Text (with hotlink) | Original Language | Biographical Info | Religion | Date of Composition | Location Composed | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Letter V from Fragments from the Cairo Geniza in the Freer Collection | Hebrew | Anonymous - an important person in Jerusalem |
Jewish | ca. 1016 CE | The writer of the letter states that incidentally it is said that a certain “glorious place” in Jerusalem has collapsed. |
|
Ibn al-Athir | Arabic | Ibn al-Athir spent most of his life in Mosul and claimed to be a private scholar
(Keany, 2013:83). He was present at
Saladin's military campaigns against the Crusaders. Keany (2013:82)
notes that he wrote much of The Complete History (al-Kamil fi at-Tarikh)
at the turn of the [12th] century, supposedly as a personal reference, abandoned it to write a history of the Zangids, and then returned to the Kamil at the end of his life. The Complete History was completed in 1231 CE and consists of 11 volumes. He is also reported to have lived in Aleppo and Damascus. |
Sunni Muslim | ~ 1200 - 1231 CE | Mosul |
Ambraseys (2009) provided an excerpt - In 407, the great Dome fell down upon the Rock [as- Sakhrah] in Jerusalem.A.H. 407 equates to 10 June 1016 CE - 29 May 1017 CE. |
Ibn al-Jawzi | Arabic | Ibn al-Jawzi was a 20th generation descendant of caliph Abu Bakr, the father-in-law of the prophet Muhammad (de Somogyi, 1932:51). He was born in Baghdad around 1115 CE and died there in 1200 CE (de Somogyi, 1932:52). A true bibliophile, he is reported to have spent most of a considerable inherited fortune in purchasing books (de Somogyi, 1932:52). He was a preacher and a prolific author whose output numbers at least in the hundreds of volumes and may have reached, as he claimed, a thousand (de Somogyi, 1932:54). | Hanbali Sunni Muslim | 2nd half of the 12th c. CE | Baghdad |
Ambraseys (2009) relates that al-Jawzi dates the Dome collapse to A.H. 407
(10 June 1016 CE - 29 May 1017 CE ) and notes that the qadi of Jerusalem could not find out the true [reason for] its collapse, even for rebuilding it. |
al-Dhahabi | Arabic | al-Dhahabi was an Arab theologian, lawyer, professor, and historian
who was born in Damascus or Mayyafarikin in 1274 CE and died in Damascus in either 1348 or 1352/1353 CE
(en Cheneb and De Somogyi in Encyclopedia of Islam v. 2, 1991:214-216).
He traveled and studied extensively with a long sojourn in Cairo.
en Cheneb and De Somogyi in Encyclopedia of Islam v. 2 (1991:214-216)
characterize his written works as that of a compiler like practically all the post-classical Arab authorswhose works are distinguished by careful composition and constant references to his authorities. His most notable work is Great History of Islam (Ta'rikh al-Islam al-Kabir) which begins with the genealogy of Muhammad and ends in the year A.H. 700 (1300/1301 CE). It follows the template of Kitab al-muntazam by Ibn al-Jawzi. Great History of Islam had continuators including al-Dhahabi himself and also appears many times as abridged editions - including abridgments made by al-Dhahabi (en Cheneb and De Somogyi in Encyclopedia of Islam v. 2, 1991:214-216). |
Muslim | Early 14th century CE | Damascus | Ambraseys (2009) relates that al-Dhahabi (Ibar, iii. 96) provided details regarding the collapse of the Dome of the Rock. |
al-Yafi'i | Arabic |
Guidoboni and Comastri (2005) described al-Yafi'i as
a Shafiae historian, known for his Sufism, who was born in Yemen around 1300 CE, settled at Mecca, went on journeys to Jerusalem and Damascus,
and died in 1367 CE.
Guidoboni and Comastri (2005) report his full name as Abdallah ben As'ad b. 'Ali b. Uthman b. Falah al-Shafri. His book
Rawd al-rayahin contains biographies of about 500 saints and Sufis while Mir at al-janan is no more than a compilation( Guidoboni and Comastri, 2005). |
Sufi Muslim | before 1367 CE | Mecca | Ambraseys (2009) relates that al-Yafi'i (Mirat, xii. 20) provided details regarding the collapse of the Dome of the Rock. |
Ibn Kathir | Arabic | Ibn Kathir was a historian and traditionist born around 1300 CE in Bosra. He moved to Damascus in 1306 CE and died there in 1373 CE (H. Laoust in Encyclopedia of Islam v. 3, 1991:817-818). His most notable work The Beginning and the End (Al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya) was written in 14 volumes (H. Laoust in Encyclopedia of Islam v. 3, 1991:817-818). The earthquake account may be in Volume 12. | Muslim | Before 1373 CE | Damascus | Ambraseys (2009) relates that Ibn Kathir (xii. 5) provided details regarding the collapse of the Dome of the Rock. |
Mujir al-Din | Arabic | Mujir al-Din al-’Ulaimi was born in Jerusalem in 1456 CE. He studied there from a young age until he moved to Cairo at the age of eighteen to pursue further studies for about 10 years before returning to Jerusalem. He worked as a public servant and was appointed qadi (Shari’a judge) of Ramla in 1484 CE. He became the chief Hanbali qadi of Jerusalem in 1486 CE and held that position for nearly 3 decades until he retired in 1516 CE. He wrote several books but only one - The glorious history of Jerusalem and Hebron (al-Uns al-Jalil bi-tarikh al-Quds wal-Khalil) - was published (wikipedia). | Hanbali Sunni Muslim | ca. 1495 CE | Jerusalem | Mujir al-Din dates the Dome collapse to A.H. 407
(10 June 1016 CE - 29 May 1017 CE ) and states that in Jerusalem, the great dome which covers the Sakhrah had collapsed. I could not verify the accuracy of the fact concerning the fall of the dome of the Sakhrah and its reconstruction; but it is probable that only a part of it collapsed and that it did not fall entirely. |
Text (with hotlink) | Original Language | Biographical Info | Religion | Date of Composition | Location Composed | Notes |