Ali al-Tantawi
al-Jami al-Umawi fi Dimashq
- Author died
- 1420 AH
- Editions
- مطبعة الحكومة
al-Jamiʿ al-Umawi fi Dimashq: Wasf wa-Tarikh (The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus: Description and History) is a historical and descriptive monograph by the Syrian scholar and author Ali al-Tantawi (1327–1420 AH / 1909–1999 CE), focusing on the history, architecture, and religious significance of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus .
Background and Composition
Al-Tantawi developed a deep personal connection to the Umayyad Mosque during his childhood and youth, spending time in its study circles and studying nearby at the Jaqmaqiyya School and the Maktab Anbar . From around 1919 CE onward, he spent more than forty years gathering reports, documents, and historical notes about the mosque from classical chronicles, manuscripts, and oral narrations of contemporary scholars . Among the primary works he drew upon were the histories of Ibn Asakir, Ibn Kathir's al-Bidayah wa-l-Nihayah, al-Nu'aymi's al-Daris, Yaqut al-Hamawi's Mu'jam al-Buldan, as well as writings by Ibn Tulun, Jamal al-Din al-Qasimi, and Abd al-Qadir Badran .
Al-Tantawi initially broadcast a series of radio episodes about the mosque on Damascus Radio . Later, when the General Directorate of Endowments (al-Mudiriyya al-Ammah lil-Awqaf) requested a concise guide for visitors and tourists, he condensed these materials into this book . He finalized the preface to the first edition in Damascus on 4 Ramadan 1379 AH (1 March 1960 CE), intending it as an abridgment to precede a comprehensive multi-volume study . In a later preface written in Mecca on 3 Jumada al-Ula 1409 AH (1 January 1989 CE), the author explained that his extensive collection of notes and files left behind in Damascus had been lost, leaving this concise work as his sole published record on the subject .
Content and Scope
The book serves both as a historical narrative and an architectural walking tour of the mosque complex :
- Historical Overview: It covers the ancient pre-Islamic origins of the site, which had served as a temple for over three millennia under successive civilizations—including the Greeks and Romans—before becoming a church dedicated to John the Baptist and subsequently an Islamic mosque rebuilt under the Umayyad caliph al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik .
- Architectural Tour: The text guides the reader through the mosque's gates, including Bab al-Barid and Bab Jayrun, as well as the adjoining chambers (mashahid), such as Mashhad Uthman and Mashhad al-Husayn . It describes historical annexes like Zawiyat al-Ghazali, the Kallasa Madrasah founded by Nur al-Din Zangi in 555 AH, the Sumaysatiyya hospice, and the Kamiliyya tomb .
- Minarets and Sundial: It details the minarets—particularly the Minaret of the Bride (Manarat al-Arus) and the Eastern Minaret—and recounts the history of the astronomical sundial (al-basit) installed on the minaret by Ibn al-Shatir in the 8th century AH, which was later reconstructed by the author's grandfather, the astronomer Muhammad al-Tantawi (d. 1304 AH) .
- Courtyard, Paving, and Excavations: It traces the physical state of the courtyard (sahn), from its original Umayyad mosaics to its repaving in 602–604 AH under the Ayyubid sultan al-Adil I, interior floor renewals in 611–614 AH, and modern measurements and excavations conducted by the Awqaf architect Michel Écochard near the Dome of the Treasury (Qubbat al-Mal) .
- Disasters and Reconstructions: It chronicles the major fires and earthquakes that struck the edifice throughout history, notably the devastating fire of 461 AH, partial fires in 562, 570, 646, 681, 740, 1064, and 1131 AH, and an extensive eyewitness-based account of the conflagration on 4 Rabi al-Thani 1311 AH that destroyed the ceiling and central dome .
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