When was dome of the rock built

They were repaired in the Mamluk period, and then completely replaced with tiles by Sulieman the Magnificent in At the same time, he created the parapet wall with its intricate inscription by filling up the thirteen small arches that originally topped each facade.

The windows of the Dome of the Rock date from this period as well. The tiling was completely replaced in the last major restoration in The extraordinary visual impact of the Dome of the Rock is in part due to the mathematical rhythm of its proportions.

All the critical dimensions are related to the center circle that surrounds the sacred stone. For example, each outer wall is 67 feet long, which is exactly the dome's diameter and exactly its height from the base of the drum.

The same principles were used in Byzantine churches of Italy, Syria, and Palestine, but none compare to the integration of plan and elevation seen in the Dome of the Rock.

The great golden dome that crowns the Dome of the Rock was originally made of gold, but was replaced with copper and then aluminum. The aluminum is now covered with gold leaf, a donation from the late King Hussein of Jordan. The dome is topped by a full moon decoration which evokes the familiar crescent moon symbol of Islam.

It is aligned so that if you could look through it, you would be looking straight towards Mecca. The beautiful multicolored Turkish tiles that adorn the shrine's exterior are faithful copies of the Persian tiles that Suleiman the Magnificent added in to replace the damaged originals. The lower half of the exterior is white marble. The Arabic inscription around the octagonal part of the Dome of the Rock are verses from the Qur'an. The inscription dates from the renovation under Suleiman.

The tiled area just below the golden dome is the drum. Its glazed tiles were made in Turkey, and its Arabic inscription tells of the Night Journey of Muhammad as described in the Qur'an surah Inside the shrine, an arched wall called the octagonal arcade or inner octagon follows the exterior shape. An open space between this and the central circle forms the inner ambulatory around the Rock, carpeted in lush red.

The area between the inner octagon and outer octogan exterior wall forms a smaller, outer ambulatory, carpeted in green.

The two ambulatories recall the ritual circular movement of pilgrims around the Ka'ba in Mecca. The cupola , the interior of the great golden dome, features elaborate floral decorations in red and gold, as well as various inscriptions. The main inscription in the cupola commemorates Saladin, who sponsored extenstive restoration work on the building. Thus, the use of mosaics reflects an artistic tie to the world of Late Antiquity.

Late Antiquity is a period from about , when the Classical world dissolves and the Medieval period emerges. The mosaics in the Dome of the Rock contain no human figures or animals.

While Islam does not prohibit the use of figurative art per se, it seems that in religious buildings, this proscription was upheld. Instead, we see vegetative scrolls and motifs, as well as vessels and winged crowns, which were worn by Sasanian kings. Thus, the iconography of the Dome of the Rock also includes the other major pre-Islamic civilization of the region, the Sasanian Empire, which the Arab armies had defeated. Scholars used to think that the building enclosing the Rock derived its form from the imperial mausolea the burial places of Roman emperors, such as Augustus or Hadrian.

However, its octagonal form and Dome more likely referenced earlier local churches. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Dome of the Rock have domes that are almost identical in size; this suggests that the elevated position of the Dome of the Rock and the comparable size of its dome was a way that Muslims in the late 8th century proclaimed the superiority of their newly formed faith over Christians. Furthermore, the octagonal form of the Dome may derive from the Church of the Kathisma , a 5th century Church, later converted to a mosque, that was located between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

It was constructed over the rock where Mary reportedly sat on her way to Bethlehem. It is octagonal in shape and had an aisle that allowed circumambulation around the center. Therefore, rather than looking to the monuments of Rome, which was now far less important than Constantinople and Jerusalem, these local buildings may have been more important models. Interior view of the Dome of the Rock Qubbat al-Sakhra , Umayyad, stone masonry, wooden roof, decorated with glazed ceramic tile, mosaics, and gilt aluminum and bronze dome, , with multiple renovations, patron the Caliph Abd al-Malik, Jerusalem photo: Virtutepetens , CC BY-SA 4.

The inscription also refers to Mary and Christ and proclaims that Christ was not divine but a prophet. The rock over which the shrine was built is sacred to both Muslims and Jews. The Prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam, is traditionally believed to have ascended into heaven from the site. In Jewish tradition, it is here that Abraham, the progenitor and first patriarch of the Hebrew people, is said to have prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac.