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Khan Mirjan

caravanserai in Baghdad, Iraq

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 21, 2026
Entity authorityQ6400089
Source-derived summary

The Khan Mirjan (Arabic: خان مرجان) is a building in the souk of Baghdad, Iraq. It was built by the Jalayirid governor of Baghdad, Amin al-Din Mirjan in the 14th century originally as a caravanserai, an inn for traveling merchants, with a large center hall that was 13 metres (43 ft) high. It features crenelated arches of brick, as well as perforated windows.

The building was reputedly in a state of disrepair for over two centuries, with waist-high flood water from the Tigris standing in the famous hallway. By the mid-1980s, the building had been restored and was in use as a restaurant.

History

The Khan Mirjan was built between 1356 and 1358 by Amin al-Din Mirjan, the Jalayirid governor of Baghdad whom had also built the nearby Mirjan Mosque. The khan is distinguished from other khans, another term for caravanserai, by its architecture: its inner courtyard is covered by huge arches of bricks, with a ceiling height of 13 meters. The khan has two floors: the ground floor contains 22 rooms, and the upper floor contains 23 rooms. The outside is decorated with Islamic calligraphy. The main function of the khan is to shelter merchants, their caravans, their goods, and the animals carrying the goods.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Khan Mirjan” as caravanserai in Baghdad, Iraq. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Khan, Mirjan and caravanserai.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1356, 1358—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1359. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Khan, Mirjan and caravanserai providing the first useful test.
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Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Khan Mirjan”, the useful work is to connect “caravanserai in Baghdad, Iraq” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6400089. Authority coordinates are 33.339, 44.392. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1356 and 1358.

Critical limits

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Khan Mirjan” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.