Incomplete Friday mosque, Rabat
Date:
1195
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Morocco
Description:
The square minaret traditionally known as the Tower of Hassan is part of a Friday mosque commissioned by the third Almohad ruler, Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur (r. 1184–99). The mosque was designed to accommodate more worshipers than made up the population of Ribat al-Fath (now Rabat) at the time, so it evidently served a symbolic function as a display of power. The mosque was not completed after al-Mansur's death in 1199, and so the minaret now towers at half of its intended height above fragmentary walls and the stumps of almost 350 column drums.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
8
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons, Navid Jamali
