Cities in Syria, Palestine and Egypt all underwent a revival of Sunni Islam under the Atabeg and Ayyubid dynasties. Both dynasties undertook the restoration of the Great Umayyad Mosque after it suffered two catastrophic fires, and sponsored hundreds of other religious institutions, including mosques, oratories, madrasas, khanqahs, and shrines. Contemporary historians recorded a total of 242 mosques in Damascus alone.