The Fatimid rebuilding of al-Aqsa after the 1033 earthquake

After the devastating earthquake of 1033, the Fatimid caliph al-Zahir had al-Aqsa rebuilt between 1034 and 1036, and the work was completed under al-Mustansir in 1065. ¹

The earthquake struck the whole city hard and is counted among the causes of a major reorganisation of Jerusalem. The new mosque was smaller than its predecessor — seven aisles instead of fifteen, probably without side doors — but famous for the brilliance of its mosaics and the triumphal arch carrying a royal inscription in gold, the first documented appearance of the Night Journey verse on the building. Nasir-i Khusraw described it in 1047, shortly before its completion, and most of the central part of today's mosque dates from that Fatimid rebuilding. ¹