Great Mosque of Hama

The Great Mosque of Hama (Arabic: جَامِع حَمَاة ٱلْكَبِير, romanized: Jāmiʿ Ḥamāt al-Kabīr), is a mosque in Hama, Syria. It is located about 400 meters (1,300 ft) west of the citadel. Built in the 8th century CE, it was heavily damaged in a 1982 uprising, but today it has been completely restored.

Great Mosque of Hama جَامِعُ حَمَاةَ الْكَبِيرُ
The octagonal Mamluk minaret built in 1427
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
Location
Location	Hama, Syria
Geographic coordinates	35°8′3″N 36°44′43″E
Architecture
Type	Mosque
Style	Umayyad
Completed	8th century
Specifications
Dome(s)	5
Minaret(s)	2

History

The site of the building was originally a Roman temple dating to the 3rd century.^[1] It was converted into a church during the Byzantine era, probably in the 6th century.^[2] It was converted into a mosque in the early Islamic era, although the details and dating of this conversion have been the subject of debate by scholars.^[3][4] Prior to its later destruction, the building contained many reused elements dating from the Roman or Christian Byzantine eras.^[4] One 14th-century Muslim historian, Abu al-Fida', claimed that the church was converted into a mosque right after the conquest of the city in 636–7 CE, during the time of Caliph Umar, but modern scholars have expressed skepticism about this dating, as it appears to be implausibly early.^[5][4] Some, such as Bernard O'Kane, have suggested the conversion took place in the Umayyad period (late 7th or early 8th century), while Maria Guidetti has suggested it could be in the late 8th century during the early Abbasid period.^[6] There has also been debate over the dating of physical elements of the mosque: Jean Sauvaget argued that the riwaqs (arcades) in its courtyard and the east and west walls of the prayer hall could be dated to the Umayyad period, whereas K. A. C. Creswell cast doubt on this dating.^[7]

The Great Mosque has two minarets. One is a square-based tower adjacent to the prayer hall and from an inscription on its surface, dates back to 1124, although some argue that its base is of Umayyad origin,^[8] while others say it was constructed in 1153.^[9] The second minaret is octagonal in shape and was built by the Mamluks in 1427.^[8] At the side of the main northern courtyard is a smaller square courtyard containing the tombs of two 13th century Ayyubid kings.^[8]

The mosque was almost completely destroyed by the Syrian government, along with much of the historic old town, during the civil conflict in Hama in 1982.^[2] It was subsequently rebuilt by the Antiquities Department of the Syrian government.^[9] By 2001, the reconstruction was complete.^[8] The reconstruction followed the design of the historic building,^[1] but not all the details of the rebuilt mosque are true to the original.^[3]

References

Citations

1. Burns, Ross (2009) [1992]. Monuments of Syria: A Guide. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 164. ISBN 978-1-86064-244-9.
2. O'Kane 2009, p. 219.
3. O'Kane 2009.
4. Guidetti 2016, pp. 25–30.
5. O'Kane 2009, p. 220–221.
6. Guidetti 2016, pp. 29–30 (see note 79).
7. O'Kane 2009, pp. 220–223.
8. Mannheim, 2001, p.218.
9. Ring, Berney, Salkin, La Boda, Watson, and Schellinger, 1996, p.138.

Bibliography

• Guidetti, Mattia (2016). In the Shadow of the Church: The Building of Mosques in Early Medieval Syria. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-32883-9.
• Mannheim, Ivan (2001). Syria & Lebanon Handbook: The Travel Guide. Footprint Travel Guides. ISBN 978-1-900949-90-3..
• O'Kane, Bernard (2009). "The Great Mosque of Hama Redux". Creswell Photographs Re-examined: New Perspectives on Islamic Architecture. American University in Cairo Press. pp. 219–246. ISBN 978-977-416-244-2.
• Ring, Trudy; Berney, K.A.; Salkin, Robert M.; La Boda, Sharon; Watson, Noelle; Schellinger, Paul (1996). International Dictionary of Historic Places: Middle East and Africa. Routledge. ISBN 1-884964-03-6..

External links

• Great Mosque of Hama. Archnet Digital Library.