The Umayyad Mosque of Damascus

Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik began building the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus in 87 AH. Al-Suyuti counts it among the greatest things built in his reign. He reports from Ibn Abi Abla that al-Walid conquered India and al-Andalus and built the mosque of Damascus. ²

Al-Sallabi says that al-Walid converted the church that stood on the site after negotiating with the Christians, spent large sums on the building, and that the construction was completed in 96 AH. ³

Al-Umari reports that the Gate of the Clocks was so named because a clock compass was made there, by which every passing hour was known. On it were copper birds, a snake and a crow. When an hour was complete, the snake came out, the birds whistled, the crow called out, and a pebble fell into a basin. ⁴

He also reports that before the mosque was burned, talismans were hung from its ceiling against insects, mice, snakes, scorpions and spiders, and nothing was found in it until it burned. ⁴

The start date is derived from the Hijri date, and is approximate in the museum's calendar.