Dome of the Rock
Date:
Initially completed ca. 691/92
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Israel
Description:
The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem is the oldest Islamic monument to preserve most of its original form. It was completed around 691/92 under the Umayyad caliph 'Abd al-Malik (r. 685–705) and built not as a mosque but rather as a shrine around a rock significant to the Abrahamic religions. Among Jews, it is considered the spot where Abraham prepared to sacrifice of Isaac and the site of Solomon's original Temple. Among Muslims, it is also significant as the place from which Muhammad ascended to heaven. It has an octagonal plan with a double ambulatory design, possibly to facilitate the movements of pilgrims. Its plan may have been inspired local architecture (e.g., the nearby Kathisma Church).
The interior decoration includes book-matched spoliated marble revetment on the lower walls and mosaic covering many of the upper surfaces. These mosaics, executed by artists from Byzantium, are primarily vegetal and geometric, but also include inscriptions in angular Kufic Arabic script (prayers, Qur'anic passages, references to patrons). These inscriptions date both to the original decoration of the building and to the ninth and eleventh centuries. The Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813–33), for example, had 'Abd al-Malik's name in one of the inscriptions replaced with his own. Modifications to the building are physical manifestations of shifts in rule, for example from Umayyad to Abbasid. The Dome of the Rock even passed into Christian hands in 1141, but was reconsecrated as a an Islamic shrine in 1187.
The interior decoration includes book-matched spoliated marble revetment on the lower walls and mosaic covering many of the upper surfaces. These mosaics, executed by artists from Byzantium, are primarily vegetal and geometric, but also include inscriptions in angular Kufic Arabic script (prayers, Qur'anic passages, references to patrons). These inscriptions date both to the original decoration of the building and to the ninth and eleventh centuries. The Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813–33), for example, had 'Abd al-Malik's name in one of the inscriptions replaced with his own. Modifications to the building are physical manifestations of shifts in rule, for example from Umayyad to Abbasid. The Dome of the Rock even passed into Christian hands in 1141, but was reconsecrated as a an Islamic shrine in 1187.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
4,
5,
6,
7
Repository and Online Resources:
• Visit the page on the old city of Jerusalem on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
• Take a virtual walking tour around the Dome of the Rock.
• Hear a presentation about the original exterior mosaics on the Dome of the Rock.
• Watch "What Was the Dome of the Rock" on the ReligionForBreakfast YouTube channel.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia, Manar al-Athar, Depositphotos ErenMotion, Linda Safran, Navid Jamali
