178. Jerash / Gerasa of the Decapolis /Antiocheia ad Chrysorrhoam | جرش / جراسا

Jerash Governorate

Jāmi‘

JADIS no. 2318002

MEGA no. 58418; 58425

Coordinates: 32°16'44.5"N 35°53'28.0"E

32.279028, 35.891111

Plan: free standing congregational mosque with an open courtyard (saḥn) of trapezoid plan to the N which is lined along three sides by arcaded halls (riwāq); at the NW corner, square foundations of the minaret; The S third of the entire plan is occupied by the broad prayer hall (ḥarām) which could be accessed by a number of doors. In the center of the qibla wall, a small miḥrāb niche slightly projects giving the prayer direction. Two rows of pillars supporting arcades divide this hall into three aisles parallel to the qibla wall. These are arranged by their corbelled arches in nine bays. The aisles supported three wooden gabled roof trusses which were covered by brick tiles (figs. 178.2 and 6). The central bay of this hypostyle hall is widened and leads to the miḥrāb in the S wall; no evidence for an elevated transept.

Measurements: unknown.

Exterior: unknown.

Interior: unknown.

Building Materials: limestone blocks, partly reused from older monuments, bond with lime mortar; a number of spolia with decorations and Greek inscriptions.

Construction details: two sided masonry with rubble fill, parts of the walls consist of solid ancient ashlars.

Preservation: Excavated as a ruin and conserved, not in use for Muslim prayer.

Inscription(s): none known.

Date(s): The date of the mosque can only tentatively been determined by the excavated finds to the time of early reign of the Umayyad Caliph Hishām ibn ‘Abd al- Mālik (reigned H105 / 724 AD - H125/ 743 AD. Constructionphase 1 (fig. 178.3), according to Barns (2009) ca. 710-730 AD). The mosque of the 1st construction phase was built on the ruins of a Byzantine balaneion (bathhouse, cf. Blanke 2015, 97-99 fig. 9) and at least eight shops. Phase 2 (fig. 178.4) is dated by Barns 2009 between the late 8th and early 10th centuries AD. Apart from the minaret and the square-backed miḥrāb in the qibla wall, several alterations of the prayer hall were executed. At the exterior a line of shops was added along the cardo. Phase 3 (fig. 178.5) is dated by Barns from the 10^th to the 11^th century AD. The size of the mosque was reduced at that time by inserting a new E wall of spolia material to the two W bays of the former mosque and a new centralized miḥrāb has been added. The construction activity was executed by clearing this part of the former mosque from fallen debris and may be interpreted as a refurbishment after an earthquake catastrophe.

Traveler Reports: none known.

Bibliography: Walmsley 2003, 111-131; Wamsley - Damgaard 2005, 362-378; Walmsley - Blake - Daamgaard et alii 2008, 109-137; Barns 2009, 783-796; Avni 2011a, 312-315; Damgaard 2011, 191-210; Sqour - Abu Ghanimeh 2014, 3 with note 11; Hattab 2015, 198-199 (mosque not shown); Blanke 2015, 85-103; Rattenborg 2017, 1-21; Schumm 2020, 5.