The tomb containing the remains of Prophet Zakariah, decorated with silver embroideries containing Quranic verses from the chapter of Mariyam, was located in the center of the room. [17], The ḥaram (Arabic: حَـرَم, "sanctuary") consists of the main prayer hall to the courtyard's south,[17] which contains the primary elements of the mosque: the shrine of Zechariah, a 15th-century minbar (Arabic: مِـنـۢبَـر, "pulpit"), and an elaborately carved miḥrâb (Arabic: مِـحْـرَاب, "niche"). This article describes its internal and external structure and full features including its history. Remarks by Bonnie Burnham, President of World Monuments Fund, at the Press Conference on Heritage and Conflict in Iraq and Syria at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday, September 22. This long-term project helped conserve many important Islamic monuments, including some of the finest muqarnas decoration to be found in the citadel, in the entrance portal of the Ayyubid palace. It is located in al-Jalloum district of the Ancient City of Aleppo, a World Heritage Site, near the entrance to Al-Madina Souq. "[24], The Great Mosque has a small museum annexed to it containing a number of ancient manuscripts. This article describes its internal and external structure and full features including its history. Mamlūk architecture (658–922/1260–1516) 4.4. To reduce the load on the pillars, earth fill covering the roof of the cistern was removed and a waterproof membrane was installed to prevent further deterioration. [7] It was built in the beginning of the 8th century CE. Suite 2412 © 2020 World Monuments Fund. [17], There are three other halls that abut the remaining sides of the courtyard. A complex of palaces, baths, and gardens was constructed for the new rulers of the city. Similar to the Great Mosque of Damascus, a maqsurah was built in the form of a square domed room raised by one step above the floor level of the prayer hall, and adorned with Kashan tiles that cover all the internal surfaces of its walls. One of the best remaining examples of Islamic military architecture is the citadel that stands on the top of a hill in the middle of the Syrian city of Aleppo. [6], The mosque was built on confiscated land that formerly served as the Cathedral cemetery. http://www.muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=643, A room in Aleppo,Syria with splendid decorationsSource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aleppo_room2.jpg. [9][19][20] Countering assertions by the state media of Jabhat al-Nusra's involvement, opposition sources described them as rebels from the Tawhid Brigades who were fighting government forces around the mosque. The Citadel of Aleppo is one of the oldest monuments in the world. [11], 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. It then went through a period of destruction and rebuilding that continued on and off for the next six hundred years. Another tradition claims al-Walid founded the mosque using materials from the so-called "Church of Cyrrus. The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that members of Jabhat al-Nusra detonated explosives inside the minaret, while opposition activists said that the minaret was destroyed by Syrian Army tank fire as part of an offensive. For the city of Aleppo, there is no edifice more iconic than its formidable citadel resting over an ellipsoidal hill at the center of the old city, which is a UNESCO heritage site. Moreover, Maslamah's governorship of Qinnasrin was largely ignored by the early Arabic historians, who focused their attention on his campaigns against the Byzantine Empire and the Armenians, and his governorship over the provinces of Iraq, Iranian Azerbaijan, Upper Mesopotamia and Armenia. Medieval sources praise the magnificence of the Ayyubid palace, which was rebuilt after a fire in 1212, only to be destroyed during the Mongol sack of Aleppo in 1260. It was under Ayyubid rule that the citadel reached its greatest peak, after Salah ad-Din (Saladin), the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, succeeded in capturing Aleppo in 1182. Meanwhile, anthropologist Yasser Tabbaa stated the mosque was a continuation of the ancient North Syrian churches and "an entirely localized phenomenon, centered mainly in the region between Aleppo and Edessa. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, the minaret was "quite unique in the whole of Muslim architecture. [21] The opposition's main political bloc, the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), condemned the minaret's destruction, calling it "an indelible disgrace" and "a crime against human civilization. "[17] Archaeologist Ernst Herzfeld described the architectural style of the minaret as being "the product of Mediterranean civilization," writing that its four facades carried elements of Gothic architecture. The natural hill upon which the Citadel was built has long been used as a stronghold (including evidence … ( Log Out / Near the palace, the Ayyubid Cistern is an underground hall, partly carved out of the limestone rock on which the citadel is built. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. The Aleppo Citadel ( saxlerb/ Adobe Stock) . Empire State Building [8] According to later traditions,[10] 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. [11][16], The Mamluks (1260–1516) made repairs and alterations. [11][17] Sultan Qalawun replaced the burnt out mihrab (niche indicating the qibla, or direction to Mecca) in 1285. The formidably fortified Citadel of Aleppo currently attracts several hundred thousand visitors every year. Later, Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad (1293–1341) had the new minbar ("preacher's pulpit") constructed during his reign. Constructed as boxes of limestone blocks filled with loose rubble, they could collapse even in a small earthquake. Read Full Article: However, rebels claimed they had instead salvaged ancient handwritten Koranic manuscripts and hidden them. Accessed by a long staircase, the barrel-vaulted roof of the hall is supported on four massive pillars. However, the current building dates back to the 11th through 14th centuries. This article describes its … WMF included the Citadel of the Aleppo in the 2002 World Monuments Watch and collaborated with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and Syria’s Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums to conserve the site. The eastern and northern halls each have two naves, while the western hall has one. [9], The site of the Great Mosque was once the agora of the Hellenistic period, which later became the garden for the Cathedral of Saint Helena during the Christian era of Roman rule in Syria. The mosque is purportedly home to the remains of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, both of whom are revered in Islam[5][6] and Christianity. The vast courtyard connects to different areas of the mosque, positioned behind the colonnaded arcade. Aleppo is one of the oldest continuously inhabited centers of human settlement and has flourished for millennia. Ḥalab) is dominated by its mighty citadel and punctuated by numerous minarets and several domes. Accordingly, this would explain the belief that the mosque's construction took place during the reign of both caliphs. The Citadel of Aleppo is a masterpiece of medieval Islamic fortress architecture. [14] The architect of the project was Hasan ibn Mufarraj al-Sarmini. The However, there is no precise information about the palace or its location. 350 Fifth Avenue Some of the most impressive works of architecture in the Middle East are the medieval fortresses in cities such as Cairo, Damascus, and Irbil. Mosul the Pearl of Northern Iraq: Its History and Contribution to Classical Civilisation of Islam, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aleppo_room2.jpg. The largest citadels, like those of Cairo and Aleppo, were whole cities with palaces, mosques, sanctuaries, and baths. [14][15], The mosque was restored and expanded by the Zengid sultan Nur al-Din in 1159 after a great fire that had destroyed the earlier Ummayad structure;[6] In 1260, the mosque was razed by the Mongols. The Arsenal, another part of the palace, as well as an Ottoman-era barracks building in the north of the citadel, were refurbished for use as visitor facilities. [22], The Great Mosque contains a number of architectural similarities to the Great Mosque of Damascus, including a hypostyle plan with large marbled courtyard surrounded by porticoes. [26], General view, before destruction of the minaret in April 2013, The shrine of Zechariah within the Mosque, The minaret, before destruction in April 2013, View from the citadel, before destruction of the minaret in April 2013, The minaret of the mosque in January 2011, List of heritage sites damaged during the Syrian civil war, Religious significance of the Syrian region, "Nur Al-Din, the Qastal al-Shuʿaybiyya, and the "Classical Revival, "The Great Mosque of Aleppo | Muslim Heritage", "Syria clashes destroy ancient Aleppo minaret", Chapter Two. The Great Mosque of Aleppo (Arabic: جَـامِـع حَـلَـب الْـكَـبِـيْـر, Jāmi‘ Ḥalab al-Kabīr) or the Banu Umayya Mosque of Aleppo (Arabic: جَـامِـع بَـنِي أُمَـيَّـة بِـحَـلَـب, Jāmi‘ Banī Umayyah Bi-Ḥalab) is the largest and one of the oldest mosques in the city of Aleppo, Syria. The Citadel of Aleppo represents a palimpsest of evidence of occupation from the Hittite, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Zangid, Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman periods. "[10], In the second half of the 11th century, the Mirdasids controlled Aleppo and built a single-domed fountain in the mosque's courtyard. Positioned high above the modern city, the Citadel of Aleppo was a strategic defensive location between Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean Sea. Site proudly built by Amazee Labs. Fax: 646 424-9593. President Bashar al-Assad issued a presidential decree to form a committee to repair the mosque by the end of 2013. "[10], However, architectural historian Jere L. Bacharach writes that 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 the local province (Jund Qinnasrin) sometime prior to 710 until at least the early period of Sulayman's rule. The citadel is situated right in the heart of the ancient city of Aleppo and rises about 164 feet above the neighborhoods that surround it. Ottoman architecture; Bibliography; The urban landscape of Aleppo (Ar. Lastly, small repairs were carried out in damaged sections of the citadel walls and slopes. The minaret was built in 1090,[8] and was destroyed during fighting in the Syrian civil war in April 2013. Meanwhile, structural engineering studies revealed the four pillars in the cistern to suffer from serious structural flaws. ( Log Out / The Citadel of Aleppo is one of the oldest monuments in the world. Aleppo was famous for its architecture; for its attractive churches, mosques, schools and baths, as an important center of trade between the eastern Mediterranean kingdoms and the merchants of Venice, Aleppo became prosperous and famous in the centuries preceding the Ottoman era
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