(2A.) In Ibn Haukal’s time (10th century), the mosque at Damascus was considered one of the largest and most ancient in the land of the Mussulmans. Walid ben Abd-el-Melyk (the sixth Omniade caliph, 705–715) had beautified it with pavements of marble, and pillars of variegated marble the tops of which were ornamented with gold and studded with precious stones. The ceiling was covered with gold, and so great was the cost that the revenues of Syria were expended on the work. Porter (_Five Years in Damascus_, ii, 62) describes the quadrangle as being 163 yards in length, 108 yards wide, and surrounded by a lofty wall of fine masonry. The three sides of the cloister, in an adjoining court, are supported by arches resting on pillars of limestone, marble, and granite, and on the south side of the court is the _harem_ (sacred place), whose interior dimensions are 431 ft. by 125 ft. Two rows of columns, 22 ft. in height, extend the whole length of the building and support the triple roof. A transept across the middle, is supported by eight massive piers of solid masonry, each 12 ft. square, and a splendid dome, nearly 50 ft. in diameter and about 120 ft. in height, stands in the centre. The interior of the mosque has a tesselated pavement of marble, and the walls of the transept and the piers are coated with marble in beautiful patterns. According to Arabshah (_Vattier edition_, v, 169), it was the Raphadites or Shyites (see chap. xxxiii, note 3, for this sect) of Khorasan who set fire to this noble mosque, Timour being credited by various authors, as stated in the preceding paragraph, with having wished rather to save the edifice from destruction. Much as records may differ, Schiltberger’s relation, so graphic and detailed, merits the fullest consideration.—ED. (3.) “Scherch.”—On March 19, 1400, Timour proceeded from Damascus by way of Roha (the ancient Edessa near Orfa), Mardin, and Mosoul to Baghdad (Weil, _Gesch. der Chal._, v, 91), after having despatched flying columns hither and thither to forage, some of his people reaching even to the neighbourhood of Antioch. A portion of his forces must therefore have crossed the Antilibanus, called Jabal—mountain—also Shurky, which may have been the “Scherch” mentioned in the text.—BRUUN. CHAPTER XV.