According to the Arab geographer Ya'qubi, "ar-Ramleh" (Ramla) was founded in 716 by the governor of the Umayyad District of Palestine ("Jund Filastin"), Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik, brother and successor of Caliph Walid I. Its name was derived from the Arabic word "raml" (رمل), meaning "sand" or "sandy". The name of La Rambla, a major street of Barcelona, is ultimately derived from the same linguistic origin. The early residents came from nearby "Ludd" (Lydda, Lod). Ramla flourished as the capital of "Jund Filastin", which was one of the five districts of the Syrian province of the Umayyad and Abbasid empires. In the 8th century, the Umayyads built the White Mosque, which was hailed as the finest in the land, outside of Jerusalem. The remains of this mosque, dominated by a minaret added at a later date, can still be seen today. In the courtyard are underground water cisterns from this period.