The building has been a place of worship including its original use as a Roman temple, and subsequently as a Roman church during the Byzantine era, it was re-built in 635 ACE during the reign of Islam's second caliph, Umar Bin El Khattab and named in his honor,[1] this mosque was eventually conquered and converted into a Crusader church, before Beirut was conquered by Mamluk Egypt and it was re-converted into a mosque.
History
The Al-Omari Grand Mosque was originally a Roman temple, dedicated to the god Jupiter. The Ancient Roman influence is visible in some of the architectural elements, including the building's columns and foundations.[2]
Al-Omari Grand Mosque interior
During the Byzantine era, the building was made into a Roman basilica that featured intricate mosaics and architectural elements of the Byzantine style.[2] In the 7th century CE, the basilica was converted into a mosque.[2] During the Crusader occupation of Beirut, in the 12th century, the mosque was converted into the Church of Saint John.[2] Similar Romanesque churches with triple apses were built in Tyre and Tartus, using recuperated material such as Roman columns and capitals.[3]
In 1291, the Mamluks captured Beirut from the last crusader states (1099–1291), and under Islamic conquest the church was again converted into a mosque. It was renamed Al-Omari Mosque after the second caliph, and became known as "Jami' Al-Kabir", or the Great Mosque. Its Mamluk-style entrance and domes and minarets were added in 1350, reflecting traces of the former church's Byzantine style.[2][4]
Badly damaged during the Lebanese Civil War, the mosque's refurbishment was completed in 2004,[2] under the direction of Youssef Haidar.[5]
↑Enlart, Camille (1904). "La Cathédrale Saint-Jean de Beyrouth". Société Nationale des Antiquaires de France: centenaire 1804-1904 (in French). Paris: Klincksieck. pp.121–133.
↑Al-Wali, Sheikh Mohammad Taha (1973). Tarikh al-masajid wal jawami' al-sharifa fi Bayrout (in Arabic). Beirut: Dar al-Kotob.
↑"AlOmari Grand Mosque". Islamic Architectural Heritage. IRCICA. 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
