A Roman colonnade nearly 12 meters (40 feet) in height stands almost intact before Bāb al-Barīd (Postal Gate) of the present Great Mosque in Damascus. It is made up of four monolithic columns and a pediment supported by two square pillars. It has some evident connection with the Temple of Jupiter, part of which serves today as a surrounding wall of the mosque. Often called the Propylaeum, it undoubtedly dates back to the reign of Septimius Severus (the end of the second and beginning of the third century), and later (fourth century under Theodosius) served as the triumphal entry to the Church of St. John the Baptist.
Jacques Ghislain de Maussion de Favières. Damascus, Baghdad: Capitals and lands of the caliphs. Translation to English by Edward J. Banks. Librairie orientale (Dar el-Mashreq), Beirut, Lebanon. 1972.)
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