Description of the attraction
The Juma Masjid Mosque is located in the city of Herat, in the province of the same name in northern Afghanistan. It was built during the time of the Ghurids, the famous sultan Hayas-ud-Din Gori laid the first stone in its foundation in 1200.
The first cathedral mosque of the city was erected on the site of two small temples of fire, which were destroyed by an earthquake and fire. After the death of Sultan Hayas, the construction of the temple was continued by his brother and successor Muhammad of Ghor. This is confirmed by the inscription on the eastern portal, discovered in 1964 during the restoration, as well as the records of the Timurid historian of the sixteenth century.
After the capture of the province by the army of Genghis Khan, along with most of Herat, a small building was ruined. It remained in this form until 1245, until, by order of Shams ad-Din Kata, reconstruction work began, and the full-scale construction of the mosque began in 1306. The earthquake of 1364 again almost completely destroyed the building. After some time, after attempts to restore the mosque, construction began on a new cathedral mosque with adjoining gardens. The decoration of the building was carried out for five years by craftsmen invited by the emir from all over the empire. Later, the mosque underwent another renovation when Prince Khurram (Shah Jahan) fought for control of the region with Uzbek tribes.
After the Anglo-Afghan war, most of the mosque was destroyed. The restoration program began in 1945, the walls and rooms were rebuilt, the northeastern part of the mosque was extended from about 101 meters to 121 meters long, turrets were added, and expensive materials from the Timurids and Mughal times were replaced with local cheap materials.
Overall, several of the mosque's reconstructions and restoration programs have left little of the original appearance of the building, apart from the southern portal. Currently, the temple is in good condition, because despite the constant confrontation in the region, all the rulers kept the mosque in good condition.
