Dome

Mashhad al-Husayn was originally founded to commemorate the martyrdom of Husayn the son of Ali who was killed by the early Umayyads and also to mark the retuning strength of the Shiite community in Aleppo after the death of Nur al-Din who strongly opposed Shi'ism. The mashhad was built between 1183-1260, the long construction period was due to the slow accumulation of funds from the local Shiites that required the shrine be built in stages. It survived throughout the development of the city, earthquakes and abandonment until it was almost completely destroyed in 1920 by an explosion of ammunition that was stored in the building. Using Herzfeld's documentation photographs and drawings, the mashhad was reconstructed forty years later by the local Shiite community. Source: http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=7502 [Accessed August 7, 2012]interior, view of squinch dome over chamber from northwest, 1983