DAMASCUS, GREAT MOSQUE OF

also called Umayyad Mosque, the earliest surviving stone mosque, built between AD 705 and 715 by the Umayyad Caliph al-Walid I. The mosque stands on the site of a 1st-century Hellenic temple to Jupiter and of a later church of St. John the Baptist. Some Syrio-Roman fragments remain in the structure, as does a shrine supposedly enclosing a relic honoured by Muslims as well as Christians, the head of St. John the Baptist. The mosque occupies a huge quadrangle 515 by 330 feet (157 by 100 m) and contains a large open courtyard surrounded by an arcade of arches supported by slender columns. 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. A transept with a central octagonal dome, originally wooden, cuts across the aisles at their midpoint. The marble grilles that cover the windows in the south wall are the earliest example of geometric interlace in Islamic architecture. The walls of the mosque were once covered with more than an acre of mosaics depicting a fanciful landscape thought to be the Qu'ranic paradise, but only fragments survive. The mosque was destroyed by Timur in 1401, rebuilt by the Arabs, and damaged by fire in 1893. Although it could not be restored to its original splendour, the mosque is still an impressive architectural monument. History Early centuries Excavations in 1950 demonstrated that an urban centre existed in the 4th millennium BC at Tall as-Salhiyah, southeast of Damascus. Pottery from the 3rd millennium BC has been found in the Old City. Before the 2nd millennium BC an intricate system of irrigation for Damascus and al-Ghutah had been developed that was augmented by successive rulers through the centuries. Historically, the first written reference to the city is in the hieroglyphic tablets of Tell el-Amarna in Egypt, where Dimashqa is listed among conquered territories in the 15th century BC. Biblical sources refer to it as the capital of the Aramaeans, a Semitic people who have left a legacy in portions of the canal system, place-names, and, in one outlying area, the Aramaic language itself. In succeeding centuries before Christ, it fell like other capitals of the Middle East to foreign conquerorsto Assyrians in the 8th century, Babylonians in the 7th, Persians in the 6th, Greeks in the 4th, and Romans in the 1st. With Alexander's conquest in 333 BC, Damascus became part of the Hellenistic world for almost a thousand years. The Aramaean quarters coexisted with a new Greek settlement, whose architectural remains may be seen in arcaded streets. Incorporation into the Roman Empire continued the Hellenistic tradition. The citadel in the northwest corner rests on Roman foundations. About 220 yards east of it is the Great Mosque of Damascus, built by the Umayyads on the same site as the Byzantine Church of St. John, the Roman Temple of Jupiter, and the Aramaean sanctuary of Hadad. Still preserved is Ananias (Hanani) Chapel, commemorating the conversion in Damascus of Saul of Tarsus, who became the Apostle St. Paul. It stands near the eastern end of the Street Called Straight (modern Bab Sharqi Street), the classical eastwest thoroughfare of the Romans. With the division of the Roman Empire at the end of the 4th century AD, Damascus became an important military outpost for the Byzantines. Religious and political differences, however, increasingly divided Constantinople from the Syrians. Furthermore, the Persian wars of the 6th century, fought largely on Syrian soil, ruined the economic life of the country. As a result, Damascus opened its gates not unwillingly to the Muslim armies in 635. The Muslim city Damascus was the first great city of the ancient world that the Muslim Arab forces encountered. In 661, Mu'awiyah, the first Umayyad caliph, moved out of Arabia and established his court in the Syrian capital. The city was renowned for almost a century thereafter as the capital of a luxurious and extensive empirethe most far-reaching of any achieved by Islam. The principal extant monument of this period is the Great Mosque of Damascus, begun under caliph al-Walid I in 705. Although it has been damaged, burned, and repaired several times, it is still a glory of Islamic architecture. On the west wall of the courtyard are the remains of 8th-century mosaics: a golden vision of houses, gardens, streams, and bridges, which has been variously interpreted as a scene of paradise or of Damascus as it then was. The 'Abbasids on coming to power in 750 transferred the capital of the Muslim state east to Baghdad. From that time until the advent of Seljuq Turkish power in the 11th century, Damascus languished in the backwaters of the Muslim world. As 'Abbasid power weakened, Damascus and other cities in the region constantly warred with one another. Public order and economic life declined. During this chaotic period the open plan of the Roman town was modified considerably. With little civic authority city life increasingly centred on quarters where people of common ethnic, religious, or occupational interest lived together: the Muslims in the centre of the city, the Christians to the northeast, and the Jews in the southeast. Behind its barricades, each neighbourhood was thus a mini-city under a leader and with its own amenitiesmosque, bath, public oven, water supply, and markets. A typical house in the Old City was erected around a courtyard with fountains and trees and showed a blank wall to the street. A new era opened when Nureddin (Nur ad-Din ibn Zangi), a powerful Seljuq, captured the city in 1154 and made it once again the capital of a large empire. The town revived; religious buildings were erected, new forms of architecture were introduced, and new quarters for immigrants sprang up. The city continued to flourish under his successors, the Ayyubids, and their successors, the early Mamluks, who ruled Egypt and Syria from 1250 until 1382. There were unfortunate interludes when the city was occupied and partially burned by the Mongols. Damascus was the second cityafter Cairoof the Mamluk Empire, its first line of defense, and the staging point for attacks to drive out crusaders and Mongols. Suqs, or markets, serving the garrisons grew up in the area to the north of the citadel, and suburbs were extended. In the 14th century as many Damascenes lived outside the walls as within. Excess food was exported primarily to the Egyptian capital, and the manufacture of luxury items such as brocaded silks, inlaid metalwork, ceramics, and glass for the conspicuous consumption of the lavish Mamluk courts and for European markets was encouraged. For several Islamic rulers Damascus was a favourite place of residence. FourNureddin, Saladin and his brother, al-'Adil, and Baybars Iare interred within the Old City. Their tombs, which are combined with religious colleges, or madrasahs, are among the city's most attractive medieval buildings, blending unobtrusively into the urban surroundings. A charming feature is the segmented melon dome that crowns the cupolas. Two of these complexes, the 'Adiliyah Madrasah and the az-Zahiriyah Madrasah, face one another across a narrow street and house, respectively, the Arab Academy and the National Library. Under the later Mamluks, Damascus suffered from rapacious governors and civil strife among contenders for power. More dire were the pillage of the city in 1401 by Timur (Tamerlane) and his deportation of skilled artisans and workmen to Samarkand. Damascus regained some prosperity in the mid-15th century as corrupt Mamluk leaders jostled for power. Paradoxically, a lively project of public works continued, but in a more ostentatious fashion than under the Ayyubids.