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Mouassine Fountain

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The Mouassine Fountain is a part of the 16th-century religious complex of the Mouassine Mosque in Marrakesh , Morocco . The tradition of building public fountains in Marrakesh is old but took on a very monumental character in the Saadian era.

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50-523: The Mouassine Mosque complex was built between 1562-63 CE (970 AH ) and 1572-73 CE (980 AH) on the orders of the Saadian sultan Abdallah Al-Ghalib . It includes a mosque , a library, a mîdhâ ( ablutions facility), a hammam and the Mouassine Fountain. It also included a children's Qur'anic school ( msid ) which no longer retains its function today. The fountain is one of the largest in

100-596: A slippery slope scenario in his style guide that, "if we do end by casting aside the AD/BC convention, almost certainly some will argue that we ought to cast aside as well the conventional numbering system [that is, the method of numbering years] itself, given its Christian basis." Some Christians are offended by the removal of the reference to Jesus, including the Southern Baptist Convention . The abbreviation BCE, just as with BC, always follows

150-410: A carved and painted pattern, however the polychromy is not very visible. Above the crows, on the first lintel, an inscription is chiseled on two cartridges says: أَحْسَنُ ما صُرِفَ فيه المَقال ***** الحَمْدُ للَّهِ على كُلِّ حــال “The most beautiful words that have been spoken (are): Praise be to God in all circumstances! " To supply drinking water to the fountains of the medina as well as

200-648: A generic sense, to refer to "the common era of the Jews". The first use of the phrase "before the common era" may be that in a 1770 work that also uses common era and vulgar era as synonyms, in a translation of a book originally written in German. The 1797 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica uses the terms vulgar era and common era synonymously. In 1835, in his book Living Oracles , Alexander Campbell , wrote: "The vulgar Era, or Anno Domini;

250-519: A geometric pattern of an eight-pointed star called "Mtemmen maa'kous". This geometric motif is inserted between two small friezes, narrower and also in carved plaster, repeat the eulogy "العز لله" meaning "The glory is to God". Above, on the wooden beam, an inscription was painted in black on a plaster frieze that no longer exists today. It is visible in an old photograph in the book “Things seen in Morocco” by Alec John Dawson (P. 207) and its restitution

300-626: A matter of convenience. There is so much interaction between people of different faiths and cultures – different civilizations, if you like – that some shared way of reckoning time is a necessity. And so the Christian Era has become the Common Era. Adena K. Berkowitz, in her application to argue before the United States Supreme Court , opted to use BCE and CE because, "Given the multicultural society that we live in,

350-715: A period of 138 years in which the traditional BC/AD dating notation was used. BCE/CE is used by the College Board in its history tests, and by the Norton Anthology of English Literature . Others have taken a different approach. The US-based History Channel uses BCE/CE notation in articles on non-Christian religious topics such as Jerusalem and Judaism . The 2006 style guide for the Episcopal Diocese Maryland Church News says that BCE and CE should be used. In June 2006, in

400-608: A tyrant who persecuted Christians. He numbered years from an initial reference date (" epoch "), an event he referred to as the Incarnation of Jesus. Dionysius labeled the column of the table in which he introduced the new era as " Anni Domini Nostri Jesu Christi " (Of the year of our Lord Jesus Christ]. This way of numbering years became more widespread in Europe with its use by Bede in England in 731. Bede also introduced

450-426: A zone of saturation is reached. Below the water table, in the phreatic zone (zone of saturation), layers of permeable rock that yield groundwater are called aquifers . In less permeable soils, such as tight bedrock formations and historic lakebed deposits, the water table may be more difficult to define. “Water table” and “ water level ” are not synonymous. If a deeper aquifer has a lower permeable unit that confines

500-480: Is a direct reference to Jesus as Lord . Proponents of the Common Era notation assert that the use of BCE/CE shows sensitivity to those who use the same year numbering system as the one that originated with and is currently used by Christians , but who are not themselves Christian. Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has argued: [T]he Christian calendar no longer belongs exclusively to Christians. People of all faiths have taken to using it simply as

550-411: Is groundwater that has remained in an aquifer for several millennia and occurs mainly in deserts . It is non-renewable by present-day rainfall due to its depth below the surface, and any extraction causes a permanent change in the water table in such regions. Most crops need a water table at a minimum depth. For some important food and fiber crops a classification was made because at shallower depths

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600-485: Is in particularly common use in Nepal in order to disambiguate dates from the local calendar, Bikram or Vikram Sambat. Disambiguation is needed because the era of the local calendar is quite close to the Common Era. In 2002, an advisory panel for the religious education syllabus for England and Wales recommended introducing BCE/CE dates to schools, and by 2018 some local education authorities were using them. In 2018,

650-461: Is the upper surface of the zone of saturation . The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with groundwater , which may be fresh, saline, or brackish, depending on the locality. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated. The water table is the surface where the water pressure head is equal to the atmospheric pressure (where gauge pressure = 0). It may be visualized as

700-655: The Gregorian calendar without the AD prefix. As early as 1825, the abbreviation VE (for Vulgar Era) was in use among Jews to denote years in the Western calendar. As of 2005 , Common Era notation has also been in use for Hebrew lessons for more than a century. Jews have also used the term Current Era . Some academics in the fields of theology , education , archaeology and history have adopted CE and BCE notation despite some disagreement. A study conducted in 2014 found that

750-723: The National Trust said it would continue to use BC/AD as its house style. English Heritage explains its era policy thus: "It might seem strange to use a Christian calendar system when referring to British prehistory, but the BC/AD labels are widely used and understood." Some parts of the BBC use BCE/CE, but some presenters have said they will not. As of October 2019, the BBC News style guide has entries for AD and BC, but not for CE or BCE. The style guide for The Guardian says, under

800-614: The date of birth of Jesus . Since the year numbers are the same, BCE and CE dates should be equally offensive to other religions as BC and AD. Roman Catholic priest and writer on interfaith issues Raimon Panikkar argued that the BCE/CE usage is the less inclusive option since they are still using the Christian calendar numbers and forcing it on other nations. In 1993, the English-language expert Kenneth G. Wilson speculated

850-499: The khettara are considered a Moroccan heritage and there have been calls to preserve them. Common Era Common Era ( CE ) and Before the Common Era ( BCE ) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar ), the world's most widely used calendar era . Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the original Anno Domini (AD) and Before Christ (BC) notations used for

900-401: The "surface" of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. The groundwater may be from precipitation or from groundwater flowing into the aquifer. In areas with sufficient precipitation, water infiltrates through pore spaces in the soil, passing through the unsaturated zone. At increasing depths, water fills in more of the pore spaces in the soils, until

950-596: The BCE/CE notation is not growing at the expense of BC and AD notation in the scholarly literature, and that both notations are used in a relatively stable fashion. In 2011, media reports suggested that the BC/AD notation in Australian school textbooks would be replaced by BCE/CE notation. The change drew opposition from some politicians and church leaders. Weeks after the story broke, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority denied

1000-579: The Christian Era, it was sometimes qualified, e.g., "common era of the Incarnation", "common era of the Nativity", or "common era of the birth of Christ". An adapted translation of Common Era into Latin as Era Vulgaris was adopted in the 20th century by some followers of Aleister Crowley , and thus the abbreviation "e.v." or "EV" may sometimes be seen as a replacement for AD. Although Jews have their own Hebrew calendar , they often use

1050-495: The Gregorian Calendar as BCE and CE without compromising their own beliefs about the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth." In History Today , Michael Ostling wrote: "BC/AD Dating: In the year of whose Lord? The continuing use of AD and BC is not only factually wrong but also offensive to many who are not Christians." Critics note the fact that there is no difference in the epoch of the two systems—chosen to be close to

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1100-625: The United States, the Kentucky State School Board reversed its decision to use BCE and CE in the state's new Program of Studies, leaving education of students about these concepts a matter of local discretion. The use of CE in Jewish scholarship was historically motivated by the desire to avoid the implicit "Our Lord" in the abbreviation AD . Although other aspects of dating systems are based in Christian origins, AD

1150-468: The ablution rooms of mosques, hammams and sometimes large houses, the Almoravids built an original hydraulic system called khettara . It is an underground drainage tunnel that brings water from the groundwater to the surface of the ground, then distributes it throughout the city and irrigates crops . It consists of a set of vertical wells connected to a slightly sloping drainage tunnel that conveys

1200-443: The aquifer and the permeability of the material. The water table does not always mimic the topography due to variations in the underlying geological structure (e.g., folded, faulted, fractured bedrock). A perched water table (or perched aquifer) is an aquifer that occurs above the regional water table. This occurs when there is an impermeable layer of rock or sediment ( aquiclude ) or relatively impermeable layer ( aquitard ) above

1250-418: The capillary effect ( capillary fringe ) in soils , sediments and other porous media . In the aquifer, groundwater flows from points of higher pressure to points of lower pressure, and the direction of groundwater flow typically has both a horizontal and a vertical component. The slope of the water table is known as the “hydraulic gradient”, which depends on the rate at which water is added to and removed from

1300-463: The crop suffers a yield decline. A water table close to the surface affects excavation, drainage, foundations, wells and leach fields (in areas without municipal water and sanitation), and more. When excavation occurs near enough to the water table to reach its capillary action, groundwater must be removed during construction. This is conspicuous in Berlin , which is built on sandy, marshy ground, and

1350-408: The drinking troughs. All together, these four arches occupy a rectangular space measuring 18.1 meters long and 4.7 meters wide. The fountain arch has piers that support two plaster consoles on which rest corbels and three lintels protected by a canopy. The whole is in cedar wood decorated with painted and chiseled floral motifs. Inside above on a horizontal beam, a large carved plaster frieze features

1400-468: The early 20th century. The phrase "common era", in lower case , also appeared in the 19th century in a "generic" sense, not necessarily to refer to the Christian Era, but to any system of dates in common use throughout a civilization. Thus, "the common era of the Jews", "the common era of the Mahometans", "common era of the world", "the common era of the foundation of Rome". When it did refer to

1450-428: The entry for CE/BCE: "some people prefer CE (common era, current era, or Christian era) and BCE (before common era, etc.) to AD and BC, which, however, remain our style". In the United States, the use of the BCE/CE notation in textbooks was reported in 2005 to be growing. Some publications have transitioned to using it exclusively. For example, the 2007 World Almanac was the first edition to switch to BCE/CE, ending

1500-486: The fourth year of Jesus Christ, the first of which was but eight days", and also refers to the common era as a synonym for vulgar era with "the fact that our Lord was born on the 4th year before the vulgar era, called Anno Domini, thus making (for example) the 42d year from his birth to correspond with the 38th of the common era". The Catholic Encyclopedia (1909) in at least one article reports all three terms (Christian, Vulgar, Common Era) being commonly understood by

1550-435: The main water table/aquifer but below the land surface. If a perched aquifer's flow intersects the surface, at a valley wall, for example, the water is discharged as a spring . On low-lying oceanic islands with porous soil, freshwater tends to collect in lenticular pools on top of the denser seawater intruding from the sides of the islands. Such an island's freshwater lens, and thus the water table, rises and falls with

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1600-580: The medina of Marrakesh, along with the fountain of the Bab Doukkala Mosque and the Shrob ou Shouf Fountain , both also from the Saadian period. It is located in the north of the ablutions room of the Mouassine mosque. The presence of the water supply system necessary for the mîdhâ and the hammam led the Saadian architects to build open fountains with drinking troughs near the mosques. So, it

1650-423: The mid-19th century by Jewish religious scholars. Since the late 20th century, BCE and CE have become popular in academic and scientific publications on the grounds that BCE and CE are religiously neutral terms. They have been promoted as more sensitive to non-Christians by not referring to Jesus , the central figure of Christianity , especially via the religious terms " Christ " and Dominus ("Lord") used by

1700-470: The other abbreviations. Nevertheless, its epoch remains the same as that used for the Anno Domini era. The idea of numbering years beginning from the date that he believed to be the date of birth of Jesus , was conceived around the year 525 by the Christian monk Dionysius Exiguus . He did this to replace the then dominant Era of Martyrs system, because he did not wish to continue the memory of

1750-450: The other hand, small neighborhoods must also have autonomy and access to water, their size therefore depends on the size of the neighborhood, some of them are decorated while others are much simpler. The Mouassine Fountain is rectangular in shape and consists of a large opening resembling a corbel arch . The arch is made out of wood and a projecting canopy of carved wood hangs above it. Next to it are three other large arches which contained

1800-477: The practice of dating years before what he supposed was the year of birth of Jesus, without a year zero . In 1422, Portugal became the last Western European country to switch to the system begun by Dionysius. The term "Common Era" is traced back in English to its appearance as " Vulgar Era" to distinguish years of the Anno Domini era, which was in popular use, from dates of the regnal year (the year of

1850-507: The reign of a sovereign) typically used in national law. (The word 'vulgar' originally meant 'of the ordinary people', with no derogatory associations. ) The first use of the Latin term anno aerae nostrae vulgaris may be that in a 1615 book by Johannes Kepler . Kepler uses it again, as ab Anno vulgaris aerae , in a 1616 table of ephemerides , and again, as ab anno vulgaris aerae , in 1617. A 1635 English edition of that book has

1900-595: The rumours and stated that the BC/AD notation would remain, with CE and BCE as an optional suggested learning activity. In 2013, the Canadian Museum of Civilization (now the Canadian Museum of History) in Gatineau (opposite Ottawa ), which had previously switched to BCE/CE, decided to change back to BC/AD in material intended for the public while retaining BCE/CE in academic content. The notation

1950-545: The same calendar era. The two notation systems are numerically equivalent: "2024 CE" and "AD 2024" each describe the current year; "400 BCE" and "400 BC" are the same year. The expression can be traced back to 1615, when it first appears in a book by Johannes Kepler as the Latin : annus aerae nostrae vulgaris ( year of our common era ), and to 1635 in English as " Vulgar Era". The term "Common Era" can be found in English as early as 1708, and became more widely used in

2000-456: The street by three arches, were used, at the time, to water the animals, especially donkeys. The medina of Marrakesh has 45 public drinking fountains. Depending on its location, each fountain has a monumental or a modest appearance. Large fountains, like that of Mouassine, abundantly decorated, are located next to mosques and/or mausoleums. These require the attribution of an architectural and decorative aspect to their annexes such as fountains. On

2050-479: The tides. In some regions, for example, Great Britain or California , winter precipitation is often higher than summer precipitation and so the groundwater storage is not fully recharged in summer. Consequently, the water table is lower during the summer. This disparity between the level of the winter and summer water table is known as the "zone of intermittent saturation", wherein the water table will fluctuate in response to climatic conditions. Fossil water

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2100-492: The title page in English that may be the earliest-found use of Vulgar Era in English. A 1701 book edited by John Le Clerc includes the phrase "Before Christ according to the Vulgar Æra,   6". The Merriam Webster Dictionary gives 1716 as the date of first use of the term "vulgar era" (which it defines as Christian era). The first published use of "Christian Era" may be the Latin phrase annus aerae christianae on

2150-480: The title page of a 1584 theology book, De Eucharistica controuersia . In 1649, the Latin phrase annus æræ Christianæ appeared in the title of an English almanac. A 1652 ephemeris may be the first instance found so far of the English use of "Christian Era". The English phrase "Common Era" appears at least as early as 1708, and in a 1715 book on astronomy it is used interchangeably with "Christian Era" and "Vulgar Era". A 1759 history book uses common æra in

2200-497: The traditional Jewish designations – B.C.E. and C.E. – cast a wider net of inclusion." In the World History Encyclopedia , Joshua J. Mark wrote "Non-Christian scholars, especially, embraced [CE and BCE] because they could now communicate more easily with the Christian community. Jewish, Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist scholars could retain their [own] calendar but refer to events using

2250-512: The upward flow, then the water level in this aquifer may rise to a level that is greater or less than the elevation of the actual water table. The elevation of the water in this deeper well is dependent upon the pressure in the deeper aquifer and is referred to as the potentiometric surface , not the water table. The water table may vary due to seasonal changes such as precipitation and evapotranspiration . In undeveloped regions with permeable soils that receive sufficient amounts of precipitation,

2300-409: The water table typically slopes toward rivers that act to drain the groundwater away and release the pressure in the aquifer. Springs , rivers , lakes and oases occur when the water table reaches the surface. Groundwater entering rivers and lakes accounts for the base-flow water levels in water bodies. Within an aquifer, the water table is rarely horizontal, but reflects the surface relief due to

2350-449: The water to cisterns or reservoirs. The shafts are used to dig the underground tunnel. And when the construction is finished, they play a role of ventilation and facilitate access to the tunnel for maintenance. Climate change has caused a drop in the level of water tables and the increase in population has resulted in an increase in urban planning . This system is therefore no longer sufficient and has consequently been abandoned. However,

2400-679: The year number. Unlike AD, which still often precedes the year number, CE always follows the year number (if context requires that it be written at all). Thus, the current year is written as 2024 in both notations (or, if further clarity is needed, as 2024 CE, or as AD 2024), and the year that Socrates died is represented as 399 BCE (the same year that is represented by 399 BC in the BC/AD notation). The abbreviations are sometimes written with small capital letters, or with periods (e.g., " B.C.E. " or "C.E."). The US-based Society of Biblical Literature style guide for academic texts on religion prefers BCE/CE to BC/AD. Water table The water table

2450-491: Was a question of ensuring the supplying of the district with drinking water, while registering this act in its religious dimension since giving to drink constitutes in the Muslim world one of the most honorable alms. The fountain is inserted next to three arches which gave access to drinking troughs for animals. The large fountain was reserved for humans while the two drinking troughs next to it; covered with vaults and opening onto

2500-412: Was possible thanks to the reproduction of A. Bernard figured in the book “Picturesque and monumental geography” (P. 206). The inscription says: بُشْرَى فَقَدْ أَنْجَزَ اُلإِقْبَالُ ما وَعَدَا ***** وَكَوْكَبُ اُلمَجْدِ في أُفْقِ العُلا صَعِدَا " Good news ! By a favorable fate the promises are fulfilled; and the star of glory rises on the horizon of nobility. " The corbels are decorated with

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