Note Note XVII — NOTES TO CHAPTER III.

William of Tyre, Book I. Chap. 2. "There are, moreover, in the same temple-building, within and without, very old monuments in mosaic work, and in the Arabic character, which are believed to be of that date, in which the author of the work, and the expense of it, and the times at which the work was begun and finished, are evidently set forth:" he adds that the mosque was the work of Omar, "which, after a short time, being completed successfully to his mind, as it exists at this day in Jerusalem, he (Omar) endowed with many and countless possessions." This author repeats that in the interior, and outside the building, was written the name of Omar its founder. "Moreover, in the beginning of this volume, we have named the author of this building, the son of Catab, who, third from the seducer Mohammed, was his successor in his apostasy and his kingdom: and that this is so the ancient inscriptions inside the said building and outside it plainly declare." (Book VIII. chap. 3.)