The Great Mosque of Bejaia () or Al-Mansuriyah Mosque () was a major historical

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

Béjaïa Béjaïa ( ; , , ), formerly known as Bougie and Bugia, is a Mediterranean seaport, port city and communes of Algeria, commune on the Gulf of Béjaïa in Algeria; it is the capital of Béjaïa Province. Geography Location Béjaïa owes its ...

, Algeria. It was built during the

Hammadid Emirate The Hammadid dynasty (), also known as the Hammadid Emirate or the Kingdom of Bejaia, was a medieval Islamic kingdom in the central Maghreb, encompassing what is now Algeria. It was established at the beginning of the 11th century when Hammad i ...

around the year 1100, under the reign of Al-Mansur ibn al-Nasir. The mosque was destroyed by the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

after they took the city in 1510.

Background

Nothing remains of the Hammadid mosques in

, including the Great Mosque, the Mosque of Rehane, and the Mosque of Natain (). However, Féraud's book about Béjaïa provides a detailed description of the Great Mosque. as well as in a book by Commander de Beylié. These sources mention that a calligrapher from Béjaïa named Al-Bajawi transferred a 12th-century manuscript in 1866. According to this manuscript, Prince Al-Mansur Al-Hamadi completed the construction of the Pearl Palace in 1100/484 and converted it into a mosque. He then placed two

Monolithic column A monolithic column or single-piece column is a large column of which the shaft is made from a single piece of stone instead of in vertical sections. Smaller columns are very often made from single pieces of stone, but are less often described a ...

s within the palace, which were discovered inside an ancient, damaged

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

. Despite interest from the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to purchase them,

Al-Mansur Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ‎; 714 – 6 October 775) usually known simply as by his laqab al-Manṣūr () was the second Abbasid caliph, reigning from 754 to 775 succeeding his brother al-Saffah (). He is known ...

declined. Al-Bajawi also noted that the

Hammadid The Hammadid dynasty (), also known as the Hammadid Emirate or the Kingdom of Bejaia, was a medieval Islamic kingdom in the central Maghreb, encompassing what is now Algeria. It was established at the beginning of the 11th century when Hammad ...

Emir constructed a dome and a minaret near the garden well, with impressive dimensions. The manuscript further reports that Al-Mansur spent 86 thousand golden mithqals on the mosque. Over time, the mosque became a center for scientific and religious education, attracting numerous

scholars A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a terminal ...

and

ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

. Its renown continued during the Almohad era but ended in the 16th century when it was demolished by the Spanish fleet during their conquest of the city.

Architecture

Algerian

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

Dr. Rachid Bourouiba provides a comprehensive overview of the mosque's architectural features sourced from multiple references, including a 12th-century

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

attributed to an author named Ibn Hammad, who is believed to be a descendant of the

Almohad Caliph The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad ...

Abd al-Mumin Abd al-Mu'min (c. 1094–1163) (; full name: ʿAbd al-Muʾmin ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAlwī ibn Yaʿlā al-Kūmī Abū Muḥammad) was a prominent member of the Almohad movement. Although the Almohad movement itself was founded by Ibn Tumart, Abd al-Mu'm ...

, The description continues as follows:

References

{{commons category Mosques in Algeria Hammadids Former mosques in Africa