Al-Nuri al-Kabir Mosque and al-Hadba Minaret were constructed between 1170 and 1172 CE under the patronage of Nur al-Din, the second ruler of the Zengid Dynasty. Nur al-Din ordered the foundation of the mosque to be constructed in the Old City neighborhood of Mosul, and appointed a local overseer. For centuries it ranked as the largest Sunni mosque in Mosul. Ernst Herzfeld visited the mosque in 1910 and described its plan as a conglomeration of various episodes of building. After its original construction, the mosque was renovated in 1511 by the Safavids. The mosque was again dismantled and reconstructed in 1864. The 1864 reconstruction included some original material, as well as material from other mosques and churches in Mosul. In 1942, al-Nuri al-Kabir Mosque was once again dismantled and reassembled by a restoration program undertaken by the Iraqi government and using a different plan from the previous mosque.

At the time of its completion in 1172 CE, the al-Hadba minaret was 45 meters (150 feet) high, with seven ornamental bands of brickwork at different levels around its cylindrical shaft. The tower was supported by a cubical base and ended with a cupola over a bracketed balcony. Ibn Battuta visited Mosul in the14th century CE and recorded that the minaret had already begun to lean and was affectionately known by its nickname, “the Hunchback” (al-Hadba). The cause of al-Hadba’s iconic lean is disputed, although local officials attribute it either to the effects of thermal expansion of the brick on the sun-facing side, north-westerly winds, or the weak gypsum used in holding the bricks together. Unlike al-Nuri al-Kabir Mosque, the al-Hadba Minaret was never renovated or reconstructed, and had remained in its original form since 1172.