Şam’daki Emeviye Camii Kuzey Sütun Dizisi Üzerinde Yer Alan Gemi Tasviri: Nil Nehrine Ait Bir Konu ya da Cennet Tasviri?

Abstract

This paper will bring for the first time an in-depth study of the ship depicted in the mosaic on the east pier of the north colonnade of the courtyard in the Great Mosque at Damascus. The vessel inhabited by two men, one sited on the prow and the second is the helmsman working the port steering-oar, synthesizes several topics: 1. The ship and the adjacent architecture in the Damascus mosaic evidence the continuity of Roman tradition of maritime or Nilotic scenes depicted in Umayyad mosaics; 2. Suggestion for the symbolic representation of the Paradise referred in the Koran; 3. The depiction of human figures in early Islamic arts suggests the tolerance of the Umayyad regime compared to the more restricted iconoclastic law in the Abbasid period and supported by the Hadith; 4. Preserved shipbuilding tradition of the Pharaonic Egyptian papyriform vessels and their diffusion as late as the 8th century CE in the eastern Mediterranean. We may suggest that the ship illustrated in the mosaic in the Great Mosque at Damascus belongs to the original building period of the Mosque by al-Walid I (705-715 CE). The boats depicted within the Nilotic frame surrounding the main mosaic carpet in the Church of St. Stephen at Umm al-Rasas in Jordan (718-756 CE) are the latest examples of Nilotic theme decoration within a Christian Church built and functioning during the Umayyad – Abbasid periods. The Damascus and al-Rasas mosaics both are related in subject decoration, and their architectural content, within different religious edifices (church and mosque), and their illustrated messages may suggest the same symbolism.