Dome of the Rock

Islam.

a shrine in Jerusalem at the site from which Muhammad ascended through the seven heavens to the throne of God: built on the site of the Jewish Temple. Cf. Isra', Mi'raj.

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or Mosque of Omar

Oldest existing Islamic monument.

It is located on Temple Mount, previously the site of the Temple of Jerusalem. The rock over which it is built is sacred to both Muslims and Jews. In Islam, Muhammad is believed to have ascended into heaven from the site. In Judaism it is the site where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac. Built in 685–91 as a place of pilgrimage, the octagonal building has richly decorated walls and a gold-overlaid dome mounted above a circle of piers and columns.

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▪ monument, Jerusalem

Arabic  Qubbat al-Ṣakhrah  

 shrine in Jerusalem that is the oldest extant Islamic monument. 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. The Dome and Al-Aqṣā Mosque are both located on the Temple Mount, the site of Solomon's Temple and its successors.

      The Dome of the Rock was built between AD 685 and 691 by the caliph ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān, not as a mosque for public worship but rather as a mashhad, a shrine for pilgrims. It is virtually the first monumental building in Islamic history and is of considerable aesthetic and architectural importance; it is rich with mosaic, faience, and marble, much of which was added several centuries after its completion. Basically octagonal, the Dome of the Rock makes use of Byzantine techniques but is already distinctly Islamic. A wooden dome—approximately 60 feet (18 metres) in diameter and mounted on an elevated drum—rises above a circle of 16 piers and columns. Surrounding this circle is an octagonal arcade of 24 piers and columns. The outer walls repeat this octagon, each of the eight sides being approximately 60 feet (18 metres) wide and 36 feet (11 metres) high. Both the dome and the exterior walls contain many windows.

      Christians and Muslims in the Middle Ages believed the Dome itself to be the Temple of Solomon (Templum Domini). The Knights Templars were quartered there in the Crusades, and Templar churches in Europe imitated its plan.

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