The Great Mosque of Zabid is a historic congregational mosque in the old city of Zabid, Yemen.

History

According to scholar Noha Sadek, the mosque is said to have been built by the Ziyadid ruler al-Husayn ibn Salamah (r. 983–1012), who was also responsible for building the al-Asha'ir Mosque, another famous mosque in the city.[1] Both mosques became centers of Islamic scholarship in the city's heyday.[2] The mosque underwent modification and reconstruction under the Ayyubid dynasty, circa 1200, at which point it acquired most of its present form.[3][4] The brick minaret, one of oldest preserved minarets in Yemen (along with those of the Great Mosque of Sana'a and the mosque of Zafar Dhibin), dates from this period.[3][5] The mosque went through further restoration under the Tahirid dynasty in 1492.[4]

Architecture

The form of the mosque is that of a large hypostyle building with a central courtyard, reminiscent of the classic early Arab mosque plan in Islamic architecture.[3] The minaret has an octagonal shaft[5] and is distinguished by its decorative brickwork.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Sadek, Noha (1998). "The mosques of Zabīd, Yemen: a preliminary report". Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 28: 239–245. ISSN 0308-8421.
  2. ↑ Sadek, Noha (2002). "Zabīd". In Bearman, P. J.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. & Heinrichs, W. P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Volume XI: W–Z (2nd ed.). Leiden: E. J. Brill. p. 370. ISBN 978-90-04-12756-2.
  3. 1 2 3 Finster, Barbara (1992). "An Outline of the History of Islamic Religious Architecture in Yemen". Muqarnas. 9: 124–147. doi:10.2307/1523140. ISSN 0732-2992. JSTOR 1523140.
  4. 1 2 Bloom, Jonathan M.; Blair, Sheila S., eds. (2009). "Zabid". The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195309911.
  5. 1 2 Bloom, Jonathan M.; Blair, Sheila S., eds. (2009). "Architecture; V. c. 900–c. 1250; B. Central Islamic lands; 4. Yemen". The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195309911. The earliest surviving minarets are at the Great Mosque of Zabid (c.1200), the Great Mosque of San῾a and the Great Mosque of Zafar Dhibin (14th century). The octagonal shaft of that at Zabid, articulated by blind arcades, sits on a relatively tall square base and is surmounted by a lantern resembling a muqarnas dome. This minaret served as a model for the 13th-century tower at the mosque of Mahjam and for various towers in the city of Zabid.
  6. ↑ Petersen, Andrew (1996). "Yemen". Dictionary of Islamic Architecture. Routledge. p. 311. ISBN 9781134613663.

Further reading

  • Finster, Barbara (2009). "Arabian Peninsula, art and architecture". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three. Brill. ISBN 9789004161658. (Includes images of the mosque)
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