The Alemşah Gunbat was ordered by Melikşah of the Seljuk Sultanate in memory of his martyred brother Sultanşah in H. 728 / 1327 AD. (The gunbat was constructed as a two-story building with a crypt in the first floor and a masjid in the second floor. It is a kind of mausoleum-masjid.) The Alemşah Gunbat built in the Ilkhanate Era is a Anatolian Seljuk work with every detail.
The marble was brought from Pessinus. The crypt (lower floor) has attractive door decorations. Fish, lapsing stars, geometric lapses, mesh and hook motifs are successively depicted on the frame. It maintains the ethereal peace and tranquility from the past under the quiet shade of pine and willow trees.
The gunbat inherited from the Seljuks is protected and maintained by Hamid Yüzügüllü, the Mayor of Sivrihisar, with landscape, illumination and restoration works. The 9-line Arabic inscription of the Alemşah Gunbat is placed within a sharp pointed arch and fills the space over the key block completely. The corner space right below the inscription ends with a plastic volute with a thick end and a gradually thinning end.
This 9-line inscription in Arabic placed in a triangle with a pointed arch which is bulky on both sides is as follows:
- Hüvallâhirrahim
- Buniye hâzihi’l imâret’üş-şerife
- El emirü’l kebîr melikü’l ümerâ vel ekârimü câmi
- Ül meali vel mekârim ebul hayrât vel hasenât
- Melikşah Bey edâmallâhü tevfikıhî ve sehhele ilel cennetî
- Tarîkahu li ecli ahihi el ecillil merhumul mağfur es saîd
- Eş şehid biz-zulmi fi (…) şah ve Sultan Şah Bey bin kiro
- Baltu tegammede hümu’llâhü bi gufrânihi ve eskenehüm be hâyici cinânihi. Fi Muharrem sene semân ve işrîn ve seb’a mie. H.728 Ketebehu vechül hazan
The English translation of the inscription is as follows:
God is merciful. This alms house was ordered by Melikşah Bey, who is graceful and noble, a man of charity and goodness, may god facilitate his way to heaven. He ordered this gunbat for his late brother Sultan Şah (may the mercy and forgiveness of God be upon him), the son of Kiro Baltu, who was martyred at a young age, may he reside in heaven and be forgiven by God for his sins. November 1327 (Melikşah mentioned in the inscription is the son of Baltu, the commander who was assigned with conquering Anatolia by Abu Said Bahadur Khan, the Ilkhanate ruler.)
