Damascus · a Light

Four religions built on the same rectangle in Damascus

The Great Mosque of Damascus stands inside a walled rectangle that began as an Aramean temple precinct to the storm god Hadad, was rebuilt as a Roman temple of Jupiter, and by the fourth century held a Christian basilica dedicated to John the Baptist. After the Muslim conquest of 635 the two communities used parts of the site alongside each other for about seventy years. In 705 the caliph al-Walid took over the church and built the mosque that stands now, finished around 715. Sources differ on the terms, some reporting compensation and other churches given in exchange, others plain seizure. A shrine inside is said to hold the head of John the Baptist, and Christian as well as Muslim visitors still stop at it.

Damascus · 705 to 715 CE