inner surface of the north wall of the Haram, over the door, which is behind the Bah ed Dowaidariyeh, a stone tablet, on which the length of the Masjid was recorded as 784 cubits, and its breadth as 455 ; it did not, however, state- whether or no the standard employed was the royal cubit. The same author informs us that he himself measured the Masjid with a rope, and found that in length it was 683 cubits on tbe east side, and 650 on the west ; and in breadth it was 438 cubits, exclusive of the breadth of the wall. 'Abdallah Yâcut el Hamawi, a Christian Arab writer of the twelfth century, tells us that the substructure of the Jewish Temple served for the foundations of 'Abd el Melik's edifice, and that that monarch built a wall of smaller stones upon the more massive ancient blocks. The great substructures at the south-west angle are said to be the work of 'Abd el Melik, who is reported to have made them in order to obtain a platform on which to erect the el Aksa.* In order to understand the native accounts of the sacred area at Jerusalem, it is essentially necessary to keep in mind the proper application of the various names by which it is spoken of. When the Masjid el Aksa is men tioned, that name is usually supposed to refer to the well known mosque ou the south side of the Haram, but such is not really the case. The latter building is called El Jumi el Aksa, or simply El Aksa, and the substructures are called El Aksa el Kadimeh (the ancient Aksa), while the title El Masjid el Aksa is applied to the whole sanctuary. The word jamv is exactly equivalent in sense to the Greek συναηωηη, and is applied only to the church or building in which the worshippers congregate. Masjid, on the other hand, is a much more general term ; it is derived from the verb sejada, " to adore," and is applied to * Vide M. de Vogué, p. 76.