Umayyad Mosque

Lore & Background

The site has been used as a house of worship since the Iron Age, when the Arameans built a temple to Hadad. It was later associated with Zeus during the Hellenistic period. Under Roman rule after 64 CE, it became the center of the imperial cult of Jupiter.

The current walls of the mosque were the inner walls of the Temple of Jupiter (built 1st century BC to 4th century AD). Under Byzantine rule, Emperor Theodosius I transformed it into a cathedral. After the Muslim conquest of Damascus in 634, part of the cathedral was designated as a musalla.

The Umayyad caliph al-Walid I confiscated the rest of the cathedral for Muslim use, returning other properties as compensation. The chapel was demolished and a grand mosque built over nine years by thousands of laborers and artisans, funded by war booty and taxes on Arab troops. The mosque had a large basilical plan with three parallel aisles and a perpendicular central nave leading to the world's second concave mihrab. It was noted for marble paneling and extensive gold mosaics covering some 4000 m2.

Under Abbasid rule, the Dome of the Treasury and Minaret of the Bride were added; the Mamluks added the Minaret of Qaitbay. The mosque innovated Islamic architecture and was regarded as a 'wonder of the world' by many medieval Muslim writers. Although 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.

Reader's Guide

The mosque is located in the old city of Damascus. Visitors can see the remains of the Roman-era triple doorway in the exterior southern wall. The prayer hall features three aisles and a central nave.

The courtyard contains the Dome of the Treasury and the Minaret of the Bride. The Minaret of Qaitbay is also present. The mosque's interior includes marble paneling and gold mosaics.