The White Mosque ( ar, المسجد الأبيض, al-Masjid al-Abyad; he, המסגד הלבן, HaMisgad HaLavan) was an
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
-era
mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers (sujud) are performed, in ...
located in
Ramle,
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. Only its
minaret
A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گلدسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...
is still standing. According to local
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
ic tradition, the northwestern section of the mosque contained the
shrine
A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ar ...
of an Islamic prophet,
Salih
Salih (; ar, صَالِحٌ, Ṣāliḥ, lit=Pious), also spelled Saleh (), is an Arab prophet mentioned in the Quran who prophesied to the tribe of Thamud in ancient Arabia, before the lifetime of Muhammad. The story of Salih is linked to t ...
.
[Al-Abyad Mosque]
Archnet Digital Library.
The minaret is also known as the Tower of the Forty Martyrs.
Islamic tradition dating back to 1467 claims that forty
companions of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mono ...
were buried at the mosque, which influenced an erroneous
[ ]Western Christian
Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic C ...
tradition from the 16th century that the White Mosque was originally a church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chris ...
dedicated to the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste
The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste or the Holy Forty (Ancient/Katharevousa Greek ''Ἅγιοι Τεσσεράκοντα''; Demotic: ''Άγιοι Σαράντα'') were a group of Roman soldiers in the Legio XII ''Fulminata'' (Armed with Lightning) w ...
.
History
First phase
Construction on the White Mosque was initiated by the Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
governor (and future caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
) Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik
Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik ( ar, سليمان بن عبد الملك, Sulaymān ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, – 24 September 717) was the seventh Umayyad caliph, ruling from 24 February 715 until his death. He began his career as governor of Palestine, wh ...
in 715–717 CE,[White Mosque]
Encyclopædia Britannica
The ( Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 26 Dec. 2008. but was completed by his successor Umar II
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz ( ar, عمر بن عبد العزيز, ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz; 2 November 680 – ), commonly known as Umar II (), was the eighth Umayyad caliph. He made various significant contributions and reforms to the society, and ...
in 720.[Pringle, 1998, pp]
182 185
/ref> The mosque itself was constructed of marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
, while its courtyard was made of other local stone. Some two-and-a-half centuries later, Al-Maqdisi () described it as follows:
:
Reconstructions
An earthquake in January 1034 destroyed the mosque, "leaving it in a heap of ruins", along with a third of the city. In 1047, Nasir Khusraw reported that the mosque had been rebuilt.[
After the initial reconstruction, Saladin ordered in 1190 one of his outstanding architects, Ilyas Ibn ʿAbd Allah, to supervise what is considered the second construction phase of the mosque. Ilyas built the mosque's western side and the western enclosure wall, together with the central '']wudu
Wuḍūʾ ( ar, الوضوء ' ) is the Islamic procedure for cleansing parts of the body, a type of ritual purification, or ablution. The 4 Fardh (Mandatory) acts of ''Wudu'' consists of washing the face, arms, then wiping the head and the feet ...
'' building.[
The third phase, in 1267–1268, began after the final fall of the Christian ]Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establish ...
. On the orders of the Mamluk sultan al-Zahir Baibars, the mosque was rededicated and modified by adding the minaret, the dome, a new pulpit and prayer niche, a portico east of the minaret, and two halls outside the enclosure.[ Later Mamluk sultan al-Nasir Muhammad renovated the minaret after an earthquake in October 1318.][Haifa University]
Excavation in Marcus Street Ramla; Reports and studies of the recanati Institute for maritime studies Excavations, Haifa 2007 The Mamluks again commissioned restoration works in 1408.
The last restoration of the White Mosque of Ramle took place during between 1844-1918. Since then, the mosque has been mostly destroyed, except for its minaret.
Architecture
Outline and prayer hall
The White Mosque's compound is rectangular, , and oriented to the cardinal points.[ A large, open courtyard is surrounded by built structures and walls.][
The wide prayer hall stands along the southern wall, with twelve openings northwards to the courtyard.][ Its ceiling consists of cross-vaults supported by a central row of pillars.][ The ceiling and the western part of the prayer hall are 12th-century additions made by Saladin, who also had a new mihrab (prayer niche) built.][
Much of the mosque was built in ]white marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphosed ...
with cypress
Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the l ...
and cedar wood used for the doors. Of its four facades, the eastern one is in disrepair.[
]
Minaret (the "White Tower")
The current Mamluk-built minaret
A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گلدسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...
stands on the northern side of the mosque compound, is square in shape and five stories high, each adorned with window niches, and has a balcony towards the top. The minaret was probably influenced by Crusader-era Christian architecture, but it was built by the Mamluks.[ tall,][ it is accessed via a staircase with 125 steps and contains small rooms, which could be used for resting or as study rooms.][
Al-Maqdisi mentions a minaret in the 10th century.][ There is speculation about a minaret predating the Mamluk one that may have been located closer to the centre of the mosque, as remnants of a square foundation have been found there. However, this may have been just a fountain.][
]
Courtyard and cisterns
Below the central courtyard of the mosque, there are three large and well-preserved underground cisterns
A cistern ( Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by ...
with barrel-vaults carried by pillars.[ Two cisterns (the southern and western ones) were filled by an underground water duct probably connected to the aqueduct built simultaneously with the mosque and city, which brought ]spring water
A spring is a point of exit at which groundwater from an aquifer flows out on top of Earth's crust (pedosphere) and becomes surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere. Springs have long been important for humans as a source of fresh ...
(probably from the vicinity of Gezer
Gezer, or Tel Gezer ( he, גֶּזֶר), in ar, تل الجزر – Tell Jezar or Tell el-Jezari is an archaeological site in the foothills of the Judaean Mountains at the border of the Shfela region roughly midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv ...
to the east). The third eastern cistern was supplied by runoff rainwater.[ The reservoirs provided water for worshippers at the mosque and filled the pool for '']wudu
Wuḍūʾ ( ar, الوضوء ' ) is the Islamic procedure for cleansing parts of the body, a type of ritual purification, or ablution. The 4 Fardh (Mandatory) acts of ''Wudu'' consists of washing the face, arms, then wiping the head and the feet ...
'' at the center of the courtyard, of which only the foundation remains today.[
]
Archaeological excavations
Excavations conducted by the State of Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
in 1949 on behalf of the Ministry of Religious Services
The Ministry of Religious Services ( he, המשרד לשירותי דת (''HaMisrad leSherutay Dat'') (formerly Ministry of Religious Affairs and Ministry of Religion) is a government ministry of Israel that handles Jewish religious affairs.
Resp ...
and the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums revealed that the mosque enclosure was built in the form of a quadrangle and included the mosque itself; two porticoes along the quadrangle's east and west walls; the north wall; the minaret; an unidentified building in the centre to the area; and three subterranean cisterns
A cistern ( Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by ...
. The mosque was a broad-house, with a qibla
The qibla ( ar, قِبْلَة, links=no, lit=direction, translit=qiblah) is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the s ...
facing Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow val ...
. Two inscriptions were found that mention repairs to the mosque: the first relates that sultan Baibars
Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari ( ar, الملك الظاهر ركن الدين بيبرس البندقداري, ''al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Rukn al-Dīn Baybars al-Bunduqdārī'') (1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), of Turkic Kipchak ...
built a dome over the minaret and added a door; the second inscription states that in 1408, Seif ed-Din Baighut ez-Zahiri had the walls of the southern cistern coated with plaster.White Mosque in Ramle
UNESCO "Tentative Lists" for World Heritage sites, submitted 30/06/2000. Accessed August 2020.
See also
* Islam in Palestine
References
Bibliography
*
*
Further reading
*
p.270
ff)
{{Mosques in Israel
Medieval Israel
Mosques completed in 720
8th-century mosques
Mosques completed in 1268
13th-century mosques
Towers completed in the 13th century
Buildings and structures in Ramla
Umayyad architecture in Israel
8th-century establishments in the Umayyad Caliphate
World Heritage Tentative List