This fragment belonged to one of the mosaics that decorated the walls of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. The mosaics were made by Byzantine artists sent from Constantinople by the Emperor at the request of the caliph.

Although the technique they used was Byzantine, the motifs were not. There are imaginary landscapes and villas – the paradise promised to the chosen – but no living creatures are shown, in accordance with Koranic precepts. Between 706 and 714, the Umayyad caliph al Walîd (705 –715) built a large mosque at Damascus modeled on that of the Prophet in Medina. However, the one at Damascus was the first mosque in the Muslim world to have a minaret, a mihrab built in the qibla wall in the direction of Mecca, which was faced for prayers), a maqsûra, an ablutions fountain and rooms.