02Knights Templar - Julian Emperor

SAINTS
religious function for a varied number of faith groups over a
very long period of time. The earliest known use of this site
for religious purposes dates from the Aramean period when a
temple of Hadad was built there. During the pre-Christian
Roman period it became the site of a temple dedicated to
Jupiter. Its function was to change again in the Byzantine era
when Christianity was the dominant religion of the Eastern
Roman Empire and a church was built there, importantly one
that was dedicated to St John the Baptist.
Following the loss of Damascus to Muslim forces in 636
AD, during the reign of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius, the
church built on the site was left unharmed. In fact, it was
jointly used by Christians and Muslims, although eventually an
extension made of mud brick was erected against the south
wall of the church where Muslims could pray. This situation
continued until around 706 AD when, under the rule of the
Caliph Al-Walid I of the Umayyad dynasty, it was destroyed
and the mosque that exists today was built in its place. It is
said that the Caliph symbolically began the task of taking
down the church by striking it with a golden spike. When
preparations were being made for the building of the mosque,
a team of workmen supposedly discovered the head of St John
the Baptist. Following this great discovery, a shrine was subsequently
built to house this most precious religious relic.
Interestingly, Caliph Al-Walid I was aided in building the
mosque by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian II who
despatched a skilled team of craftsmen, large quantities of
gold and materials such as mosaic tesserae to him for the purpose.
Like many other mosques (and Islamic architecture in
general) it consequently displays strong Byzantine influence.
The Ummayad Mosque was intended for a number of functions,
not only incorporating religious activities but also serv-
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