The article traces the site to a 5th-century Byzantine basilica, attributed to either Empress Aelia Eudocia or Emperor Marcian. It became a mosque in the 7th century, and in 1149 the Crusaders built a large church there by decree of Baldwin III. The Mamluks rebuilt it completely in 1340, according to an inscription of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad. The Ottomans restored it, and an inscription names the governor Musa Pasha in 1663. The article names no architect.
It covers 44,000 square feet (4,100 m²) and is built of local sandstone, with a groin-vaulted nave and cruciform piers. The western facade is typical Crusader architecture, and the minaret is Mamluk, square below and octagonal above.
Earthquakes struck in 1033 and 1294, and the Mongols destroyed it in 1260. The mosque was bombed in December 2023, and UNESCO confirmed damage in January 2024. Rubble clearance has begun, and repairs are pending.
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