Name of Monument:

Maqam (Sanctuary) of the Prophet David

Also known as:

Tomb of David

Location:

The maqam is located about 50 m outside the city walls, south of the Gate of the Prophet David (Zion Gate), and one of the gates into the old walled city of Jerusalem, Jerusalem

Date of Monument:

Hegira 6th / AD 12th century

Period / Dynasty:

Crusader-Ayyubid

Patron(s):

There were a number of patrons who oversaw the building throughout the ages. The most prominent of these was the Ottoman Sultan Sulayman the Magnificent (r. AH 926–74 / AD 1520–66).

Description:

This complex is known in Arabic sources by the name of the Maqam (Sanctuary) of the Prophet David, although the Tomb of David is actually located on the eastern mountain slope in an area known today as David's City.
According to Western, Christian accounts the upper hall of the complex known as 'Alliyat Suhyun (Palace of Zion) is where the Last Supper was held, while the lower level is believed to be the place where Christ washed the feet of his disciples. Thus the complex is an important holy site for Muslims, Christians and Jews alike and the history of the site, as well as the exchange of control over it by the three aforementioned religions, reflects aspects of the deep differences in opinion that encircle it.
The development of the site began with a church known as the Small Church of God, but no sooner was it established in AD the 4th or 5th century, when another church known by the name of the Church of the Apostles was established as a memorial to the Last Supper. After that, the Small Church of God was enlarged and its name was changed to the Church of Zion, or the Mother of all Churches. In the wake of the Persian invasion of Jerusalem in AD 614, the Church of Zion was burned down and suffered great damage. In the AH 6th / AD 12th century, the Frankish Franciscans undertook the construction of a monastery on the eastern mountain slope believed to be the site of the Tomb of the Prophet David. They built a two-storey structure: the ground floor commemorating Christ washing the feet of his disciples, and the upper floor in memory of the Last Supper.
The Muslims also took an interest in the site, and during the Ayyubid period (AH 615–16 / AD 1219) they took control of the building, adding a mihrab on the ground floor in the vaulted hall dedicated to the Prophet David. The Muslims continued to allow Christians to visit the upper hall.
The Franciscans subsequently obtained some more ground on the eastern mountain slope of the Prophet David and erected a number of buildings under the aegis of the Mamluk Sultanate. At this point the Jewish community began to take an interest in the Tomb of David, developing an association with an unknown grave in the lower hall believed by the Jews to be the Tomb of the Prophet David. Thus a huge dissension grew up during the Mamluk period between a sect of the Jewish community and the Christian population. A number of Mamluk sultans tried to decide to which faith the site belonged. These differences were not limited to those residing in Jerusalem, but foreign powers also entered into the fray, making the Mamluk sultanate waver in its conclusive decision to the two opposing sides. In AH 930 / AD 1524, in order to bring the situation to a conclusion once and for all, Sultan Sulayman the Magnificent expelled the Franciscan Brotherhood from the site and transformed it into a mosque and an Islamic site. Ever since that time until the year 1948, when it came under Israeli control, the site remained in Muslim control and in the continual custody of the Dajani family.
The maqam is a large architectural complex, composed of a number of buildings and courtyards, a large part of which are used presently as a Jewish religious school. The complex has three entrances, and contains three open courtyards and three mosques. The mosque erected in the lower level was transformed into a synagogue, while the second mosque is the hall which was formerly dedicated to the Last Supper. The third mosque is closed.

Christians believed that this was the site of the Last Supper. Muslims have demarcated it as the site of David’s maqam (tomb) and some Jews also accept this identification. A church was built on the site in the Byzantine period and Frankish Franciscans built a monastery on it. The Ayyubids added a mihrab and transformed part of the complex into a mosque. The Ottomans then added a zawiya and turned it over into the hands of a Jerusalemite family, al-Dajani. In 1948 the site came under Jewish control and it was transformed into synagogues and religious schools.

How Monument was dated:

The building is dated by an inscription on the entrance to the hall dedicated to the Last Supper, and by historical information according to the accounts of historians interested in Jerusalem. Mamluk documents that were published by the historian Ahmad Darraj in 1968 also lent credence to the date.

Selected bibliography:

Berchem, M. van, Matériaux pour un Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum, Vol. II, Cairo, 1922.
Darraj, A., Watha'iq Dair Suhyun bi al- Quds al-Sharif [The Documents of the Monastery of Zion in Jerusalem], Cairo, 1968.
Al-Dajani, A., Masjid al-Nabi Dawud 'Alaihi al-Salam wa Maqamuhu fi Bait al-Maqdis [The Mosque of the Prophet David and his Sanctuary in Jerusalem], MA Thesis, University of Jerusalem, 1996.
Al-Hanbali, Mujir al-Din, Al-Uns al-Jalil bi Tarikh al-Quds wa al-Khalil [The Magnificent Ambiance in the History of Jerusalem and Hebron], Amman, 1973.
Natsheh, Y., “Masjid and Minaret al-Nabi Da'ud”, in S. Auld and R. Hillenbrand (eds), Ottoman Jerusalem: The Living City 1517–1917, (Part II), London, 2000.

Citation of this web page:

Yusuf al-Natsheh "Maqam (Sanctuary) of the Prophet David" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2026. 2026.
https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;pa;Mon01;35;en

Prepared by: Yusuf Al-NatshehYusuf al-Natsheh

Yusuf Said Natsheh is a Palestinian and since 1997 he has been Director of the Department of Islamic Archaeology in al-Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem. He is a lecturer at al-Quds University. He was educated in Jerusalem and Cairo and in 1997 obtained his Ph.D. from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Dr Natsheh is a council member of many Palestinian societies for architectural heritage and a consultant for various projects on Jerusalem. He has written books and more than 40 articles about Jerusalem's architectural heritage including the architectural survey of Ottoman architecture in R. Hillenbrand and S. Auld (eds) Ottoman Jerusalem: The Living City 1517–1917 (London: Altajir World of Islam Trust, 2000). He has contributed to many international and national conferences. He supervised the restoration project, sponsored by the Arab League, on Mamluk monuments in and around al-Haram al-Sharif, and was Palestinian expert for the UNESCO mission to Jerusalem in 2004.
Copyedited by: Majd Musa
Translation by: Amal Sachedina (from the Arabic).
Translation copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: PA 35