Glistening in the desert sun stands Masjid al-Zeitouni. What stories do its walls hold?
Masjid al-Zeitouni is not just any mosque. It is a major mosque at the center of the Medina of Tunis. Literally, Al-Zaytuna means the Mosque of Olive. It is the oldest in the city.
Imagine yourself transported back to the end of the 7th century. Or maybe the early 8th century. That is when Masjid al-Zeitouni was founded. Its current form comes from a 9th-century rebuild. The rebuild included antique columns from Carthage. Later additions and restorations happened over the centuries.
Covering 5,000 square metres the mosque has nine entrances. Al-Zaytuna became a place of higher education. It is now the University of Ez-Zitouna. From the 13th century, it became Tunisia’s most important school.
One legend says the mosque is named “Mosque of Olive”. This is because it was built where an olive tree stood. It was an ancient worship place. Ibn Abi Dinar was a 17th-century Tunisian historian. He said a Byzantine Christian church dedicated to Santa Olivia was there. Investigations in 1969–1970 showed the mosque was built over a Byzantine-era building. This building had columns and covered a cemetery. It may have been a Christian basilica.
Muhammad al-Badji Ibn Mami had another idea. He thought the structures were part of a Byzantine fort. Arab conquerors then built their mosque inside.
Tunisians still venerate Saint Olivia. They superstitiously believe misfortune will happen if her memory is profaned. They believe Islam will end when her relics are found. King Martin I of Sicily wanted Saint Olivia’s relics back in 1402. Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II, the Berber Caliph of Ifriqiya, refused.
Al-Zaytuna was the second mosque in Ifriqiya and the Maghreb. It came after the Mosque of Uqba in Kairouan. Al-Bakri wrote in the 11th century. He said Ubayd Allah ibn al-Habhab built a Friday mosque in Tunis in 732–733 CE. Ibn Khaldun repeated this. Al-Bakri also mentioned Hasan ibn al-Nu’man building a mosque around 698 CE.
Most scholars say Ibn al-Nu’man founded it in 698 CE. Ibn al-Habhab may have rebuilt, expanded, or finished it. Tunis likely had a mosque soon after its conquest in 79 Hijri. Ahmed ibn Abu Diyaf, a Tunisian historian, said Hasan ibn al-Nu’man founded it in 703 CE. Lucien Golvin said Ibn al-Habhab founded it in 734–735 CE.
The mosque’s current look is from an Aghlabid reconstruction. This dynasty ruled Ifriqiya for the Abbasid caliphs in the 9th century. Emir Abu Ibrahim Ahmad started the work. It finished in 864–865. The layout is similar to the Mosque of Uqba in Kairouan.
An inscription at the dome’s base names three people. Al-Musta’in Billah was the Abbasid caliph and main patron. Nusayr oversaw the works. Fathallah or Fath al-Banna’ was the architect. The Aghlabid emir is not mentioned. Nusayr may have directed the work for the Abbasid caliph.
The prayer hall’s interior and corner bastions are well-preserved from the 9th century. There is no evidence of a minaret at this time. Minarets may not have been standard. They might have been controversial.
Between 990 and 995, galleries around the courtyard were added. So was the Qubbat al-Bahu dome. The dome dates to 991. Inscriptions around the Qubbat al-Bahu give these dates. The patrons’ names were erased later. The Zirid emir Al-Mansur ibn Buluggin likely did the work. Ahmad al-Burjini, Abu al-Thana, ‘Abdallah ibn Qaffas, and Bishr ibn al-Burjini were craftsmen.
Under the Hafsids in the 13th to 15th centuries, Tunis became Ifriqiya’s capital. The Zaytuna Mosque became more important. It surpassed the Mosque of Uqba in Kairouan. Al-Mustansir in 1250 and Abu Yahya Zakariya in the early 14th century restored it. They added ablution facilities and replaced woodwork. The mosque’s first minaret was built in 1438–1439. It had a cuboid shape with an arcaded gallery.
In 1534, Spanish forces raided the mosque. They destroyed or dispersed many manuscripts. The Muradid and Husaynid dynasties restored and expanded the mosque during the Ottoman period. In 1637, Muhammad al-Andalus ibn Ghalib added an arcaded loggia. The Bakri family took care of the mosque from 1624 to 1812. The current minaret was rebuilt in 1894. It imitates the Almohad style of the Kasbah Mosque’s minaret. Presidents Bourguiba and Ben Ali restored the mosque in the 1960s and 1990s.
Standing here today, imagine the echoes of scholars. Picture the devoted worshippers. Feel the weight of history. Masjid al-Zeitouni is a testament to faith. It stands as a beacon of knowledge and resilience.