Assad Effendi, the Ottoman sultan's chief architect, designed the synagogue and supervised construction. A firman authorized it, and Ezekiel Reuben gave 100,000 of the roughly one million piasters needed. The cornerstone was laid on April 22, 1856, the dome was completed in 1862, and it was dedicated in 1864.
The style was Neo-Byzantine, with a prayer hall about 51 by 46 feet (15.5 by 14 m) under a dome rising 79 feet (24 m). Only one of four corner towers was finished. The 1864 capacity was 450.
The building was destroyed in the 1948 fighting. Israeli sources say Arab forces destroyed it deliberately, while Jordanian and Palestinian sources say it was shelled because Jewish forces used its rooftops militarily. Nahum Meltzer rebuilt it in its 19th-century form, and it was rededicated on March 15, 2010.
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