Letter K
210. Kufr Esad / Kufr Esayd / Kufr ‘Asad | كُفُر أسد
Irbid Governorate
Jāmi‘ / Masjid al-‘Umari
JADIS no. 2122075
MEGA no. 5355, mosque 25708
Coordinates: 32°35'52.6"N 35°42'45.0"E
32.597944, 35.712500
Plan: originally in the N a courtyard (saḥn) with gate (Schumacher 1890); plan rectangular, with main entrance in the N wall, flanked on each side by an additional door (former windows?); qibla wall in S, miḥrāb shifted slightly from the axis of the entrance to the W; The buttresses correspond to two massive free standing pillars which divide the interior in two naves running parallel to the qibla wall with each three cross vaulted bays. On either short sides (E and W wall) two windows, each of them in the center of the pointed arch of the wall.
Measurements: 147 m2, capacity ca. 200 individuals.
Exterior: 16.44 (S)-16.58 (N) m x 8.97 (E-) 9.06 (W) m (Khateb 2020).
Interior: almost 16.5 m x 8.5 m (Schumacher 1890); 11.90 x 10 M (Steuernagel 1927); GJU-survey: 18.75 (S)-18.96 (N) m x 11.18 (W and E) m.
Building Materials: local limestone.
Construction details: interior today entirely plastered and whitewashed; the prismatic pillar imposts, the central niche in the S wall and a horizontal frieze are covered with a timber revetment (figs. 210.2-3).
Preservation: Some blocks belonging to the original mosque are still preserved at the exterior S-wall. Ruined during Schumacher’s days, after recent renovation in use for daily Muslim prayer.
Inscription(s): Quranic inscription on the courtyard gate, defaced (Schumacher 1890), not refound. On the W exterior wall above window renovation inscription dated to H 1381 (= 1961 AD) dedicated by ‘Abd Allāh Mūsā.
Date(s): The plan follows the Ayyubid-Mamluk Rēmūn type (cf. no. 306). Schumacher stated a great similarity between the Kufr Esad mosque and that of aṭ-Ṭaybeh (no. 380). The latter is irreversibly destroyed today but dated by inscription to H 687 = AD 1287. This date corresponds well to the construction history of the mosque in Rēmūn. The Kufr Esad mosque was “fallen” at Schumachers time and underwent refurbishment since the late 19th century, restored in H 1381 = AD 1961.
Traveler Reports: “To the west of the village are seen the remains of a fallen Jâma’, or mosque, measuring 39 feet by 33 feet, with pointed arches, and a paved yard to the north with an entrance gate surmounted by a defaced Koranic inscription. To the west of the Jâma’ extends a rocky region named El-Keta’a…” (Schumacher 1890, reprint 2010). “Im Westen des Dorfes sieht man die Überreste einer verfallenen Moschee, die 11,90 x10 m mißt, mit Spitzbogen und einen gepflasterten Hof im Norden, über dessen Eingang eine kaum noch erkennbare Koraninschrift steht” (Steuernagel 1927); “Schon Schumacher fand keine irgendwie bedeutenden archäologischen Überreste vor. Er erwähnt nur die Ruine einer Moschee sowie Senkgräber, Keltern und Ölpressen -alles am Westrand des damaligen Dorfes.” (Mittmann 1970).
Bibliography: Schumacher 1890 (reprint 2010) 121; Steuernagel 1927, A. 137; 462; Mittmann 1970, 36 no. 80; Daire 1988, 83 s.v. Kufr ‘Asad; Rawadiyah 2007, II, 293; Ta‘an 2019, 106-108 figs. 89-94; Khateb 2020, 124-125 no. 3 figs. 85-87.
