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[131] Ibn Kathir, a prominent 14th-century Muslim scholar, backed this notion. Although a fire in the 1890s badly damaged the courtyard and interior, much of the rich mosaic program, which dates primarily to the early 8th century, has survived. While almost nothing survives archaeologically from this period, Greek became the dominant language and the culture became Hellenized (influenced by Greek culture). Interior of the Great Mosque of Damascus before 1893, looking north towards the main entrance. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. [65] During the internal feuds between later Ayyubid princes, the city was dealt a great deal of damage, and the mosque's eastern minaretknown as the 'Minaret of Jesus'was destroyed at the hands of as-Salih Ayyub of Egypt while besieging as-Salih Ismail of Damascus in 1245. After the death of the Mahasini preacher in 1869, a member of the Khatibs succeeded him. With its Great Mosque at the heart of an urban plan deriving from the Graeco-Roman grid, the city provided the exemplary model for the Arab Muslim world. Located in the heart of the teeming city of Damascus, the Great Mosque is known to be the oldest existing monumental architecture in the Islamic world. View of the exterior of the Great Mosque of Damascus in 2008, photo: Ghaylam, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. Because the northern part of the courtyard had been destroyed in an earthquake in 1759, the arcade is not consistent; when the northern wall was rebuilt the columns that were supporting it were not. Map of Mecca, Saudi Arabia ( NormanEinstein, CC BY-SA 3.0 Dome, 31.22 m in diameter, 42.25 m high, Mimar Sinan, Mosque of Selim II, Edirne, Turkey, 1568-1575 (photo: Charles Roffey, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) The ethereal dome seems weightless as it floats above the prayer hall. [104], The mosque's prayer hall was once again ravaged and partly destroyed by fire in 1893. A 1st-century Hellenic temple to Jupiter was built during the Roman era, and a later church of St. John the Baptist was erected on its foundation. Mosaic, Great Mosque of Damascus, 8th century (photo: Although a fire in the 1890s badly damaged the courtyard and interior, much of the rich mosaic program, which dates primarily to the early 8th century, has survived. Although the original structure has been altered several times due to fire, war damage, and repairs, it is one of the few mosques to maintain the same form and architectural features of its 8th-century construction, as well as its Umayyad character. [106] The fire destroyed the inner fabric of the prayer hall and caused the collapse of the mosque's central dome. [90], The Mamluk viceroy of Syria, Tankiz, carried out restoration work in the mosque in 13261328. Right: The best-preserved sections of the mosaics today are located on the inner and outer facades of the western portico (arches) of the courtyard, as well as in the vestibule of the western entrance. Watercolour by R. Phen Spiers. In 1990s, Mohammed Burhanuddin constructed a zarih of the martyrs of the Battle of Karbala,[113] whose heads were brought to the Mosque after their defeat at the hands of the then Umayyad caliph, Yazid I. This allowed the conquering culture to integrate their new subjects into their religion, while also accepting local traditionsthus helping to make new foreign masters more agreeable to subjugated locals. . He reassembled the mosaics on the qibla wall and replaced all the marble tiles in the prayer hall. However, there is no apse towards which one would pray. According to local Damascene tradition, relating from hadith,[126] Isa will reach earth via the Minaret of Isa, hence its name. The Fatimids of Egypt, who adhered to Shia Islam, conquered Damascus in 970, but few recorded improvements of the mosque were undertaken by the new rulers. Arches with acanthus motif in mosaic, Great Mosque of Damascus, photo: Judith McKenzie/Manar al-Athar, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Archnet > Site > Jami' al-Umawi al-Kabir (Damascus) 886 Great Mosque Of Damascus Stock Photos & High-Res Pictures and was completed in 714/15 C.E. The Great Mosque of Damascus, known as the Umayyad Mosque, is one of the most significant architectural works in Islamic history. [31][32], The most celebrated decorative element of all was the revetment of mosaics, which originally covered much of the courtyard and the interior hall. Tafseer Durre Manthur Vol.6, p. 30-31. the help of some submitted Western Christian forces, Religious significance of the Syrian region, History of medieval Arabic and Western European domes, Ettinghausen, Grabar & Jenkins-Madina 2001, "Origins and manufacture of the glass mosaic tesserae from the great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus", "Geography, cartography and the architecture of power in the mosaics of the Great Mosque of Damascus", File:Dome of the Clocks, Umayyad Mosque.jpg, Syria unrest: New protests erupt across country, "Vicissitudes of a Holy Place: Construction, Destruction and Commemoration of Mashhad usayn in Ascalon", "Hussein's Head and Importance of Cultural Heritage", Christian Sahner, "A Glistening Crossroads," The Wall Street Journal, 17 July 2010, For freely downloadable, high-resolution photographs of the Umayyad Mosque (for teaching, research, cultural heritage work, and publication) by archaeologists, visit Manar al-Athar, Umayyad Mosque Discover Islamic Art Virtual Museum, International University for Science and Technology, Higher Institute for Applied Science and Technology, 2002 West Asian Football Federation Championship, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Umayyad_Mosque&oldid=1171282309, Religious buildings and structures completed in 715, Religious buildings and structures converted into mosques, Religious organizations established in the 8th century, Buildings and structures inside the walled city of Damascus, 8th-century establishments in the Umayyad Caliphate, CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from September 2012, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Articles with dead external links from February 2023, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles with Structurae structure identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0, Raised floor (in front of the pulpit) Marks the location where all the ladies and children (the household of. By the 8 th century, in the Great Mosque of Damascus the minaret had become an essential feature of Muslim religious architecture. Elements of Islamic Style | Art and Life [122][123] In a mirror position on the other side of the courtyard is the Dome of the Clock, another octagonal domed pavilion. View of the exterior of the Great Mosque of Damascus in 2008, photo: Ghaylam, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. MY ARCHITECTURAL MOLESKINE: THE GREAT MOSQUE OF DAMASCUS - Blogger [35][36] They reflected a wide variety of artistic styles used by mosaicists and painters since the 1st century CE, but the combined use of all these different styles in the same place was innovative at the time. [121] With a height of 36 meters (118ft), the dome rests on an octagonal substructure with two arched windows on each of its sides. Courtyard fountain and the dome of the clock in the distance, Great Mosque of Damascus, photo: Thom May, CC BY-NC 2.0. Umayyad Mosque | History & Architecture | Study.com [128] It is generally believed that both the Minaret of Jesus and the Western Minaret were built on the foundation of ancient Roman towers. [8] It served as the seat of the Bishop of Damascus, who ranked second within the Patriarchate of Antioch after the patriarch himself. The architect recycled the columns and arcades of the church, dismantling and repositioning them in the new structure. Prayer hall, Great Mosque of Damascus with the shrine of Saint John the Baptist in the center, photo: From the courtyard, one would enter the prayer hall. It was the largest temple in Roman Syria. Though the exact form and shape of this temple is unknown, a bas-relief with a sphinx, believed to come from this temple, was reused in the northern wall of the city's Great Mosque. Under Abbasid rule (750860), new structures were added, including the Dome of the Treasury and the Minaret of the Bride, while the Mamluks (12601516) undertook major restoration efforts and added the Minaret of Qaytbay. The main mosques of Damascus and Aleppo each form the extensive, bustling core of the densely built historical old town of these largest and most tradition-rich Syrian cities. The Great Mosque of Damascus, also known as the Umayyad Mosque is the holiest building of the Muslim world after Mecca and Medina. Prayer hall, Great Mosque of Damascus with the shrine of Saint John the Baptist in the center, photo: Seier+Seier, CC BY 2.0. In 1270, Baybars, by now sultan, ordered extensive restorations to the mosque, particularly its marble, mosaics and gildings. The liwan, or hall of worship, running the length of the south side of the mosque, is divided into three long aisles by rows of columns and arches. 1 The construction of the Great Mosque (or Friday Mosque) of Damascus was a means of establishing the permanence of the Umayyad rule, a significant gesture in a city that had been under Persian rule from 612-628 and then Arab rule from 635-661. [127] The main body of the current minaret was built by the Ayyubids in 1247, but the upper section was constructed by the Ottomans. [92] He erected a large sundial on the mosque's northern minaret in 1371, now lost. Located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, it is the holiest shrine in Islam. [53] Another clue is an account by historian Ibn Zabala in 814, which reports that one of the mosaicists who worked for al-Walid's reconstruction of the Prophet's Mosque in Medina (contemporary with the construction in Damascus) directly explained the mosaics there as a reproduction of the trees and palaces of Paradise,[54] which suggests that the contemporary Umayyad mosaics in Damascus had the same intention. The exact location of the church is unknown, but it is thought to have been located in the western part of the temenos. The subject of the mosaics remains debated to this day, with scholars arguing that the mosaics either represent heaven, based on an interpretation of Quranic verse, or the local landscape (including the Barada River). [65] This minaret is used by the muezzin for the call to prayer (adhan) and there is a spiral staircase of 160 stone steps that lead to the muezzin's calling position. [16][17][18] According to 10th-century Persian historian Ibn al-Faqih, somewhere between 600,000 and 1,000,000 gold dinars were spent on the project. [64][65] This was accompanied by al-Ma'mun's removal and replacement of Umayyad inscriptions in the mosque. [129] According to local legend, the minaret is named after the daughter of the merchant who provided the lead for the minaret's roof who was married to Syria's ruler at the time. [102], The prominent Sufi scholar Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi taught regularly at the Umayyad Mosque starting in 1661. Tafseer Ibn Katheer, vol.9, p. 163, published in Egypt. The influence of the mosque and its artistry can be seen as far as a way as Cordoba, Spain, where the 8th century Umayyad ruler, Abd al-Rahman (the only survivor of a massive family assassination that sparked the Abbasid Revolution), had fled. The arcades are supported by two rows of stone Corinthian columns. Golden mosaics depicting jewels shimmer in this glittering light. Saul, or Paul as he is known after his conversion, is said to have converted on the road to Damascus (Acts 9.12; 9.56). Courtyard fountain and the dome of the clock in the distance, Great Mosque of Damascus, photo: The complex is composed of a prayer hall and a large open courtyard with a fountain for ablutions (washing) before prayer. The mosaics are a beautiful mix of trees, landscapes, and uninhabited architecture, rendered in stunning gold, greens, and blues. [95], The Mongol conqueror Timur besieged Damascus in 1400. . However, recent scholarship has challenged this as the text that made this claim was written from a Christian perspective and is much later than the mosaics. At the center of a temenos, an enclosed and sacred precinct, stood the temple to Zeus-Hadad, which had a cella (the room in which a statue of the god stood). A smaller arched corbel is located below these openings. Later sources note that there were inscriptions and mosaics in the prayer hall, like the Umayyad mosque in Medina, but these have not survived. The mosque occupies a huge quadrangle 515 by 330 feet (157 by 100 metres) and contains a large open courtyard surrounded by an arcade of arches supported by slender columns. Celebrated for its harmony, balance, dra- matic use of light and decoration, and its overall unity and aesthetic sensitivity, the monument belongs to an es- tablished functional type, the hypostyle mosque, but amounts to more than a mere variant of this type. There are tower-like minarets at the corners of the mosque and courtyard; the southern minarets are built on the Roman-Byzantine corner towers and are probably the earliest minarets in Syria. Scholars traditionally attributed the creation of these mosaics to artisans from Constantinople because a twelfth-century text claimed that the Byzantine emperor had sent mosaicists to Damascus. The Umayyad Mosque (Arabic: , romanized:al-Jmi al-Umaw), also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus, located in the old city of Damascus, the capital of Syria, is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world. [12][13] The musalla did not have the capacity to house the rapidly growing number of Muslim worshippers in Damascus. [84] Saladin, along with many of his successors, were buried around the Umayyad Mosque (see Mausoleum of Saladin). The mosaics and architecture of the Great Mosque signaled this new prominence to an audience that was still predominantly Christian, that Islam was as powerful a religion as Christianity. [38] The only notable omission is the absence of human and animal figures, which was likely a new restriction imposed by the Muslim patron. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Until 63 B.C.E., Damascus would remain under the political control and cultural influence of these Greek dynasties. (tazar), Length 26 ft 2in, Width 16 ft 8 in. In line with the mihrab of the Great Mosque is a massive dome and a, Mosaic, Great Mosque of Damascus, 8th century (photo: american rugbier, CC BY-SA 2.0). The mosque was noted for its rich compositions of marble paneling and its extensive gold mosaics of vegetal motifs, covering some 4,000 square metres (43,000sqft), likely the largest in the world. Mezquita Crdoba, Andaluca, Spain, Europe Top choice in Crdoba It's impossible to overemphasise the beauty of Crdoba's great mosque, with its remarkably serene (despite tourist crowds) and spacious interior. While almost nothing survives archaeologically from this period, Greek became the dominant language and the culture became Hellenized (influenced by Greek culture). [3], The new Temple of Jupiter became the center of the imperial cult of Jupiter and was served as a response to the Second Temple in Jerusalem. Since its establishment, the mosque has served as a model for congregational mosque architecture in Syria as well as globally. The first level consists of large semi-circular arches, while the second level is made up of double arches. A New Scenario for the Umayyads of Al-Andalus Following 'Abd al-Rah. [72], The Sunni Muslim Seljuk Turks gained control of the city in 1078 and restored the nominal rule of the Abbasid Caliphate. [70] Abbasid rule over Syria began crumbling during the early 10th century, and in the decades that followed, it came under the control of autonomous realms who were only nominally under Abbasid authority. [85], The Mongols, under the leadership of the Nestorian Christian Kitbuqa, with the help of some submitted Western Christian forces, captured Damascus from the Ayyubids in 1260 while Kitbuqa's superior Hulagu Khan had returned to the Mongol Empire for other business. 1. Great Mosque of Damascus, also called Umayyad Mosque, the earliest surviving stone mosque, built between 705 and 715 ce by the Umayyad Caliph al-Wald I, who proclaimed to his citizens: "People of Damascus, four things give you a marked superiority over the rest of the world: your climate, your water, your fruits, and your baths. Smarthistory is a nonprofit organization Christian and Muslim tradition alike consider it the burial place of John the Baptist's head, a tradition originating in the 6th century. [65] In 78990 the Abbasid governor of Damascus, al-Fadl ibn Salih ibn Ali, constructed the Dome of the Treasury with the purpose of housing the mosque's funds. [105][106] A laborer engaging in repair work accidentally started the fire when he was smoking his nargila (water pipe). Fig. Many Greek (and later Roman) gods were combined with local gods across the lands controlled by the Greeks and then the Romans. . 23 Puerta de San Esteban, interior, Great Mosque of Cordoba. The qibla wall has a niche (mihrab), which focuses the faithful in their prayers. As early as the 9th century B.C.E., a temple was built to Hadad-Ramman, the Semitic god of storm and rain.