This mosque in Dagestan is widely called the oldest in Russia.
It stands in Derbent, on the shore of the Caspian Sea. Persian rulers of the Sasanian Empire built great walls here, running from the mountains down to the sea. After the Arab conquest, the city was called Bab al-Abwab, the Gate of Gates.
Sources date the Juma Mosque to 733 or 734, in the time of the Umayyad caliphs. Accounts credit the Arab commander Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik. Some historians think it replaced an older Christian church, pointing to its plan of three aisles, like an early basilica. Its name, Juma, means Friday, the day of the weekly congregational prayer.
A single dome, seventeen metres high, crowns the prayer hall, which has three aisles divided by two rows of square pillars and pointed arches. In the fourteenth century, an earthquake damaged the mosque, and an inscription records its restoration in 1368 and 1369. In the fifteenth century, a madrasa, a religious school, was added to the complex, which took its present form by 1815.
Outside, a stone courtyard is shaded by old plane trees, now protected as natural monuments.
In the 1930s, the mosque was closed, and from 1938 to 1943 it served as a prison. In 1943, it was returned to worshippers, and it has been a place of prayer ever since.
UNESCO listed the Citadel, Ancient City and Fortress Buildings of Derbent as a World Heritage Site in 2003. After nearly thirteen centuries, this mosque still welcomes worshippers.
In 733, one mosque was built in each of Derbent's seven mahallahs. In addition to these mosques, a larger mosque was built for the common Friday prayer. The number of mosques increased, and Derbent had 15 mosques by 1796.
An inscription above the mosque entrance states that in 1368–1369, the mosque was restored after an earthquake by Tazhuddin of Baku. Between 1474 and 1475, construction of a madrasa began. In 1815, the expansion and formation of the mosque complex was completed. During the 1930s, the mosque was closed because of the atheism campaign throughout the USSR. From 1938 to 1943, it was rebuilt as a city prison. In 1943, by a decree from Moscow, the mosque was returned to the city's imams to use for its intended purpose. Its charter was developed that decade, and a board of 20 was elected. Derbent's Sunni and Shi'ite communities have their own imams. The Juma Mosque was the largest in the North Caucasus during the Soviet era, and was the only one in southern Dagestan; believers from throughout the region came to Derbent for Friday prayers. In 2015, in preparation for the celebration of Derbent's 2,000th anniversary, restoration work was done on the mosque.
The mosque complex consists of the main mosque, madrasa, and living quarters for the clergy. At the time of construction from 733 to 734 CE, it was Derbent's largest building. The mosque measures 68 meters (223 ft) from west to east and 28 meters (92 ft) from south to north. The dome is 17 meters (56 ft) high.
Its interior consists of three naves separated by square pillars with profiled capitals. The middle nave is 6.3 meters (21 ft) wide, and the side naves are 4 meters (13 ft) wide. Lancet arches are between the pillars.
The mosque's courtyard is 55 by 45 meters (180 by 148 ft), and has four old plane trees by which it can be recognized from anywhere in Derbent. In 2012, the mosque's plane trees were recognized as natural monuments of all-Russian significance and taken under the protection of the Council for the Preservation of the Natural Heritage of the Nation in the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.
The History, Architecture and later sections are adapted from the Wikipedia article “Juma Mosque of Derbent”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article. Text has been shortened.
The article is a short summary based on published sources; where accounts differ, the text says so. Photos come from Wikimedia Commons and are shown under their free licences, with the author credited under each image. If you are an author and want a credit changed or a photo removed, please write to [email protected].
._%D0%94%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%2C_%D0%94%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD.jpg?width=700)
