Great Mosque of Nablus
جامع نابلس الكبير
Religion
AffiliationIslam
Branch/traditionSunni
Year consecrated1187
Location
LocationNablus, West Bank, Palestine
Great Mosque of Nablus is located in the West Bank
Great Mosque of Nablus
Shown within the West Bank
Geographic coordinates32°13′4.82″N 35°16′9.64″E / 32.2180056°N 35.2693444°E / 32.2180056; 35.2693444
Architecture
TypeMosque
StyleEarly Arab, Ayyubid
Completed10th century
Specifications
Dome(s)1
Minaret(s)1

Great Mosque of Nablus (Arabic: جامع نابلس الكبير Jami' Nablus al-Kebir) is the oldest and largest mosque in the Palestinian city of Nablus.[1] It was originally built as a Byzantine church and was converted into a mosque during the early Islamic era. The Crusaders transformed it into a church in the 11th century, but it was reconsecrated as a mosque by the Ayyubids in the 12th century. The mosque is located at the intersection of the main streets of the Old City, along the district's eastern edges.[2] It has a long, narrow, rectangular floor plan and a silver dome.[3]

Inside the mosque

History

Local legend in Nablus claims that mosque was the site where Jacob's sons handed Jacob the blood-stained coat of their brother Joseph as evidence that his favorite son was dead.[1] This tradition is more associated with the nearby al-Khadra Mosque, however.

The site of the Great Mosque was originally a basilica built during the reign of Philip the Arab in 244-249 CE.[3] The Byzantines later constructed a cathedral on the basilica's ruins and this cathedral is depicted in the mosaic Map of Madaba in 600 CE.[4] It was likely damaged or destroyed by the Samaritans during their raids in 484 and 529, but Emperor Justinian I (reigned from 483-565) had the cathedral restored.[5]

The cathedral was transformed into the Great Mosque of Nablus in the early period of Islamic Arab rule in Palestine, in the 10th-century.[6] Arab geographer Al-Maqdisi wrote that the Great Mosque was in the “midst” of Nablus, and “is very finely paved.”[7] The Crusaders reconverted the mosque into a church, but made only few alterations including the construction of an apse. In 1187, the Ayyubids led by Saladin converted the building to a mosque again. The building was burned down by the Knights Templar in the sack of the city of 30 October 1242.[5]

A new building was present by the end of the 13th century, as evidenced by Arab chronicler al-Dimashqi who, in 1300, mentions the Great Mosque as “a fine mosque, in which prayer is performed, and the Qur'an is recited day and night, men being appointed thereto.”[8] In 1335, Western traveler James of Verona recorded that the mosque had been “a church of the Christians but now is a mosque of the Saracens.”[5] Twenty years later, Ibn Batuta visited it and noted that in the middle of the mosque was a “tank of sweet water.”[9]

In 1641, the Great Mosque's minaret was rebuilt,[10] but the mosque compound had remained virtually untouched throughout most of its later existence until a severe earthquake struck Palestine, especially Nablus in 1927. The mosque's dome and minaret were destroyed as a result, but were restored in 1935.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Dumper, Stanley and Abu-Lughod, 2007, p. 267
  2. ↑ Places to Visit General Mission of Palestine-Tokyo.
  3. 1 2 3 Semplici, Andrea and Boccia, Mario. - Nablus, At the Foot of the Holy Mountain Archived 2017-07-08 at the Wayback Machine Med Cooperation, pp.15-16.
  4. ↑ Pringle, 1998, p. 97
  5. 1 2 3 Pringle, 1998, p. 98
  6. ↑ Dumper, Stanley and Abu-Lughod, 2007, p. 266
  7. ↑ al-Muqaddasi quoted in le Strange, 1890, p.511.
  8. ↑ al-Dimashqi quoted in le Strange, 1890, p.513.
  9. ↑ Ibn Batuta quoted in le Strange, 1890, p.514.
  10. ↑ Nablus Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine Nablus Guide.

Further reading

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