21. ‘Ajlūn | عجلون

‘Ajlūn Governorate

Masjid ‘Ajlūn al-kabīr including al-madrasa al-Yaqenīeh 

JADIS no. none

MEGA no. 2914, the mosque 58434

Coordinates: 32° 19’ 56 N 35° 45’ 04.5 E.

32.332222, 35.751250

 

Plan: free standing, broad rectangular; divided by two rows of each four pillars (octagonal in section with impost capitals) into three aisles running parallel to the qibla -wall. Each nave has five bays covered with cross vaults; each bay is separated from the other by a dulled pointed arch (figs. 21.11. 13. 17). The original entry in the W wall has been closed after the 1328 AD catastrophe. In its present condition there are six entrance doors, three in the N and other three in the E walls. All apart from the central E one have horizontal lintels. This is emphasized by its larger size and by a dull pointed archivolt with flanking sitting benches (fig. 21.5).

Measurements: 415 m2, capacity for ca. 570 individuals (Khateb 2020).

Exterior: 21.2-9.5 m (N-S) x18.9-18.8 m (E-W) (Khateb 2020)

Interior: 28.15-28.01 m (N-S) x 14.94-15.02 m (E-W) (Khateb 2020).

Building Materials: big lime stone ashlars, partly of ancient origin, bound in mortar with reuse of Roman spolia.

Construction details: The central bay in the middle aisle exceeds the height of the vaulted ceiling by a higher cloister dome, resting on a band of different late antique-Roman decorations arranged to a pasticcio-frieze (fig. 21.14). The four concave surfaces of the dome are pierced by small windows. Together with the two windows in the S wall and the doors, these openings give only scarce light and ventilation to the praying hall.

Preservation: intact, still used for congregational Friday prayer. The ‘Ajlūn mosque is considered as the oldest still standing Islamic prayer house which was used permanently, only interrupted by the renovation phases.

Inscription(s): Renovation inscription preserved on the lintel of the E entrance (1). Arabic building inscriptions on the lintels of the smaller E lateral door (2) and of the roof door to the minaret (3).

1. On the lintel of the door in the E entrance of the mosque; rectangular reddish-brown limestone block with Kufi in five lines (transcription and translation by NAt):

Translation: “In the name of Allāh, the Merciful, the Compassionate (bismillāh). Those who attend the mosques of Allāh are only for those who believe in Allāh  and the Last Day and those who conduct prayers and bring alms (zakah) and do not fear anything but Allah: those are the guided (people). This is what was constructed by the poor servant of Allāh who asks his forgiveness:‘Umar ibn De’māsh ibn Yūsef al-Ḥamīdi al- Maleki al-Ṣaleḥi al-Najmi in the days of our lord the Sulṭān and the good king Abū al-Makarem Najm ad-Dīn wa al-dunia the Sulṭān Ayyūb, the son of the king al- Kamel Muḥammad ibn [???] the Sulṭān and just King Abū Baker ibn Ayyūb ibn Khalīl, the prince of the believers, may Allāh grant him the good of this life and the other life, this was [written] in the last ten days of the blessed month of Jumādi al-ākherah in the year six hundred forty five Hijri, may Allāh remunerate him.”

2. Long rectangular limestone block with Arabic calligraphic inscription of three lines, today conserved outside the mosque near the NE door.

Translation: “This blessed minaret has been built under the reign of Sulṭān al-Malik az-Ẓāhir, the participant on the reign of the noble man of the believers, the God-needing servant, the on the mercy of his wealthy lord hoping Sandjar, son of ‘Abd Allāh, from Shayzar (in northern Syria). Allāh may bestow him mercy and leave him to dwell inmid the paradise and may redeem the one who impetrates Allāh to have mercy on him. In the year two and sixty and six hundred“ (H 662 =AD 1263-64“)”.

Date(s): Inaugurated in H 645 /1247 AD (inscription 1), flooded and damaged on September 28th, 1328. In the afterward restoration the original entrance at the W wall has been closed and the N wall was renewed (Kenny 2009). The central entry of the E side is probably mentioned in the restoration inscription of AD 1332 (Inscription 2). According to its Arabic Inscription, the Minaret was added before the flood catastrophe in H 662/ AD 1263/64 (inscription 3). The mosque has been restored in the earlier 2000 by the DoA. This intervention caused a partial ruin of adjacent medieval buildings such as shops and the madrasa. During the second half of the 20th century the pencil-shaped upper “Ottoman-style” minaret was set upon the original lower cubical part.

Traveler Reports: “Among others there was an odd mosque, a central court and pillars, lightened by circular windows from a dome above, and containing several Arabic inscriptions, which, however, we had no time to copy. In the court were a number of broken pillars that lay half buried in the earth; on one of which was a long Greek inscription of about twenty lines, now nearly obliterated; and Arabic inscriptions in great number. There was the strange mixture of architecture as of languages, the Roman and the Saracen both united, as at the castle, triangular pediments making the one, and pointed arches the other. Attached to this mosque, which might have a Christian place of worship also, was a slender but lofty tower of a square form, and about fifteen or twenty feet in breath on each side. The tower could be ascended from the inside by a winding staircase of sixty one steps, formed of coarse marble, above which was a small gallery, and above that again two octagonal stages, the whole being crowned by a small dome, with apertures for lightening from the bottom to the top. On the east of this tower, and on a little lower level, I observed a large well, now used for washing clothes, with the ruins of a large building once errected over it, and apparently of Roman architecture, with Saracen additions and repairs” (Buckingham 1825); “Die gut erhaltene Moschee (dschâmi‘) ist jedenfalls ursprünglich eine christliche Kirche gewesen; das Mauerwerk ist älter als muhammedanisch, und auch die bauliche Anlage ist die einer Kirche. Die Hauptachse weicht 20o nördlich von der Ostrichtung ab. Zwei Reihen von vier Pfeilern teilen den Raum in drei Schiffe. Die Decke ist gewölbt. Die Ostwand hat ein Giebelfensterchen, das nach dem Vorhof sieht. Der Bau zeigt einen 15,8 m hohen Turm (mi’dâne), der einen viereckigen Querschnitt hat, abgestuft und in einem unteren Teil abgeputzt ist. An einer Säule im Vorhof findet sich eine längere lateinische Inschrift (ein Meilenstein?...). Die Kirche ist nun aber in eine Moschee umgewandelt. Der miḥrāb befindet sich an der Südseite. Ein altes arabisches Steinornament ist an der Kuppel in der Mitte der Moschee angebracht. Mehrere arabische Inschriften befinden sich am Eingang zum Vorhof und an der östlichen Fron tder Moschee.“(Steuernagel 1927).

Bibliography: For taxation of the market town 'Ajlūn in the Ottoman tax registers see Hütteroth- Abdulfattah 1977, 162 s.v. Nāhiya ‘Ajlūn, Pādīshā, ‘Ajlūn. For inscriptions and antiquities, the mosque in particular, see Berchem 1903, 53-57; Buckingham 1825, 154-155; Steuernagel 1927, A. 303- 305; RCÉA 12, 1952, no. 4529; RCÉA 16, 1964, 275; Ghawanimeh 1986a, 45-70 figs. 45-56; McKenzie 2002, 618-619; Dwekat 2003, 103-113; Salem 2005, 66-69. 74-77 figs. 1-11. 22-27-29; Bani-Hani - Zibdeh - Hamdaoui 2008, 195-208; Kenny 2009, 787-794; Rawadiyah 2007, II, 90; Walker 2011, 153 note 111; Abu Abila 2013, 15-36; MMU II, 311-358 (M. Abu Abila); MMU IV, 308-312 (A. M. al-Qudah); Raphael 2015, 22 with note 112; Hattab 2015, 190-191; Khateb 2020, 139-140 no. 12 figs. 125-127.