Al-Nabi Yunus Mosque

Al-Nabi Yunus Mosque
جَامِع ٱلنَّبِي يُوْنُس
The destroyed mosque and shrine in 2019
Religion
AffiliationSunni Islam (former)
Ecclesiastical or organisational status
StatusDestroyed (2014)
(under reconstruction)
Location
LocationMosul, Mosul District, Nineveh Governorate
CountryIraq
Location of the destroyed mosque in Iraq
Interactive map of Al-Nabi Yunus Mosque
Coordinates36°20′53″N 43°9′34″E / 36.34806°N 43.15944°E / 36.34806; 43.15944
Architecture
TypeIslamic architecture
Established1365 CE
Destroyed24 July 2014
Specifications
DomeOne: (destroyed)
MinaretOne: (destroyed)
ShrinesTwo:
MaterialsAlabaster

The Al-Nabi Yunus Mosque' (Arabic: جَامِع ٱلنَّبِي يُوْنُس‎, romanized: Jāmiʿ An-Nabī Yūnus), also known as the , Mosque of the Prophet Yunus, and the Shrine of Nabi Yunis,[a] was a historic Sunni congregational mosque and shrine, partially destroyed in 2014, that was located in Mosul, in the Nineveh Governorate of Iraq. It contained a tomb believed to be that of the Biblical prophet Jonah, known as Yunus by Muslims.[b] After the liberation of Mosul, additional excavations revealed the ruins of a Neo-Assyrian palace beneath the mosque.[3]

History

See also: Islam in Iraq, History of Iraq, and Mesopotamia

In 1349, the remains of Hnanisho I were exhumed by members of the Church of the East in Mosul. He had been buried in the monastery of Jonah on the east bank of the Tigris, and when the tomb was opened, his body, lying in a coffin of planewood, was said to have been found to be in a miraculous state of preservation. The historian ʿAmr, who saw the body for himself, said that crowds came to view the dead patriarch, who seemed to be only sleeping.

Jalal al-Din Ibrahim al-Khatni destroyed the monastery shortly thereafter. He announced the discovery of the alleged grave of the prophet Jonah during the reconstruction of this site as a congregational mosque in 1365.[4] The Al-Nabi Yunus Mosque was built over the demolished site.[5][6] When Timur visited it in 1393, it had undergone a remarkable transformation. Hnanishoʿ was no longer remembered, and Timur was shown the tomb of the prophet Jonah himself. The 'tomb of Jonah' still exists, and visitors are still shown a heavy planewood coffin, reverently shrouded with a green cloth, in which the prophet supposedly lies buried. Some historians suspect that for the past six centuries, the Muslim faithful have been paying their devotions to the petrified corpse of a Christian patriarch.[7] The alleged tomb of Jonah[1] was located at a corner of the mosque. The sarcophagus had a wooden zarih built around it.

In addition to Jonah's tomb, a modern shrine to the Naqshbandi shaykh Rashid Lolan was located next to the mosque.[8] This shrine dates from the 1960s.[8]

2014 destruction

On 24 July 2014, the building was destroyed with explosives by the Islamic State,[9][10] damaging several nearby houses. The Islamic State stated that "the mosque had become a place for apostasy, not prayer."[9]

Archeological discoveries

In March 2017, after the IS was driven out, a system of tunnels, approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) long, were found under the remains of the mosque. Cuneiform inscriptions dated to the reign of Esarhaddon, ruler of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, have been found in these tunnels, dating the site as a palace built by Sennacherib (d. 681 BCE).[11] In 2025, a 6-meter lamassu, the largest yet to be discovered, was uncovered at the throne room of the site. [12][13]

  • Mosque ruins in 2017
  • The mosque and shrine in 2011, prior to its 2014 demolition by ISIL
  • The mosque and shrine in 1999
  • Steps leading to the mosque in 1999
  • The mosque and shrine in 1932

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Other names include the Tell Nabī Yūnus, the Nabī Yūnus, the Nabi Yunus, and the Tell Nebi Yunus.
  2. ^ Academic research suggests that Yunus was not buried there.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ a b "Jameh Nabi Yunus (Mosul) - Madain Project (en)". madainproject.com.
  2. ^ al-Natsheh, Yusuf (2025). "Mosque of Nabi Yunus (Prophet Jonah)". Discover Islamic Art. Museum With No Frontiers. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  3. ^ Ensor, Josie (February 28, 2017). "Previously untouched 600BC palace discovered under shrine demolished …". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  4. ^ "I07: Mosque of al-Nabi Yunus". January 20, 2020. Archived from the original on January 20, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  5. ^ Lloyd, Anthony (March 20, 2017). "Inside the Assyrian palace revealed in fight for Mosul". The Times. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  6. ^ "Tomb of Jonah (now Nabi Yunis Mosque), Mosul, Iraq". archive.diarna.org. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  7. ^ Wilmshurst, The Martyred Church, 284
  8. ^ a b "I67: Shaykh Rashid Lolan". January 26, 2020. Archived from the original on January 26, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Tawfeeq, Mohammed; Ford, Dana (July 24, 2014). "Extremists destroy Jonah's tomb, officials say". CNN. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  10. ^ "Mosul, Iraq: Destruction of Nebi Yunis (Tomb of the Prophet Jonah)" (Satellite imagery of the site during July and August 2014). American Association for the Advancement of Science. 2025. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  11. ^ Al-Juboori, Ali. Y. (2017). "Recently Discovered Neo-Assyrian Royal Inscriptions from the Review Palace and Nergal Gate of Nineveh". Iraq. 79: 3–20. ISSN 0021-0889.
  12. ^ Altuntas, Leman; kayra, oguz (September 20, 2025). "Colossal Assyrian Winged Bull Unearthed in Iraq: Largest Ever at Six Meters". Arkeonews. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  13. ^ Radley, Dario (September 28, 2025). "Colossal Assyrian winged bull unearthed in Mosul is the largest lamassu ever found". Archaeology News Online Magazine. Retrieved March 5, 2026.

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