Author
It may be a name
Author Original
قد يكون اسم
Publication Date
6th century AH / 12th century AD
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;ma;Mon01;8;ar
Library Location
Rabat, Morocco
Date
6th century AH / 12th century AD
Notes
Upon his accession to the throne, Sultan Yacoub al-Mansur decided to establish a new capital, Ribat al-Fath. He chose a site near the Kasbah of Wadi Salé (the present-day city of Salé), surrounded it with a huge wall, and then proceeded to build a vast mosque within it. It was expected that it would constitute the largest mosque in the Islamic West, capable of accommodating an entire army. The project recruited a huge workforce, including 700 Christian prisoners. But construction stopped after the sultan’s death, and the teacher was exposed. The incomplete material, during various stages, was subjected to serious damage from looting and the reuse of its materials (stones and marble to build other buildings and wood to build boats) as well as due to earthquakes (repercussions of the Lisbon earthquake that occurred in 1755 and struck the minaret), in addition to the fire whose effects were discovered during the construction of the tomb of King Mohammed V. The mosque included a prayer hall exceeding two and a half hectares, its roof supported by three hundred columns and one hundred poles, as well as a minaret of up to Its height reaches 67 meters (and more than 80 meters with the upper lantern dome (Al-Azri). The landmark wall, which is 183 meters long and 139 meters wide, is interspersed with 12 doors, and the spacious hall is divided into 19 tiles, each of which is made up of 21 cups. These columns constitute an exception in Almohad religious art, as they are Roman-Byzantine in style and made up of overlapping cylinders. It is topped with capitals of a preliminary design. The height of the minaret (Hassan's Minaret), which overlooks the river valley and the seafront, and which constitutes the symbol of the city of Rabat and its most famous landmark, currently reaches 44 meters, and with its square base, whose sides reach 16.20 meters and the thickness of its walls reach 2.50 meters, gives one the impression of strength and grandeur. Each of its sides is built with large courses of stone. Its color changed over time to a different color gradation, starting from silvery gray to dark ocher red, and each side was opened with elegant openings that illuminated the internal railing, which could be climbed on a horse. The latter was decorated with several fields of small arches, topped with decorations of classical architectural lattices and decorations emanating from the arches resting on small marble and stone columns, surmounted by capitals, some of which are of ancient origin. Andalusia, dating back to the period of the Caliphate of Cordoba (4th century AH / 10th century AD). The mausoleum of King Mohammed V (1927 - 1961) was built between 1961 and 1969, inside the wall of the disappeared Great Mosque.
Sample Text
Kamal Lakhdar “Hassan Mosque” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;ma;Mon01;8;ar
