ; the domed building is a small mosque<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Demiralp |first=Yekta |title=Koza Han |url=http://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;isl;tr;mon01;15;en |access-date=29 January 2025 |website=Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers}}</ref>
File:Tash Rabat.JPG|[[Tash Rabat]] caravanserai in Kyrgyzstan
File:Aleppo Khan al-Jumruk 9159.jpg|Interior façade of a gate from the courtyard of [[Khan al-Jumruk]] in [[Aleppo]], Syria (1574)<ref name="Grove" />
File:Main Entrance of Akbari Sarai.jpg|Gateway of [[Akbari Sarai]] in [[Lahore]], Pakistan (16th century, with later additions)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Elisseeff |first=Vadime |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nVVoRKSZxagC&pg=PA161 |title=The Silk Roads: Highways of Culture and Commerce |publisher=Berghahn Books |year=2000 |isbn=978-1-57181-221-6 |pages=161 and after |language=en}}</ref>
File:AminAbad94 (2).jpg|Caravanserai of [[Aminabad, Shahreza|Aminabad]], with an octagonal layout (17th century, Safavid period)<ref name="Grove" />
File:Katra Masjid panoramic view.jpg|The [[Katra Masjid|Caravanserai Mosque]] in [[Murshidabad]], India, built by [[Murshid Quli Khan]] of [[Bengal]] (early 18th century)
File:Abbasi Hotel.jpg|Interior of a large Safavid caravanserai in [[Isfahan]], Iran (early 18th century, now the [[Abbasi Hotel]])<ref name="Grove" />
File:Akko BW 13.JPG|[[Khan al-Umdan]] in [[Akko|Acre]], Israel (18th century, with clock tower added in 1906)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Khan al-'Umdan |url=https://www.archnet.org/sites/3490 |access-date=2025-01-29 |website=ArchNet}}</ref>
File:Górny Karawanseraj - Szeki.jpg|[[Shaki Caravanserai]] in Azerbaijan (19th century)
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[List of caravanserais]]
* [[Ribat]], early Muslim frontier fort, later caravanserai or Sufi retreat
* [[Jumeirah Archaeological Site]] has the foundations of a 10th century example
* [[Caravan city]]
* [[Coaching inn]]
{{Portal|Hotels}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Branning, Katharine. 2018. [http://turkishhan.org/homebase.htm turkishhan.org], The Seljuk Han in Anatolia. New York, USA.
* Cytryn-Silverman, Katia. 2010. ''The Road Inns (Khans) in Bilad al-Sham''. BAR ([[British Archaeological Reports]]), Oxford. {{ISBN|9781407306711}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|title=Caravansary|last1=Kīānī|first1=Moḥammad-Yūsuf|last2=Kleiss|first2=Wolfram|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. IV, Fasc. 7|pages=798–802|year=1990|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/caravansary}}
* Erdmann, Kurt, Erdmann, Hanna. 1961. ''Das anatolische Karavansaray des 13. Jahrhunderts'', 3 vols. Berlin: Mann, 1976, {{ISBN|3-7861-2241-5}}
*{{citation|last=Gibb|first=H.A.R.|year=2010|title=The Travels of Ibn Battuta, AD 1325-1354, Volume IV}}
* Hillenbrand, Robert. 1994. ''Islamic Architecture: Form, function and meaning''. New York: Columbia University Press. (see Chapter VI for an in depth overview of the caravanserai).
* Kiani, Mohammad Yusef. 1976. [http://www.caroun.com/Architecture/Caravansary/00-Khorasan.html Caravansaries in Khorasan Road.] Reprinted from: ''Traditions Architecturales en Iran'', Tehran, No. 2 & 3, 1976.
* Schutyser, Tom. 2012. ''Caravanserai: Traces, Places, Dialogue in the Middle East''. Milan: 5 Continents Editions, {{ISBN|978-88-7439-604-7}}
* Yavuz, Aysil Tükel. 1997. ''The Concepts that Shape Anatolian Seljuq Caravansara.'' In: Gülru Necipoglu (ed). 1997. ''Muqarnas XIV: An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic World.'' Leiden: E. J. Brill, 80–95. [archnet.org/library/pubdownloader/pdf/8967/doc/DPC1304.pdf Available online as a PDF document, 1.98 MB]

==External links==
{{Commons category|Caravanserais}}
{{Wiktionary}}

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20190501093539/https://www.tishineh.com/touritem/732-13/carvansarai Shah Abbasi Caravanserai, Tishineh]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110714163125/http://www.qom-photos.ir/post-112.aspx Caravansara Pictures]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20191227150900/http://www.consideratcaravanserai.net/ Consideratcaravanserai.net], Texts and photos on research on caravanserais and travel journeys in Middle East and Central Asia.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150227192419/http://www.bedesten.net/kervansaraylar.html Caravanserais (Kervansaray) in Turkey]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050128114115/http://turkishhan.org/ The Seljuk Han in Anatolia]
*[https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/6197/ Persian Caravanserai], UNESCO application

{{Islamic architecture}}
{{Iranian Architecture}}
{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Islamic architecture]]
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