Letter H

119. Ḥakamā | حكما

Irbid Governorate

Masjid Ḥakamā al-qadīm; Masjid Salāḥ ad-Dīn

JADIS no. 2322012

MEGA no. 56778

Coordinates: 32°35'42.3"N 35°53'04.0"E

32.595083, 35.884444

 

 

Plan: Square. Two new doors from the W give access from an added prayer hall. The original decentered entrance from the N faces the miḥrāb in the W bay. One central free-standing column shaft (Roman?, today covered by stone tiles) corresponds to corner and wall buttresses to support the cross vaults of the four bays; in the E wall two windows in the centers of the bays. Along the N façade, a staircase upon an arch leads to a platform at the NE corner upon which the trunk of the minaret raises (fig. 119.2).

Measurements: unknown.

Exterior: 10.25 m x 5.5 m.

Interior: unknown.

Building Materials: limestone masonry of squared blocks in horizontal isodomic courses with the occasional insertion of basalt stones Above the decentralized entrance on the N façade, a fragment of a Roman basalt sarcophagus (2nd century AD) has been reused as a lintel. This fragment displays two omphalus-bowls flanking a central wreath (fig. 119.3).

Construction details: The main door in the N wall is recessed into a pointed arch and surmounted by the reused Roman basalt sarcophagus. The door and arch-frames carry modern capitals painted with brown color.

Preservation: Parts of the old mosque are preserved but walls and columns have been covered in recent times by industrially fabricated stone and ceramic tiles. At the NE corner of the roof-top sits the lower part of a minaret of circular cross-section, imitating Ottoman style.

Inscription(s): A new Arabic inscription dates the renovation and enlargement of the mosque to H 1343/AD 1954.

Date(s): Ottoman due to typological correspondence to the Zaydāni mosque at at-Tibne (no. 385), see also the mosque at Ḥawāra (no. 131).

Traveler Reports: none known.

Bibliography: Schumacher 1890 (reprint 2010) 187; Glueck 1951, 114; Mittmann 1970, 15 no. 20; Daire 1988, 69 s.v. Hakama; Khouri 2009, 83 s.v. Hakama; Ta‘an 2019, 78-79 figs. 3. 35-38.

 
Fig. 119.1 Sketch ground plan.
Fig. 119.2 Exterior N-elevation with added staircase and lower part of Ottoman minarett at the NW corner (DT 2018).
Fig. 119.3 Main entrance in N wall with Roman basalt sarcophagus fragment reused as lintel and modern restoration inscription (DT 2018).
Fig. 119.4 Interior W wall with central column (DT 2018).
Fig. 119.5 Interior S wall with miḥrāb (DT 2018).

Figures

[Fig. 119.1 ]
Sketch ground plan.

[Fig. 119.2 ]
Exterior N-elevation with added staircase and lower part of Ottoman minarett at the NW corner (DT 2018).

[Fig. 119.3 ]
Main entrance in N wall with Roman basalt sarcophagus fragment reused as lintel and modern restoration inscription (DT 2018).

[Fig. 119.4]
Interior W wall with central column (DT 2018).

[Fig. 119.5 ]
Interior S wall with miḥrāb (DT 2018).