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minaret is quite different from contemporary minarets of the
Fatimid-Zirid period and its shape evokes instead the 9th-century minaret of the Great Mosque of Kairouan. It is roughly 25 metres tall. Like the latter, it is composed of three tiers. The first tier, the largest, is three stories tall and is pierced by a door on the ground floor and a window on each of the floors above. The windows have mixtilinear shapes (a mix of straight and curved lines). The top of the shaft is crowned by several horizontal bands of decoration: a cornice of triangular
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417:. The 5 eastern naves were part of the older Zirid-era mosque, while the 4 western ones are part of the later re-enlargement of the mosque. In the eastern section, each nave runs is 6 bays long (i.e. the length of 6 arches). In the western section, the hypostyle naves run the whole length of the mosque, except for the slightly truncated corner where the present day street passes. The central mihrab of the mosque, dating to the 18th century renovations, is
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340:(southern) wall. During the Zirid period the original Aghlabid minaret, which was probably a slender two-story tower, was encased inside a larger new minaret, which was built around it in the early 11th century. The unusually decorated exterior eastern façade of the mosque is also attributed to the Zirid period by multiple scholars, including Georges Marçais and Lucien Golvin.
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352:, by re-extending the prayer hall to the west, giving it its present layout. The expansion took place in 1758 and in 1774. were the architects of the mosque.As a result of this expansion, the mosque's surface area became similar to its hypothesized original size, but the courtyard remained small compared to the prayer hall. A new
522:. It has been attributed to the Fatimid period (10th century) based on the style of the Kufic script. The wooden doors that grant entry from the narthex to the prayer hall were crafted by a master carpenter named Ahmed Sha'abuni. They ornately carved with geometric and vegetal motifs and were originally painted with colours.
324:). In the 10th century the mosque was reduced in size by suppressing its western half, giving it a much narrower floor plan and leaving the minaret standing at its corner instead of at the middle of the courtyard's northern side, as was usual at the time. Inscriptions in the mosque record renovations in both 988 and 1085.
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tower built in the Zirid period around the original
Aghlabid minaret, rises from the corner of the courtyard, near the middle of the mosque's northern edge. The original minaret also had a square base but it measured only 4.2 metres per side and it rose to a possible height of 20 metres. The present
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motifs so clearly on a mosque is difficult to explain, but may have been possible due to
Fatimid tolerance of unorthodox expressions or due to the existence of local patrons of Byzantine ancestry who chose to reuse this panel. As the inscription no longer names the Christian figure to which it was
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The prayer hall is composed of 9 naves or aisles perpendicular to the qibla wall (the south wall), divided by rows of arches supported by reused ancient columns (as was the case in the original
Aghlabid structure). The hall was probably covered by a flat wooden ceiling originally, but these have
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was considered to be the darkest period for the great mosque since its establishment. The bombs dropped by the French military fleet during the siege in 1881 had caused substantial damages to the minaret of the mosque. After the French soldiers succeeded in taking over the city, they turned the
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mosque into barracks where soldiers wash their clothes, and they used the bowl of the mosque to connect their horses. During World War II, in 1942, two other bombs fell on the mosque. Two local contractors, Mohamed
Trabelsi and Najjar Ali Shaker, took the collateral damage that caused by them.
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Arabic inscriptions. Above the mihrab is a commemorative inscription by the poet 'Ali al-Ghurab. The former Zirid mihrab, further east, has been reopened after being walled off for many years. The little original decoration that it retains suggests it was probably like the mihrab found in the
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The exceptional eastern exterior façade of the mosque is embellished with a series of decorative horseshoe arch-shaped niches or recesses above the doors and windows. Some of them contain Arabic inscriptions. This façade may be from the original 9th-century mosque but its unique and unusual
512:. The piers supporting this dome are adjoined by columns, and the western pier facing the courtyard (on the right when looking towards the prayer hall) is partly covered by a tall marble plaque carved in the shape of an arch with Kufic inscriptions. This plaque served as a kind of outdoor
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wall of the expanded prayer hall, while the old Zirid mihrab was walled off. The architects in charge of this work were, Haj Sa'id al-Qatti, the chief mason, and the artist Tahar al-Manif, who is also named as the craftsman of the mihrab.
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The Great Mosque of Sfax is not precisely date but assumed to be built around the same time, circa 849 AD, but it was extensively modified after the
Aghlabid period. The sponsor of its construction was reputedly the
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After the independence of
Tunisia, the mosque received major repairs in its various sections. During the process, a terrace built in its eastern side was demolished to protect the building from rainwater leakage.
268:. The mosque was the urban and religious heart of the city and it underwent several major modifications in later periods. Architecturally, it is notable for its minaret and its unusually decorated eastern façade.
280:, one of the first Islamic cities. Since its construction, it has been surrounded by the most important production centers and markets in the city, and continues to maintain its economic value to this day.
508:" that leads to the prayer hall, five bays wide. Its central bay projects slightly outward into the courtyard and is covered by a dome. Unlike older Aghlabid domes, the dome does not rest on an octagonal
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559:. This decoration is repeated for the second tier of the minaret, which rises one story. The last tier at the summit is a thin lantern-like structure open on four sides, with
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The mosque is located in the center of the ancient city of Sfax and occupies the very center of it, which made the layout of the city of Sfax very similar to the planning of
308:. The original layout of the mosque was probably very similar to that of the Great Mosque of Kairouan, rebuilt early that century under the Aghlabid emir Ziyadat Allah I.
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751:. Islamic Art in the Mediterranean (2nd ed.). Museum With No Frontiers & Ministry of Culture, the National Institute of Heritage, Tunis.
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745:
Binous, Jamila; Baklouti, Naceur; Ben
Tanfous, Aziza; Bouteraa, Kadri; Rammah, Mourad; Zouari, Ali (2010). "VIII. 1. f The Great Mosque".
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marble panel with
Christian votive themes set into the wall above one of the windows. The panel is carved with an image of two
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facing each other (partly erased by chisel at some unknown date) against a background of foliate motifs and with a
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inscription above. The incomplete inscription appears to have been part of an invocation of God, Christ, or the
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Mazot, Sibylle (2011). "The
Architecture of the Aghlabids". In Hattstein, Markus; Delius, Peter (eds.).
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appearance may date it to a later period. Multiple scholars attribute it to the Zirid period, including
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and Georges Marçais. In addition to the overall composition, another unusual feature is the reuse of a
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of recessed circles, an elegant Kufic inscription frieze, and, at the top, a line of ornate pierced
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M. Bloom, Jonathan; S. Blair, Sheila, eds. (2009). "Architecture; IV. c. 750–c. 900; C. Tunisia".
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attributed the reduction of the mosque's area to 988 and its redecoration to 1085. The original
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prayer hall, which takes up most of the space, and a much smaller rectangular courtyard (
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dedicated, it may have been compatible with a general religious message for the mosque.
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Courtyard of the mosque, looking south to the domed portico preceding the prayer hall
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932:(in Turkish). Vol. 36. Istanbul: Turkish Diyanet Foundation. pp. 286–287.
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Architecture of the Islamic West: North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, 700–1800
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Repairs to the mosque took place in first 980 and then 988, under the rule of the
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was replaced with a new one of Zirid style at the middle of the now shortened
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260:. It was initially built towards the mid-9th century under the rule of the
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In the 19th century the minaret was renovated by Ibn Yemlûl al-Bergavâtî.
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gallery also covered by groin vaults. On the south side is a kind of "
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Ifriqiya: Thirteen Centuries of Art and Architecture in Tunisia
547:. The merlons recall a similar form of decoration found in the
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for those performing prayers in the courtyard, similar to an
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The mosque was enlarged in the 18th century, during the
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The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture
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History of medieval Arabic and Western European domes
633:. This incorporation of a Christian work of art with
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The courtyard is surrounded on all four sides by an
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602:Detail of decoration around the top of the minaret
662:Inscription plaque in one of the recessed arches
590:Detail of decoration of the minaret's first tier
478:The former Zirid-era mihrab of the mosque (10th
466:The central mihrab of the mosque (18th century)
421:or grooved on the inside and is decorated with
300:'Ali ibn Aslam al-Jabanyani, a student of the
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977:Marçais, Georges; Golvin, Lucien (1960).
831:. Yale University Press. pp. 37–38.
650:The exterior eastern façade of the mosque
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856:. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press.
454:Groin-vaulted ceiling of the prayer hall
404:) in the northeast part of the mosque.
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908:. Paris: Arts et métiers graphiques.
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578:The minaret, seen from the courtyard
906:L'architecture musulmane d'Occident
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983:(in French). Imprimerie La Rapide.
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947:. h.f.ullmann. pp. 132–139.
674:Another inscription on the façade
413:since been replaced with masonry
356:was crafted in the middle of the
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16:Historic mosque in Sfax, Tunisia
394:The mosque consists of a large
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945:Islam: Art and Architecture
825:Bloom, Jonathan M. (2020).
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1095:Hanafi Mosque of Bourguiba
698:List of the oldest mosques
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1100:Mosque of the Three Doors
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980:La Grande Mosquée de Sfax
904:Marçais, Georges (1954).
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1235:Sidi Amar Kammoun Mosque
1075:Great Mosque of Monastir
264:, a vassal state of the
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1090:Great Mosque of Testour
1070:Great Mosque of Mahdiya
1039:Medina of Tunis Mosques
1225:Sidi Abdelmoula Mosque
1085:Great Mosque of Sousse
922:Pektaş, Kadir (2009).
788:"الجامع الكبير بصفاقس"
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442:Inside the prayer hall
428:Great Mosque of Mahdia
109:Geographic coordinates
1271:Aghlabid architecture
777:. Retrieved 8-2-2017.
530:The minaret, a thick
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131:34.73611°N 10.76083°E
1230:Sidi El Bahri Mosque
1220:Great Mosque of Sfax
1195:Bou Chouaicha Mosque
1080:Great Mosque of Sfax
246:الجامع الكبير بصفاقس
238:Great Mosque of Sfax
230:brick, stone, marble
99:Shown within Tunisia
28:الجامع الكبير بصفاقس
22:Great Mosque of Sfax
1256:9th-century mosques
1105:Mosque of the Turks
929:Islam Ansiklopedisi
924:"Sfax Grand Mosque"
549:Mosque of Ibn Tulun
127: /
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1133:Mosques by country
1022:Mosques in Tunisia
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220:approximately 25 m
136:34.73611; 10.76083
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631:Virgin Mary
408:Prayer hall
306:Imam Sahnun
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49:Affiliation
1250:Categories
798:2018-02-16
709:References
564:colonettes
289:Foundation
122:10°45′39″E
119:34°44′10″N
619:Byzantine
488:Courtyard
396:hypostyle
226:Materials
185:circa 849
1123:Category
692:See also
623:peacocks
304:scholar
272:Location
250:old city
168:Aghlabid
65:Location
60:Location
43:Religion
1177:of the
1175:Mosques
635:figural
561:engaged
551:and in
545:merlons
537:dentils
526:Minaret
506:narthex
502:arcaded
284:History
258:Tunisia
207:Minaret
176:Islamic
73:Tunisia
1063:Others
951:
860:
835:
775:UNESCO
755:
541:frieze
532:cuboid
514:mihrab
419:fluted
354:mihrab
331:mihrab
318:Zirids
302:Maliki
242:Arabic
156:mosque
1030:Tunis
627:Greek
557:Cairo
519:anaza
423:Kufic
358:qibla
337:qibla
172:Zirid
163:Style
54:Islam
1037:See
949:ISBN
858:ISBN
833:ISBN
753:ISBN
539:, a
510:drum
401:sahn
297:qadi
278:Kufa
254:Sfax
236:The
196:Dome
152:Type
69:Sfax
555:in
252:of
209:(s)
198:(s)
1252::
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