292. Rabba, ar- / Rabbat Moab / Areopolis / Kafr Rabba | الربّة / ربة مؤاب

al-Kerak Governorate

Maqām Zayd ibn ‘Alī ibn Ḥussein Zayn al-Abidīn

JADIS no. 2207002

MEGA no. 11039

Coordinates: 31°16'07.0"N 35°44'36.7"E

31.268611, 35.743528

Plan: Mosque rectangular, slightly trapezoid with miḥrāb in S-wall facing entrance in the N wall; in the N environment several recent tombs.

Measurements: 48.64m²

Exterior: 8.80 x 7.60 m; thickness of walls 1.20m.

Interior: 7.60 x 6.40 m.

Building Materials: semi-dressed brownish limestone with occasional insertion of longer well-dressed basalt blocks. The megalithic whitish limestone slab (2.70 x 0.60 m) at the exterior behind the miḥrāb is most probably of ancient origin.

Construction details: irregular masonry; joints bond with brown sand mortar.

Preservation: ruined and recently restored. The entrance door in the N wall has been rebuilt up to the lintel which consists of a long limestone. The masonry is preserved up to five courses, the upper ones of the walls have recently been sealed with concrete.

Inscription(s): A three-lined inscription in naskhi on a limestone block is preserved in the DoA at Kerak (Photo and transcription by NAt):

Translation: “In the name of Allāh the Merciful, the Compassionate. This blessed grave is the grave of Zayd ibn ‘Alī ibn al-Ḥusein ibn ‘Alī [ibn] Abī Ṭālib, the blessings of Allāh be upon them all. The servant in need of Allāh, the Exalted, Sulaymān al-Qānūnī, made it.” (Translation by RS).

Date(s): Zayd ibn ‘Alī Zayn al-‘Ābidīn ibn al-Ḥusein was born in H 76 / AD 695 and triggered a revolt against the Umayyad Caliph Hishām ibn‘Abd al-Malik in H 122/AD 722. Yūsuf ibn Umar al-Thaqafī, the Umayyad Governor of Irāq, quelled the insurgency and in this turmoil Zayd bin ‘Alī was killed. The shrine in ar-Rabba is believed to be the final burial place of the head of Zayd bin ‘Alī (al-Zaidi 2005). The sanctuary is dated by the inscription to the reign of Sulaymān al-Qānūnī (“I. the Magnificient”, AD 1520-1566) with later restorations. 

Traveler Reports: none known.

Bibliography: Tarawneh 1992, 350; HSJ 72; Zaidi 2005; Hiyyari 2008, 74; Hattab 2015, 60-61; Schick 2020 , no. 97.