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Great Mosque of Aleppo

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The Great Mosque of Aleppo
جامع حلب الكبير
The minaret of the mosque before it was destroyed
Religion
AffiliationIslam
StatusTemporarily closed
Location
LocationSyria Al-Jalloum district, Aleppo, Syria
Architecture
TypeMosque
StyleMamluk
Completed715, 13th century
Specifications
Dome(s)1
Minaret(s)1 (Destroyed during the Syrian civil war)
MaterialsStone

The Great Mosque of Aleppo (Arabic: جامع حلب الكبير Jāmi‘ Halab al-Kabīr) or the Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo (جامع بني أمية بحلب) is the largest and one of the oldest mosques in the city of Aleppo, Syria. It is located in al-Jalloum district of the Ancient City of Aleppo, a World Heritage Site, near the entrance to Al-Madina Souq. The mosque is purportedly home to the remains of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist.[1][2] It was built in the beginning of the 8th century. However, the current building of the Mamluk period dates back the 13th century, except the Seljuk minaret which was built in 1090,[3] and destroyed during fighting on 24 April 2013.[4]

History

Founding

The site of the Great Mosque once was the former Agora from the Hellenistic period, which later became the garden for the Cathedral of Saint Helena, during the Christian era rule of Syria.[2]

The mosque was built on confiscated land that formerly served as the Cathedral cemetery.[3] According to later traditions,[5] the construction of the earliest mosque on the site was commenced by the Ummayad caliph al-Walid I in 715 and was finished by his successor Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik in 717.[6] Architectural historian K. A. C. Creswell attributes is construction solely to the latter, quoting 13th century Aleppine historian Ibn al-Adim who wrote Sulayman's intent was "to make it equal to the work of his brother al-Walid in the Great Mosque at Damascus." Another tradition claims al-Walid founded the mosque using materials from the so called "Church of Cyrrus."[5]

However, architectural historian Jere L. Bacharach writes the most likely patron of the mosque was Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik, a brother of al-Walid and Sulayman who served as the governor of Jund Qinnasrin ("Military District of Chalcis") sometime prior to 710 until at least the early period of Sulayman's rule. Accordingly, this would explain the belief that the mosque's construction took place during the reign of both caliphs. Moreover, Maslama's governorship of Qinnasrin was largely ignored by the early Arabic historians, who focused their attention on Maslama's campaigns against the Byzantine Empire and the Armenians, and his governorship over the provinces of Iraq, Azerbaijan, al-Jazira and Armenia. Bacharach further states that Maslama's commissioning of a large congregational mosque in Aleppo, a major base from which to attack the Byzantines, would have "been appropriate, if not necessary."[5]

Renovation

In the second half of the 11th century, the Mirdasids controlled Aleppo and built a single-domed fountain in mosque's courtyard.[7] At the northwest corner of the mosque, the 45-meter high minaret was built by the qadi ("chief Islamic judge") of Aleppo, Abu'l Hasan Muhammad in 1090,[8] during the reign of Seljuk governor Aq Sunqur al-Hajib. Its construction was finished in 1094 during Tutush's rule. The architect of the project was Mufarraj al-Sarmini and the minaret was built in the Islamic Syrian architectural style. Its shaft consisted of five levels with a top encircled with a veranda. A muqarnas-style cornice divided the veranda top from the shaft. The structure was largely built of fine ashlar.[9] According to E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, the minaret was "quite unique in the whole of Muslim architecture."[10]

The mosque was restored and expanded by the Zengid sultan Nur al-Din in 1169 after a great fire that had destroyed the earlier Ummayad structure;[2] In 1260 the entire mosque was razed by the Mongols.[6][11] Later, the Mamluks made further alterations. Carved Kufic inscriptions decorated the entire minaret along with alternate bands of stylized ornaments in patterns and muqarnas.[6]

The courtyard and minaret of the mosque were renovated in 2003.[6]

Syrian Civil War

On 13 October 2012 the mosque was seriously damaged during clashes between the armed groups of the Free Syrian Army and the Syrian Army forces. President Bashar al-Assad issued a presidential decree to form a committee to repair the mosque by the end of 2013.[12]

The mosque was siezed by rebel forces in early 2013, and, as of April 2013, is within an area of heavy fighting, with goverment force stationed 200 meters away.[13]

On 24 April 2013 the minaret of the mosque was reduced to rubble during an exchange of heavy weapons fire between government forces and rebels during the ongoing Syrian civil war. The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that members of Jabhat al-Nusra detonated explosives inside the minaret, while opposition activists claimed that the minaret was destroyed by Syrian Army tank fire as part of an offensive they managed to repel.[4][14][13]

Architecture

The Great Mosque is built around a vast courtyard that connects to different areas of the mosque, positioned behind the colonnaded arcade. The courtyard is well known for its black and white stone pavement that forms complex geometric patterns. The courtyard holds the two ablutions fountains.[6]

The main prayer hall of the mosque holds the primary elements of the mosque: the shrine of Zechariah, a 15th century minbar, and an elaborately carved mihrab. This large prayer hall originally had a basic straight rooftop with a central dome, but was replaced by the Mamluks with an intricate cross-vaulted system with arches and a small dome over the arcades.[6]

  • General view
    General view
  • Courtyard of the Great Mosque
    Courtyard of the Great Mosque
  • The shrine of Zechariah within the Mosque
    The shrine of Zechariah within the Mosque
  • The minaret
    The minaret
  • Ablution fountains
    Ablution fountains
  • Internal facade
    Internal facade
  • Interior
    Interior
  • Mihrab and minbar of the Mosque
    Mihrab and minbar of the Mosque
  • View from the citadel
    View from the citadel

See also

References

  1. ^ The Great Mosque of Aleppo Muslim Heritage.
  2. ^ a b c The Great Mosque (The Umayyad Mosque) Syria Gate.
  3. ^ a b ed. Mitchell, 1978, p. 231.
  4. ^ a b "Syria clashes destroy ancient Aleppo minaret". bbc.co.uk. 2013-04-24. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  5. ^ a b c Bacharach, ed. Necipoglu, 1996, p. 34.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Great Mosque of Aleppo Archnet Digital Library.
  7. ^ Tabaa, 1997, p. 17.
  8. ^ Tabaa, 1997, p. 40.
  9. ^ Brend, 1991, p. 99.
  10. ^ ed. Houtsma, 1987, p. 236.
  11. ^ Grousset, 1991, p. 362.
  12. ^ Karam, Zeina. "Historic Aleppo mosque damaged in fighting; repairs ordered". Associated Press.
  13. ^ a b Minaret of historic Syrian mosque destroyed in Aleppo, 24 April 2013, The Guardian
  14. ^ Saad, Hwaida; Gladstone, Rick (April 24, 2013). "Storied Syrian Mosque's Minaret Is Destroyed". New York Times. Retrieved 24 April 2013.

Bibliography

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