Medieval History
It's Friday and the weekly congregational prayer has just ended at the Umayyad Mosque, Syria's most famous monument. As the faithful exit, they walk past an unassuming bit of masonry on the mosque's southern wall: a Greek inscription above a blocked doorway, with a most unlikely message: "Thy Kingdom, O Christ, is an everlasting Kingdom, and Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations." How did Psalm 145 end up on the outside of one of Islam's holiest sites? The answer provides a fascinating window onto the history of the mosque, and Syria's surprising religious landscape.
The Umayyad Mosque stands in the middle of Damascus's old city, on a site that has been home to religious worship since the second century B.C. The Romans built a temple there dedicated to Jupiter; its western facade survives today as part of the entrance to the great Souq al-Hamidiyya. In the fourth century A.D., when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, the temple became a church, which was famous for its prized relic?the head of John the Baptist.
In 636, Arab armies seized Damascus, and about three decades later the city became the capital of the fledgling Islamic state, now under the leadership of the Umayyad caliphs. Despite the changing of the guard, the church continued as the center of Christian worship. Indeed, Christians remained in the demographic majority long after the conquest, and many served the new Muslim empire much as they had the Byzantines long before.
Click here to read this article from the Wall Street Journal
- Minaret Of Aleppo's Umayyad Mosque Destroyed
The minaret of Aleppo's historic Umayyad mosque has been destroyed, with video showing the famous structure in ruins. The Syrian government and opposition forces are blaming each other for the destruction. In a video released by opposition forces,...
- Medieval Mosque Discovered In Oman
Oman's Heritage and Culture Ministry announced that the Omani-French Exploration Expedition managed to unearth new archeological findings for Qalhat city. The findings highlight the historic and economic role played by Qalhat during the Medieval Ages....
- Cordoba: Name Debate Echoes An Old Clash Of Faiths
The great mosque of Córdoba was begun by the Muslim caliphs in the eighth century, its forest of pillars and red-and-white striped arches meant to convey a powerful sense of the infinite. With the Christian reconquest of Spain in the 13th century, it...
- Cemeteries And Altars From 1st And 4th Centuries Found Near Mar Taqla Site In Syria
The national archeological mission working near the site of Mar Taqla (St. Thecla) in Ein Mnin in Damascus Countryside Province, discovered a number of rock-carved halls and some Roman and Byzantine cemeteries dating back to the period between the 1st...
- Damascus Summer Course On Christian And Islamic Art: Second Year
Damascus Summer Course on Christian and Islamic Art: Second Year The Summer Course ?Christian and Islamic Art and Architecture ? A Heritage of Religious Interaction? was a great success last year, and will therefore be repeated. The 2010 course will...
Medieval History
A Glittering Crossroads: In Damascus's Umayyad Mosque, Roman paganism, Christianity, and Shiite and Sunni Islam all intersect
It's Friday and the weekly congregational prayer has just ended at the Umayyad Mosque, Syria's most famous monument. As the faithful exit, they walk past an unassuming bit of masonry on the mosque's southern wall: a Greek inscription above a blocked doorway, with a most unlikely message: "Thy Kingdom, O Christ, is an everlasting Kingdom, and Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations." How did Psalm 145 end up on the outside of one of Islam's holiest sites? The answer provides a fascinating window onto the history of the mosque, and Syria's surprising religious landscape.
The Umayyad Mosque stands in the middle of Damascus's old city, on a site that has been home to religious worship since the second century B.C. The Romans built a temple there dedicated to Jupiter; its western facade survives today as part of the entrance to the great Souq al-Hamidiyya. In the fourth century A.D., when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, the temple became a church, which was famous for its prized relic?the head of John the Baptist.
In 636, Arab armies seized Damascus, and about three decades later the city became the capital of the fledgling Islamic state, now under the leadership of the Umayyad caliphs. Despite the changing of the guard, the church continued as the center of Christian worship. Indeed, Christians remained in the demographic majority long after the conquest, and many served the new Muslim empire much as they had the Byzantines long before.
Click here to read this article from the Wall Street Journal
- Minaret Of Aleppo's Umayyad Mosque Destroyed
The minaret of Aleppo's historic Umayyad mosque has been destroyed, with video showing the famous structure in ruins. The Syrian government and opposition forces are blaming each other for the destruction. In a video released by opposition forces,...
- Medieval Mosque Discovered In Oman
Oman's Heritage and Culture Ministry announced that the Omani-French Exploration Expedition managed to unearth new archeological findings for Qalhat city. The findings highlight the historic and economic role played by Qalhat during the Medieval Ages....
- Cordoba: Name Debate Echoes An Old Clash Of Faiths
The great mosque of Córdoba was begun by the Muslim caliphs in the eighth century, its forest of pillars and red-and-white striped arches meant to convey a powerful sense of the infinite. With the Christian reconquest of Spain in the 13th century, it...
- Cemeteries And Altars From 1st And 4th Centuries Found Near Mar Taqla Site In Syria
The national archeological mission working near the site of Mar Taqla (St. Thecla) in Ein Mnin in Damascus Countryside Province, discovered a number of rock-carved halls and some Roman and Byzantine cemeteries dating back to the period between the 1st...
- Damascus Summer Course On Christian And Islamic Art: Second Year
Damascus Summer Course on Christian and Islamic Art: Second Year The Summer Course ?Christian and Islamic Art and Architecture ? A Heritage of Religious Interaction? was a great success last year, and will therefore be repeated. The 2010 course will...