Great Mosque of al-Nuri, Homs

Originally, under the Roman Empire, the Great Mosque was the site of the city's pagan temple for the sun god ("El-Gabal"). The temple gained Emesa (Homs) prominence in the region as an important center of paganism and one of its priests, Elagabalus, became Emperor of Rome. El-Gabal's temple was paid tribute by Aurelian after he attributed his victory of Zenobia to the deity. In 1154, Muslim geographer al-Idrisi wrote that the mosque was "one of the largest of all the cities of Syria". During the reign of Nur ad-Din the Zengid sultan, between 1146 and 1174, much of the modern structure was built and thus the name "al-Nuri" was attributed to him. The Great Mosque has since undergone extensive modifications over the centuries. == Archaeology ==

In February 2026, a newly analyzed Greek inscription provided evidence for the location of the long-lost Temple of the Sun, once home to the solar cult of the Roman emperor Elagabalus. Carved into a granite column base beneath the mosque’s floor, the Greek text describes a ruler with "heroic and militaristic" imagery, comparing him to the wind and a leopard. While found during 2016 restoration work, full academic analysis was delayed until recently due to instability in the region. Published in the journal Shedet, the study suggests that the sacred space was preserved through architectural "superimposition" rather than destruction, with the pagan temple's stones forming the foundation for later structures. ==Architecture==

The body structure of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri is large and rectangular and inside the mosque is courtyard of the same shape. The courtyard includes a raised terrace along the wall, possibly representing a part of the podium on which the cella of the pagan temple would have stood. Other independent structures in the courtyard include a heavily decorated basalt basin, perhaps being an old sarcophagus. Columns with Corinthian capitals line the wall, some of which are clearly of Roman origin. The mihrab ("pulpit") of the mosque contains remnants of mosaics in its arch. The main entrance to the mosque is arched, decorated with black and white stone, and carved with Arabic inscriptions on either side. == See also ==